Ready to go! sort of

Hey All,

Its been a while since ive posted.  Since the time I have posted, Ive been approved by my insurance, been given a surgery date of 4/24/2012, and finished consent day yesterday.  I am excited to get my life back, however i am not excited to go under the knife.  Im on day 3 of 10 of the pre op diet.  Lost about 5 lbs.  My doctor is Dr. Vivek Prachand at the University of Chicago.  Everyone there has been wonderful so far, especially Angela willis who eased my fears considerably yesterday.  A week to go and Im getting a little scared.  I know im a newbie and the vets are rolling their eyes saying get over it, and i probably will.  Can anyone tell me about what to expect at the U of C hospital, rooms, nurses, etc.  Can anyone give anyone tell me about pain recovery in the hospital period.  sorry  to ramble.

 Well I cant offer any advice on the hospital.. But I can tell you my experience was a good one.. Pain wasn't bad very manageable.. I had surgery on Wed and was released on Friday morning.. I was up walking a couple hours after surgery.. I have to say it was pretty easy for me!! Hope yours is also.. Good luck!

Thanks galla1 for the support!  Glad yours went well.  I will be going in next Tues so hope to be out Thurs.  Cross my fingers.

I also can't give you any info on the facility you will have your surgery at.  But I was also up and walking the evening after surgery.  My pain wasn't bad...but I have also had 2 c-sections and had my gallbladder removed. 

As a lot of people will tell you, EVERYONE is different.  However, the main consensus is that there will be 2 incisions that will hurt a bit more than the others.  And that is mainly because the muscle wall was stretched a bit more than the others.   The pain is manageable.  I believe I pulled an internal stitch while trying to shower the day after surgery, so it was a bit more uncomfortable.

I also really struggled with nausea post-surgical.  I was given some medication to help stop the esophageal spasms, morphine for pain and zofran for nausea....then I was a pretty happy camper (but they kept me in an extra day anyway).  My surgery was on a Monday, I was dc'ed on Thursday.

I think a big part that made my pain a little higher than others is the fact that Dr. Kemmeter had to work around a lot of scar tissue from my gallbladder removal.  I do believe that it contributed to my prolonged discomfort.  So if you've never had abdominal surgery, you may be better off.

Just try to relax, everyone goes through the two week freak.  Just make sure to keep up with your hydration (you'll need it) and just take it easy. 

I wish you all the best for a fast recovery!

Thanks AundreaSmith.  I will try to relax.  Really just worried about getting put to sleep at 450 lbs and waking up is the other concern!  I think i can handle the pain.  If I feel pain, I guess Im alive!

You need to read this
http://www.dsfacts.com/What-to-Expect-Following-Surgery.html

Thanks Valarie, I have read that a while back.  Guess Im just nervous and looking to see if there is anything new or anything I could of missed before I go in.

I don't remember much of my actual surgery day, it all seems kind of hazy. I went to the OR just after 7 am and the first thing I remember clearly is being in the CCU and asking my husband what time it was. It was 6 pm. I didn't feel great but I was not in excruciating pain by any means. I had both a morphine pump and a 2nd pump delivering pain meds to the incision. My DS was open, btw. I had more tubes and wires than I expected, with the central line, IV, heart monitor leads, 2 pain med lines, catheter, etc. I did not have an NG tube though.
They had me get up and walk once that first day, just to the curtain and back. I had a 4 day hospital stay as planned (in on Monday, home on Friday) and it all went very smoothly. The only thing unexpected was extreme nausea my 2nd day postop after the barium swallow leak test. It took half the day to finally get a medicine that helped.
IMO there is no good reason to be in a lot of pain after surgery. If you are, raise hell until you get some good meds.
I went home with a prescription for liquid Percocet but I only needed to take it for a few days afterwards.