What's they don't tell you about post op...

Miss Mandy, 

I hope the gas starts passing soon for you. Everyone is different but the gas is common with any kind of surgery that they have to blow your stomach up. I know it is frustrating for you right now but the rewards will be awesome. Hugs to you. 

Man, you are dealing with a lot of frustrations that should subside with each passing day.  Just in case there's some pre-opers reading, I feel pretty lucky to say I didn't have any of the same experiences.  Surgery pain was between a 4-6 to begin with and between 2-4 on discharge day.  Walking helped a lot.  I was served sf jello, cream of wheat, broth, and a protein powder concoction while in the hospital.  Almost three years later, I still feel an immense amount of gratitude.  Life is good.  Wishing you the best.    

If you put any of those subjects in the search function you will see literally hundreds, if not thousands of posts on them.

I'm shocked they have you tied to the bed - I was up and walking on my own within hours of surgery and went home the next morning!  Being bed bound is a great risk for someone who is MO - if the nurse won't come, I'd just get up on my own!   My life is more important than nurses not being available

I didn't realize these terms wre even ones I "needed" to put into the search criteria prior to surgery. Lol.

i share my room and my IV is plugged in the wall so I would stand up and away a little whenever I couls. Most of the time I was tomato get back in bed until a nurse could monitor me

You implied that those issues were somewhat of a secret and I was just pointing out that if you cared to do a search, you would see that they are regularly discussed on here.   You can choose to learn or you can choose to remain in the dark - I was trying to help!

Another helpful tip - You can just pull the plug to the IV out of the wall - there is a back up battery on the IV pole that allows you to walk aroundl

As I said in my last post - you are the person most interested in your wellbeing - I personally wouldn't trust my life to a nurse who couldn't be bothered - I would get up and walk to help prevent the possibilty of me dying of a pulmonary embolis from a DVT before I worried about offending a nurse!

Good luck with your healing and your journey!   Peace out!

Wow  I had my R&Y 6 weeks ago and never had these issue you listed. I was a lucky one that didn't get the gas issues. I had surgery one day and didn't get to my room until almost 7 that night. I never had anything brought to me but a crystal light. No food tray at all. I was on clear liquids for a week. I was up and walking the halls that evening. I had a nurse one time with me. My sister was there. the next day I was getting up on my own. going to the bathroom and walking. I was released to go a hour and half drive home at noon that day.  My siter brought me home and I went to bed. Getting myself up and down the rest of that week and taking care of myself all day long. My husband worked and was not home until 3:30 each day!! I was fine.

As Kim said, just unplug the IV from the wall and get out in the hall and walk slowly!  Walking is the best way to get the gas to dissipate and you need to be up walking every few hours in order to help avoid a blood clot!  

Unless you are dizzy or lightheaded, or have been flagged as a "fall risk" because of some medical issue, there is no reason that you need to have a nurse with you to walk the halls. Most hospitals don't have enough nurses to have one accompany every patient who needs to be up walking.

I'm sorry you are getting such limited chouses of liquids.  Some hospitals and/or surgeons try to avoid sugar free items that have artificial sweeteners, so perhaps that is the issue.  There are no naturally sugar free juices, by the way, because all fruits have natural sugar.  The best you can do is "no sugar added" juice.

Hopefully you will be put soon and can have a much wider variety of beverages (and start on purees or soft foods).

Lora

I had surgery on Monday. I was released Tuesday at 1pm. Like someone else said my pain level was around a 4-5 most of the time in the hospital but since I've been home it's more like a 2-3. The gas pain was one thing I heard about most frequently (and to walk, walk, walk it off). I was walking about 2 hours after my surgery (because they put me in a room next to construction and realized it was a bad idea and asked me if I could walk to the next room and I did). About 6 hours before I was discharged I started unplugging my IV pole to go to the bathroom and did my last set of laps around the nurses station with my husband after unplugging the pole again myself. They didn't seem to mind. And the fluid retention... my clinic has a "Pre-op Class" where they cover just about everything. Toward the end the RN said "and please do not weigh yourself as soon as you get home. A lot of people want to see if the 'surgery worked' and you will be sorely disappointed!" So I weighed myself just to see how much I had gained... and I actually lost a pound or two at that point (2 days post op). I sure did pee a lot in the hospital.

I was also not fond of the Snack Pack gel. Ew. Had a little jell-o at home that wasn't as bad. But mostly I've just been drinking water. I start full liquids on Friday. But at the hospital they also had broth and a packet of crystal light for my water if I wanted.

I have felt immensely better each day since the surgery and I hope you do too! I even made my family dinner tonight!

Hi there, welcome to the losers bench! Just got here myself on 4/6. 

Sorry the gas pains took you by surprise.  I had read about them here, and was aware that the walking was the best way to move them along.  I have to admit that I didn't have a bad time with the gas in the hospital, and after the first two times I was up with a nurse I was ok'd for independent walking and toileting.  I did have a few complications with my surgery and my pain level was more than I expected, but everyone is different.  

This was my first major surgery and I did not have biological children.  But I had read here about the in-hospital weight gain (those life-giving IV fluids!).  Even so, It was so depressing to get weighed in the hospital and think, am I really 10 pounds heavier than yesterday despite all this?  The nurse told me not to look at the scale display but of course I did!  In my case - and I am a notoriously slow loser - I arrived home weighing 11 pounds MORE than surgery morning, but I lost those pounds plus 5 more within 3 days.  And the losses have continued. So do take heart and don't be discouraged. The fluid weight gain is typical but if you keep sipping and walking, it is gone within the first week. 

And the "food"... Um, yeah.  Everyone's plans are different but for me, for two weeks post op I could have broth, super concentrated protein shakes, and water.  That is all.  In the hospital it was only broth, period. No pops and no gross jelly either (so I can't comment on that)!  It was just easier to handle all this when i got home.  I couldn't walk far (still can't, though it gets better every day), walking outdoors, at home, beats a hospital anytime. And food choices are limited at first but eating them at home always beats a hospital.

All I can say is, have some faith. You will be happier when you're home.  The pain and the challenges do get better, just give it a chance and allow your body to heal.  Walk as much as you're able, drink your 64 oz of water, rest when you need to, and don't sweat the fluid gain.

My gas pains weren't too bad, but I felt horrible in general, like a truck ran over me.  It was my first major surgery and I didn't know what to expect.  The after-effects of the anesthesia were difficult too, the nausea. 

It was super depressing in the hospital.  I had to stay for two nights and it was difficult to get up and walk since I was attached to so many tubes.  They put compression things on my legs to pump and keep me from getting a clot.  I only walked a little the second day after surgery, and a little on the morning of the third day when I went home.   I kept thinking "I can't believe I did this to myself."  The nurse said everyone who has the surgery feels that way.  All I could drink was a small amount of liquid, and I remember freaking out that I didn't know how to eat, how to handle this "new norm." 

I can say that it gets much better after you're home and you have a few days to adjust.  The fluid weight will take care of itself (I don't remember weighing myself after surgery for at least a week).   Right now your emotions are all over the place, but in time you'll adjust and once the weight starts coming off, you'll feel it was all worth it.  I went from a size 20 to a size 8, and think this was the best thing I ever did for myself.

Good luck.  Be patient.