my_turn1
My Journey So Far....
Jun 19, 2008
I thought I would give some insight about my expectations and experience thus far. I had surgery on Saturday, 6/14/08 with Dr. Aceves. I know that this has been mentioned quite a few times but I will mention it again. I was exremely pleased with the hospital, their doctors, and the nursing staff. I live in the bay area and the only way I can compare that hospital is to a hotel type place. One there, you get your own room, with pretty much your own designated nurse, along with the most knowledgeable nurses who are kind and respectful. We all have our favorites and I will tell you that Sergio and Elsa were my favorite nurses. Since I came on a Saturday and Dr. Aceves had to leave for a conference on Monday, he did my surgery and I saw him on Sunday, however I really enjoyed Dr. Lopez and Dr. Lomei (I hope I spelled that right). They were kind and knew the discomfort I was having. There are quite a few of us who use this board to prepare ourselves for the procedure that is to come in our own personal lives. I would like to tell you about my expereinces. Please do not think that everyone is the same because they are not. In fact, there was a lady who was older in age than I was and had the RNY and was up and walkig around much sooner than I was. Now to my story: We checked into the hosptial in the morning. My husband and 2 daughters joined me on my journey. My daughters wanted to be there to help do my make up and fix my hair. (haha, like I cared that I could scare away people, but it meant a lot to them). The room was quite big with a sofa. When the nursing staff realized that my family would be sticking around for the whole day of my surgery, they arranged to get another sofa chair/bed into the room so that my husband had a place to lay down. Before surgery, I was given the option to have a spinal tap. This helps with the pain on the first day but then the second day is rough. I opted for the spinal tap. My logic was very simple, I was going to be quite sore on the first day since it wassurgery day. I was in recovery for quite some time. I was vomiting blood so they did not want me to leave till they stabilized me. My surgery time was about 1 hour and 22 minutes however from start to fini**** was about 6 hours before I returned to my room. Once I got back, I was still throwing up so they gave me a shot to stop the nausea. It worked for about 3 - 4 hours but it would start up again. After being just exhausted with the whole surgery, I finally fell asleep and my family retreated to the hotel that was paid on the first day by the doctors office and the following days by us. The next morning, the gas pain started I so desperately wanted to rip the drain tube right not from inside me but of course I did not. The gas pain consumed my whole Sunday because I was terribly uncomfortable. *Most people who have the spinal tap have more discomfort on the second day. Those who do not have the spinal tap, have greater pain on the first day. The doctors came in and checked on me about 5-7 times on this day. They gave me a sleeping pill on this night and I fell asleep only to wake up vomiting again. On the third day, it was like a new beginning, I felt stronger. I was still sore and had some vomiting issues but I felt stronger until they asked me to go with them to take the barium test. OMG, that stuff tastes disgusting. I had to take a gulp so that they could capture it in the x-ray which I thought, ok I can do this one time and do it right otherwise they will need me to do it again, so I gulped away. Let me tell all of you to perpare yourselves for that. The barium liquid causes diaherea. At first it seems like you are just passing gas but before you know it you are pratically running to the bathroom to have a bowel movement. After the barium test, I was nauseous the rest of the day. That night i was given another sleeping pill and my family decided to stay the night with me because I was so uncomfortable. *Good news, there were no leaks* The following morning, it was time to leave. I was up and packing and ready to go home. The people were friendly, I just missed my home and my bed. The drive back over the border was long, very long. However, once we got home, I took a shower and had some chicken broth. After all of that I relaxed in my bed and fell asleep. I had nauseua again early this morning but I got up and had a nexium dissolved it in water and sipped on that at about 4:00am and I have been fine so far. I am trying really hard to get my protein in however it is still difficult. There does not seem to be much room in my tummy. I just saw my girls eating a turkey and cheese sandwich and I wanted to have one as well but I am well aware of the dangers and I will not do anything to harm myself for a stupid satisfaction. I know that this was a really long, long post but I wanted all of you out there to get a chance to understand what the procedure entails. Of course there are some ups and downs however if you feel that you are strong than you can conquer this. Yes I must mention that right before my surgery, I cried and told my husband and daughters I should have stopped myself from getting this out of control. It was a long time coming. I just got passive about it and refused to believe how much weight I really did gain. It was not pity for myself, just a feeling of letting myself down. Thanks for letting me ramble on. Lisa
