starting a new thread for anyone who has or is considering surgery thru the Brigham/Falkner program.

~Mel

surgery 11/13/07 Dr Vernon

-35lbs

He He! I was just opening a new cd set of the audio book Still Alice..you're right ...the schedule does show the summer months! Now where did I get that assumption?

Perhaps I am turning into Alice.(Alzheimers)

Hope to see you on Mon.

I think I might be ready for a fill...just chowed down on a huge bowl of arroz con frijoles rojos. I shouldn't be able to eat rice, right? Let alone the entire 4 serving bowl.....bad choice, but oh, it was so nice to eat my old foods!!!

I have to get back on track......

nip it in the bud, gal NIP IT!

Horrid diarreah and gas for the past few hours. I thought the gas was all gone and done with...SURPRISE!

Gas X for supper.

Today I only managed to have 2 shakes , 1 broth and 1 popsicle and a couple sips of Fuze.

Not a good day at all inwardly. Outwardly, the 'stab wounds' are healing up fine.

um, this was double posted somehow...

Edited June 7, 200917 yr by ibelieve
duplicate post

Well, I am finally Banded. Thursday June 4 @ approximately 7:30 a.m.!!!

Dr. R. and the Brigham care teams were all so fantastic, especially, I have to shout out to the team on 15D!!! I did not mind students, fellows, and residents... having been in the medical field, they have to learn somewhere, and Brigham is HMS, so its not a big deal for me.

All of my incisions (6 of them) are on my upper abdomen... I wonder if this is because of a previous lap hernia repair on my lower abdomen and there was an incision at my belly button there already. My upper abdomen has a little swelling now that the general swelling seems to have gone down.

I had some nausea the first night, and dry heaves were miserable. No gas pain... a little "gassy" finally today, here and there, but not a big deal at all. I went to fruit only diet two days before, and only pineapple the day before and a few CIB late in the day before surgery, this might have helped with preventing the gas complication from afflicting me, plus I had gotten a handle on being lactose intolerant a while back, and take use lactose free milk and lactaid for the Carnation pkts.

When I finally got to sleep at home a lot today(no rest in the hospital at all), I felt some stiffness in my upper back and shoulders, but I think they did a great job getting the CO2 out of me and I would say I am doing great. I have a moist heating pad for my shoulders.

In the hospital, the first evening, by the 2nd time up to use rr I felt better up, than laying in the hospital bed, so nurses took me for some strolls. The next morning when I got back from upper GI, I sat in the chair and spent very little time in the bed except when I was upset when they thought they would keep me another night (or even longer) if the pharmacy's out there did not have my meds... I had called to 8 CVS for the med, thanks to the folks here at LBT warning about the liquid pain meds being hard to locate, and none of the pharmacies had it, or would not talk to me about it!!! I was exhausted, needed to be home in my quiet house and in my own bed, so I lost it, and bawled into the pillow I had over my face while the nurse sorted things out for me... Hey, I am used to sorting out my situations myself, so it was frustrating to have a glitch like that that I was not emotionally able to resolve due to being 36 hours post-surgery and no rest.

The nurse finally called the Resident, and then the Pharmacy that I use, to come up with an alternative...

They let me leave at around 7:30 after I tolerated a stage two protein drink for an hour. Let me tell you, that chicken broth they brought me when i got the okay for clear liquids was the best thing in the world up to this point in my life!!!

I got up and around this afternoon, taking it easy, but we went to best buy and target and whole foods, and I have to say, I felt fine moving around and walking, but NO lifting, so as to getting out and about, with help from family - no problems with that whatsoever. I did get a clue from a fine LBT'er here to have a pillow to cover my tummy in the car, so the car ride home from hospital and around doing errands went okay, and my brother took the streets less frost heaved, or newly paved, where ever possible.

I rested fine when I got back home...

So far so good, and I am doing well, but I think I will stay home until Wednesday, and work from home/light duty to start with going back to work...

I do not think I could have done this without this site, and everyone sharing their experiences and feelings.

Dr. Malcolm Robinson and his team, the anesthesiologists, the nurses, the whole Brigham and Women's experience really was over-all, excellent, in my eyes. The people who help you out there, really care, and they take really great care of you, no matter who you are. :blushing:

Edited June 7, 200917 yr by ibelieve
clarity, typo's

You made it!

I agree that rest is difficult in the hospital..they want to monitor you and they are constantly in and out.

But you seem to be breezing right along afterward..and going to the shopping center, to boot!

Great recovery!

You are fortunate to have family members to help out.

I'm sorry to hear you're all having such difficulty finding the pain meds. I never even used mine....though I didn't have an issue getting it.

Glad to hear you're home and resting, though. Enjoy this time. It's the only time you get a free pass to do nothing. I have to admit that I milked it a bit after surgery. Despite going straight back to work, I "couldn't" carry laundry up the stairs OR scrape the snow off of my SUV for the first month or so. :thumbup:

I'm suffering from withdrawal and headed to the beach. No, not to run it or even walk it today---to simply LIE on it! I'm meeting up with my trainer this afternoon so I have to get in a few hours of reading at the beach before hand!

Hope some of you might make it to tomorrow's meeting at the Faulkner. Enjoy the beautiful day! :thumbup: Paige

I have 5 insicions.

In addition I have 2 black and blues ..one on either side of my belly button. They look like needle marks.

Anyone know what they were for?(or maybe you all didn't have them?)

I have 5 insicions.

In addition I have 2 black and blues ..one on either side of my belly button. They look like needle marks.

Anyone know what they were for?(or maybe you all didn't have them?)

Singing, do you think they may have given you heparin shots there? They gave me mine in my thighs, and I have huge bruises, but I got some Arnica Gel, and Arnica homeopathic beads too, for bruising. When I have my lap. hernia surgery, I ended up with a humongous subdural hematoma on my abdomen (they use a balloon to stretch it then deflate it and fill cavity with gas {gross!}) and I think that stretching thing is what bruised me.

I just have this sort of "hump" of my upper abdomen where all the action took place.

Another lucky thing for me, I had some slight "burning" sensations around the port area (that was how I identified where the port was after surgery) but nothing really since then! I take the least amount of pain med, and not often, more as preventive before activity, or just because if its been a while between doses.

When they woke me up after surgery, I asked, "am I banded???" they told me "YEAH You are!!!":thumbup:

Anyway, I wish everyone out there who had their procedure recently, or who are about to, all the best!

Oh yeah, yesterday evening, I slept, and dreamt I was at the MALL, and fighting, and losing, eating MALL food. I ate it, and then kept thinking my tummy was going to explode, or else I was going to be stuck, and sick... then, in the same dream, Dr. R. calls me to come in to x-ray the tummy, and I was freaking out, since now they would see everything I had put in my tummy at the mall!!!

what a dream to have!!! its the meds I think!!! :thumbup:

ROFLOL at that dream! I bet you woke up in a sweat! But relieved when reality set in.

As for heparin shots..could be. I never considered that. I will ask at my post op follow up tomorrow.

LOL Singing, I WAS relieved when I woke up!!! :thumbup:

Will anyone be at the Faulkner support group tonight? I don't want to go for a one on one with Phyllis, people..... :thumbup:

Jay, you in??

Just a quick update, I have lost 10 lbs since Surgery...

Yesterday, I had (non-painful) gas bubbles in my tummy, so no room for CIB protein drinks. Thanks Goodness for GAS-X strips!