4 days post op

Nov 11, 2011

Monday was my sleeve day and everything was smooth. I was very nervous before and my blood pressure was high. The staff was great and just kept telling me that they would take good care of me. I was anxious about them finding a vein for an IV but they got it first stick. They listened to me when I said the best spots! Soon I had calming drugs in my system. All I remember of the operation is thinking that the OR was smaller than I thought it would be and they were telling me to take some deep breaths..........then I woke up in the recovery room. I was very nauseous when I woke up but always am. They had to give me three different drugs for the nausea. I was in pain to but nothing worse than I thought it would be.

The care I got in the hospital ward was great! It felt like every 2 hours they were giving me some kind of medication. I did have to swallow medicine.....that did not go so well. I had to relearn to take a pill without taking in too much air. That took about two days to learn that.I felt like I was going to throw up but it was more slimming with belches. Very attractive sounding I know. I was drinking water two hours after surgery with ice chips for my dry mouth. I was also up walking around. By the next morning I got a tray of jello, broth and tea. I could only eat about two bites of the jello and the broth was too strong for me. They did upper GI for the leak test early in the afternoon and everything looked great. I was home showering at 3pm. Of course looking back, I should have stayed in the hospital the second day - it was my choice. The drugs they give you for pain are much stronger.

Days 2 and 3 post op are the worst. For me, that is when the gas pain kicked in. I am still fighting it today but I know that is what it is. One word of advice, Gas-x is your friend. I have been taking it every 6 hours since surgery. They also have me on a drug called bentyl that is supposed to help the stomach heal faster by stopping muscle spasms. This drug is also taken every 6 hours. What else am I taking? Prilosec 1 time a day and lortab for pain. They gave me a prescription for Reglan an anti nausea drug but I haven't needed it at all. Last night I slept for 5 hours straight which felt good. Every time I get up I do some laps of the house and drink some water.

Today is the first day I have felt alive. I did sleep a lot this morning but that is all part of the healing process. I am thankful that I have a recliner to sleep in when my husband isn't home. Getting out of a bed is horrible right now because of the one stomach incision. I feel that I am gaining confidence with my sleeve, allowing me to drink more water than I thought I could. My goal for the first week is to meet my water intake goal of between 40-60 ounces a day. I will then focus on getting the protein amounts higher. I do think it will be easier to add protein when I am on purees, mushies, and soft foods. I can't wait to eat some cottage cheese.

Everyday gets easier and better pain wise. I did get a nice surprise that I will be off on disability for 3 weeks instead of the 1 week I was expecting. I will need that time to become adjusted to my new eating plan. By the time I am going back to work I will be on soft foods one week out from normal foods. I need to learn what I can handle and what I can not. Has every day been a positive expedience? No! Even today I was thinking what did I do to myself. When I was talking to a friend the first time she asked how I felt. I said I felt that I should have done WW instead. Like I haven't tried that before!  I think mostly I was just down on myself because I had to go to this extreme measure to lose weight, as if I don't have any self control. Like I said every day gets easier. I am already seeing changes on the scale in my body that is what makes me remember why I did this. I will post my official weight loss on Monday!

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