SURG DATE!!!

HEY EVERYONE-

IM KIND OF NEW TO THIS WEBSITE, I HAVE BEEN AROUND AND POSTED A COUPLE TIMES BUT THAT WAS ALL BEFORE I ACTUALLY HAD A SURGERY DATE. I HAVE SURGERY 9/8/09 AND I AM SOOOOO EXCITED . I WAS JUST WONDERING WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT IN THE HOSPITAL (THIS IS MY FIRST SURG EVER AND IM KIND OF NERVOUS )?  AND WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT FOR WHEN I COME HOME FOR THE HOSPITAL? LIKE WHAT AM I GOING TO BE LIMITED TO DO? ALSO I GO ON MY LIQUID DIET ON 9/3/09 HOW DID THAT GO OVER W/ YOU GUYS?

I had a RNY, I am not sure what you are having, but the liquid diet was very hard, but I stuck to it.  I had a saltine every now and then for my blood sugar.  You want to have someone at the hospital with you as the nurses are very busy, so when you need to get up or need some ice chips there will be someone there.  I had a few complications, so the after surgery at home experience was much more difficult for me than other people.  For me, I had to stay home from work for three weeks.  I have heard of people going back the next week.  I didn't realize the way I was feeling was not normal recovery, so it was over a month before they went back in and fixed what was wrong.
Good luck!  I hope everything goes well!

YEAH MY SURGEON SAID THAT IT IS NORMAL TO BE OFF WORK 3-6 WEEKS.  I WILL HAVE PEOPLE THERE W/ ME DURING THE DAY BUT WHEN I WENT FOR MY PRE OP TESTING WE WERE GOING OVER THINGS AND I TOLD THE NURSE MY BOYFRIEND WOULD BE STAYING W/ ME AT NIGHT. SHE SAID THAT THEY DONT ALLOW THAT BECAUSE WE NEED OUR REST.  I UNDERSTAND THAT BUT LIKE I SAID BEFORE THIS IS MY FIRST SURG AND I AM NERVOUS AND DO NOT WANT TO STAY THERE ALONE.

I was allowed someone to stay overnight.  I would insist someone stay the night.  Many times the nurses don't have time to take care of you, so it is really nice to have someone there to help make you more comfortable.  The nurses don't let you rest anyway.  They wake you up every hour to check vitals, change IV bags, or give you more pain meds!  They are there when you want to rest, then when you need them they don't come.
Before you go in for surgery let the staff know you are very nervous and anxious and they will give you some medicine to calm you down.  It really helps.  It is scary, but it will be worth it! 

WELL I WISH THEY WOULD LET ME HAVE SOMEONE STAY. EVERYONE ELSE THAT I HAVE TALKED TO SAID THAT THEY ALSO LET PEOPLE STAY W/ THEM EVEN BRINGING OUT PULL OUT COUCHES FOR THEM TO SLEEP ON.  I THINK I AM JUST GOING TO TELL THEM THAT HE IS STAYING LIKE IT OR NOT. AT LEAST THE FIRST NIGHT. I THINK ILL FREAK OUT IF IM ALONE. BUT THANKS FOR YOUR HELP. SO WHAT COMPLICATIONS DID YOU HAVE?

Stick to your guns and tell them he has to stay, they will just have to deal!  I had my surgery June 22, I never felt good, about 1 month later, all of a sudden I could not eat or drink without lots of stomach pain.  I felt nauseated all the time.  I was hospitalized and the did a endosopy to look for ulcers or a stricture (where the new pouch opens into the small intestine.  They found nothing, the doctor (not my surgeon) blamed me for the pain that I was eating to fast and too much, eventhough I could not eat at all.  I was super upset.  So my surgeon wanted to take a look inside to see if anything was wrong, so I asked him what the recovery would be like and he said it would be similar to the original bypass, so I was like hell naw.  So he gave me some ulcer meds (bc sometimes ulcers are not visible), so about 4 days later I was back in dehydrated, he opened me up again and found that my intestine was esentially kinked AND wraped around my pouch.  If the scope guy would have looked past the opening of my pouch he would have seen it and not blamed me for the excruciating pain.  So, after that surgery I felt great!  I could finally eat and drink, it was great.  About a week later (a week ago) I started having these terrible stomach pains right were my pouch is, but only when I am standing, sitting up, or walking.  So I have been laying down for a week (a few of the days in the hospital running tests).  I am very frustrated.  But, I am atypical.  I have had complications in the past and apparently (according to the docs) I am just "prone" to complications.  I am in the less than 5% of patients who have these problems, so don't be scared!  You will do great, you are young and will recover quickly!  Just remember to call your doctor if you have any problems, if I would have known that what I was feeling was not normal, I could have fixed it long before:)

O WOW IT SEEMS LIKE UR WLS JOURNEY HAS BEEN HORRIBLE!! IM SO SORRY, I HOPE EVERYTHING GETS BETTER FOR YOU! YOU SOUND LIKE YOU ARE VERY POSITIVE STILL. I HOPE YOU KEEP THAT ATTITUDE.

 Welcome!  

The hospital stay is not bad, just a lot of resting, walking, sipping and getting regular shots to prevent the clotting, you'll have bp cuffs on your legs too the first night..not bad, just a little annoying.  I didn't have a liquid diet except for 24 hours before.  Not to scare you but for me, that was the most miserable part of the whole surgery experience...but it's only temporary!!  

Good luck!!

~Emily~

first off, congrats on your sugery date, thats so exciting!!! second off, any questions you have im sure your dr will go over with you. i loved my nurses at the hospital, they were true angels to me. you will be so drugged up you wont know what day it is half the time. when you come home from the hosp make sure you have someone to help you out, walking, keep walking, keep walking, seriously! the liquid diet, truthfully sucks, you will get to the point where you will be ready to kill the makers of jello if you have to see one more jello cup. but once you get to pureed/soft foods, it will get much better.
good luck on your journey, see you soon on the losers bench!

jill

(any questions feel free to pm me)

THANKS FOR ALL UR HELP GUYS! I NOTICED WHEN LOOKING AT MY PROFILE THERE WAS AN ANGEL THING...WHAT IS THIS FOR?