Hi all! This community has provided such incredible support for me and I wanted to share what my journey has been like leading up to and day of surgery in hopes that it helps others. I’m 37 y.o., 5’9”, HW 265 SW 253 GW 170.

Leading up to surgery, I did a 2 week liquid diet relying mostly on Premier Protein shakes, Protein2o water, bone broth and Mios favored drops that you put in water. The first 3 days I cheated by eating some eggs, grilled chicken and salad along with the shakes.

My pre-op apt took place at the hospital 6 days prior to surgery. There they gave me a surgical clearance form that I needed to take to my primary care physician. I didn’t know this was a requirement ahead of time and scrambled to get an appointment. Also, during the pre-op apt I disclosed that I often take marijuana edibles to help me sleep. They said that wasn’t an issue but struggled to find the appropriate medicinal term in their system...yes, there was an actual code for cannabidiol.

2 nights before and morning of surgery I was given special soap to shower with. Day of surgery I was instructed to arrive at 730 but wasn’t told actual surgery time. Upon arrival I learned my time was 930 and I was second surgery of the day for my doctor. Actual surgery takes an hour. I was given an IV, Pepcid to help with acid and some other shot in my belly to prevent blood clots.

When I woke up from surgery I was moaning with pain an felt like I was going to throw up. Dry heaved a few times but nothing came out. Nurses were right there and gave me zolfran for nausea and started my morphine drip. I remember it being very painful but it probably passed in 15 min and I fell asleep.

Things were a blur until about 4. Not sure how long it was until I was taken to my room but once there, they checked vitals, drew blood, and put some sort of machine on my calves that pumps air to help circulation and prevent blood clots. At 430 the nurses helped me up to go pee and take my first walk. They had a special container in the bowl to measure my urine. First walk was slow and I did half a lap.

Pain isn’t too bad. As people have said, it feels like I did 1000 sit-ups. Although I am fully taking advantage of the morphine! It doesn’t help with gas pain though, for that you have to walk. It’s 1230am and I just finished my 4th walk. After the first one, walking is easy and it makes me burp which is a good thing. I’m trying to push myself with walking and get all the gas out at the hospital while I have the morphine to help with pain from soreness.

I also have a breathing thing I’m supposed to blow into every hour to help prevent fluid build up in the lungs and phenomena. I haven’t been as diligent there and surprisingly the nurses don’t remind you. Another tip, ask the nurse for wet, cotton mouth swab. It was a life saver. Worst dry mouth of my life!

Now I’m just waiting for morning where they will have me drink some fluid in front of an X-ray machine to see if there are any leaks. Following that they have me going straight to stage 2 purée and I’ll need to eat/drink something else before I’m discharged. Provided everything goes well, they expect me to go home around 1. I’m going to walk as much as I can throughout the night to get the rest of the air out. Surprisingly, the nurses don’t remind you to walk (my roommate has only been up once) so you have to stay disciplined and lookout for yourself.

Anyway, I know this was suuuuuper long but I hope it helps ease the nerves for some of you anxiety ridden, over-analyzers such as myself. Wish me luck tomorrow! I’m still super anxious [emoji12]

14 minutes ago, NYCNomad said:

Hi all! This community has provided such incredible support for me and I wanted to share what my journey has been like leading up to and day of surgery in hopes that it helps others. I’m 37 y.o., 5’9”, HW 265 SW 253 GW 170.

Leading up to surgery, I did a 2 week liquid diet relying mostly on Premier Protein shakes, Protein2o Water, bone broth and Mios favored drops that you put in water. The first 3 days I cheated by eating some eggs, grilled chicken and salad along with the shakes.

My pre-op apt took place at the hospital 6 days prior to surgery. There they gave me a surgical clearance form that I needed to take to my primary care physician. I didn’t know this was a requirement ahead of time and scrambled to get an appointment. Also, during the pre-op apt I disclosed that I often take marijuana edibles to help me sleep. They said that wasn’t an issue but struggled to find the appropriate medicinal term in their system...yes, there was an actual code for cannabidiol.

2 nights before and morning of surgery I was given special soap to shower with. Day of surgery I was instructed to arrive at 730 but wasn’t told actual surgery time. Upon arrival I learned my time was 930 and I was second surgery of the day for my doctor. Actual surgery takes an hour. I was given an IV, Pepcid to help with acid and some other shot in my belly to prevent blood clots.

When I woke up from surgery I was moaning with pain an felt like I was going to throw up. Dry heaved a few times but nothing came out. Nurses were right there and gave me zolfran for nausea and started my morphine drip. I remember it being very painful but it probably passed in 15 min and I fell asleep.

Things were a blur until about 4. Not sure how long it was until I was taken to my room but once there, they checked vitals, drew blood, and put some sort of machine on my calves that pumps air to help circulation and prevent blood clots. At 430 the nurses helped me up to go pee and take my first walk. They had a special container in the bowl to measure my urine. First walk was slow and I did half a lap.

Pain isn’t too bad. As people have said, it feels like I did 1000 sit-ups. Although I am fully taking advantage of the morphine! It doesn’t help with gas pain though, for that you have to walk. It’s 1230am and I just finished my 4th walk. After the first one, walking is easy and it makes me burp which is a good thing. I’m trying to push myself with walking and get all the gas out at the hospital while I have the morphine to help with pain from soreness.

I also have a breathing thing I’m supposed to blow into every hour to help prevent Fluid build up in the lungs and phenomena. I haven’t been as diligent there and surprisingly the nurses don’t remind you. Another tip, ask the nurse for wet, cotton mouth swab. It was a life saver. Worst dry mouth of my life!

Now I’m just waiting for morning where they will have me drink some fluid in front of an X-ray machine to see if there are any leaks. Following that they have me going straight to stage 2 purée and I’ll need to eat/drink something else before I’m discharged. Provided everything goes well, they expect me to go home around 1. I’m going to walk as much as I can throughout the night to get the rest of the air out. Surprisingly, the nurses don’t remind you to walk (my roommate has only been up once) so you have to stay disciplined and lookout for yourself.

Anyway, I know this was suuuuuper long but I hope it helps ease the nerves for some of you anxiety ridden, over-analyzers such as myself. Wish me luck tomorrow! I’m still super anxious

I loved reading your post. Thank you so much being so detailed. Did you have a catheter put in? Wishing you a speedy recovery!

Thanks for detailed post -- I love these!!! Glad you made it through surgery without too much discomfort. Happy healing!

Thanks for this post. I have surgery tomorrow am and I’m nervous. In my heart I know it’s the right thing but I’ve never had surgery before so I’m scared.

You'll be fine! I've had lots! It's a great nap...get up and walk as soon as you can and do not lay flat! Good luck and God bless!

You'll be fine! I've had lots! It's a great nap...get up and walk as soon as you can and do not lay flat! Good luck and God bless!

Thank-you!!

Great detail and good luck with your recovery.

Did you have a catheter put in?

No catheter for me anyway, I got a nice pair of unisex one size fits all disposable undies to wear under my surgical gown though to spare my blushes [emoji4]

HW 365 CW 332 GW 220
Sleeved 6th March 2018

Thanks for this post! My surgery is tomorrow and I am also freaking out! I am mostly scared of the pain from the hiatal hernia repair. I heard that makes the whole things way worse!

You did it, NYCNomad!! Congratulations! Your experience in the hospital sounds just like mine! Now it's time to get better and stronger at home! WooooHOOO!!!!!

Thank you for this informative post. Hope that you heal and recover quickly.

Maybe a little more achy in your shoulder but it's worth it to have it repaired. And most of the most recent posters haven't even noticed that. You are going to fine and you are going to heal fine. And when I finally have mine you can stand there and say " Easy Peasy- no problem at all" and I'll believe you!

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Hi all! Update here. No catheter while in hospital and made it home around 3. I’m surprised how fast the day went. Around 8am we drank the fluid in front of the X-ray and upon passing had to drink 8 one ounce glasses of fluid. I was so thirsty that the first 4 (all water) went down pretty fast (drank 4 in 10 min). I was surprised by the size of sip I could take without experiencing pain. It was more than I had expected. The second 4 cups took a little longer (30 min) and included juice and broth. Water was by far the easiest to drink.

After that I felt bloated and went for a walk followed by a short nap. They also gave me some Pepcid to help with acid. At 1130 they got us started on stage 2 diet and we had a choice of cottage cheese or tuna. I was a bit scared but managed to eat half cup of the cottage cheese. Still felt bloated and uncomfortable. There was a group of 8-10 of us and most of us were discharged between 1-2.

When I got home I took a 15 min walk then slept. I’ve felt super bloated all day since drinking on my own. I am burping ALL THE TIME. I took some of the one ounce hospital cups and have been using those to help drink. I can finish one in 3 sips with no pain but need to wait a few min before having another. Occasionally I’ll have a painful wave of gas but mostly just feel bloated and uncomfortable. Took 2 strips of gas-x, one when I first got home and one later when I was trying to drink broth around 7pm. Tomorrow I plan to do lots of walking so hopefully that will help. Taking it one day at a time!

Hi all! Update here. No catheter while in hospital and made it home around 3. I’m surprised how fast the day went. Around 8am we drank the Fluid in front of the X-ray and upon passing had to drink 8 one ounce glasses of fluid. I was so thirsty that the first 4 (all water) went down pretty fast (drank 4 in 10 min). I was surprised by the size of sip I could take without experiencing pain. It was more than I had expected. The second 4 cups took a little longer (30 min) and included juice and broth. Water was by far the easiest to drink.

After that I felt bloated and went for a walk followed by a short nap. They also gave me some Pepcid to help with acid. At 1130 they got us started on stage 2 diet and we had a choice of cottage cheese or tuna. I was a bit scared but managed to eat half cup of the cottage cheese. Still felt bloated and uncomfortable. There was a group of 8-10 of us and most of us were discharged between 1-2.

When I got home I took a 15 min walk then slept. I’ve felt super bloated all day since drinking on my own. I am burping ALL THE TIME. I took some of the one ounce hospital cups and have been using those to help drink. I can finish one in 3 sips with no pain but need to wait a few min before having another. Occasionally I’ll have a painful wave of gas but mostly just feel bloated and uncomfortable. Took 2 strips of gas-x, one when I first got home and one later when I was trying to drink broth around 7pm. Tomorrow I plan to do lots of walking so hopefully that will help. Taking it one day at a time!

Yay!! So happy for the details and that it’s going so well for you:)