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I am glad you are doing well!! I highly recommend taking your pain meds on schedule for at least a few days even if you are feeling OK. It is hard to get the pain back under control once it gets out of hand.
Happy healing!!
Laura in Texas
53 years old; 5'7" tall; HW: 339 (BMI=53); GW: 140 CW: 170 (BMI=27)
RNY: 09-17-08 Dr. Garth Davis
brachioplasty: 12-18-09 Dr. Wainwright; lbl/bl: 06-28-11 Dr. LoMonaco
"May your choices reflect your hopes and not your fears."
on 5/19/18 10:44 pm, edited 5/19/18 3:45 pm
End of Day 11.
The good: My bladder is waking up again, my incisions are all dry and still stuck together, I can walk without a walker fine (still hunched, but better), I only need Extra Strength Tylenol, two of my 4 remaining drains seem ready to pull, I've started iron supplements (my skin/face is just plain gray). It no longer kills me to cough or laugh. Doesn't feel great, but isn't breathtakingly painful.
The less good: We'll see tonight, but I seem to have one accident a day around 4am. If you hear a hallelujah! echoing in the air tomorrow morning, I had a good night. Still hunched. Still have two drains putting out between 55 and 70 ccs a day. So hating the recliner now. I want my bed. I called my dog sitter and had to ask her to keep my dog longer. There is no way I could reach down to get his bowl let alone take him out.
Anyway improvements are happening, but this is the roughest thing I have ever put myself through and I think with all my reading and planning I still managed to underestimate how much assistance I was going to need for how long. Waaaaaay underestimated. Give a lot of thought to how you'll be cared for if you are single and live alone!
I didn't get much sleep last night with all the noise and nurse checks but I feel pretty well considering I am just one day out. I don't have too much pain as long as I am still but getting up and down really hurts. I got my catheter out early this morning and things are working well. I have a morphine pump which is working well plus regular doses of Valium for the muscle tightness.
I've been up for a few slow short walks. It hurts but feels nice to move around. I certainly won't be running laps for a while!
The doctor is due soon and hopefully I can go home by lunchtime or before. I look forward to getting home and taking a nap!
HW: 248+, SW (RNY: 2/28/17): 244, GW (10/17): 125; LW: 115; 45# regain (19-20); CW: 135.6; new goal: 135; Plastics: Ext mastopexy, Ext abdominoplasty-5/18/2018; diagnosed w/ gastroparesis 11/20.
Glad to hear those news!! it will get better very soon!!
on 5/18/18 6:55 pm
Mostly better! It's day 10. My smelly days are behind me, I have two garments to rotate between. I don't need a walker anymore and can shuffle around hunched over pretty well. I still can't pick up anything I drop unless I have my grabber tool. Incisions are healing well. I am no longer in any pain and off pain meds. My friends washed my hair over the kitchen sink yesterday. Heaven! Honestly, if I can just get over the urge incontinence everything will be awesome. The good outweighs the bad, it's just that the bad sucks so much...
How are you doing? hope you are better! Hang in there... it will be all worth it in a few weeks!!!
on 5/18/18 2:57 pm
Just to provide an update, I did call the surgeon's office at 5 am to ask for help with the urge incontinence. They called back at 11 and said they'd check with the surgeon. They called back with his recommendation a while later... "get a bedpan". Seriously?!?!? I wanted to strangle his poor office manager through the phone.
so figuring I had done what I should have done - called the doctor in charge when the problem started and gotten a (pardon me) ****ty answer, I contacted my regular doctor. He called back in less than one minute, listened to my concerns, said it can happen when the bladder muscles don't have to do anything for a week and then are told to get back to work. They are sometimes slow to respond. He then emailed me detailed kegel instructions and a study from UCI medical school about post catheter incontinence and how kegels can get you continent quickly. Night and day responses in terms of helpfulness and hopefulness!!
Today was my surgery and things went well. I am going for my first walk in a few minutes and I'll check with more details in the morning.
Also had to include a pic of me in preop.
HW: 248+, SW (RNY: 2/28/17): 244, GW (10/17): 125; LW: 115; 45# regain (19-20); CW: 135.6; new goal: 135; Plastics: Ext mastopexy, Ext abdominoplasty-5/18/2018; diagnosed w/ gastroparesis 11/20.
donnaloza · 2 replies · 447 views
