greetings all!

getting close to nov 3 surgery and nerves are flaring…

tell me about your hospital stay post op so I can be prepared!!!

Mine was extremely uneventful. The only issue I had was that I wasn’t peeing a lot at a time so they put a little pot in there to collect the urine and measure to make sure I was going enough that I didn’t need a catheter. Eventually my bladder woke up and that wasn’t an issue at all (i was peeing a lot cause of all those fluids). I was in very little pain. I actually asked to be taken off the pain meds and they suggested I do so slowly and then take Tylenol.

I left the hospital with an rx for pain meds even though I was just on Tylenol at that point. I’m not sure if this was just out of habit or if they thought the pain may get worse or what but my husband filled it just in case. I never needed them.

I really didn’t need to be there overnight to be honest. I mean I probably would’ve been fine if they had just pumped me full of fluids and sent me home but it was nice to know I was being monitored if I had any issues. They ended up sending me home the next day instead of making me stay the second night at least. The only thing I missed was having the bed rails to pull myself up getting in and out of the bed but I soon figured out how to roll out of my bed at home.

Anyways, after surgery you go to a recovery unit for a little while and the nurse there was great. She had me up and walking while I was in recovery which apparently people were surprised I was able to do cause they kept calling me a rock star?. I ended up staying in recovery a bit longer than necessary cause they didn’t have a room for me so by the time I was up to my room I was totally with it.

I had to ask for them to walk with me the first time cause they didn’t ask me to do it and it had been hours. Then my husband got there and he took me when he first got there and again before he left. Finally I asked if I could just go by myself cause He wasn’t really doing anything to help and I seemed to be fine (I didn’t feel dizzy or anything). I never did have any gas pain either but all I knew was how important everyone said it was to walk so I made sure to do it just in case.

I’m trying to remember what else happened. Honestly it was pretty boring. I had my iPad and if you don’t have it you may want to sign up for the free trial of Netflix and you will have plenty to watch at least in the hospital and when you get home. That’s what I did was watch Netflix all day and night. There is a tv of course so you don’t need it but since I have the subscription anyways i brought the tablet and I used it. Ooh and It was noisy at night so I was glad I had my headphones too.

Basically that was it though, I wasn’t very sleepy cause I wasn’t on strong meds. I did take a short nap or two but I’m a very light sleeper So I mostly just watched Netflix. I had a little of my broth when they brought it in a couple times and took my meds when they brought those. You can’t shower but they do give you a washcloth to freshen up which I did the next morning and as soon as they said they were working on getting me released I got myself all changed and packed up. I was ready to go home but honestly it wasn’t that bad.

that is exactly how I hope it goes for me … going to dl shows to my ipad in case the wifi isn’t great and hope for an uneventful night!

I have a big unknown which scares me.. not my sister and mother being extremely ill after general anesthesia (nausea and vomiting) for two or three DAYS post op…. i have never been under except for the endoscopy and that is lighter sedation so don’t know how i will react.. i hope I take after my Dad for that lol he is a champ and shakes it off easy

12 minutes ago, KimA-GA said:

that is exactly how I hope it goes for me … going to dl shows to my ipad in case the wifi isn’t great and hope for an uneventful night!

I have a big unknown which scares me.. not my sister and mother being extremely ill after general anesthesia (nausea and vomiting) for two or three DAYS post op…. i have never been under except for the endoscopy and that is lighter sedation so don’t know how i will react.. i hope I take after my Dad for that lol he is a champ and shakes it off easy

Well they did put a nausea patch behind my ear before surgery and I think there are other meds they can give you before you wake up if you request them which help with nausea.

ask for the nausea patch. I got one for my plastic surgeries because I experienced nausea for a day or two after my RNY. That patch helps a lot. Also - if you still get nausea regardless, let the nurses know. They'll put Zofran in your IV line. That also helps quite a bit.

8 hours ago, KimA-GA said:

I have a big unknown which scares me.. not my sister and mother being extremely ill after general anesthesia (nausea and vomiting) for two or three DAYS post op….

Does your sister or mum know if they react to a specific anaesthetic or all of them? My aunt has a list of a couple she can’t tolerate so they use other ones when she has surgery. Make sure you let your surgeon & anesthetiser know so they can take precautions.

I downloaded shows on my iPad too but ended up not watching any. Didn’t read either. Slept or dozed a lot & my concentration was non existent.

The only unexpected thing that happened was my back went into spasm so I ended up staying an extra night. Oh & the unexpected, no warning diarrhoea. That wasn’t pleasant. Glad I packed extra knickers & pjs. LOL!

All the best with your surgery.

Mine was relatively uneventful. I did bring my iPad and a book. I used the iPad a little, didn't touch the book. I lived in the hospital gown (one for front, one as a "robe"). I brought one shake (the shakes there were horrific). Basically I sipped, walked, tried to sleep, started some Netflix series that I don't quite remember, showered, then went home in the same clothes I came in. I wanted my UNpacking to be minimal and it was. I also brought toothbrush and toothpaste, but they had them there, so I didn't use them at all. Oh, lotion and chapstick, I brought those.

Best wishes!

I had to arrive at my hospital at 630am and my surgery was at 830am. They did a pregnancy test and gave me some medication for anxiety to calm me down. They had to get an ultrasound machine to put my IV in. The nurse had to stick me a couple times because my veins like to run away lol. That was kind of uncomfortable but it happens to me nearly every time I have to get blood work so I anticipated it beforehand. Then the surgeon came in and talked to me and I asked her to take a picture of the part of my stomach she takes out. That ended up being pretty cool to see. They wheeled me to the surgery room. It was super bright in there. The anesthesiologist asked me where we would be going on vacation to. I said Disney World! And he said, alright everyone we're going to Disney World!! And then everything went black lol. Immediately after surgery I woke up in a lot of pain (no idea what time it was at this point). They gave me IV pain med pretty quickly after hearing me shout IT HURTS lol. It wasn't so bad after that. Fell asleep. Spent probably a couple hours in the holding room before they put me in a private room around 230pm. I got the hiccups a few times and that was not fun. I had nausea every time they gave me a pill. I got that "watery mouth" thing that comes with nausea. Luckily I never threw up. I would just call for a nurse every time and they'd give me IV zofran which shut that up real quick. I barely had any gas pain, but I got an ice pack to put on the top of my stomach where it was. Didn't need it after the first night. They put IPC thingies on my calves to prevent blood clots (they squeeze you on and off), which made me feel anchored to the bed. I didn't really want to move around anyway. They fed me diet juice and jello but I barely touched them because I didn't feel hungry at all. When I finally peed they had to do an ultrasound on my bladder after to make sure it was voiding enough. Mine ended up being fine. They woke me up every 4 hours or so to check my vitals, even in the middle of the night.

The next morning was uneventful. I felt way better and could drink the Boost Glucose Control protein drinks they were giving me. I had no issues getting them down other than not liking the taste very much. They gave me these little 1oz medicine cups to keep track of my water intake. Every time I drank one I checked a box. Their goal was at least 11oz every 4 hours. I doubled that with no problems. They also gave me a ton of drink variety that I didn't even touch; lemon tea, chicken broth, jello, diet cranberry juice, and sugar free popsicles. They took me off the IV and IPC things and I was able to walk around every hour or so. I watched a lot of tv. Then around 1pm the doctor cleared me to leave and an hour later I was finally discharged and got to go home! The only thing I'd really suggest to bring is a long phone charger chord. I didn't end up needing much else!

Good luck with your surgery! I know I spent a lot of time reading other people's surgery stories beforehand so I'd be prepared if anything came up. I can say the whole process was a lot easier than I expected it to be!!

I was expected to leave same day but I stayed 1 extra day because my anemia started acting up & they wanted to make sure I didn't have any internal bleeding going on (even tho I know it happened bc I stopped eating so many iron rich foods in my pre-op diet)

My tips: don't wear normal fitting clothes. Wear clothes that are extremely loose on you! Because of the gas they pump into you my pants felt tight! It was very uncomfortable in the ride back home.

Also take a throw pillow for when you walk to the car to compress your incisions. It'll help stop the pain! Also don't forget your phone charger. I did & I regretted it lol

I had my vsg done as outpatient. I had to be there at 6am, I had surgery a couple hours later. I was out the same day, maybe 3ish? I can't remember. I didn't have much pain at all. A little nausea but they gave me something for it, went away immediately. I had a 45 to 1hr drive home, I just slept the entire time. I lived on the second floor and climbed up them with no problem. That was one of my pre-surgery worries. I took my medicine and fell asleep. I really had no issues but a abdominal cramp here and there. Nothing alarming. No problem with drinking liquids or walking to the restroom... Etc. Like others, pretty uneventfuln and painless. My revision seemed even easier. Gotta love medical technology.