Tell me about your hospital stay....

My surgery was at 9 am. I was in recovery until about 2 because bp was high and had to wait for a room. I shared a room with a man (they said this might happen) but he was very quiet. Up walking by 4 pm day of surgery. A little dizzy so I got some gravol in my IV and I had no other dizzy spells. Vitals every 4 hrs for 24 hrs after surgery, then every 8 hrs thereafter.  I would walk the ward every 2-3 hrs, at least one lap and then sit in the chair for about 20 mins before going back to bed. Super helpful with the gas! Heparin shot every 8 hrs (blood thinner). No shots at home.

Leak test next morning at 9, but didnt start clear liquids until about 6pm. That was brutal. Intense thirst. Was ready to trade my morphine for a glass of water. Stayed on those clear liquids until noon next day when they started me on pureed soup. I was able to keep it down and got to go home. 2.5 days in hospital.

I slept in about 1.5 hr increments even with pain meds but that's me. Hubby was there all day, left 9 pm each night and helped me walk, get to the loo, sit, etc. Nurses took over when he left. They were great.

I admit, I had lots of anxiety for 36 hrs before surgery. Fear of the unknown, what ifs and all that, plus just the waiting on the morning of to go to the OR challenged me. It really is over before you know it and when you realize its done you feel so hopeful. Still felt like me but knew I was given a gift. Recovery is still recovery, healing, peace and patience, but its with purpose. So you walk and sip through the pain and gas, and it really does get better each day. 

Best wishes with your surgery.

Here's the post I made about my hospital trip. I think it covers all of your questions?  Sorry I can't HTML it from my phone. 

http://myvsg.livejournal.com/25287.html

Hi! I did have a private room, and yes they will wake you up to check vitals. You will more then likely have pressure cuffs on your lowers legs too, as they prevent blood clots. As soon as they brought me from recovery to my room, they had ice chips available. I was happy about that, because me mouth was horribly dry. If I remember correctly, the dinner tray had apple juice, jello and a protein shake. They gave me a tiny medicine cup that  held 1 ounce, to poor the shake into ans sip. It was the same the next day for breakfast, and lunch. I was discharged and gone by 1 PM the next day. My leak test was done during surgery, at the very end. I did not have anyone stay with me, but could have if I wanted. I laid in the bed, it can be put into an upright position if that is more comfortable. My sleeping experience was: I would sleep for 2 hours and then be up for 2 hours. I never really sleep well in hospitals though :) It felt good to walk around, so I did that as much as possible. 

Nursing staff comes in to do vitals and meds. I was usually happy to see them. usually lol

Sleeping was always rough for me but that was because I missed my husband. I was heavily sedated most of the time though so that helped lol 

I was on clear liquids the whole time in the hospital. broth, clear protein drinks, jello, decaf coffee. I was able to start full liquids once home

The first two nights I was by myself. 3rd night I was joined by an older very sick lady. 4th day I was moved to a different floor and had the room to myself until the 7th day. My roomate left on the 9th day and I was discharged the day after her. I was readmitted and that time I stayed in a room with 3 other wls women. That was actually kind of crazy. Stayed with them for 2 nights. I much prefer being by myself or with one other peson.

My husband spent the days with me and went home at night.

I usually stayed in bed. I would put the bed up into the recline position most the time though 

Hi There,

I was in Good Samaritan hospital in the new C wing which had private rooms. The staff did come in but actually it was okay. I was having some trouble with my oxygen alarm going off even though I was sleeping elevated so for one part of the night the nurse was doing her charting in my room so she could keep turning off the alarm.  Really I don't think you'll notice because you'll be out of it. I did sit in the chair in the room a few times after walks before returning to bed. It was a nice change. The room came with a convertible chair/bed but I let my family sleep at home.

My first night home sleeping in my bed was difficult because I was mostly flat on my back. It was too difficult and painful to get to my side. The second and subsequent nights I slept on a foam bed wedge that elevated me to a very comfortable position. My dad picked it up for me at a local medical supply place for around $30 which in my opinion was money well spent! I only needed that for less than a week before I was able to sleep in my usual positions.

I think you're going to be fine, just try to go with the flow!

Also, my surgery was on a Tuesday and I was done with pain meds by the following Monday. Good luck!!!

Do the nursing staff wake you up during the night for vital signs? Yes but only once a night for me.

Could you even sleep during the night? I slept worse the first night because of the pulse ox going off. I wasn't getting good oxygen at first so the alarm kept going off. It was fine after that.

do they start you on protein shakes once you pass the leak tests? No, I didn't have a leak test at all. Also, my doctor doesn't advise taking protein drinks at all. Every doc is different though.

did you have a private room, and if so, was it fairly quiet? My room was private and so nice! When the door is shut I couldn't hear a thing!

did you have a friend or family member with you at all times while you're at the hospital? My mom stayed the first night with me but she didn't get very good sleep so she just stayed during the day after that. She could have stayed the whole time

did you lay in bed or sit in a recliner most of the time? I was in both. I would try to stay out of the bed when I was awake so I walked or used the recliner so my body wouldn't always be in the same position. 

Congrats! and good luck! 

To answer your questions:

Do the nursing staff wake you up during the night for vital signs?  Yes.  I didn't get any real rest until I went home, 36 hours after I was admitted.

Could you even sleep during the night?  Not really.

do they start you on protein shakes once you pass the leak tests?  I was on clear liquids for the first few days, so I suppose my answer to this question is no.  My leak test was done while I was under in the OR. 

did you have a private room, and if so, was it fairly quiet?  Yes and yes.  All the rooms at the hospital where I had my surgery were private.  Super swanky!

did you have a friend or family member with you at all times while you're at the hospital?  No.  My husband stayed from the time they brought me back from recovery until around 9:00 that night and then he went home.  He could have stayed if he had wanted to because the room I was in had a sofa bed, but it would have been super uncomfortable for him to stay in the room with me so he just came home and then returned the next day.  I did the same when it was his turn to have surgery a few weeks later.

Do the nursing staff wake you up during the night for vital signs? Mmmh I'm sure they did but I was so wasted lol, I've had other surgeries but oh boy the anesthesia on this one really had me in sleepy land. I just remember (very vaguely) I had to pee a lot and the nurse kept turning on the sink water so that it would help me go.

Could you even sleep during the night? Yes, and this is very odd, I never can sleep if not in my house. Again, I was pretty much knocked out.

do they start you on protein shakes once you pass the leak tests? Nope, I was on "nothing" the day after surgery (since mine was done at night) and not until really late the next day I got my leak test and then they put me on all clear liquids diet. I didn't start protein shakes until a week later.

did you have a private room, and if so, was it fairly quiet? Yes, my surgery was done in Mexico (Mexicali) and I already knew the hospital and city since I have family there. I had previously been there for a family member and they private suite rooms rock. Very quite and spacious. 

did you have a friend or family member with you at all times while you're at the hospital? Both my parents. I highly recommend having company.

did you lay in bed or sit in a recliner most of the time? I was in bed or walking. I did't like to sit much in the chair.

Thanks so much for any info, just curious and hungry and trying to stay busy. You're welomed, it's natural to try to prepare yourself forwhats coming. (=

My experience comes from one overnight stay in the hospital.

Yes, woke me for vital signs.  I wasn't sleeping anyway because of the gas pain.  Finally got up and walked a few times during the night, which helped.  The pain med was giving me nausea, which required its own medicine.

Private room, but NOT quiet because there was an older man in another room on that floor who screamed every hour, on the hour. 

My husband was at home with our two kids, so I was there alone.  It was fine, though, because I had competent nursing staff caring for me, and I was busy recovering anyway. 

After the leak test I was offered broth, apple juice, and something else clearish, but not protein shakes at that point.

I was in the bed with devices on my legs to try to ward off blood clots.  See above re "not sleeping."

I will add that I was very, very happy that I took one nurse's advice and garbed myself in the hospital gowns because my incisions bled a little, which stained the gowns.  Better that than my clothing.  Also, I ended up not using the vast majority of the stuff I took with me to the hospital, so in case this hasn't come up before in your preop research, you might want to pack light.  :)

Do the nursing staff wake you up during the night for vital signs?

Yes

Could you even sleep during the night?

Not much, and when I did it was more like dozing

do they start you on protein shakes once you pass the leak tests?

My surgeon does leak tests while you are in surgery and by checking drain output, no separate "drink this concoction on an imaging camera" thing. And I got started with clear protein drinks basically as soon as I was installed in my hospital room after surgery, i.e., maybe 2 hours after my surgery was complete.

did you have a private room, and if so, was it fairly quiet?

Yes and yes -- particularly quiet because I was lucky enough to be at the far end of the hall, away from the nurses' station and the elevator and with only one "neighbor" near me.

did you have a friend or family member with you at all times while you're at the hospital?

No, in fact I had no one in the hospital with me ever -- all my family lives over 2,000 miles away and I told my friends to stay away. I wanted to focus on recovery rather than entertaining friends and making sure my hospital gown wasn't riding up too far.

did you lay in bed or sit in a recliner most of the time?

I sat up in a glider chair unless I was walking or trying to sleep at night. Lying in bed is horrible for your recovery progress and just makes it harder to get up and walk, go to the bathroom, etc. Just say no to your hospital bed! It is not your friend!