Some reflections 1 week out

Just a few thoughts/feelings about the past week:  

- Even though it's the "least invasive" of the wls, it's still surgery.  Not sure what's gas, soreness, normal, etc., but for the most part I've been feeling a bit better each day, so I'll take it.  

- I didn't realize how swollen my stomach would be from surgery.  it's  gotten much better in the last few days, but on day 3 I couldn't zip up a jacket that I could pre-op. 

- It was hurting when I would take deep breaths and which could have been normal surgery issues or signes of a pulmonary embolism, so I sent xmas eve in the ER with my family.  All was ok and I think it helped calm me down mentally too.   Except that because I was a bit dehydrated it took over 2 hours, 4 nurses, 1 doctor, a peds machine and a sonogram machine to get an IV in me.  Not fun.

- Ive been a little nervous about eating.  I've kept down a scrambled egg, some tuna, pudding, soup, all of which I'm really happy about, but I'm nervous at every bit.  RIght now I'm relying on isopure to get a lot of my protien.

As I think I mentioned, as much as I could prepare for this, its hard when the realization sets in as you're in pain/recovery from surgery.  But I'm starting to see the benefits (down about 13lbs from start of liquids and I see a difference in my face), so that is encouraging!  Also, when we opened xmas presents this morning (late, I know), and I saw the small/normal/trendy clothes that my mom bought for my future sister-in-law, I was excited that next year I'll be able to get presents like that too.  (Not that I made out too badly this year, my family has been amazing in every way.).

Anyway, just wanted to share.  Hope you're all having a good holiday week.

I'm glad you are feeling good about your decision!  Sorry for the trip to the ER....Thankfully they were able to get an IV and it made it through your CT scan!  That is a feat in itself!  I wont inject into an IV that's been placed under Ultrasound because they usually blow!  Thankfully you weren't relying on me to do your scan......LOL

Oh wow, Kylie!  You were in the ED?  At our hospital, or out near your folks' place?

Anyway, I'm glad that you got your fluids up.  I bet that makes you feel better, too.  Everyone's a little dehydrated after surgery; that's totally normal.  You probably would've figured out a way to resolve it at home on your own, but your trip to the ED just helped to accelerate the process, I guess.

I couldn't wear my pants - even sweats - for over a month after surgery.  It was tooooo uncomfortable to wear anything around my waist!  

Those nerves about eating are going to help you drop the lbs even faster!  (I'm only saying this bc you're doing well on your isopure.)  Congrats on those 13 lbs.  When's  the last time you lost that much weight in a week???  

Don't be alarmed if you develop a bit of pain drinking in a few days that hadn't been there before.  That's normal, just means you might want to experiment with the temperatures/liquids a bit.  

I'm glad you had a nice Christmas eventually.  You're going to experience this surgery as a gift very very soon, if you haven't already. 

Let me know if I can help with anything.

xxoo

Take one day at a time. You'll be fine. I was very, very anxious after my surgery but I recovered quickly by just following all the instructions. Keep coming here. It just gets better and better.

Sorry about your ER visit but your recovery otherwise sounds very typical.  Isopure was my very best friend for many weeks and I still drink it if I haven't had a lot of protein that day. 

You are blessed to have such a supportive family (as am I).  Glad to "meet" you here and hope to exchange many more messages.  I am having to cut back to my home time to post b/c of changes at work but this board is still my lifeline.

All the best to you.

Kat70 

P.S.  I came home from surgery almost 5 pounds heavier than when I went in.  All those fluids are tough to get rid of but you will!!

Thanks all for the replies!  This is such a great place for support.   The IV issue was definitely not the ideal way to spend xmas eve.  They also titled me upside down to try and get more blood rushing to my arms!  Rosa, I was at our ER (drove in from LI).  I had called "your buddy greg" (my surgeon) and he said that I should only go there - - that way a member of his team could be there to evaulate me. I must say that all of the doctors, nurses and staff were great. 

Also, I have started noticing the difficulty with liquids and the different temperatures.  The cold stuff seems to be harder.  It takes a while to get the isopures down, but I still think it's the best chance I have with protien right now.  Also, greek yogurt has been good (with splenda it tastes like pinkberry!). 

OK, good to know about Greg (I miss him!) and the follow-up.  I've always wondered about that.  

BTW, we use NY Presby as our main hospital for the church, so I have their private ambulance's # stored in my phone.  I recommend doing the same:  212-472-2222 .  Not that you'll ever need it, but it's a handy number to have, I think.  

How did the coordination go with the member of the team?  Who was it?  Again, just curious about how that works from an ED visit.