What to expect during hospital stay for DS
Okay, my surgery is scheduled for 8/24 in the morning at Centennial. I tend to be a pretty independent person and am not a whiner, but I want to know what to expect the day of surgery and the days after in the hospital for the DS. I want to know how much family help I should expect to need. Rhonda, John, or someone else who has had this done, I would appreciate your input.
Thanks,
Mary
Thanks,
Mary
Hi - I had the DS done in two steps at Baptist. So my experience will be somewhat different to yours.
In holding before surgery, if they don't offer it, you can ask the anesthesiologist or anesthetist for something for anxiety. I did! It helps with that whole waiting for it to begin feeling.
I don't know how your surgeon does it, but I just had a peripheral IV inserted in the holding area before surgery. They put in a urinary catheter when I was under anesthesia. I asked for the anti-anxiety med, so that gives a bit of amnesia about the whole thing (propofol is the best stuff - they call it "milk of amnesia") but I do remember wheeling into the operating room on the little gurney. I woke up in PACU and when I had the sleeve gastrectomy done, it was done lap, so I had six little dressings. The DS was done open, so when I woke up from that, I had one large dressing.
I had some nausea after my gastrectomy. I think part of it was related to anesthesia, and part of it related to the gastrectomy. That lasted less than 24 hours, but it was most unpleasant at the time. Not much in the way of pain that I recall. I know my husband told some friends I was in considerable pain, but I thought that was over-emphasizing. My surgeon orders a PCA of very good pain medication and I was comfortable the entire time.
I did have the foley urinary catether after both surgeries. I also had a drain after both surgeries. I had trouble getting around after the gastrectomy because every time I tried to stand up or even talk, I'd be so nauseated that I'd have to stop. So they left the urinary catheter another day after that. After the DS, no nausea to speak of (I did ask the anesthesiologist to give me the ****tail of anti-nausea drugs when we were talking before surgery).
Getting up seems like a big deal the day of surgery, but it's the best thing in the world for your recovery. I also don't like to spend any time in bed that I don't have to - so as soon as I woke up, I'd get out of the room and walk around and spend all my waking hours in a chair or walking.
I had an ileus after the DS surgery, so that part of things didn't get to be normal for a couple of weeks. I couldn't go for 2 weeks and I didn't lose an ounce! But once the blockage cleared up and everything switched over to DS normal, then I started losing weight. I'm losing at a faster rate now than I was at first, as well. I have a friend who had the DS a couple of years ago and she told me that, as soon as I was able to eat more, and eat more fat (at first, "too much" fat is an issue) then I'd start losing faster, and man, was she right!
I didn't really need much help, either in hospital or when I got home. Which is good, because my family are useless! heh heh (only kidding a LITTLE bit). My husband is the useless one - I have two adult daughters, one of whom is away at university and the other was hugely pregnant. She delivered less than a month after my surgery. So barrin an emergency, which they would have rallied round, the daughters were pretty much unavailable and the husband didn't want to call in out of work. Things went very smoothly.
My doctor has us do two weeks of full liquids then two weeks of purees then 2 weeks of mushes before moving on to soft and then food as tolerated. That was a LONG time to me the second time around, since my stomach was already quite healed and ready to move on with life. I had some egg drop soup from a restaurant, which is probably a bit more sodium than is absolutely necessary at that time, but really went down well. I didn't do the protein shakes any more after the DS, because I assume that it made me lactose intolerant. So I had some of that clear protein that you can put in water and dilute the taste and since I've been healed up, I have been able to eat all the protein I need.
The much-discussed DS bowel issues were not bad for me. I had horrible, chronic, painful, life-long, health-threatening constipation before the surgery. Like I said earlier, I had some issues with that after surgery, but once that cleared up, then I started getting more DS-normal, which was a shocking change for me. For a few weeks, I sort of wandered around in a daze, not really knowing what sort of foods were helpful and which were bothersome. Then I started doing a REALLY specific food diary with the times I took my meds, my supplements, the times and what I ate and the "results." When things first started to settle down, it wasn't perfect, as I tended to not do much bathroom stuff during the day, but then be up most of the night, going to the bathroom. I don't really know how or why, because I haven't changed my habits, but that's cleared up, as well. Now it's very predictable and really quite controllable. I'll be 6 months out on the 9th of August.
Well, that's a tome, isn't it? I hope you do GREAT and that your surgery and recovery are as easy and successful as mine have been. Well, I hope the recovery is as easy as mine was.... I'm still not the fastest weight-loser in the world, so I'll wish you faster success than I'm having. But I'm mid-50s and was quite ill to begin with so I started this kind of with the cards stacked against me and I'm succeeding anyway! I've lost almost 70 pounds since my DS surgery.
Oh - PS - I don't know if you've been there, but there is a DS specific surgery board on OH. Lots of knowledgeable people there.
Dennie
In holding before surgery, if they don't offer it, you can ask the anesthesiologist or anesthetist for something for anxiety. I did! It helps with that whole waiting for it to begin feeling.
I don't know how your surgeon does it, but I just had a peripheral IV inserted in the holding area before surgery. They put in a urinary catheter when I was under anesthesia. I asked for the anti-anxiety med, so that gives a bit of amnesia about the whole thing (propofol is the best stuff - they call it "milk of amnesia") but I do remember wheeling into the operating room on the little gurney. I woke up in PACU and when I had the sleeve gastrectomy done, it was done lap, so I had six little dressings. The DS was done open, so when I woke up from that, I had one large dressing.
I had some nausea after my gastrectomy. I think part of it was related to anesthesia, and part of it related to the gastrectomy. That lasted less than 24 hours, but it was most unpleasant at the time. Not much in the way of pain that I recall. I know my husband told some friends I was in considerable pain, but I thought that was over-emphasizing. My surgeon orders a PCA of very good pain medication and I was comfortable the entire time.
I did have the foley urinary catether after both surgeries. I also had a drain after both surgeries. I had trouble getting around after the gastrectomy because every time I tried to stand up or even talk, I'd be so nauseated that I'd have to stop. So they left the urinary catheter another day after that. After the DS, no nausea to speak of (I did ask the anesthesiologist to give me the ****tail of anti-nausea drugs when we were talking before surgery).
Getting up seems like a big deal the day of surgery, but it's the best thing in the world for your recovery. I also don't like to spend any time in bed that I don't have to - so as soon as I woke up, I'd get out of the room and walk around and spend all my waking hours in a chair or walking.
I had an ileus after the DS surgery, so that part of things didn't get to be normal for a couple of weeks. I couldn't go for 2 weeks and I didn't lose an ounce! But once the blockage cleared up and everything switched over to DS normal, then I started losing weight. I'm losing at a faster rate now than I was at first, as well. I have a friend who had the DS a couple of years ago and she told me that, as soon as I was able to eat more, and eat more fat (at first, "too much" fat is an issue) then I'd start losing faster, and man, was she right!
I didn't really need much help, either in hospital or when I got home. Which is good, because my family are useless! heh heh (only kidding a LITTLE bit). My husband is the useless one - I have two adult daughters, one of whom is away at university and the other was hugely pregnant. She delivered less than a month after my surgery. So barrin an emergency, which they would have rallied round, the daughters were pretty much unavailable and the husband didn't want to call in out of work. Things went very smoothly.
My doctor has us do two weeks of full liquids then two weeks of purees then 2 weeks of mushes before moving on to soft and then food as tolerated. That was a LONG time to me the second time around, since my stomach was already quite healed and ready to move on with life. I had some egg drop soup from a restaurant, which is probably a bit more sodium than is absolutely necessary at that time, but really went down well. I didn't do the protein shakes any more after the DS, because I assume that it made me lactose intolerant. So I had some of that clear protein that you can put in water and dilute the taste and since I've been healed up, I have been able to eat all the protein I need.
The much-discussed DS bowel issues were not bad for me. I had horrible, chronic, painful, life-long, health-threatening constipation before the surgery. Like I said earlier, I had some issues with that after surgery, but once that cleared up, then I started getting more DS-normal, which was a shocking change for me. For a few weeks, I sort of wandered around in a daze, not really knowing what sort of foods were helpful and which were bothersome. Then I started doing a REALLY specific food diary with the times I took my meds, my supplements, the times and what I ate and the "results." When things first started to settle down, it wasn't perfect, as I tended to not do much bathroom stuff during the day, but then be up most of the night, going to the bathroom. I don't really know how or why, because I haven't changed my habits, but that's cleared up, as well. Now it's very predictable and really quite controllable. I'll be 6 months out on the 9th of August.
Well, that's a tome, isn't it? I hope you do GREAT and that your surgery and recovery are as easy and successful as mine have been. Well, I hope the recovery is as easy as mine was.... I'm still not the fastest weight-loser in the world, so I'll wish you faster success than I'm having. But I'm mid-50s and was quite ill to begin with so I started this kind of with the cards stacked against me and I'm succeeding anyway! I've lost almost 70 pounds since my DS surgery.
Oh - PS - I don't know if you've been there, but there is a DS specific surgery board on OH. Lots of knowledgeable people there.
Dennie
"It's so beautifully arranged on the plate - you know someone's fingers have been all over it. ~Julia Child"
k9ophile
on 7/30/09 2:27 am, edited 7/30/09 2:30 am
on 7/30/09 2:27 am, edited 7/30/09 2:30 am
I'm barely 9 months out and sorry to say I don't remember much about those days. I swear some of the weight I've lost must be in brain cells. I think I slept a lot. I'm sorry that I can't be of more help to you.
DH was there and helped steady me when I got out of bed and walked with me. You'll be hooked up to an IV pole so that is somewhat cumbersome, yet manageable. Until they pull out your urinary catheter, you'll be pretty much bed bound. You really won't need the bathroom until after that anyway.
I can assure you that Dr. Houston will take good care of you. He really cares about his patients and he is a very skilled surgeon. That much I do know.
DH was there and helped steady me when I got out of bed and walked with me. You'll be hooked up to an IV pole so that is somewhat cumbersome, yet manageable. Until they pull out your urinary catheter, you'll be pretty much bed bound. You really won't need the bathroom until after that anyway.
I can assure you that Dr. Houston will take good care of you. He really cares about his patients and he is a very skilled surgeon. That much I do know.
"Our ultimate freedom is the right and power to decide how anybody or anything outside ourselves will affect us." Stephen Covey
Don't litter! Spay or neuter your pet
Hey Mary -
I remember going into the hospital early and when they finally brought me back I was scared to death. I was lying in the rollling bed and people were poking and proding me. I saw Dr. Houston walk in and he came over and talked to me. I know they gave me some happy juice because I was feeling pretty loopy. I remember going into the room and moving over to the table in the surgery room and then the next thing I know a nurse was saying ' John , Breathe' and I was trying to stay awake and breath in and out. I did not relize I was in surgery for 5 hours. They wheeled me to my room (which was decorated thanks for my friends and family - I had surgery on Fat Tuesday - how fitting. So they had beads and balloons everywhere).
My Mom and Aunt stayed with me until about 10 PM that first night and then they left to go back to the hotel. My nurse got me up to walk once in the middle of the night. The next day my mom and aunt ran some errand so they did not come in until around 10:30 or so. But I had a couple friends come in at 9:30 and we got up and walked. I was pretty much out of it on the 2nd day. I was happy because Dr. Houston allowed me to have water and ice chips. My Mom and Aunt stayed until around 8 or so and then left for the night.
On day 3, my mom and aunt came in around 9 and then left around 2 and back around 5 and then left around 8. I was up and about a lot this day. I took a shower and really did not need much help.
On day 4 (the final day) when my day nurse came in to check on me I was up in my chair watching the today show. I was walking and pacing the halls waiting for Dr. Houston to release me. I wanted out. LOL .
I see people who post right after surgery and all that jazz. I was lucky to keep my eyes open that first day. I don't even remember talking to my sister and telling her I was now a size 2 and if she was jealous. I know I must have been out of it, since men don't wear size 2's and I weighted 435 pounds. I have never heard of someone who was 435 pounds and in a size 2, maybe a 2 times 20 but not just a 2.
When I was released I went back to my mom's hotel where i walked the hotel and was forced to sip on Isopure. My mom was determined to get me to drink at least one 32 ounce bottle of it. I was crying because it tasted like dish water (or at least what i think dishwater would taste like). My mom told me, Look you wanted this, you have this. Drink this **** and stop crying. So i did.
My Mom and Aunt left on my 2nd day post op, but not before we went for a stroll through KMART. I walked with a shopping cart so I would have something to hold on to. I went home and had a friend stay with me my 2nd night home. I would have to be reminded to walk and sip.
On my 3rd day post op my friend left because he had to be at work the next day so i was alone and I did everything I needed to do. Took care of my dogs, let them out, walked like I needed to and even sipped my water. I think I walked around Walmart this day too.
Every day got easier and easier. I saw Dr. Houston at 8 days and he released me to drive and I was back to work part time on Day 9.
I remember going into the hospital early and when they finally brought me back I was scared to death. I was lying in the rollling bed and people were poking and proding me. I saw Dr. Houston walk in and he came over and talked to me. I know they gave me some happy juice because I was feeling pretty loopy. I remember going into the room and moving over to the table in the surgery room and then the next thing I know a nurse was saying ' John , Breathe' and I was trying to stay awake and breath in and out. I did not relize I was in surgery for 5 hours. They wheeled me to my room (which was decorated thanks for my friends and family - I had surgery on Fat Tuesday - how fitting. So they had beads and balloons everywhere).
My Mom and Aunt stayed with me until about 10 PM that first night and then they left to go back to the hotel. My nurse got me up to walk once in the middle of the night. The next day my mom and aunt ran some errand so they did not come in until around 10:30 or so. But I had a couple friends come in at 9:30 and we got up and walked. I was pretty much out of it on the 2nd day. I was happy because Dr. Houston allowed me to have water and ice chips. My Mom and Aunt stayed until around 8 or so and then left for the night.
On day 3, my mom and aunt came in around 9 and then left around 2 and back around 5 and then left around 8. I was up and about a lot this day. I took a shower and really did not need much help.
On day 4 (the final day) when my day nurse came in to check on me I was up in my chair watching the today show. I was walking and pacing the halls waiting for Dr. Houston to release me. I wanted out. LOL .
I see people who post right after surgery and all that jazz. I was lucky to keep my eyes open that first day. I don't even remember talking to my sister and telling her I was now a size 2 and if she was jealous. I know I must have been out of it, since men don't wear size 2's and I weighted 435 pounds. I have never heard of someone who was 435 pounds and in a size 2, maybe a 2 times 20 but not just a 2.
When I was released I went back to my mom's hotel where i walked the hotel and was forced to sip on Isopure. My mom was determined to get me to drink at least one 32 ounce bottle of it. I was crying because it tasted like dish water (or at least what i think dishwater would taste like). My mom told me, Look you wanted this, you have this. Drink this **** and stop crying. So i did.
My Mom and Aunt left on my 2nd day post op, but not before we went for a stroll through KMART. I walked with a shopping cart so I would have something to hold on to. I went home and had a friend stay with me my 2nd night home. I would have to be reminded to walk and sip.
On my 3rd day post op my friend left because he had to be at work the next day so i was alone and I did everything I needed to do. Took care of my dogs, let them out, walked like I needed to and even sipped my water. I think I walked around Walmart this day too.
Every day got easier and easier. I saw Dr. Houston at 8 days and he released me to drive and I was back to work part time on Day 9.
480/435/180/230
HW/SW/CW/GW
Currently Looking into Plastics with Dr. Carden (in Mexico)
Love the story about telling your sister that you are a size 2! She must have gotten a kick out of that.
Expect to feel fairly lousy the day of surgery. I knew it would be kind of awful, and it was--probably a bit more awful than I had anticipated. It takes a few hours to get in synch with the pain meds, then that becomes much more manageable.
You will need to walk that first night, as completely ghastly as that thought seems. But it's not a cruel joke, it helps keep the dreaded pulmonary embolisms at bay--pretty important! Just take some slide-on slippers with you to the hospital. And make sure and hit that pain button just before you get up to walk. Try to get in 3 or 4 walks daily starting with day 2, it really helps.
It's nice if someone can stay with you the first night, but not necessary, IMHO. If you have to choose between having someone there right after surgery v. the first night, I'd choose right after surgery. You can feel so weak that it's easier to have someone repeat stuff for you to the nurses.
I had some minor complications with nausea and GERD immediately post-op. I only mention it so you aren't completely unprepared if it happens to you. Once I got put on Reglan, life got better, albeit more slowly than I wanted.
If you can recover on one level in your house, you may not need a lot of family help at home, since mainly what you want to do is sleep. It's good to have someone on call to run to the grocery when you find out, for example, you can't tolerate anything with lactose and your fridge is full of cottage cheese and puddings you were planning on eating! Seriously, many, many people get temporarily lactose intolerant after the DS, which means a lot of protein drinks are out for a while. Just know that could happen, and PM me if it does--I have lots of early eating suggestions for the lactose intolerant.
I'll also second Dennie's suggestion about the DS board--lots of good info. Also check out DSfacts.com. In the interest of full disclosure, there have been some disruptive people posting in the DS Forum a lot lately. Just ignore that, it will pass soon enough. Always does.
Best of luck, and please PM if you have any more questions--I'm happy to answer.
Jenn
You will need to walk that first night, as completely ghastly as that thought seems. But it's not a cruel joke, it helps keep the dreaded pulmonary embolisms at bay--pretty important! Just take some slide-on slippers with you to the hospital. And make sure and hit that pain button just before you get up to walk. Try to get in 3 or 4 walks daily starting with day 2, it really helps.
It's nice if someone can stay with you the first night, but not necessary, IMHO. If you have to choose between having someone there right after surgery v. the first night, I'd choose right after surgery. You can feel so weak that it's easier to have someone repeat stuff for you to the nurses.
I had some minor complications with nausea and GERD immediately post-op. I only mention it so you aren't completely unprepared if it happens to you. Once I got put on Reglan, life got better, albeit more slowly than I wanted.
If you can recover on one level in your house, you may not need a lot of family help at home, since mainly what you want to do is sleep. It's good to have someone on call to run to the grocery when you find out, for example, you can't tolerate anything with lactose and your fridge is full of cottage cheese and puddings you were planning on eating! Seriously, many, many people get temporarily lactose intolerant after the DS, which means a lot of protein drinks are out for a while. Just know that could happen, and PM me if it does--I have lots of early eating suggestions for the lactose intolerant.
I'll also second Dennie's suggestion about the DS board--lots of good info. Also check out DSfacts.com. In the interest of full disclosure, there have been some disruptive people posting in the DS Forum a lot lately. Just ignore that, it will pass soon enough. Always does.
Best of luck, and please PM if you have any more questions--I'm happy to answer.
Jenn
Jenn
Type 1 diabetic, 26 years
With great power (the DS!) comes great responsibility.
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