My hospital story--long

This is my hospital story. I hope it helps you if you're new to all this.

I was sleeved on October 8th at 7:30 in the morning. I was really nervous about the IV. I kept telling myself that all I had to do was get through the insertion of the IV and after that everything would be easy. That was sort of true, since they gave me Versed and that relaxed me a great deal and made going into the OR relatively easy.

I woke up in recovery near a man named Raul. I know his name because the nurse kept saying it over and over: "Raul, are you okay?" "How are you doing, Raul?" And poor Raul couldn't do anything but groan and retch. I guess he had a bad reaction to the anesthesia.

That first day wasn't too bad for me, mostly because I was too high on the dilaudid they gave me to care how I felt. I had dizziness and nausea and it was really hard to do the walking they wanted me to do, but I hobbled along anyway. The nurses told me I wasn't taking enough pain medication and I started clicking the pain pen more often. I remember I had a few surreal "holy **** I really did it" moments.

That night I got very little sleep. I had an obnoxious sleep apnea mask (not the one I used at home) that drove me crazy, the IV pole kept beeping, the anti-clot boots on my legs made this weird wheezing noise, and so did a pad on the bed (used, I think, to prevent bed sores). Lots of noise. I'd brought ear plugs, but somehow I managed to forget I had them.

The second day was 24 hours of pure misery. I think the biggest part of the problem is my fibromyalgia flared up big time from lack of sleep--I ached all over, and I mean everywhere--plus I had anxiety attacks that went untreated because I wasn't already on meds for it. My legs would shake uncontrollably. One of the nurses got the idea of wrapping them in hot blankets, which helped a lot, but it would have been even better if they could have given me meds. If I have another planned surgery, I'm going to get a prescription for something BEFORE I go in.

They took me off the pain pen and gave me Roxicet (sp?), at half dose because I was still worried about nausea. The half dose was a mistake. I really needed full doses.

I also had diarrhea from the leak test they gave me that morning, so I got really good at pulling myself into and out of the bed. Luckily the cute male nurse was never around during this time, or I would have died of embarrassment. My dizziness was still severe and I could hardly walk. There are snails who were faster than I was, creeping down the hallway with the nurse holding onto me so I wouldn't fall over, while the theme song from "Rocky" played in my head.

Another miserable night, and then they said they were discharging me. While I waited for discharge, I got to sip chicken broth, plain herbal tea and tiny bites of jello. They also sent me up some coffee that was so watered down I could see right through it. I thought it was tea at first. I was like "this is the strangest tea I've ever had. It tastes like coffee." Lol.

I was so sure I'd get home and be even more miserable without trained staff to help me, although the nurse reassured me I'd feel better there. Well, she was right. I came home, took a 2-hour nap, and felt like a new person. That's why I'm convinced about half my pain was due to sleep deprivation (fibromyalgia flares up if you don't get good sleep).

At home, I was still sore and my tummy made lots of bizarre gurgling noises, but the pain was so much more manageable. I was on full doses of Roxicet and getting decent sleep, and that made all the difference. I moved really slowly and had to work at getting in my liquids, but honestly the swallowing part was--and still is--easy for me.

I haven't had one instance of foamies or slimies or throwing up. The only time I've been truly uncomfortable from eating/drinking is when I went too fast and the two times I tried to swallow pills that were too big for me. I'm still on chewable vitamins for that reason. Also, I can tolerate anything but coffee, which is a problem because my adherence to my plan completely depends on my will and my decision not to eat junk. There's no pain or fear keeping me in line. Sometimes I screw up. This week I've eaten bread several times. But the weight is coming off and most of the time I'm on plan. I already feel so much better than I did the day of surgery, and I've mostly forgotten how crummy I felt in the hospital.

One more thing--I went in with GERD and I still have it. I do take my PPI faithfully, and I sleep on a wedge pillow to elevate my upper body, and that helps a lot. I have to limit caffeine and acidic foods like citrus and tomatoes, but I'm doing alright with it.

You did not share how much weight you have lost and how much you have to go. 

I went into surgery at 229.8 lbs (I'm 5'2"). I've lost 25 pounds since then.