Question:
Post-ops - unexpected things that happened during or post surgery?
Okay, I admit it, I'm nervous! But I would like to know from post-ops, were there things that happened during surgery or as part of your aftercare that you didn't expect or didn't know about? <br><br> Since you post-ops are the experts for us beginners (pre-ops), perhaps you can help us weed out those unexpected surprises that might have happened to you. <br><br> Like issues with pain management, problems with the hospital bed, loud noises, terrible roomates... <br><br> And how did you solve the situation or how would you suggest another person prevent it from happening? <br><br> Thanks for any answers. I'm slowly making my way from "hurry, hurry, I want the surgery as soon as possible" to "have I missed some answers that I haven't even thought of questions for"! — Deborah N. (posted on December 2, 2002)
December 2, 2002
Actually, the surgery went exactly as described. No surprises and oddly
enough pretty uneventful Would you believe they WALKED me from the holding
room where I undressed and sat with my family to the actual operating room.
The anasthesiologist came to see me exactly on schedule and the surgery
lasted an hour and five minutes. Looking back, I would not have changed a
thing. I woke up in recovery and eventually they wheeled me to the room
where I stood for two nights. I was lucky, I was given a private room. The
place was comfortable and Hackensack New Jersey University Medical Center
is to be commended. If you have any questions, please dont hesitate to
email me at dakingfish @aol.com. By the way, 8 weeks out and 50 lbs
tomorrow.
— Steve B.
December 2, 2002
See my profile its out of date but very detailed. Pretty uneventful. REALLY
FUN loosing the weight. Enjoying the loss was the biggest and nicest
surprise. The lack of pain and easy recovery were plusses too.
— bob-haller
December 2, 2002
Well never in my life will I ever again get a semi private room. NEVER!
Read my profile for the hospital stay from hell and how rude roommates can
be. I had one young guy the first day, then an old man the other two days.
Both were rude and NEVER, (I mean NEVER) ever had the tv off. 1,2,3,4,5
o'clock. It was on all the time. Loud too. The old guy always peed in my
container. The nurses thought I should follow him into the bathroom to keep
him from doing it. Yeah right. I've had several surgeries since WLS, and
made sure it was PRIVATE. Ahhhhhh. :) Funny thing was, I was NEVER sent a
bill for the extra $40 a night ether. However I'd been very happy to pay it
for a good nights rest. Also, I sure wish I had had a binder for my
stomach. I had the Open and the pain getting in and out of bed was
unbelievable. Sure wish someone had told me about the binder. If you are an
LAP it probally would'nt help you. Another thing, at home I had use of a
hospital bed. I felt bad as it is my Mom's bed. But thank God (and Mom-
lol) for the use of that bed for the first two weeks. I NEVER could have
slept laying flat. Rent a hospital bed if you will be having an Open. Get a
binder, a private room and a hospital bed. You will be happy you did. Good
luck with the surgery.
— Danmark
December 2, 2002
You can see my profile for more details, but I was in ICU following surgery
because I have sleep apnea. For whatever reason, the nurses did not get me
up the next day to sit, walk, breathe, etc. My husband was allowed to come
in during visiting hours and I was pretty much out of it. Had he been told
what to do, he would've made sure it got done. Whatever you do, tell your
spouse or whoever will be there with you to make you sure you are made to
move around as much as possible!
— Want2bslim
December 2, 2002
Details in my profile too, but my biggest "unexpected" was the
severe cramp in my butt when I woke up from surgery that had apparently
started on the operating table and had been cramped for a LONG time. It
HURT!!!!!! Then that after-cramp-muscle-pain made it hard to find a
comfortable position to lay in for days!
— jen41766
December 2, 2002
I'm 3 weeks post-op and I can think of so many things I wasn't prepared
for. The first that comes to mind is the incredible back pain I felt from
the moment I woke up in recovery. I pretty much figured it was because I
have never been a back sleeper and I was forced to sleep on my back for
weeks. I had absolutely no warning and I still have pain to this day.
It's gotten MUCH MUCH better but it continues still. I have graduated to
sleeping on my side and it has made all the difference in the world.
— Tracy A.
December 2, 2002
Hi there Deborah! My surgery went well, pain management was fine, I was in
the ICU the first 2 days, after that I had a private room on the surgical
floor. The one thing I did hate was my bed, I was given a new "state
of the art" (HA!) bed to use and it was horrid! It was mainly air and
it would move for you, so the nurses wouldn't have to do so much to shift
you around and it made me sick from all the rocking and the hissing,
sounded like there was a snake in my room with me! I kept telling all my
nurses how much I hated it, eventually they took it apart bit by bit, it
was so awful, I contemplated sleeping on the floor instead! Finally the
morning of the day I was leaving I asked the nurses to switch it for a reg.
hospital bed. If only I had known I didn't NEED to sleep on that thing I
would've told them to get rid of it sooner. My advice is, if there is
something you don't like or something you need, ask for it....It is your
care they have to look after, not some new stupid research on a bed. Vi
— Vi F.
December 2, 2002
— Steve P.
December 3, 2002
I was surprised, and hope you will be too, by the fact that my surgery went
absolutely smoothly. I'd never had major surgery before and didn't know
what to expect. I was VERY nervous, especially as I live alone. Of course
there was pain and discomfort afterward, but I followed my surgeon's
directions and took my meds as directed, and it didn't last too long. I
guess what I'm saying is that not all surprises are unpleasant ones. Good
luck.
— Roxanne M.
December 3, 2002
hi. good question. i had open rny on 9-16-02 and i was in a recliner to
sleep for 5 weeks. that was a big surprise for me. i had no idea i would be
too uncomfortable to sleep in my own bed. poor hubby. LOL. anyway, best of
luck
— Monica T.
December 3, 2002
When I first had surgery (I had it twice in one year to fix a SLD), I
thought I was doing fine but all of the sudden, I was rushed to ICU because
I wasn't passing any urine. No one had noticed it! They were giving me all
this IV fluid and my kidneys weren't getting rid of it. They should have
noticed the "output" from my catheter but no one did. I was
developing pulmonary hypertension and had to spend two days in ICU to get
rid of the fluid. I wasn't able to walk in there and I wanted to get out
of that bed so badly. This was an unexpected complication which could've
been fatal. Thank goodness I was ok in a day or two. You need an advocate
to stay with you in the hospital if possible. If your angel can stay, that
is wonderful because they know what to look for. Someone who is not
intimidated by the "white coat" or more up-to-date the "blue
scrubs" of a nurse or doctor. Someone who will tell the nurse that
you haven't been up, that your IV is beeping, that you need something from
them. Someone who will insist that you have pain relief because you are so
out of it, you really can't speak for yourself. God bless you and even
though scary, this is the best thing I have ever done for myself and I did
it twice in one year!
— Mylou52
December 3, 2002
I did not enjoy the first week after surgery. I had lap, and good pain
management, however, they use gas to blow up your stomach to do lap and the
gas can get trapped-excruciating pain, and all you can do is walk, walk,
walk to try to relieve it. Lasted 24 hours. Then I had roomates. The
first one was Asian and her entire extended family showed up with food-lots
of smelly food-to have dinner with her. Needless to say, right out of
surgery, the smell alone made me want to barf. The next night, a new
roommate who was senile and yelled at the top of her lungs all night-found
out from the night nurse, she was cursing in Spanish! If you can get a
private room go for it. Also, if you can have a relative there to speak up
for you, all the better. I was too tired and weak to argue with the
nursing staff to get rid of the roommate problems.
— Cindy R.
December 3, 2002
To be honest, I didn't have a lot of surprises after my lap RNY. My
biggest surprise was how little pain there was, since this was my first
surgery and I had no idea how bad it might be. I felt bloated but was
never really in much pain, though trying to sit up in bed was a major
chore!
My surprises:
1. This one is VERY embarrassing, but I wish someone had warned me, so
I'll warn you, LOL. After the barium swallow "leak test", I went
back to my room and was lying in bed. Felt a little nauseous from having
to drink so much of that vile stuff, but nothing too major. I
"thought" I was passing gas - hey, I was alone in the room, no
big deal, right? Wrong. Major diarrhea, right through two johnnies (I was
wearing one backwards, as a robe) and onto the sheets! Very humiliating,
had to ask a nurse for help cleaning up. I figured she'd probably seen it
all before anyway and that's what she was there for, but it was STILL
embarrassing to have to be cleaned up like that. She told me it's a common
side effect of the barium, and I had liquid bowel movements for a couple of
days. So my advice is, after the leak test, don't take anything for
granted! Try to get to the bathroom if you think you're feeling gassy!
2. Once I was on solid foods, even though I guess I'd read about it, it
was weird to learn how even one or two bites past full can be one bite too
many! There just isn't a whole lot of leeway, especially with heavier
foods that your body is re-adjusting to. Chances are you will discover
this for yourself the hard way. I threw up four times from eating food too
fast or eating too much. And it's frustrating that you're never sure
exactly what you did wrong - sometimes things just get "stuck"
and pile up in your pouch until it has to come up if it can't go down. I
guess I knew that pre-op but the small difference between full and
"too full" is a big realization post op!
3. Sometimes I tend to burp a lot, particularly if I'm approaching
"full". Now I know to watch for that! Have had no problems with
constipation, diarrhea, nausea, or gas...but belching is another story!
4. I was surprised that I didn't lose faster, because I really thought I
would, being so heavy to start with. Nothing prepares you for the mind
games that start to happen when this occurs! You start to worry that you
will never make it, that you're going to be the exception that this surgery
doesn't work for, that you're just going to stop losing weight way before
your window ends. You start to compare yourself to other people and wonder
why you're not losing as fast as them. You start trying to project where
you will be three, six, nine months down the line. You can get obsessed
with the scale and with counting your calories, when the whole point of the
surgery was to free you from your obsession with food! I've finally
started to relax about it all and have come to realize that the weight loss
is going to continue. Like a lot of people, I often have a slow week, and
then lose a lot of weight at once. I guess only time can teach you not to
panic about this. My sister gave me some great advice during this period.
She told me to relax and have FUN, that this was the easiest weight I'd
ever lost, in the shortest amount of time, and why was I stressing out
about it not being fast enough instead of enjoying it?
— sandsonik
December 3, 2002
You guys are so great!! Thank you for the answers. It's been so helpful
to me and I hope others benefit from the discussion.
I hope others continue to post.
— Deborah N.
December 8, 2002
Excrutiating back pain from lying on my back during the surgery was a
terrible surprise. Lap RNY pain was fine; lower back pain was unbearable.
Also, the hospital post-op "food" was inedible: cold, nasty
broth, sweet jello, and sweet fruit juice. I couldn't swallow any of it;
made me VERY sick. In retrospect, I should have had my hubby bring me in
some nice warm chicken broth and heated it up in the nurses' microwave.
Would have made all the difference in the world! Although, ICU care was
wonderful, regular room care was not. I had my hubby bring me a heating
pad for my back pain to the hospital one night because night shift nurses
never did find one for me. Next time, I will have someone with me all
night as well as all day. Nurses were horrible at night (overworked and
forgetful).
— Kathy J.
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