One Week from Today!! Really Nervous!!

Hi, My Open RNY is scheduled for next Monday, May 16. I am starting to get some real jitters. I'm not really worried about the not eating thing...more about the surgery itself and the pain. I hate pain. My wife says I am a wimp..and so I am. I just hope I am not so nervous next Monday morning that I can at least walk into the operating room without freaking out...Any helpful words or advice would be great! Thanks, Adam

Well, I'll join you - mine is May 20th - it's a good thing we don't live close to each other. We'd cancel each other out after all our hard work and waiting. We'll all be O.K. see you on the losing side. Let's all post the last week of May I'm sure we all survived!! Barb in CA

Adam, I had surgery on May 6, 2005 and I was super scared to the point that I was crying on the operating table and I started laughing because all the people that were in the operating room were like "people actually come here jumping of happiness and you are crying" so I started laughing my IV was going in, next thing I know they were waking me up surgery was over. The first day and the first day first couple of hours you feel pain in the tummy like if you did really bad sit-ups and your mouth is petty dry, you don't get nothing to drink or eat after your upper GI the day after, by then you feel better. Also you get this push button thing connected to the IV so everytime you feel pain you press and morphine is released. I got out of bed the first day after surgery, I just got a little nervous being in bed attached to so many things. Second day I was calling the nurse to get me out of bed and help me to the bathroom to clean up a bit by 6am. By the second day during the evening I barely had pain just minor discomfort, I stayed an extra day because I felt comfortable in the hospital and the day before I ate so fast the I had really bad discomfort on my chest. The surgery and the pain are the easy part, they are always helping you out...... the very difficult part and I see now that I went thru with it, is my new relationhip with food. It is really hard to have regular food around and not being able to eat it. Start preparing your fridge with sugar free stuff..... like jello, applesauce, crystal light really good. Also bring a small fan to the hospital some one recomended it before and I bought it and it was a life saver, my roomate was an ederly woman that had the room real hot, they would fix it (nurses) and everytime I turned around her family members would raise it. Good luck and ask any questions! Karen

You will be fine. I don't know how long you have been in the process for this, but I imagine you have done your homework. My surgery is in 10 days and I started my liquid diet today. I felt much more solemn about the whole thing this weekend. I think that now it just seems more concrete rather than an abstract notion. I wouldn't say I was nervous, just different (if that makes sense). Anyway .... hang tight. Be confident that you are doing what's right for you. Take care. J