Walk Me Through Your Hospital Stay..
I arrived at 6AM on Monday morning for surgery. I was actually in surgery at 7AM. I don't remember what time I woke up, but I'm wanting to say it was around 11. I had to walk down the hall and touch the nurses station before they would let me have my catheter out (which I freaked out about...I would rather have them give me 20 shots than deal with a cath!). I did that immediately and then went back to my room for a nap. The first day, I pretty much napped and walked. Same for the second day, except I was awake a little more. I did take a shower on the second morning I was there...I needed a little help from my husband. The third day, I got discharged around 10AM. My husband stayed with me about 75% of the time and was able to track my fluids. To be honest, most of the hospital was a blur...I've heard a lot of other people say that too.
I cannot stress this enough....the more you walk, the better you will feel! The woman across the hall from me barely walked and she had terrible pain from the gas and ended up staying longer in the hospital. The gas from surgery will move around your body easier and you will be a lot more comfortable. It will also keep your blood circulating more and lessen your chance of blood clots. I had no complications from surgery and I attribute a lot of that to how much walking I did.
For me, the worst part was a frea****urance...it had nothing to do with surgery. My IV slipped out of my vein and nobody listened to me when I told them it had. I had fluid build up in my arm for a day and a half before I could finally convince somebody to pull it. Like I said, it had nothing at all to do with the surgery.
Good luck to you! Feel free to message me if you have any questions!
I cannot stress this enough....the more you walk, the better you will feel! The woman across the hall from me barely walked and she had terrible pain from the gas and ended up staying longer in the hospital. The gas from surgery will move around your body easier and you will be a lot more comfortable. It will also keep your blood circulating more and lessen your chance of blood clots. I had no complications from surgery and I attribute a lot of that to how much walking I did.
For me, the worst part was a frea****urance...it had nothing to do with surgery. My IV slipped out of my vein and nobody listened to me when I told them it had. I had fluid build up in my arm for a day and a half before I could finally convince somebody to pull it. Like I said, it had nothing at all to do with the surgery.
Good luck to you! Feel free to message me if you have any questions!
My surgery was just on Monday and I diddo the importance of WALKING AS SOON AS THEY WANT YOU TO!!! I had surgery at noon and I was released at 7am the next morning! It helps so much with the gas and once the gas went the pain subsides a LOT!
Surgery at noon. Took about two hours. Two hours in recovery and then they took me to my room. From there sipping liquids and walked around 8pm that night. Be sure to track your medications and when they give them to you. Nurses get busy and you don't want to go longer than you need. Keep on top of the meds! Buzz the nurses if its time for them.
Surgery at noon. Took about two hours. Two hours in recovery and then they took me to my room. From there sipping liquids and walked around 8pm that night. Be sure to track your medications and when they give them to you. Nurses get busy and you don't want to go longer than you need. Keep on top of the meds! Buzz the nurses if its time for them.
Jen
HW 254 SW 242 CW 148
**Down 106 pounds from highest weight!**
HW 254 SW 242 CW 148
**Down 106 pounds from highest weight!**
Elizabeth wrote a GREAT post on this. Very detailed and thorough. Here it is:
http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/amos/4265423/PRE-OPS-Never -had-surgery-Heres-what-to-expect/
Best of luck in your journey. I know you will do great!
http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/amos/4265423/PRE-OPS-Never -had-surgery-Heres-what-to-expect/
Best of luck in your journey. I know you will do great!
I went in for 6am (lady from hospital messed up i wasn't supposed to be there till 9am) for a 11am surgery. So I had hours to think/nervous!!) But, they did Blood pressure, some labs and urine and an IV. Then at 11 wheeled in and woke up at 330pm . Went and took a nap till 7pm and in the meantime they gave me heperin shot and pain med. Then at around 9pm got up and walked and continued to walk every couple of hours. Definatly just walk!!!! And get sleep if you have kids/commitments at home. For the most part it was the lady in the room w/me talking on the phone (she didn't have gastric) she was on the phone , people were there day/night. The hospital was great, nurses were awesome. Pain if controlled was fine. Oh, bring pillow for ride home to hold on your belly over the bumps:)
Thanks for asking your question, I too have been wondering what to expect while in the hospital. The advice about walking is so true, the more you walk the better. I like the idea about a pillow for the trip home, that was something that I didn't think about but found it to be a great suggestion.
DeeDee
I got there in the morning and was taking to a pre-op area. I was asked to change into a hospital gown. A nurse took my blood pressure and stuff and started an IV. The anesthesiologist came in and talked to me and I told him I was worried about getting nauseous from the anesthesia and he said he'd give me something in the IV to prevent that. My surgeon also came in and talked to me for a minute. My partner was allowed to stay right there with me that whole time.
Then they came and wheeled my bed into the OR. It was freezing cold in there. They helped me move onto the table and then they put heated blankets on me that felt really good. That's the last thing I remember.
I woke up in the recovery room and was not in too much pain. I wasn't nauseous, either. I still had my IV in my arm, and I had a foley catheter in my bladder. The catheter didn't hurt but it felt kinda weird, a little like I had to pee.
As soon as I was pretty much awake, they moved me up to my room. My partner was up there waiting for me. I had a morphine pump in and they showed me how to work it - whenever I wanted more pain meds, I just had to push a button. And it worked great.
It's kind of hard to remember everything, it's a little fuzzy. After a little while, they wanted me to get up and walk and I wanted them to take the catheter out first because I didn't want to carry a bag of pee along with me. They kind of wanted me to leave it in a little longer but agreed to remove it. I went for a short walk down the hall and also went to the bathroom and peed.
I kind of dozed off and on the rest of the afternoon and evening. My mother came to visit and so did a friend. They didn't stay real long. My partner stayed until kind of late, though.
They brought me some ice chips, then some diluted fruit juice. They brought me chicken broth but I am a vegetarian. The dietican had told me previously they would have veggie broth but it turned out they did not. They brough me a popsicle. They also brought me a clear protein drink, cytosport, which did not taste very good but I drank it.
They discharged me the next afternoon.
Then they came and wheeled my bed into the OR. It was freezing cold in there. They helped me move onto the table and then they put heated blankets on me that felt really good. That's the last thing I remember.
I woke up in the recovery room and was not in too much pain. I wasn't nauseous, either. I still had my IV in my arm, and I had a foley catheter in my bladder. The catheter didn't hurt but it felt kinda weird, a little like I had to pee.
As soon as I was pretty much awake, they moved me up to my room. My partner was up there waiting for me. I had a morphine pump in and they showed me how to work it - whenever I wanted more pain meds, I just had to push a button. And it worked great.
It's kind of hard to remember everything, it's a little fuzzy. After a little while, they wanted me to get up and walk and I wanted them to take the catheter out first because I didn't want to carry a bag of pee along with me. They kind of wanted me to leave it in a little longer but agreed to remove it. I went for a short walk down the hall and also went to the bathroom and peed.
I kind of dozed off and on the rest of the afternoon and evening. My mother came to visit and so did a friend. They didn't stay real long. My partner stayed until kind of late, though.
They brought me some ice chips, then some diluted fruit juice. They brought me chicken broth but I am a vegetarian. The dietican had told me previously they would have veggie broth but it turned out they did not. They brough me a popsicle. They also brought me a clear protein drink, cytosport, which did not taste very good but I drank it.
They discharged me the next afternoon.
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
Checked in a 6, was brought into a surgery "holding room" with all the other surgery patients with the same start time, a nurse came in and called us one by one, I changed into a gown, socks and hat, sat in the pre op area with my boyfriend for an hour while they did vitals and started an IV. My anesthesiologist came in and stayed with me for a half hour talking, joking, explaining things.. the surgeon was supposed to come in but never did I found out he was sick later and I only saw him for a second in the OR where he had a face mask on, I actually haven't seen him since then and I"m 3 months out.. he took the rest of the week off after my surgery. Anyway, when it was my turn they brought me into the OR, I moved onto the operating table, I started to cry and they put the mask on me and that was it!
I woke up in the recovery room, in agony but so groggy I was unable to tell anyone.. not sure how long I was there and then they wheeled me to my room. The next two days were filled with iv changes because they kept putting mine in a spot that when I bent my arm would stop the flow which would cause the thing to beep and I couldn't get my pain meds so they had to move it 3 times, I basically sat in a chair for 2 days going in and out of sleep, pushing my pain button constantly. I would get up and walk 2 or 3 times a day then go back to sleep. The third day I had to do a swallow test to check for leaks, tasted disgusting and was a ***** standing on this tiny block for a 1/2 hour while they took pic after pic but after that in 5 hours I went from drinking water to drinking crystal lite to a protein shake and i was released at 5pm after I drank some shake.
the end
I woke up in the recovery room, in agony but so groggy I was unable to tell anyone.. not sure how long I was there and then they wheeled me to my room. The next two days were filled with iv changes because they kept putting mine in a spot that when I bent my arm would stop the flow which would cause the thing to beep and I couldn't get my pain meds so they had to move it 3 times, I basically sat in a chair for 2 days going in and out of sleep, pushing my pain button constantly. I would get up and walk 2 or 3 times a day then go back to sleep. The third day I had to do a swallow test to check for leaks, tasted disgusting and was a ***** standing on this tiny block for a 1/2 hour while they took pic after pic but after that in 5 hours I went from drinking water to drinking crystal lite to a protein shake and i was released at 5pm after I drank some shake.
the end
I woke up at 3am to shower. My parents said this was important because I really wouldn't be able to shower in the hospital, and I didn't. I left home around 4am and checked into the hospital at 5am.
I signed all the papers so the insurance could pay and they made copies of my ID and insurance cards. Then I went back and changed into the gowns. I had my blood presure taken and weight taken. The nurse asked a lot of questions. The nurse did another EKG on me. She said the one they recieved from my pre-op physical wasn't a good reading. I got my IV put in and was hooked up to fluids and then antibiotics.
I met with the nurse who would be in the OR and then the anethesiologist. He had be do a breathing treatment since I have asthma. (I would have just had to do 2 puffs of my inhaler, but I didn't have it with me and the OR didn't have any readily available, but they had nebulizer meds). Then my surgeon came to see me.
After that I was taken to the OR by the nurse who would be in there with me. In the OR, I was hooked up to the machine that tracks your heart rate and also a blood presure cuff was put on. I was put on oxygen at well. I know that my arms were layed out on either side of me. I want to say that went ahead and straped my arms down, but I can't remember. And after that I was alseep.
I woke up in pain. I don't know what time it was. The nurse was by my side. I felt for the button to press for meds, but it wasn't in my hand, so I just said, "pain, pain, pain". The nurse pressed the button and then put it in my hand for me. As soon as she pressed it, I felt relief. My family was able to come back for a few minutes to see me. I don't know how long I was in recovery, but it didn't seem like too long. I was awake and my blood presure and stuff where all good.
I got taken to my room and the nurses talked to me and got me settled. Then my family could come in. I wasn't in there long before I was asking to get up and walk. I hate being in a hospital bed for too long, and even after surgery, this seemed to be the case. My surgeon was actually walking in to check for me as I was paging the nurse and asking for someone to help get me up. (I was hooked up to oxygen, the heart monitor, IV, and those things that blow up on your legs to help reduce the risk of blood clots). He was like, "Of course can get up and walk!" I think he was impressed that I wanted to walk. The nurses wouldn't have come until the evening and get me up. They like to give you time before they make you walk. I never once had them ask me to get up and walk.
Usually, they don't like you to drink anything until the second day. When my mom had ehr surgery, they gave her a little sponge on a stick that was in a tiny cup of water. She was only allowed to wet her lips and tounge with it. I was given a cup of ice chips to chew on. They just told me to go slow. Those ice chips where heaven!
On the second day, I went for the barium test. I drank a small amount and then they took an x-ray. Then i had to wait about 10 minutes, drink some more braium, and then another x-ray. Once my surgeon reviewed the results, I was allowed to drink. This was very hard for me. Everything made me nasous. I had to drink room temperature stuff to keep from feeling too nasious. I tried cold and hot stuff, but I didn't like them much.
Also, on the second day my catheter was taken out. The hardest challenge I had was producing urine. They actually had two IV bags hooked up to me at once and going in very fast to keep me from being dehydrated and to try to help me produce some Urine. My cath bag was always full, but once it was out, I just could not go. Finally I was able to produce just a little bit on the third day.
On the second day, they took away my pain pump too. I was given the liquid medication that I would go home on. This helped me, but I needed to take it as soon I was allowed to.
I didn't press the pain pump too oftern, after the first fews hours. Mosly I would press it while I was walking. I would press it when I was getting close to my room to help relieve the pain and so it would kick in by the time I was back in my bed.
I was released on teh third day in the afternoon.
It was pretty easy for me at this point. I just really had to remember to drink. That was the hardest thing for me in the first few days.
I signed all the papers so the insurance could pay and they made copies of my ID and insurance cards. Then I went back and changed into the gowns. I had my blood presure taken and weight taken. The nurse asked a lot of questions. The nurse did another EKG on me. She said the one they recieved from my pre-op physical wasn't a good reading. I got my IV put in and was hooked up to fluids and then antibiotics.
I met with the nurse who would be in the OR and then the anethesiologist. He had be do a breathing treatment since I have asthma. (I would have just had to do 2 puffs of my inhaler, but I didn't have it with me and the OR didn't have any readily available, but they had nebulizer meds). Then my surgeon came to see me.
After that I was taken to the OR by the nurse who would be in there with me. In the OR, I was hooked up to the machine that tracks your heart rate and also a blood presure cuff was put on. I was put on oxygen at well. I know that my arms were layed out on either side of me. I want to say that went ahead and straped my arms down, but I can't remember. And after that I was alseep.
I woke up in pain. I don't know what time it was. The nurse was by my side. I felt for the button to press for meds, but it wasn't in my hand, so I just said, "pain, pain, pain". The nurse pressed the button and then put it in my hand for me. As soon as she pressed it, I felt relief. My family was able to come back for a few minutes to see me. I don't know how long I was in recovery, but it didn't seem like too long. I was awake and my blood presure and stuff where all good.
I got taken to my room and the nurses talked to me and got me settled. Then my family could come in. I wasn't in there long before I was asking to get up and walk. I hate being in a hospital bed for too long, and even after surgery, this seemed to be the case. My surgeon was actually walking in to check for me as I was paging the nurse and asking for someone to help get me up. (I was hooked up to oxygen, the heart monitor, IV, and those things that blow up on your legs to help reduce the risk of blood clots). He was like, "Of course can get up and walk!" I think he was impressed that I wanted to walk. The nurses wouldn't have come until the evening and get me up. They like to give you time before they make you walk. I never once had them ask me to get up and walk.
Usually, they don't like you to drink anything until the second day. When my mom had ehr surgery, they gave her a little sponge on a stick that was in a tiny cup of water. She was only allowed to wet her lips and tounge with it. I was given a cup of ice chips to chew on. They just told me to go slow. Those ice chips where heaven!
On the second day, I went for the barium test. I drank a small amount and then they took an x-ray. Then i had to wait about 10 minutes, drink some more braium, and then another x-ray. Once my surgeon reviewed the results, I was allowed to drink. This was very hard for me. Everything made me nasous. I had to drink room temperature stuff to keep from feeling too nasious. I tried cold and hot stuff, but I didn't like them much.
Also, on the second day my catheter was taken out. The hardest challenge I had was producing urine. They actually had two IV bags hooked up to me at once and going in very fast to keep me from being dehydrated and to try to help me produce some Urine. My cath bag was always full, but once it was out, I just could not go. Finally I was able to produce just a little bit on the third day.
On the second day, they took away my pain pump too. I was given the liquid medication that I would go home on. This helped me, but I needed to take it as soon I was allowed to.
I didn't press the pain pump too oftern, after the first fews hours. Mosly I would press it while I was walking. I would press it when I was getting close to my room to help relieve the pain and so it would kick in by the time I was back in my bed.
I was released on teh third day in the afternoon.
It was pretty easy for me at this point. I just really had to remember to drink. That was the hardest thing for me in the first few days.
Haven't been there yet, but I appreciate all the input, also. I'm planning on taking a great positive attitude and do all the walking I posibbly can, maybe make the nurses chase me down the hall to give me my meds!
My DH & I were having a conversation yesterday on the way home from my endoscopy. My surgeon & hospital are about 2 hrs from home. I told him I want him there the day of my wls & when I am released. I don't want friends & family dragging in & out all day while I am there. I want quiet & relaxation. Besides, its ridiculous to expect anyone to drive that far for a short visit. My Hunny will be working while I'm in the hospital and will take off a few days when I get home to make sure I'm ok.
Don't know what I'm most excited about...WLS or a couple days of peace & quiet from home...ah, a mini-vacation...
My DH & I were having a conversation yesterday on the way home from my endoscopy. My surgeon & hospital are about 2 hrs from home. I told him I want him there the day of my wls & when I am released. I don't want friends & family dragging in & out all day while I am there. I want quiet & relaxation. Besides, its ridiculous to expect anyone to drive that far for a short visit. My Hunny will be working while I'm in the hospital and will take off a few days when I get home to make sure I'm ok.
Don't know what I'm most excited about...WLS or a couple days of peace & quiet from home...ah, a mini-vacation...
HW 244lbs SW 232lbs CW 148lbs GW 125-130lbs 
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