DS - Your first surgery?
I'm just curious how many of you underwent the DS as your first surgery. The DS will be my first surgery after I get my ducks in a row. I'm most curious what it's like after you wake up. I know pain is incredibly subjective but is there anything someone who's never had surgery can compare it to? Anything you didn't expect to feel afterwards? I've read about getting a back scratcher and that seems like a great idea! There's nothing worse than an itch you can't scratch!
So anyhow - what were your experiences?
So anyhow - what were your experiences?
I was super out of it and my feet hurt worse than my stomach. They had me tipped up the whole time of surgery. It felt like someone broke my feet and then they wanted me to walk on them. I felt like I'd been hit in the gut really hard too. It was worse than my 2 c-sections.
I never had any itchiness so I wouldn't have needed a back scratcher. I just wanted to sleep and be left alone. I didn't sleep in the bed. Being that reclined hurt to badly so I slept in the recliner in the hospital propped up with lots of pillows. The pain after meds kicked in was probably about a 3 on the scale of 1-10. My feet, were always at a 8 to 10. They were and still are paralyzed in some parts and still hurt, but not as bad.
This was my first weight loss surgery.
I never had any itchiness so I wouldn't have needed a back scratcher. I just wanted to sleep and be left alone. I didn't sleep in the bed. Being that reclined hurt to badly so I slept in the recliner in the hospital propped up with lots of pillows. The pain after meds kicked in was probably about a 3 on the scale of 1-10. My feet, were always at a 8 to 10. They were and still are paralyzed in some parts and still hurt, but not as bad.
This was my first weight loss surgery.
Take a look at the link in my sig, where people give LOADS of details about surgery.
My personal surgery experience with the DS is in my profile in December 2006.
I think the weirdest thing is how a chunk of time is just GONE due to the anesthesia. How much is gone depends on how you metabolize the anesthesia. I remember being moved from OR to PACU and some about the PACU, but many people remember nothing from before the entrance to the OR until they are in their rooms. It's very individual.
My personal surgery experience with the DS is in my profile in December 2006.
I think the weirdest thing is how a chunk of time is just GONE due to the anesthesia. How much is gone depends on how you metabolize the anesthesia. I remember being moved from OR to PACU and some about the PACU, but many people remember nothing from before the entrance to the OR until they are in their rooms. It's very individual.
Elizabeth, Great link! I'm hopeful that the "milk of amnesia" will do it's job in the OR and I won't remember much of anything. I suppose the questions causing most of my anxiety about the surgery is 1. How bad is the pain going to be? (again, very subjective), 2. How will I come out of anesthesia?, and 3. How fast will I bounce back? (since I'm travelling for surgery and need to think about timing time off from work)
I've had a couple of procedures performed with local anesthesia only and have had minimal pain meds after. What worries me is that when I have taken pain meds before they make me feel "drunk" for lack of a better word, but really do little to nothing for any pain I was having.
I've had a couple of procedures performed with local anesthesia only and have had minimal pain meds after. What worries me is that when I have taken pain meds before they make me feel "drunk" for lack of a better word, but really do little to nothing for any pain I was having.
The pain thing really IS subjective. Talk to anesthesia people a LOT about the pain meds you've used before. If at all possible, give them names, doses and EXACTLY what did and did not happen.
I say of Demerol, for example, that it renders me unable to communicate and that I appear to be knocked out/blissed out, but under those closed eyes I am fully conscious and aware, and it does zilch for the pain. I don't know the details about WHY that is such an outstanding explanation for docs, especially anesthesia people, but they understand it and never give me any guff when I tell them that morphine, Fentanyl and Dilaudid are what work for me.
The best thing you can do, IMO, is make time (and insist that time be made on their end for you--maybe schedule an extra appointment with the anesthesia practice) to talk in detail with the people until you are satisfied.
Back in the 1980's in Germany, when I had my tonsils out, I had a scary experience as I went into the anesthesia. It lasted, oh, two or three seconds, and I was completely safe and unharmed, but I took an anesthesia phobia away from the experience.
Fast forward a decade. I was now in NJ, getting my sinuses rotorootered, and I was SCARED ****LESS of anesthesia, as in crying in the PATS. Anesthesia person took one look at me, closed the door, sat down and said, "We are not leaving until you are no longer scared." He got every. single. last. detail of my experience from beginning to end, and then he told me how what they would do was quite different. He also offered to knock me out before I even got to the PACU :-).
I am a control freak, in that I want to be in control of my faculties when I am afraid. I believe I can think my way out of anything LOL. So I refused all preop meds. It was indeed a completely different experience, and my phobia was gone.
As far as the bouncing back goes: Way too many people wayyyyyyy underestimate the time they'll need to heal and recover, especially when they've never had surgery before. They read what we say about feeling/doing better, moving around, doing more, and do not understand what we're comparing "better" TO.
It is far better to expect to be flattened for longer and to be pleasantly surprised. Give yourself all the "fudge time" you can possibly build in to your time off. It's a LOT better to go back to work early than to feel forced to go back or to have to try to get more time off.
On the "never had surgery" thread, many people describe their anesthesia experience. If you have no heart or lung issues and your sleep apnea (if you have it) is managed preop with CPAP, you are very likely to come out of anesthesia just fine as frog's hair.
I say of Demerol, for example, that it renders me unable to communicate and that I appear to be knocked out/blissed out, but under those closed eyes I am fully conscious and aware, and it does zilch for the pain. I don't know the details about WHY that is such an outstanding explanation for docs, especially anesthesia people, but they understand it and never give me any guff when I tell them that morphine, Fentanyl and Dilaudid are what work for me.
The best thing you can do, IMO, is make time (and insist that time be made on their end for you--maybe schedule an extra appointment with the anesthesia practice) to talk in detail with the people until you are satisfied.
Back in the 1980's in Germany, when I had my tonsils out, I had a scary experience as I went into the anesthesia. It lasted, oh, two or three seconds, and I was completely safe and unharmed, but I took an anesthesia phobia away from the experience.
Fast forward a decade. I was now in NJ, getting my sinuses rotorootered, and I was SCARED ****LESS of anesthesia, as in crying in the PATS. Anesthesia person took one look at me, closed the door, sat down and said, "We are not leaving until you are no longer scared." He got every. single. last. detail of my experience from beginning to end, and then he told me how what they would do was quite different. He also offered to knock me out before I even got to the PACU :-).
I am a control freak, in that I want to be in control of my faculties when I am afraid. I believe I can think my way out of anything LOL. So I refused all preop meds. It was indeed a completely different experience, and my phobia was gone.
As far as the bouncing back goes: Way too many people wayyyyyyy underestimate the time they'll need to heal and recover, especially when they've never had surgery before. They read what we say about feeling/doing better, moving around, doing more, and do not understand what we're comparing "better" TO.
It is far better to expect to be flattened for longer and to be pleasantly surprised. Give yourself all the "fudge time" you can possibly build in to your time off. It's a LOT better to go back to work early than to feel forced to go back or to have to try to get more time off.
On the "never had surgery" thread, many people describe their anesthesia experience. If you have no heart or lung issues and your sleep apnea (if you have it) is managed preop with CPAP, you are very likely to come out of anesthesia just fine as frog's hair.
NoMore B.
on 10/14/11 11:23 pm
on 10/14/11 11:23 pm
I've had about half a dozen surgeries. Dont expect to be pain free, but dont expect to be lying there in seething horrible pain, either.
When you wake up from surgery you'll be disoriented. You'll likely hear things, like nurses talking and monitors, before you fully open your eyes and comprehend where you are. You'll ikely be very cold, too - but they should have warm blankets on you. You will have pain meds in your IV, so your pain should be controlled, but you will not be pain free. If you are in a lot of pain, start speaking up so they can increase your meds. I would best say that the level of pain will be something that is uncomfortable, but you should be able to carry on a conversation (once coherent), talk, things like that. You should not have a level of pain that will cause you to cry, scream, etc. Hope that makes sense, it's the best way I can describe it to someone who hasnt had surgery before.
When you wake up from surgery you'll be disoriented. You'll likely hear things, like nurses talking and monitors, before you fully open your eyes and comprehend where you are. You'll ikely be very cold, too - but they should have warm blankets on you. You will have pain meds in your IV, so your pain should be controlled, but you will not be pain free. If you are in a lot of pain, start speaking up so they can increase your meds. I would best say that the level of pain will be something that is uncomfortable, but you should be able to carry on a conversation (once coherent), talk, things like that. You should not have a level of pain that will cause you to cry, scream, etc. Hope that makes sense, it's the best way I can describe it to someone who hasnt had surgery before.
I think the weirdest thing for me that I didn't expect was that time seemed to go by so slow that 1st night. My surgery was later in the day, started around 2. I remember getting into the operating room, but then nothing until they moved me to my room at 8pm. I don't remember anything about being in the recovery room. That night I kept falling asleep & waking back up every 10-15 minutes. But it would feel like I had slept for the whole night. Felt like that night was never going to end. This was my first time under general anesthesia, I had a spinal for my C-section.
Oh, and I thought my C-section was much worse than this was. I had my DS Lap, my C-section was an emergency, not sure if that's why that one was so much harder to recover from. They controlled my pain very well. The 1st day, I had a pain pump to press every 10 minutes. The next day they switched me to liquid lortab. That stuff tastes awful, but it does the job.
5'5" -- HW 275/SW 246/GW 130/CW 157
Switch_Me-
DS was my first WLS. It was my first choice and I had to fight "bait and switch" like hell!
I didn't wake up in a lot of pain, and I had one of those self-administering pump things, so when I felt a twinge, KaPOWW. It's always better to try to stay ahead of any pain than tough it out. The worst part of it was when the nurses came to get me up for my every two hour walk! That's when it really hurt. And I mean they came to get me up two hours after I got back into my room, and were there like clockwork!
If you're taking your own sleepwear...get gowns instead of PJ's, or just use the hospital gowns. You don't want to have to bend over to pull anything up. Same goes for guys...long T shirts or hospital gowns. It might be a good idea to take one of those reach extenders, too in case you drop something and need to pick it up. Home medical supply stores usually have a good selection, and if your doc prescribes it, insurance may pick it up.
DS was my first WLS. It was my first choice and I had to fight "bait and switch" like hell!
I didn't wake up in a lot of pain, and I had one of those self-administering pump things, so when I felt a twinge, KaPOWW. It's always better to try to stay ahead of any pain than tough it out. The worst part of it was when the nurses came to get me up for my every two hour walk! That's when it really hurt. And I mean they came to get me up two hours after I got back into my room, and were there like clockwork!
If you're taking your own sleepwear...get gowns instead of PJ's, or just use the hospital gowns. You don't want to have to bend over to pull anything up. Same goes for guys...long T shirts or hospital gowns. It might be a good idea to take one of those reach extenders, too in case you drop something and need to pick it up. Home medical supply stores usually have a good selection, and if your doc prescribes it, insurance may pick it up.
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