6/11/05 - 5 days post-op

I was always intending to add this update the day I got home from the hospital however, I actually been quite busy! Any way, I had the operationion on Monday, 6/6 and I'm going to tell you like it is! I was admitted into St. Lukes (Phoenix) and the nurses seemed so disorganized and short staffed. I was pre-admitted but no-one every called me to collect the co-pays so I had to go to admitting anyway. I was to check in at 5:30 am and believe it or not, there were 5 others also waiting. There was one admitting 'lady' who ran things on her own time and didn't seem to care at all that any of us were anxiously trying to get through this step as quickly as possible - I guess I'm impatient. I finally got up to the waiting room at 6:15 and my surgery was scheduled for 7:30. I finally called someone on the courtesy phone at 6:45 to let them know I was waiting for them; they came and got me right away. Once I got into my gown, things moved rather swiftly. I was calm as a cucumber and they were frantic- there's a switch! I knew the drill and was ready to go. Before you know, it I was waking up in recovery. I felt pretty good but it was so hard to get my eyes open. I had no issues and they seemed to wheel me up to my room fairly soon. I had a nice room at the end of the sixth floor - 609B and was next to the window, which was nice. There was no one else in the room but me at that time so I was quite content. It's just before 11:00 am and I was fast asleep until the CNA, Gracie came in to wake me around 2-ish. Here's where it gets good. Gracie shouts at me to wake up and that it's time to get up and walk. Believe it or not, this was not difficult for me to do! I was shocked. I litterally got myself to a sitting position and with Gracie swinging my legs to the floor, I stood right up. I was shocked and so was she! We took one lap around the floor and I was able to stand all the way up and move fairly swiftly. They were all amazed at how effortless this was for me. For the first day, they gave me the control for the morphine drip and all I had to do was push the button. Well, I really didn't use much of it and found that when I was tired, I'd push the button and within fifteen minutes, I was out for about three hours. The overnight nurses were aweful and I had push the nurses button several times if I wanted to get up and walk. I felt so good and I knew the key to a quick recovery was to move a lot, so I did as much as I could. The problem was that I was conntected to oxygen, saline/morphine drip and boots on my feet to prevent blood clots. I go so stiff just lying there. I'd call the nurse and no one would show up. Even after calling the nurse again, an hour and a half would go by. And when they did show up they told me I'd have to wait for an aide to get me up! I didn't need an aide, I just needed to get unhooked and re-hooked; so they did. I was up most the night because it was so noisy. I got a roommate a few hours after I was settled in and she was something else. Twice my age and quite the complainer. Because we were both hooked up the the oxygen monitors, if you weren't breathing correctly, the machine would start beeping really loudly, to alert you. Needless to say, everytime she nodded off, her mouth would fall open, the snoring and gagging would begin and the machine was singing all night long. How annoying. By the second day, I was sitting up and watching tv and ready to walk as much as possible. There was a lot of activity going on and I wanted to see what it was all about! I was pretty much removed from the drips and oxygen by mid morning because I was doing so well. They would come by and check my vitals every few hours and I was right on target every time. I was developing a reputation! This was not as difficult as I had anticipated. I had had my gall bladder out in October '04 and this wasn't nearly as bad as that was. By all accounts, the was way ahead of the program and that's what I had prepped for. I can't urge you enough to use the spirometer and also to do plenty of arm strengthing excercises before you do this because you'll need to rely on pushing yourself up everytime you want to move. Breathe, breathe and just when you think you've breathed enough, do one more set. This made a HUGE difference in my recovery. By the third day, I was had no expectations of what was to come...another upper GI (ugh). This was the worst part of the whole experience, to date. I still can't lie flat on my back but they wanted me to do just that. The young girl seemed to not know what she was doing and that made me angry and I told her so. She expected me to take a huge step up to this high up table, turn around a lye right down on my back without any assistance? I told her to go get someone with experience. She did and you know what, the table rotated vertically. DUHHHH! So you know what was next....yep, more barium. But this was nothing like the first time I did this in pre-op labs. This was the most foul tasting, nasty smelling stuff around and I had all I could do not to lose it. Needless to say everything turned out for the best and I had no leaks. The PA and the doc's other assistant said that I would be released by noon! Dr. Fang was the last to come in and he wanted to err on the side of caution and wanted me to have my first 'liquid meal' first to see how I'd react. This was composed of and ounce on cream of wheat and an ounce of apricot nectar. It was delicious!! Up to that point, I had only 1/4 ounce of jello and 14/ ounce of grape juice at each meal. Didn't matter because I was never hungary, nor am I now. I'm eating for the nutritional value alone - never thought I'd say that before! Getting home was a bit rough on the belly - 45 minute drive for me. We went straight to the pharmacy and came across more uncaring medical people. They could obviously see that I was in bad shape, arms covered with bruises (blew out my IV line and they made 6 attempts to get it back in) and I was at that point, despartely needing some pain medication. I actally became extremely flushed and my mother had never seen me like that before. She was worried. After that, we went straight home and took some percocet and I was out of most the night. Since being home, it's taken a bit of adjustment. The sample menu the doctor's office provided keeps me busy all day long. Every half hour I'm either drinking something, eating something or preparing something. Truthfully, I'm finding it quite difficult to eat and drink everything I'm supposed to. It's getting better each day though. I rarely take any pain medicine, exept for bed time and the time just seems to go by. I don't feel like I've lost any weight and my belly is still swollen and tight. I'm finding that the steri-strips are causing a reaction with my skin and I've got bumps everwhere and man-o-man do they itch! Since it's Saturday, I can't call the doc's office to see why this is. For now, I'll put Benedril ointment on my belly. Let's see what else I can tell you that most people won't...oh yes, the gas and diareah. My belly's been churning for days and it's constipation/cramping has been the only source of pain for me. I swear, i can be in the bathroom for 15 minutes and all that comes out is a little juicy stuff and few farts but, then I feel better til the next occurrance. I found a trick though (discovered this in the hospital when I had my first BM) Blow your nose, long and slow. When you're out of breath, bear down and lightly push. I guess this is what having a baby would feel like. I know can feel the difference between what's gas and what's not, but I still don't take any changes!! For the first time this morning, I actually pooped. Gross I know, but this is the reality no one tells you. It was real soft like babies poop but I was darn proud! The just reaffirms that everything is working properly on the inside. If you think about it, if all you're putting in is liquid and creamed soups, what do think is going to come out? See. I'm not even a full week out and I'm ready to move on but I've got two more weeks of the full liquid diets. Time to get creative! TIP: I bought a Magic Bullet at Target ($60) and this little thing is just perfect for this new lifestyle. I highly recommend getting one for anyone about to have this procedure done. It's so easy to use and clean up afterwards and takes no time to make just about whatever you want. Now that I got the food part down, I need to concentrate on the excercise. I have a gym quality treadmill and I've used it a few times at 15 min intervals each. I was sweating just a bit and needed to sit and relax afterwards. I was walking at 1.2 mph and had it set to the #2 incline so my shins wouldn't hurt. I could do a mile in 30 min's before the surgery, so I have a long ways to go. I won't get on any scale until the follow-up appt. on 6/21. Everything I've read says you should only weight yourself once a month or every two if you can. I'll let me clothes the measure I use. If anyone wants to ask personal questions or wants to know more details, please email me. I'm happy to share my knowledge and me personal experiences with anyone. I plan on pdf'ing the helpful documents I have about meals and such, once I return to work (6/27 - tentatively). I'll be back in a few days or so. Take good care.... Julie

hI Julie! Thanks for giving us the up and down side of this procedure. I'm still going to do it since I know I can get through all this but... It's making me think a little. Hugs! Sheryl

Hi, Julie! I'm glad you are doing so well after your surgery! Sorry for how the night nurses treated you, though. Isn't it interesting how differently the staff of the hospital can be? Depending on what area you are in? It sounds like you are doing all the right things, and are recovering rapidly. I know you have prepared and prepared before the procedure so it wouldn't be so difficult afterwards--that was the right thing to do for sure! I am still looking into this option as well, as a possible solution for me, but I'm not sure. When we talked before, you told me that this is a last solution and all other options should be explored first, including talking to a psychologist. I don't feel that I have explored every other possibility yet, and that my dr. was kind of jumping ahead when mentioning this surgery. Since we have talked, I have been to a new dr. and he is suspecting that something is wrong with my adrenal glands, given my history of chronic bronchitis and pneumonia. He's running some tests to find out, and then we are going to take it from there. He had said that because I haven't always had a weight problem (this only happened the last 6-7 years) that we need to find out if there are any underlying medical issues as to why I cannot lose the weight. He did say, however, that down the road this surgery might be an option. I feel better knowing that I have a dr. that wants to look at every possibility first, rather than just suggesting the surgery for the weight loss. And from what you've told me, and from the other posts I've read on this site, it is not just a weight loss solution, but a lifestyle change. It can be a good one if you are emotionally prepared to accept and live with all the changes. I certainly feel that I would have alot of work to do first before I even consider it as an option--I am not emotionally ready to make those kinds of changes and be committed completely. Anyway, I want to wish you all the best and please let me know how you are doing. Take Care! April

Forgive me for being blunt, April. I don't know the particulars of your case, but if you're a hundred pounds overweight, you barely have a snowball's chance in hell of losing that weight and keeping it off without this surgery. It doesn't matter what the root causes of the weight gain were. It would certainly be good to find out, but will have no bearing on whether you can lose the weight you've already got on and keep it off. If the second doctor is leading you to believe that, he's leading you down the garden path. According to a National Institutes of Health study done in 1993, you have a 3 percent chance of losing weight and keeping it off. The weight loss surgery has a 75 to 85% of long term success. Maybe you're not emotionally ready for the surgery, but I don't really know what kind of person wouldn't be. Don't you feel trapped in a body that has betrayed you? This surgery offers a new lease on life - literally. Jobs open up that you wouldn't have been hired for in an eternity. People that walked a wide circle around you because of their fear of obesity, smile and accept you with no sweat. You can walk, run and play, get out of a chair like it's nothing, hike, and reclaim your life completely in so many ways. I'm a year out from surgery and just can't imagine going back to the lack of quality of life that I had one measley year ago. I hope you're able to scale the emotional hurdles someday and get the weight lifted off your back too. Good luck to you whatever decision you make. - Stephanie J

Hi Julie, I am so sorry that you had to go through all of that negativity in the hospital. I am so afraid of that same thing. That is the same hospital that I will be going to when I have my surgery. I thought I heard a while back that Dr. Juarez and Dr. Fang had a very good talk with the staff about treating their patients like crap. I guess nothing penetrated. Did you complain to any of the WLS doctors? Good luck and good healing to you.

julie, first, thanks so much for being so honest about your experience...i hope to give the same kind of detailed report in about 4 weeks when i have surgery myself. secondly, at the may ABC class at St. Lukes Dr. Maxwell told us specifically that if we had ANY problems or complaints to call Kelly Hughes she is the Director for Bridges Surgical Weight Management Centre. She said this a good 5 times. her number is 602-251-8828. it is so important for people who have had bad experiences to TELL the people who can change it!! if people who have bad experiences don't tell then the poor service will continue to go on. (excuse me...now i am getting off of my little soap box) last, please keep us posted on how you are doing. good luck. brandy