I am sleeved!!!!

Hi Everyone:

I just returned back from Bathurst this evening.  I was sleeved on Thursday.  So glad that I read so many of the posts here on the website so I knew what to expect.  Of course each person has their own individual experiences but overall there was really nothing that I was no prepared for.  I had no surprises. It is surgery so I am not going to candy coat it ... there is discomfort and pain but not to the extent that I expected. There were a couple of days that I felt like I was in a bad car accident because literally every muscle in my body ached but that subsided.  

I must say that Dr. Savoie and the team of nurses and staff at the Bathurst hospital were exceptional in every way.  They could not have been better. 

They told my worried husband that the surgery would take two hours and mine took much less.  I was out of recovery sooner than both of us thought. 

I am not sure if anyone else can state the same but for me I am so awed by the fact that I am  not hungry at all.  I have zero (0) appetite.  I have to literally force myself to drink fluids and consume anything.  This may be due to the gas I still have but  I have no insatiable stirring in my gut to eat like I had.  I will say that sipping has come very natural to me and I am not hating it.  Sipping makes me feel good. I still have no idea where my new saturation point is.

Any advice I can give to future patients is to move as soon as you can.  I was sick from the anestethics (I always am no matter what they do - ie Gravol etc...) but I was determined to get myself up and walk to the bathroom as soon as I could and as many times as I could.  I wanted those compression stockings off my legs as well.  I literally ended up walking the floor of the hospital night and day.  I think I wore a path in the floor. The nurses were sick of seeing me. I was so ready to go home.  I did the happy dance when I was discharged.  I was bored out of my skull.

I am petrified because I have not gone # 2 yet and have had no bowel movement in over a week. I have had some nasty rumblings and gas in my lower section which are painful and not pleasant so I have no idea what will happen.  Not sure if I will end up exploding. 

Now I just need to work this sleeve.

that is awesome. thanks for letting us know. great to hear that things went fairly smothly so far.  when i get mine done, im sure im going to have a ton of questions.

Thanks for the update..Your and everyone elses post give me hope for my time to come

Congratulations!  I am glad to see everything worked out well!  I am waiting for a surgery date.  I signed my consent last week.

Great stuff!  I hope that you have your surgery soon.  Before my surgery I attended a 4 hour pre-surgery clinic session with the Bariatric team and a group of 8 other awaiting patients. Every patient has to attend this and I was greatful I did.  It was excellent!  From what I garnered from the feedback is that not one of us had any set surgery times post signed consent.  It ranged widely from patient to patient.  One thing positive though is that they mentioned that they were in the final process of hiring another new surgeon to assist the very busy Dr. Savoie. This surgeon is actually working in Bathurst now - he actually performed a gallbladder surgery on another patient in my ward.  Another promising thing I learned in the hospital during my stay there was that the hospital was planning to construct a special bariatric section of hospital rooms where bariatric patients can recoup after surgery.  I was in a 4 bed ward with orthapaedic senior patients with hip and knee replacements and I felt really out of place.  It would have been nice to have met other bariatric patients during my stay.  As it was Dr Savoie does the sleeve surgery and a lapband on Thursdays and the other lapband patient was there one night and I never got to meet her at all because she was gone when I was up and about.  The team did tell us all that they were working as hard as they could to get patients through the system as best they can so that is good news for you. 

Congrats!! Nice to hear everything went pretty smothly!  Thanks for the update!

 Run,
I sent you a private message on here before you went in for surgery.  I was in Bathurst for a check up on Friday the 25th Nov, the day after your surgery (I think).
I took a walk up to the 3rd floor, to see the nurses.  I was in the room on the right hand side, directly across from the nurses station.... I peeked in my old bed, but it was someone way too old to have just had bariatric surgery.. 
Also, if I didn't see you walking around on the floor, I would have thought it was too invasive to just be creeping around looking for you.. lol

Here's the room I was in.. That's the only one I did kind of peek in, but it was busy in there.  A nurse was with the older lady in my former bed, and another nurse or LPN was with another patient.. busy place.  It was the room with a nurses station in it, called Continued Care Unit.  My friend took pictures of everything at my 6 week check up.. lol

Anyway, I'm super happy you are doing fabulously!  Don't worry about the bowel movement, it'll happen sometime in around week one.  Such a small amount of imput, not alarming to not have output.  Enjoy the moment.. when it begins, it isn't the most fun.. liquids in.. liquids out.

A friend of mine who had it done.. well.. her new saying is 'never trust a fart'.  As gross as that sounds, it's so true, and makes me kinda giggle whenever I hear it : )

Carly --- OMG!  How crazy is that.  You were there when I was there and I did not know it.  I was in the room down from you with all the older ladies with orthapedic issues.  I was in the 4th bed in the corner by the door.  You would have not seen me unless you popped your head in the door.  The 25th was a better day but I was not as up and about until the 26th.  I think I know who you are though. I would have totally come and spoken to you had I known it was you.  I thought that you were the other lady who had the lapband surgery the same day and was released the day after surgery. I also thought to speak but since that room was like an ICU room I did not want to be inappropriate.  I was not some crazy peeper but I walked those halls endlessly to get rid of the painful gas.  I was actually awoken yet again by this gas and heartburn.  I get up at 3:00 am each day to take the acid meds and my pain meds.  Kinda sucks but I do end up feeling better during the day.  It is the evenings that are still rough on me.   

 I'm so happy for you!  It makes me excited to know that you're recovering well.
I didn't have any issues with gas, I'm not really sure why.  Just lucky I guess! 

I peeked in a couple of rooms, but I don't know what I thought I was looking for.. lol
I forgot your first name, and have no idea what you look like... haha

I was going to ask Dr. Savoie, but I figured he wouldn't be able to say.. sneak into room xxx and you'll find yesterday's sleeve patient.. Something about patient/doctor priviledge might prevent him from doing that : )

Anyway, maybe we can schedule our follow up appointments on the same day!  My next appointment is some time in February.  Then we'll have waiting room time to visit!

You're going to do just great!  It's honestly the best decision you will have ever made for yourself.  Welcome to your new life!  Can't wait to see where we end up now