Home!

Got home about an hour ago and now I am freshly showered and feeling just a little like my old self.  Well, that is except for the drain hanging out of me and all the steristrips on the incisions.  I even found a few left over heart monitor stickes on my back when I was in the shower.  The surgery went as planned, and the post-op recovery was smooth with excellent pain control.  The nurses did a phenomenal job at anticipating and meeting my needs.   Now that I'm only on oral pain killers I'm more achy, but that is only to be expected. 

I'm worried about getting enough fluids in.  I'm queezy and not in the least bit thirsty or hungry.  I know that sipping will be my main job for the next few days, along with walking.  Water tastes different now with a funny aftertaste.  Has anyone else experienced this? Any suggestions? I have phenergan to take, but since that puts me to sleep I'm hesitant to take it too often. 

Glad to be on the loser's bench finally!

~~Dee

Welcome home!  The water might work better with a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime and a sprinkle of Splenda. I'm glad you had good treatment at the hospital and everything went well.

--gina

welcome to the loser's bench Dee. I'm sure you're glad to be home, even if you are carting a plastic snake around for a few days.

Water didn't taste the same to me either, it kinda tasted "heavy."  I took Gina's suggestion and added a healthy squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and then I tried lime juice cause I was out of lemons.  Worked well for me. 

One trick I employed was that I walked around the inside of my house (the floor plan allows me to walk in a circle from living room to kitchen back to living room  for 5-10 minutes every hour I was awake (I set a timer).  Every time I walked through the kitchen, I took a sip of the water container I set out on the counter.  By the time I was done walking my minutes, the container had to be empty.  The first couple days the container was 1 oz, then 2 oz, then 3 oz.  That was my walk and sip plan.

tracey

Yay! Glad it sounds like things are going well. Yes, keep sipping!

Glad everything went smoothly and you are back home.  It gets better and better once that drain is out! 

Keep healing and sipping!

Yayyyy!   Welcome Home!!!!   Cindy

Thanks much for the well-wishes and suggestions! I'm so tired, and all I did was rest this afternoon! I'll try the lemon as well as the sipping as I walk the house. 

Welcome to the Loser's Bench Dee!!
Linda

I'm scheduled for a VSG on 4/12 (can't wait!!!) and was wondering how long you were in the hospital.  I'm not real keen on going home with the drain tube.

I was there for 2 nights, and yes I have a drain tube. It's a bit of a pain as you have to 'strip' the tubing 3 times a day and change the bandage daily, but other than that it's really no big deal. Much better than coming home with a foley tube!