CALLING ALL POST-OPS!

All of us pre-ops are very anxious to know: What are the two most important things you wish you had known before you had the surgery? My surgery date is 1/31/05 and would love to know anything you think we pre-ops should know beforehand. Thanx, and congrats to ya all!

Susie, There is only one thing that I wish I had known about, which was the bloody bm after the surgery. I takes about 1 1/2 week for the old blood to leave the intestines. Yuck! I had educated myself on everything about the surgery and no complications. Best wishes with your upcoming surgery. Thoughts and prayers will be with you. Tammie G. a new happy loser

Oh yeah, those tarlike black or dark green explosive newborn baby kind of BMs..... YUCK BRING flushable personal whipes... they feel like heaven! Brightest Blessings for a Wonderful Day~ Jamie M. Weight- 257/239/146 BMI- 44.1/41.0/25 Height- 5' 4" Surgery Date: 1/19/05 No matter what size, we are all Goddesses inside!

Susie, I had my surgery on the 7th. I don't know if everyone has gone through this and it may sound a little weird, but I actually went through a mourning period. I became very emotional the first week after surgery. It was like I had lost my best friend. It didn't last long, but it was a new awakening. I've come to terms with it now and know that I have all to gain by being a loser now! I can't tell you how much better I feel. I went for my post-op appointment today and so far I have lost 20 pounds. Good luck on your surgery. We are here to help and support so ask away! Shar

Susie, Here are three things I wish I had known before. 1. There is a telephone number in most hospitals to contact a supervisor in administration AT ALL HOURS if you need them. I waited 12 hours for a breathing treatment because the resp. therapist had gone home and not done mine. No one could do it but him, they said. (Not true) I finally called the number at 9:00 pm and got help immediately. KNOW THAT NUMBER and have it with you. 2. You can't have even ice chips for the first day, so take some mouth moistening swabs and chapstick. Ask the nurse to give you a damp washcloth to wipe your lips. 3. Take tongs with you to help you reach stuff and scratch. 4. (one more) Hold a pillow over your tummy when you cough. I am 6 days post op and still sore at times. But, I am better each day and sooo glad I did it!!! BTW, some people have sensitivity to smells after anathesia. I could not stand the smell of food, perfume, smoke, etc. I even told my best friend to leave my room because her perfume was making me sick. It is passing,now. See you on the losing side!!!! Lou Ann

To add to her "smells sensativity" thing.... if you feel nausea coming on, open a alcohol whipe and sniff it... for some crazy reason it works half the time and you don't have to take another medication! LOL! Brightest Blessings for a Wonderful Day~ Jamie M. Weight- 257/239/146 BMI- 44.1/41.0/25 Height- 5' 4" Surgery Date: 1/19/05 No matter what size, we are all Goddesses inside!

Hi Susie, you may hit that mourning stage like Charlene said, I think a lot of people wish they may not have done it at one point. BUT... REMEMBER... WHY YOU ARE THERE... I know I did ask myself it at one point while sitting in the hospital, but I had to push the reason I was there cause my health was going south on me fast... It will not feel to good... DO USE the pillow when you have to cough it will help big time. Each day after it DOES FEEL better and your able to move better with each day also. Get out and walk as much as you can... Wish you the best on your surgery... PooBear

Dear Susie, Congrats on your upcoming surgery. I have a couple of things that I wish I had known. 1) If the nursing staff is not treating you right, you make sure to ask for the supervisor and then the administrator if it doesn't get taken care of. My surgery and stay was lovely except for my recovery nurses who had obviously trained under Satan. I was so out of it from a long surgery that I didn't have my wits about me to fix the situation at the present time. I am taking care of the situation now though. 2) More than likely you can expect to start your period. It's just a bonus for most women. 3) I didn't do the bloody bm's, but I did drain like crazy once home. As in like I was pouring punch from an Igloo cooler. Like water from a spicket! 4) Try to get your med prescriptions written the day before release so that someone can pick them up for you. 5) I have two seroma's that are still draining. (basically melted fat) and the nurse suggested that I use Kotex maxi pads, because they are better than and so much cheaper than gauze and tape, and hold so much more. Yeah, it is weird to have pads stuck in your clothing but it works. 6) It's no where near as bad as you think that it will be. 7) They are definitely right about the chapstick and the lemon swabs. I weighed in 12 days after my surgery. I had lost 37.5 pounds. Wishing all of you happy thoughts for the surgery and a speedy recovery! Junith

Well I am only 1 week post op but I really wish I had done the following before I went in for surgery: (some of these I knew and applied, some of them I learned the hard way....LOL) **Establish a new schedule for your eating, drinking and medicines. Right after surgery there are so many guidlines it gets dizzying. (EX- My surgeon says no drinking 30 min prior, during or 1 hr. after a meal. THAT is a huge time block since I have to eat 3 meals and two snacks! And most of my meds have to be taken with food... so I really needed a plan!) **Have HIGH protein drinks ready. Taste them before hand!!! If they taste good now they will taste good or sorta good after. If they taste "sorta good" before they will taste like crap after! Trust me, the last thing you want to do is have a bunch of protein drinks around that taste like crap or you have never tried before. YOU DO NOT WANT TO YUCK after surgery! ** If you have perscriptions you need to take after surgery (asthma, allergies, arthritis, etc...) check to se if there is a liquid alternative that you can take until you are able to take pills easier! Then make sure they are OK with the surgeon and give a list of the meds and dosages to your surgeon to write "orders for" otherwise the hospital will give you a hard time about taking them post-op. **IF you have sinus problems, get a bulb syringe and saline spray before surgery so that afterwards you can loosen up the stuff and suck it out, the last thing you want to do is try and blow your nose or hack up snott after surgery.... it HURTS! If you know you have sensative sinuses, have your surgeon put in an order for your O2 (nasal cannula) to have a "mister" on it... the extra moisture will keep you from getting a nose bleed. **Ask for a box of kleenex, something to spit in and a Inspiratory incentive tool (not really a machine but something asthema patients use post op for any surgery) it helps to encourage the opening of your lungs and helps to "bring up" the crap that settled in your lungs after surgery and limits the amount of post operative coughing that you will need to do. And they will make you do it... you do not want to developo pneumonia! **Take a small journal and pencil with you so that you can write down everything you intake and the times. (They will come and ask you and usually you can't remember, so write it down or have someone do it for you.) ALSO if you have a nurse that is good or bad write it down and what they did, that way when you are discharged you can answer the hospital surveys with no problem! It also doubles as a treatment improver too... if staff realize that you are documenting everyting, they tend to treat you a bit better. LOL! **The hospital will only bring you broth, jello, juice (SF koolaid) and usually they don't "change up" the flavors. So if you NEED variety. Buy SF koolaid, jello and popsicles before your surgery and have your support bring them to you in the hospital or find out early if you can just bring it on your surgery date. I did and it was GREAT! **Bring a pillow from home (for comfort) and something small (pillow, squishy, stuff animal) to hold against your surgical site for coughing, sneezing, and stuff. **Bring a robe. If you do not have one request one from the staff or request a second patient gown and turn it backward to use as a robe. You don't want you butt hanging out on your mandatory walks! **After surgery (during your walks) if you have trouble standing upright ask for a cane or something so that you DO NOT rely on your IV stand (hello... it is on wheels, it will move if you start to fall!) Personally before I began every walk I used the hand guards on the wall, stood my back against it and SLOWLY stretched my back/abs out so that I could stand upright. Then I walked. Oh, stretch your legs alot, you might get leg craps since your are on your back most often, circulation is poor and your diet is restricted you will have trouble getting in your calcium, magnesium and potassium in. If those levels drop or get unbalanced, it results in leg cramps. If the cramps do not go away, have your levels checked.... somtimes the IV's they use in the hospital will artificially change your levels. **If you start your "monthly" before surgey, make sure to bring PLENTY of undies nad pads, the hospital ones SUCK! And since you will be on blood thinners, you really need a lot of pads! LOL! OK, I think that is all I have for now! Hehehe.... Brightest Blessings for a Wonderful Day~ Jamie M. Weight- 257/239/146 BMI- 44.1/41.0/25 Height- 5' 4" Surgery Date: 1/19/05 No matter what size, we are all Goddesses inside!

Hi Susie. Good Luck with your new life change. I am 6 days post op and have had nothing but good reports. I was able to have ice chips in the recovery room and I was sitting having "lunch" 3 hours after waking up. My incision and holes are covered in clear plastic and have not caused me any pain at all. I was feverish the next day but went home in a blizzard. Don't bring a long sleeved PJ top because of the IV. Walk ASAP. And have all your post op foods in house before you go. I also started a video diary before my surgery to document my adventure. Good Luck to you. Theresa