Erica Alikchihoo
One Week Plus!
Mar 10, 2009
Well, I had my surgery on Monday, March 2nd, around noonish. My surgeon was ecstatic.....said that I was the easiest surgery he had all day long... everything was in the right place, every procedure he did went just right, I had no anesthesia problems, no nausea, no vomiting, no problems whatsoever! That made me feel good. 
I got to my room at about 3:30, and they were already giving me sips of water. I had oxygen on, and this huge catheter in my neck 
, with all these "pik lines" so that they could give me lots of different meds at once, but that meant that I didn't have any IVs in my hands or arms, so I could put on a robe or other piece of clothing without having to maneuver around IVs. Within 2 hours, I was up walking with this very interesting walker 
. It had a padded platform with a semi-circular cutout that came up to just under my breasts, and you lean on it and hold on to some upright handles attached to the front of the walker. On the side, it's got an oxygen tank to that they can hook you up to while you walk. I walked twice that night, and then 6 times the next day. But, they actually disconnected me from the neck IV several times - once to go to the shower - and two or three times to walk, and so I only had to use that high platform walker three or four times. They were willing to take the oxygen off for my walks after noon the second day. The Upper GI came back great, and I was drinking enough fluids and passing gas, so they asked me if I wanted to go home on Wednesday! 
I was pretty excited! Problem was, they told me "absolutely NO STRAINING!" But I couldn't move around in bed without straining.... and that became an issue. Plus, there are just a few little things that they DON'T tell you about when you're ready to go home from a bypass surgery. Like what to expect - stool-wise. They could have saved me two very embarrassing moments. 
But I have been out everyday since I've been home. Walking, shopping, just moving around in general.... which is very important according to my doctor. But, I've been having some fairly heavy leakage around my drain tube incision site (which is now slightly infected), and have had to change dressings frequently, so I didn't end up going back to work on Monday as planned, but will go back day after tomorrow (they pull my tube tomorrow).
The only significant concern I've had in the past 8 days was that I apparently pulled a muscle either moving around in bed
, or coughing, and it was making it hard to take a deep breath yesterday and the day before, so I called my surgeon's office. They told me to take a pain pill and use a heating pad for a couple of hours, and if it wasn't better, then to go to the ER to rule out a blood clot in the lung. Well, it wasn't better.... so we spent 3 hours sitting and reading in the ER, waiting for blood work, x-rays, and the result of a CT Scan. Lucky for me, it was all negative.... so I know it's just a pulled muscle. Right now, I'm sore and stiff, but that works it's way out after I've walked for a while. 
Anyways, I'm feeling really pretty good, and most people who speak to me on the phone don't believe I've had surgery! I am happy as a clam, but there is something I need to mention here.
My partner and I - well, our social life pretty much revolved around food and eating out. I made the decision I did because I felt like it was killing me. But for her, it hasn't been so easy. She's basically lost her "sushi" date every Friday night. 
She's basically lost her "spur of the moment - you want to go out?" partner. 
Even though I have repeatedly assured her that I don't mind her eating in front of me, she is still self-conscious, and will disappear into the den to eat while she plays on her computer. One of our support group leaders said at one of our sessions, that sooner or later, we would get to the point where WE, the WLS patient, would look at other people's plates and wonder to ourselves in a nasty way - "How can they EAT that crap!?" 
She is afraid now that I will think that way about her.
Has anyone else dealt with this? If so, how did you resolve the issues? I'd really like to hear.
Love to all,
Erica
1 comment
I got to my room at about 3:30, and they were already giving me sips of water. I had oxygen on, and this huge catheter in my neck , with all these "pik lines" so that they could give me lots of different meds at once, but that meant that I didn't have any IVs in my hands or arms, so I could put on a robe or other piece of clothing without having to maneuver around IVs. Within 2 hours, I was up walking with this very interesting walker . It had a padded platform with a semi-circular cutout that came up to just under my breasts, and you lean on it and hold on to some upright handles attached to the front of the walker. On the side, it's got an oxygen tank to that they can hook you up to while you walk. I walked twice that night, and then 6 times the next day. But, they actually disconnected me from the neck IV several times - once to go to the shower - and two or three times to walk, and so I only had to use that high platform walker three or four times. They were willing to take the oxygen off for my walks after noon the second day. The Upper GI came back great, and I was drinking enough fluids and passing gas, so they asked me if I wanted to go home on Wednesday! I was pretty excited! Problem was, they told me "absolutely NO STRAINING!" But I couldn't move around in bed without straining.... and that became an issue. Plus, there are just a few little things that they DON'T tell you about when you're ready to go home from a bypass surgery. Like what to expect - stool-wise. They could have saved me two very embarrassing moments. But I have been out everyday since I've been home. Walking, shopping, just moving around in general.... which is very important according to my doctor. But, I've been having some fairly heavy leakage around my drain tube incision site (which is now slightly infected), and have had to change dressings frequently, so I didn't end up going back to work on Monday as planned, but will go back day after tomorrow (they pull my tube tomorrow).
The only significant concern I've had in the past 8 days was that I apparently pulled a muscle either moving around in bed
, or coughing, and it was making it hard to take a deep breath yesterday and the day before, so I called my surgeon's office. They told me to take a pain pill and use a heating pad for a couple of hours, and if it wasn't better, then to go to the ER to rule out a blood clot in the lung. Well, it wasn't better.... so we spent 3 hours sitting and reading in the ER, waiting for blood work, x-rays, and the result of a CT Scan. Lucky for me, it was all negative.... so I know it's just a pulled muscle. Right now, I'm sore and stiff, but that works it's way out after I've walked for a while. Anyways, I'm feeling really pretty good, and most people who speak to me on the phone don't believe I've had surgery! I am happy as a clam, but there is something I need to mention here.
My partner and I - well, our social life pretty much revolved around food and eating out. I made the decision I did because I felt like it was killing me. But for her, it hasn't been so easy. She's basically lost her "sushi" date every Friday night. She's basically lost her "spur of the moment - you want to go out?" partner. Even though I have repeatedly assured her that I don't mind her eating in front of me, she is still self-conscious, and will disappear into the den to eat while she plays on her computer. One of our support group leaders said at one of our sessions, that sooner or later, we would get to the point where WE, the WLS patient, would look at other people's plates and wonder to ourselves in a nasty way - "How can they EAT that crap!?" She is afraid now that I will think that way about her.Has anyone else dealt with this? If so, how did you resolve the issues? I'd really like to hear.
Love to all,
Erica
About Me
Denver, CO
Location
26.0
BMI
Surgery
03/02/2009
Surgery Date
Sep 01, 2008
Member Since
