Blow by blow of my VSG surgery (day 6 post op)

I can vaguely remember them putting me off to sleep in the operating room, but I can clearly remember the words "Michelle, open your eyes for me.  You are finished and everything went great".  I was in the recovery room longer than I wanted to be because the pain was so bad after the surgery that I could not surpass the 30 min pain med timeframe (they will move you faster to your unit room if you can last longer than 30 mins). I have never stayed in a recovery room longer than an hour and I have had 2 C-sections and an abdominoplastsy, but this time was different.  Finally, I really wanted to get out of there so the nurse and I made it happen and I managed to surpass 30 mins.

I got up to the unit room and I immediately got pain meds every 4 hours, the only problem was that my pain meds wore h off after 3 hours and the last hour was hell. I had no choice but to breathe and make it to the 4 hour mark.  The one thing I noticed was that I gagged a lot after surgery, I kind of felt hungry but wasn't sure exactly what I was feeling, I just knew I gagged a lot the first day. You were not allowed any water or ice chips, so dry mouth was a major issue.

On Day 2, they came in the room at 8 a.m. and took me for my swallow test.  So here I am feeling horrible and in pain and the lady doing my swallow test obviously hated her job because she had zero bedside manner, but I guess you can't win them all.  They hand you a small cup of clear liquid and have you drink it while they take pictures to make sure you do not have any leaks. The liquid tasted like pure vinegar and was horrible but it had to be done. They make you hold different positions and drink the fluid. I gagged quite a bit but didn't throw up, thank god because that would of hurt.  After a short test they gave me my positive results within 2 hours and I could finally have ice chips ad fluids.  I never really wanted anything other than ice and water, but they bring you jello and other things.

I started walking around my unit on day 2 because I knew I had to do that as soon as possible.  walking wasn't painful for me but the dizziness was a pain in the ass.  I also noticed on day 2 that I did not need the pain medication as frequently as on day 1, which was good.

On Day 3, I had pain meds at 5 a.m. but when I was released at 330 I still hadn't had anymore.  They removed my IV and took out my drain and I finally was able to shower and that felt great.  I met with a dietician to go over my next weeks of eating and steps I should take. 

It felt great to get home in my own bed and sleep because I was really sore from the hospital bed. 

So here I am on Day 6 and I haven't needed any pain meds because pain is not an issue for me. The iissue is figuring out this new stomach.

I am using beneprotein in my drinks and soups and that helps, but I am really looking forward to eating food that is not pureed.

I hope this little play by play helps.  If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Good luck!

ShellaB, thank you for sharing your experience. It's a real in sight for my future. Can you please tell me what it took for you  to get to the surgery? Time frame? 

It took a full year for my suirgery.  I got on the surgery list last June and I had the surgery this June.  It was a lot of work to get to this point but it is really worth it. I had to do my intake classes, see dieticians every couple months, see psychologists and do info sessions. I did whatever they asked of me and it paid off.

Keep workin' at it.

Wish you all the best with your new stomach. You can do it!!