April1013
6/30/09....The Start of My New Life!
Jul 03, 2009
We'll I had my surgery on Tuesday, June 30! For those of you who don't read my blogs I will recap for you. I was not put on a diet pre surgery but I did have to do all clear liquids two days before. I consumed INSANE amounts of water those two days because 1. It helps with the hunger and 2. Because you can easily become dehydrated after surgery so the more water in your body the better.I had to arrive at the hospital at 7:30 am. The entire 30 minute car ride I used my Respirex breathing tube in the car. (And if you are going into surgery make sure you use it! They make you do it every 2 hours at the hospital so get used to it!) It also helped me with my nerves, because at this point, the realization that I was actually having surgery finally had kicked in. When I arrived at the hospital they emmedietly took me to sign the consent forms. I got my hospital bracelet and they told me how everything was going to go for the day. My parents took all my belongings and I headed upstairs to be prepped. When I got upstairs my nurse (Astor) had me take all my clothing off and change into the gown and cap. It is at that point that if you have to go to the bathroom go now! You will not have another chance to go because you will be all hooked up.
After I was changed I went and layed on my bed. He went over those same series of questions they did a pre-op just to make sure all the anwsers you gave are correct. (This part does get a little blurry for me because I was really nervous and anxious so I'm not sure if it is in the correct order, but I do remember everything that happened) I was given some type of liquid to drink..which I think was to calm the acids in my stomach. It was horrible...salty with a grape aftertaste. I was hooked up to my IV and there was water being pumped into me. I was given a blood thinning shot in my side, and they also took my blood sugar (I am type 2 diabetic) and also took blood for a pregnancy test. They would only allow one person at at time to come and see you. My mother came first and while she was there surgeon stopped by asked if I was ready and if I had any questions, and then he prayed with my mom and I. Next came the anesthesiologist. She asked me if I had any history of surgery or anesthesia, and just went over what type they were going to give me, but at that point I wasn't really listening, I was just ready to go! My mom left and my dad came in. My mom had taken my glasses with her when she left and I was glad because my dad seemed nervous and if I I could have seen his face I probably would have cried. We only had a few mintues to talk and then they told me they were ready for me. My dad left and I remember that was the moment I felt like "what am I doing to myself??" "Is this really worth it??" "what if I don't wake up????" A few tears fell from my eyes and my nurse said he was going to give me something to relax me. I saw him push it into my IV and I sudddenly felt warm all over and that is the last thing I remember.
I woke up to the sounds of nurses talking. I could barely open my eyes and I couldn't speak my mouth was very dry. They asked me what my pain was on a scale of 1-10 and I said 6 or 7. I motioned for the nurse to move my gurney up because I believe I was laying flat. I was told I would be in recovery for 45 min to an hour, and I think I had already been there an hour because they kept me a little longer because my blood sugar had skyrockted to 225 (It was 180 before surgery and it is usually around 150) They gave me an insulin shot and put the c-pap on me. I think about 10 minutes later they began rolling me to my room. Once I got there my nurse came in and introduced herself and told me she had to hook me up and then my parents could come up. She was a little older, and it took her a while to get me hooked up and I was getting frustrated because I really wanted to see my parents. I also was starting to feel a little nauseas so she put something in my IV which started working instantly. So about 30 minutes later they finally came up. I don't remember much but they did say that the surgeon told them that everything went perfectly. They made a few calls to my friends and family to let them know I was fine, and I kept on dozing in and out. They didn't stay long because they wanted me to sleep. The nurse also told them to take all my stuff home because I wouldn't need it. I had brought tons of comfy clothes, soap, toothpaste, and all the neccessities, but Barix provided all that for me which was really nice. I wore a gown everyday and they gave me socks too.
I was hooked up to a morphine pump that I could press every 5 minutes. I didn't press it that often that first day. They asked me my pain and I said a 5. I looked at my incisions and I was surprised to see 6! I was a little upset at first because I was told I would have 4 of 5, but then I realized how tiny they were! They looked like little scratches. As the day progressed I felt better and better. They gave me ice-chips right away which made me so happy because other OH members have said they weren't allowed any water or ice until the second day. They said I could have a ice piece every 30 minutes, but I cheated! LOL I probably had 3 or 4 every 30 min, but your mouth is so dry you really need it. I had no pain in my stomach, and no gas. By the eveing my pain level was at a 2. 4 hours after surgery they got me up to walk, which was slightly painful and I was going at a snails pace, but it felt good to get up because my back was killing me! And it was hard at first to get comfortable in the bed. My roomate, Sinnamon was one day ahead of me. Once I was able to keep my eyes open later in the day we began talking and she was saying she felt great the first day and then the second day is when she started to have a reaction to the morphine so they had to give her benadryl, and she also had really bad nauses.
Every two hours the respritory therapist (or terrorist as we called them) would come in for you to use the Respirex they have given you pre-op and another pump they give you that you just blow in to. I was so weak I could barely get the disk to move. They also have you cough a few times after, which is slightly painful, but it is so important to do to make sure your lungs are clear. There were so many people coming in and out of my room that it got confusing on who was actually my nurse. Shift changes then happen and you have a whole new set of people, but they were all nice. For the rest of day 1 I felt good. No gas pains, I just burrped and hiccuped a lot. I got up and walked a few more times, and basically slept. I felt good enough to call and text a few of my friends but I don't remember any of the conversations I had..lol.
Day 2, I woke up and felt great. I got up at 4 am, and pretty much all the patients were up. My roomate and I both got up and walked. I got to talk to a few people in the hallway. I would ask them how they were feeling and everyone said not good, in a lot of pain. So when I said "I feel great!" , they just looked at me with a confused face, like how is that possible?? LOL. One of the ladies I talked to said she had surgery the day before and was planning on leaving today. That kindda shocked me because I thought you were required to stay 2 nights, but I guess it varies from doctor to doctor. But my advice to you. If you can stay 2 nights, do it! I know some peoples insurance doesn't pay for those nights, but I think it would be worth the money, because so much can go wrong is a day. It really isn't worth riskig your health.
My surgeon popped in on me for 30 seconds that morning and just asked me how I felt and told me that they were going to be giving me x-rays today and if there were no leaks they would start me on liquids. They took my cathader out before my x-rays. I went down and they took 5 x-rays. Then the specialist left and came back and said she had to take another one so I was a little worried they might have seen a leak. I asked her the results and she said the surgeon gives the results....now I was feeling VERY nervous. I went back to my room and waited over 2 hours before I asked a nurse if they got my results and she was like "oh yeah, they didn't tell you? Eveyrthing is fine" Wow, how do you just not tell people their results? But oh well, I let it go because I was so happy to get a popcicle! It tasted great. Went down with no problem and I actually asked for another one but only ate half. Two hours later they brought me a tray or food. A cup of chicken broath, 4 slices of jello, a small glass of crystal light and a popcicle. I ate the chicken broath, two pieces of jello and half of the crystal light. Went down fine, but I felt lazy and pretty much slept and didn't walk as much as I should have. The first day they will get you up to walk, but after that you are kindda on your own. Also some point in the second day they took me off the morphine and gave my hydrocodine in liquid form which still works, but made me nauseas the first few times and made me dry heave once. My pain level was at a 1 all day, I felt great, I was talking to my roomate, calling my friends, and I had 2 friends and my parents visit me and they couldn't believe how good I looked! I was telling everyone I would be out tomorrow by noon! I also got a new roomate that day. She was in a lot of pain and having bad gas bubbles and nausea. Her pain level was around a 8 or 9 the entire first day, compared to me which was a 7 at the highest and a 2 at the lowest. It just shows that everyone is different when it comes to this surgery. Towards late evening of the second day I started to get some gas pains. My nurse suggested an anal suppository to help get things moving. When she did it I noticed that it went in with such ease, and I even asked her "is it in?" We'll turns out, she didn't put the suppository in the right hole (you know what I mean) and so I woke up in the morning with a very uncomfortable feeling in my girly parts....not happy!
Day 3 I woke up with a bad pain in my stomach. I thought I just had to use the bathroom but that didn't help. I went walking, and walking actually hurt for the first time. I did 4 laps and went back to lay down. I went back to sleep for a few hours and I woke up with with even worse pain. So now I finally knew what gas bubbles felt like. They are not fun! Very painful and it is frustrating because it isn't easy to get it out. My nurse told me not to try and squueze the gas out because I could pop a stitch or even make myself pass out. I was allowed to take a shower, and that felt so good! Especially on my back. I probably was in there for 25 minutes. My parents arrived at noon and I was feeling horrible. My nurse suggested an enema, which I really was not happy about but that pain was getting worse and walking was not helping at all. The enema was made of milk and molasses (it smelled good..lol) They put it in and told me to try and hold it in for 5 minutes. I made it to about 4 and a half and ran to the bathroom. It did relieve some of the gas pressure, but not all of it. Stupidly afterwards I went back and layed down when I should have started walking to try and get more out. My nurse told me that it could take a few hours for the enema to really work. At this point I knew I wasn't ready to leave so I sent my parents home. As soon as they left I developed a fever. I found out that I was suppose to get an antacid pill and blood thinner shot every day which I had not been given, and I was a little upset because that might have been the reason I was in so much pain. I fell back asleep and when I woke up a few hours later I went to the restroom and was able to get a lot of gas out and I emmedietly felt better. I got up and did about 5 laps and I was feelling so much better. I called my nurse and in and told him "I'm ready to go!" At this point I had had enough of Barix and I wanted to go home. Called my parents and told them to come back at 5:30. They arrived on time, and I called the nurse so he could discharge me and that took an hour. They went over the do's and don't, gave me my two week apt, time and I was out of there!
Car ride home wasn't bad. I put a pillow around my stomach and strapped in. You definetly feel every bump but it's not that bad. Got home and my parents had everything set up for me. It is so important to have someone who can help you out for the first day or two at home. You don't want to overdue it, and you will need help. I had half a bowl of jello and a little crytal light. I actually was able to sleep in my own bed the first night home. I had about 6 pillows propping me up but I was very comfortable. I got up once during the night to use the bathroom and I was able to settle back into bed on my own.
The next morning I woke up at 7:30, took my viatmin, my antacid pill and the liquid protein (which is the worst thing I have EVER tasted, but it is suppose to be good in healing your stomach after surgery and Dr. Schram highly recommends it) I made some crytal light and tried to continously sip all day, but it is hard, because I am used to taking big gulps and you can't do that. By mid day I was hungry!! Just because your stomach is small doesn't mean your cravings go away. And it doesn't help when the rest of your family is still eating normally. So make sure you kitchen is stocked with all of the foods you can eat! Sugar free fudgcicles are my new best friend. I got 6 flavors of sugar free pudding, all the ingredients for tasty protein shakes ( I made a chocolate peanut butter shake that was great) and cottage cheese, which I don't think Im allowed to eat yet but I chewed it up pretty good and it went down with no problem. After I had all that dairy, I did have about 6 bowel movements, so be prepared to have to get up and go a lot. And I don't know if it is just me, but I never know when I have to go after the surgery, So every 30 minutes I just get up and go. I was having a few weird cramps throughout the day but they last for maybe 10 second and go away. I got up and walked every hour and I use both of my breathing tools 4 times a day. I was getting super bored watching tv and was dying to get on the computer so I had to go downstairs which suprisingly wasn't a problem, just take one step at a time and go slow! I was able to lay on the couch without being propped up and I was comfortable. I was VERY gassy all day. But just make sure you get it out...you feel so much better when you do. I had friends over in the evening and they were so suprised that I was "normal" . Besides the fact that I move a little slower, no one would know that I had major surgery four days ago.
So today is Saturday. I woke up feeling great. Got out of bed with no belly pain. Took my vitamin, antacid, and protein. Made a big 32 oz jug of crystal light lemondae and it is much easier to drink today. I can take bigger sips and not feel the rumbling in my stomach. I plan on walking through the neighborhood this morning with my friend.
Every day it is going to be better and better. I feel so blessed that I have really gone through this with very little pain so far. I am SOOO glad that I did it! That was actually one of my first thoughts after they wheeled me in my room the first day. I felt like I took the hugest step in improving my life, and now I can do anything! I'm only 5 days out and I'm feeling great, I can't complain. I am just so excited for what the future is going to bring. Unfortunetly my scale decided to break on me, so I don't know how much I have lost yet. I did gain ten pounds water weight due to the IV in the hospital but that is normal. I feel lighter and I feel energized. I have not taken a nap since I have been home. My advice to you is keep busy!...Don't think about food just contiune to drink your water and protein. Surround yourself with family and friends and most importantly make sure you are following your doctors orders. Your diet is set up to help your body heal, so do it right! :)
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About Me
West Bloomfield, MI
Location
40.8
BMI
Surgery
06/30/2009
Surgery Date
Feb 03, 2009
Member Since
