Newbies...Please, Please Read

 Ms. Cal- I keep hearing how hard this is and I wish I had a real idea because I'm not going to know until I actually experience how hard it is.  I'm a water drinking fiend now, 9-10 glasses or more a day, how far after surgery am I going to be able to drink water normally, because I can really gulp it down now.

It will take QUITE a while to gulp...months, in my case.  And you don't WANT to gulp anyway, because your stomach will be VERY small and it will be swollen post-op and you don't want to try to get more water in than that stomach can hold.

Your goal is to get back to where you are now.

But have a plan to get tha****er in in the immediate post-op days.

Yeah, I've got EN's post on post-op hydration bookmarked, but dang it, I'm gonna miss my gulping, but I'll deal and it's not permanent.  

Wait until you take a sip of tha****er and decide that it tastes bad.  Really...the same water you've been drinking for as long as you have lived where you do...and suddenly it doesn't taste good enough to drink.  Way weird.

 I know, how absolutely weird and scary and strange.  My virgin DSer taste buds have no idea what they are in for....  Thank God for lemons, limes, cucumbers, rocks and anything else I may need in order to flavor my H2O.

Howdy,

IMHO. I understand your fear and your need to vent.  However, I think there are many of us that became dehydrated and malnourished for various reasons. What should be told to all newbies is that if you can not get mauch fluid in or you vomiting most of it up get your self to the hospital. Demand hydration and maybe a banana bag. But know that it may not be your fault it just is what happens. There are many of us that required medical hydration because we could not get our selves out of dehydration at this early stage. You just can not "make up" for not getting enough in yesterday. You can't have food (protein) in and wait thirty minutes before and after if you can't even get the fluid in or stay in. You need to ask for help. There is no shame in saying I can't do it.

Also, remember that when you get to a certain stage you can not think clearly. You need help but you may not even realize it.

This is a major surgery and we all start off with different medical issues and bodies and our reactions to things may not be the same as someone else. In fact, there are many times physicians do not know why our bodies acted the way they did. Some people need to have a j-tube or TPN to help them. Some only need one IV fluid bag. We differ.
 
So, if your friend is reading this response. Know that many of us have been there. Some because of what we did or didn't do, some for other medical reasons (some of them unknown). The point is you are where you are. Make a plan to get  better. Fight for your right to be healthy. No sense in dwelling on the past. Do what you need to now to get healthy. And know that even though she had to vent your friend sounds like a great person to help you through this. (Of course if I am wrong and she isn't, you will always have the board.)

Swinging chickens for a quick recovery.

 (Of course if I am wrong and she isn't, you will always have the board.)

FYI, you are wrong.  Rhonda is a good person and I'm blessed to have made her acquaintance through several encounters where we've met IRL.  I realize that you probably meant no harm and I'm not trying to come off as *****y as it may read.  I appreciate Rhonda's PSA not only for the benefit of her friend but for anyone who thinks this surgery is a walk in the park.  Some of us cannot hear the message enough about what we need to do to not only survive but thrive with this BIG surgery. 

I'm almost three years out and cannot imagine life without maintaining contact with this board.  It keeps me grounded and I learn so many new things. 

I want to underscore the point about HYDRATION.

Folks, if I were in a fraction of the condition I see people (early postops mostly) posting about, I would have been in the ER ages sooner. Today, nearly five years out, if I had even less that 24 hours of severe nausea/vomiting that prevented almost all fluid intake, I would pack my butt to the ER and not leave till I got hydration and nausea management. (If I could still sip a few ounces per hour, I'd wait another day.)

When people post that they've been only able to get down a few ounces in MULTIPLE DAYS, I want to bang my computer on my desk.

People, just GO TO THE ER and get a bag or two. Yeah, ER visits suck. But go sooner rather than later and you're a lot more likely to get to go home rather than be admitted. You might be preventing much worse down the road, too.

I agree 100% with Ms. Desertdoll.  

I did all that the OP recommended, and I still ended up with malnutrition.  As quiet as it's kept, I probably should have been on TPN 3 months earlier than I was.  

My "fault" was not asking/demanding help sooner.  I kept being told that time would heal the nausea/vomiting issues, and I kept waiting for them to get better.  They did slow down, but they never went away until I had TPN.

Focus on going forward, getting better.  We can always talk about woulda-shoulda-coulda and tell others not to do what we did, but every situation is totally different.  

My recommendation to everyone is to ask for help ASAP if you're having real trouble getting in fluids, vitamins and/or protein on schedule.  You can't make up for lost time with the malabsorbtion going on.  Earlier intervention gives us the best chance for recovery.

Rhonda,
You are such a sweet angel to your friend !  I pray she has read this and takes all the wonderful advice offered to her. Hopefully this is a full awakening  as to how serious it is to follow the rules.

I know a few who passed away from not being able to follow the rules. I pray she pulls up those boot straps and gets everything straightened out and fast ! Hope her surgeon is right there for her as well.