Hi all, I have never been a big fan of hospitals so I want to be as prepared as possible. How was everyone's experience before and after the surgery in the hospital. Lay on the nasty or painful details!!!

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I had a great experience. I packed WAAAAYYYYY too much stuff. All I really needed was a comb, toothbrush, a change or two of underwear, biotene spray, my phone, and my charger. I do wish I'd not packed the rest of the nonsense I took, and used the room in my bag for a heating pad. That was something that really helped the soreness when I got home.

I have a history of severe nausea post-op, and my surgical team did an amazing job giving me meds to counter that. Which caused me to have complete amnesia from the pre-op room when they pushed the first sedative to an hour or so after I was in my room, which has never happened to me. Makes me want to get a copy of my records and find out exactly what they gave me. LOL.

I had virtually no pain from the gas that many people complain about. My surgeon does her leak test in the OR, so something to do with the Water for that may have cleared the CO2 out more effectively, I don't know. My overall pain was there, but nothing too horrible. We'd decided on a milder pain med than she normally prescribes because I don't like the side effects of the one she normally uses, and it was sufficient. I just felt like I'd been kicked in the gut and had that residual severe soreness.

The staff were great, making sure I had plenty of water and things to drink on day 1, and then Protein shakes and water on day 2 (my doc keeps us overnight to make sure we can keep fluids down well). The tech came in several times to make sure I got up and walked (which helps with the pain, but disconnecting all the stuff is annoying). Slept in short spurts, but that's typical in a hospital. Didn't have enough focus to read a book, so I played games on my phone and facebooked and watched a marathon of whatever crime drama was on TV that day.

Doc came by to check on me Day 2 and discharged me.

Very uneventful, which is the way we want it.

You'll do great. As a nurse, I'll just say that you should work with the nurses about letting them know when you're STARTING to hurt so they can stay ahead of it with your pain meds (if you need them, some people have very little pain). Knocking pain down when it gets bad is MUCH harder than keeping it at bay. And the rest of the time, walk walk walk and sip sip sip (as soon as they let you have drinks).

My hospital experience with my VSG was great. I went to Parker Adventist hospital in Parker Colorado and it was honestly the nicest hospital I've been in. The nurses were attentive and caring while still getting the job done. Pretty much everything I needed was available to me there. This hospital didn't permit heating pads since they can cause burns but when I complained of gas pains in my shoulder blades they immediately brought me heated towels to put on my back. The room was private (all the rooms on the bariatric floor were), there was a couch, bed, and a super comfy recliner. They kept on top of my pain meds, always coming on time to give the next dose (which I definitely needed). Since they gave dialudid instead of morphine to me (I can't handle morphine) I didn't get a pain pump but they never let me go past 4 hours without a new dose. I actually felt rather pampered while there. I loved it.

Not all hospitals are as nice as this one though. The year prior I had my gallbladder removed unexpectedly at a hospital near where I live and my experience was the complete opposite. I felt ignored, like I was an inconvenience to the nurses. I had a lot of pain and anxiety and if I asked for my next pain med dose I was looked at like I was a drug seeker, even if it was past time for it. They let me go 12 hours without pain meds once. It was a horrible experience.

So check out the hospital you're going to ahead of time if you can.

I went to Wake Forest- Baptist Medical and my experience was ok/well. I only say ok because I had to stay an extra night due to the nurse not keeping my pain under control. I got sick right after surgery from the pain. So after having surgery on my stomach and puking a few hours later, of course I didn't drink a single sip of anything day of surgery! So I had to stay an extra night. By day two following surgery I was like 75% better! Slept a lot on day one with lots and lots and lots of pain from the surgery and the air in my stomach I was not prepared for! Lol

Once my pain was under control I rested well, but meds were needed often because the pain from the air in my chest was unbelievable!!!!!!

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My hospital experience was fantastic. Rather than repost everything I posted a really detailed log of my experience here: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/385831-three-days-post-surgery-the-journey-so-far/

I was just sleeved by Dr. Long at Parker Hospital on 8/20 and the experience was nothing short of fabulous! The entire 6 month process was super easy, and my surgery was approved 1 week after my final class. I can't say enough amazing things about Dr. Long!

And a FYI. followup pertaining one of the above posters.
@JohnGraySmiley. recently,became the proud and grateful mother of a beautiful baby girl Grace. Bariatric Surgery helped to make the mother healthier and this ensured an favorable childbirth outcome.

On 09/03/2018 at 10:21, Frustr8 said:

And a FYI. followup pertaining one of the above posters.

@JohnGraySmiley. recently,became the proud and grateful mother of a beautiful baby girl Grace. Bariatric Surgery helped to make the mother healthier and this ensured an favorable childbirth outcome.

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Staying at the hospital sucks. They wake you up every couple hours to take your pulse, BP, draw blood, etc. I had to share a room with the most inconsiderate idiot on the planet. She had every person in her damn family come visit her or she was on the phone, or had the TV cranked up. Hospitals are supposed to be a place where people can rest and get better, no one can get better, if they can't get any sleep. I couldn't WAIT to get home.

That being said, the staff was wonderful, everyone from the surgeon to the woman who brought my protein shake in the mornings. But I was happy to say goodbye to all of them, lol

Be sure to ask your surgeon ahead of time what pain meds she is ordering and how often you can have them. The nurses will have this info, but they may not go to get the meds until after they are due, and sometime in can take up to an hour to get them. Stay ahead of the pain