Excellent Surgery Experience!
Hi all,
Here is my surgery tale - I'll add it to my profile as well, but thought I'd share. If you're not into reading the whole thing the bottom line: It went great! I'm happy as a (banded) clam! 
I got the hospital around 5:30 a.m. yesterday, was checked in and had all of the pre-op stuff done (IV, a shot or two...) and then was off to the holding area for my 7:30 a.m. surgery. There, my surgeon stopped by and then the anesthesiologist met up with me and the next thing I knew I was in recovery! I didn't even see the O.R.! When I woke up, I got a shot of Demerol and rated my pain a 6 on a scale of 1-10. That was the highest number I gave all day! The demoral washed over me and I felt pretty good. I went up and did the barium swallow - yuck, but not as bad as I thought - and then transferred to my room by 10:30 a.m.
My doc met up with my DP, Michelle, and told her all went well - he also gave her a photo that showed my stomach before, during and after from the inside! It was really cool to see my band and know it was really in there! I ended up with the 10c band (the smaller), and he noted that while the left lobe of my liver was large, nothing was problematic for surgery. I'm grateful I stuck to the pre-op diet so well - who knows how big it would've been otherwise! The total procedure he told me today was 40 minutes from open to close.
I took 4 half-doses of liquid vicodin throughout the day for pain, which I never rated above a 4 or 5, slept until about 2:00 when I was cleared for liquids. It was hard to eat much, but had some broth and ½ a popsicle. I got up and started walking around 6:00 or so, and did several 'laps' between then and 11 p.m. I had my IV removed around 8 p.m. since my "output" (pee) was so good. I guess I looked pretty good too, since the pre-op nurse from my doc's office, as well as the nutritionist came to see me and asked if they had cancelled my surgery for some reason because I looked so good! My cheeks were pink, which I guess most people are usually yellow or green...
Overall, Day 1 exceeded my expectations - I prayed for no nausea and didn't have any other than a small spell of dizziness in the afternoon. I hate to vomit, so I was so grateful I never got sick or even felt sick! I did my breathing exercises with the spirometer followed up with a cough every hour, had the 'leg warmers' on to prevent blood clots, and otherwise had some antibiotics via IV. Oh, and though I'm not diabetic, but am insulin resistant, I did end up with insulin shots three times yesterday. I had no throat pain or dry lips, though I was prepared for both.
So far, so good! It's over with, and I'm happy about that - I am so glad I stayed overnight in the hospital, for one, just having access to drugs as needed, and help as needed without burdening my DP. Plus, I'm a little hokey here, but this was a big deal, and having some alone time to reflect a bit was nice last night.
More to come, but honestly, I'm happy, surprised and grateful for how it's gone so far. I'm sore today (Day 2), and I have 6 incisions that are mainly on the left side and achy! The gas is uncomfortable but not terribly painful, though it has it's moments. Thanks to all of my reading and research, this is no surprise, so I was mentally ready for it - I think that's ½ the battle!
More to come, but I'm doing great and am so excited to be home & banded!!
~Jenn
p.s. Blondi, thank you for the nice thoughts & post! You're wearing your tiara well!!!
I got the hospital around 5:30 a.m. yesterday, was checked in and had all of the pre-op stuff done (IV, a shot or two...) and then was off to the holding area for my 7:30 a.m. surgery. There, my surgeon stopped by and then the anesthesiologist met up with me and the next thing I knew I was in recovery! I didn't even see the O.R.! When I woke up, I got a shot of Demerol and rated my pain a 6 on a scale of 1-10. That was the highest number I gave all day! The demoral washed over me and I felt pretty good. I went up and did the barium swallow - yuck, but not as bad as I thought - and then transferred to my room by 10:30 a.m.
My doc met up with my DP, Michelle, and told her all went well - he also gave her a photo that showed my stomach before, during and after from the inside! It was really cool to see my band and know it was really in there! I ended up with the 10c band (the smaller), and he noted that while the left lobe of my liver was large, nothing was problematic for surgery. I'm grateful I stuck to the pre-op diet so well - who knows how big it would've been otherwise! The total procedure he told me today was 40 minutes from open to close.
I took 4 half-doses of liquid vicodin throughout the day for pain, which I never rated above a 4 or 5, slept until about 2:00 when I was cleared for liquids. It was hard to eat much, but had some broth and ½ a popsicle. I got up and started walking around 6:00 or so, and did several 'laps' between then and 11 p.m. I had my IV removed around 8 p.m. since my "output" (pee) was so good. I guess I looked pretty good too, since the pre-op nurse from my doc's office, as well as the nutritionist came to see me and asked if they had cancelled my surgery for some reason because I looked so good! My cheeks were pink, which I guess most people are usually yellow or green...
Overall, Day 1 exceeded my expectations - I prayed for no nausea and didn't have any other than a small spell of dizziness in the afternoon. I hate to vomit, so I was so grateful I never got sick or even felt sick! I did my breathing exercises with the spirometer followed up with a cough every hour, had the 'leg warmers' on to prevent blood clots, and otherwise had some antibiotics via IV. Oh, and though I'm not diabetic, but am insulin resistant, I did end up with insulin shots three times yesterday. I had no throat pain or dry lips, though I was prepared for both.
So far, so good! It's over with, and I'm happy about that - I am so glad I stayed overnight in the hospital, for one, just having access to drugs as needed, and help as needed without burdening my DP. Plus, I'm a little hokey here, but this was a big deal, and having some alone time to reflect a bit was nice last night.
More to come, but honestly, I'm happy, surprised and grateful for how it's gone so far. I'm sore today (Day 2), and I have 6 incisions that are mainly on the left side and achy! The gas is uncomfortable but not terribly painful, though it has it's moments. Thanks to all of my reading and research, this is no surprise, so I was mentally ready for it - I think that's ½ the battle!
More to come, but I'm doing great and am so excited to be home & banded!!
~Jenn
p.s. Blondi, thank you for the nice thoughts & post! You're wearing your tiara well!!! 
toward the rest of your life!!! I know you're feeling good now, but you remember that you need some rest. Be sure to give us updates and let us know if you need anything!
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