Home! Oh, and I finally pooped!

Surgery was Wednesday, June 19 in the late afternoon. It took about four hours because I had scar tissue from my previous "sleeve". But everything went well, except my hemoglobin was pretty low - 8.3 and I developed a fever of 101. Surgeon wanted to give me two units of blood but my IV had infiltrated and no one (7 people were sent to try, including the IV team and ER/EMS folks) could find a vein big enough. I was stuck a total of 17 times from Wednesday to Friday, between the IV sticks and the lab work every few hours. That part was awful. Anything they put in my IV, even saline, made it feel like my arm was on fire. Apparently my natural PH level is very different than everything they gave me. I just laid there and cried every time. The doc finally had them pull my IV Friday morning and just give me everything orally. For the record, oral potassium is the devil's work! It was like pouring a teaspoon of salt in my mouth and washing it down with 1/2 teaspoon of water. And it would sting my chapped lips sooooo badly. But I only had to do that twice.

My stomach and intestines finally woke up last night (Saturday). I passed gas all night, then pooped (watery, fat slick) this morning. Yay! It was like instant relief.

I also had a mild panic attach last night (first night home). I caught myself not breathing in my sleep, woke up gasping. Didn't even think about my DS and jumped out of bed. Ouch! Thank goodness my best friend was staying the night. She set me up in my big comfy chair and I eventually went back to sleep. I only have a very mild case of sleep apnea so I'm not on a CPAP or anything. My panic thoughts - I might stop breathing again, I might need my stomach back, I might need my intestines back to normal, and someone might sneak in and try to put in another IV while I sleep. I know, they are all silly but man o man the mind can sure mess with you. I'm going to check on taking my Xanax before bed.

I think that's it for now. Good luck to everyone having surgery soon. And thanks again to the vets.

Oh my goodness! Take a deep breath....welcome to the dark side!  ; )

--gina

Bug hugs! And congrats on pooping!!

Thanks! I can't wait for the next poop. Ha! But true. And I'm loving sugar free popsicles. Those and crushed ice are satisfying my need to crunch. Can't wait to try canned tuna and chicken in a couple of days too. If I can develop a great taste and habit for them, I'll be off to a good start with protein.

I hear there are cookies on the dark side.

Just keep lots of mayo on hand for the tuna and chicken, and be patient with yourself. There should be a recipe around here somewhere for dark side cookies.  ; )

 

Peanut butter cookies

1 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 tbsp vanilla
1 cup Splenda

Mix and roll into balls (about walnut sized) and flatten with fork dipped in Splenda.  Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.  

TIPS
-Do NOT overocok -- they will get crumbly since there's no gluten
-Peanut butter is naturally low sugar - the low sugar kind only reduces it by 1g per serving.
-If you're picky about artificial sweeteners, I've done a 3/1 with splenda and sugar to cut the after taste and it's good.  Presently, I do full-splenda in the cookies, and roll in regular sugar and that's good too.  I've also added semi-sweet chocolate chips to shake things up.

If there is one thing that I could I could impress upon anyone going into the hospital who has small, deep or fragile veins.......GET A PIC LINE!!!!!    Let me emphasize that:    GET A PIC LINE!!!!!!!  Let me repeat that:    GET A PIC LINE!!!!!!

 

I went to sleep for my gastric bypass surgery with an IV in a tiny vein in my thumb.  I woke up with a central line in my jugular vein, and an IV in a tiny vein on top of my foot.  Evidently the thumb IV infiltrated as soon as I went under anesthesia.  The foot IV was put in to keep an open line for IV meds, just long enough for them to put in the central line via jugular.  I knew they were going to do the jugular line, so that was no surprise to me.  The IV in the foot was a surprise, and was a testament to how small, fragile and poor my veins are.  The foot is the site of last resort for IVs.  

 

I learned that jugular central lines are painful.  For my surgeries thereafter, I have requested a PIC line right off the bat.  For scheduled surgeries, they've had me come in a day or two early, as an outpatient, to have the PIC line put in my upper arm.  For emergency surgeries, they've done the "put the IV in anywhere possible, long enough to get me anesthetised, then do a temporary IV in the jugular, and do a PIC line as soon as possible post op"  routine.

 

I hope you heal quickly after your surgery.  You sound like you are doing amazingly well.

 

Welcome. You might think about a couple of nights in that chair. I'm a side sleeper and when I first had surgery I would get pretty uncomfortable trying to lay on my side. I spent more time in a recliner than in bed so  Icould sleep more in a sitting position.

I saw the post about a pic line and I think that is a great idea to keep in mind. I've had it done twice and it didn't bother me at all. 

Glad your home. Heal fast. 

I totally agree with the PIC line! Wonderful! You fall asleep before surgery and wake up and its there. Best thing ever!

Congrats on your uncomplicated surgery!!