The Days After Surgery

Jul 14, 2008

When I got home from the hospital, the absolute worst part was getting up/down - especially getting in/out of bed! My stomach muscles hurt SOO much, it was amazing. Also, there was a lot of gas from the surgery in my body, so my left shoulder hurt termendously. If I had the foresight, I would have rented a recliner from Rent-A-Center or something.

The other thing was I was amazed at how much I dropped! Everything - pens, remotes, clothing - you name it, I dropped it. My hubby was great and would follow around after me picking things up because there was no way I could get those items. I could not even get my own underpants on - bending was not an option. Holding a smaller-sized pillow to my abdomen was my savior - I went everywhere with that pillow. Coughing especially was the worst - you use your stomach muscles when you cough, so holding that pillow in helped somewhat.

Day two started with terrible diahrea. That continued for about the first week - it was worse than the bowel prep. The worst part was, I'd go ... which entailed holding that pillow to my side each time, and wiping up was a huge challenge .. remember, I could not bend forward so wiping was terribly painful. Then .. I'd get all washed up, settled back into the couch, and 10 min later I'd have to go again. That was an awful week .. just awful!

I never regretted the surgery nor did I have 'buyer's remorse' - I was prepared to deal with anything I had to, but it was not fun! I was so lucky, I had no post-op complications and at my one-week visit I was told that I was the 'model patient'. So .. if I had these frustrations as a model patient, I cannot imagine what others had to go through!

By 1.5 weeks I was moving around much better - the fatigue was just intense. Anything I did - ANYTHING - caused me to have to stop and catch my breath. It's now 4 weeks out, and I *still* deal with that every so often. However, I was back at work after 3 weeks and boy was it good to get out of the house! I am on soft proteins only for weeks 2-4, then this week I will start fruits/veggies. I have a lot of mindgames that I deal with -- I want, I want, I want ... but I know logically why those things cannot happen. It's an ongoing struggle.


Surgery Day

Jul 14, 2008

Today is 4 weeks out - although the official "one month" date is this Wednesday. What a month!! It's amazing how my attitude, mood, physical feelings, and more can change each and every day. There are some things I wanted to write about before I forget them, or they get lost in the distant memory of this long journey!!

The day of surgery, I was really prepared - but got really anxious in pre-op. It didn't help that my surgery was delayed by several hours. When they took me in, the last thing I remember was looking up at the light in the OR.

The NEXT thing I remember was groggily being woken in recovery. I was there 2 hours, but I feel like it was 5 minutes. I was SOO uncomfortable - I had a stiff back and really wanted to move/adjust but I was too groggy, and my stomach muscles hurt way too much so I was a really bad whiner as a result of it.

When they wheeled me into my hospital room, my hubby was there - the first thing I said to him was - WHY did I do this??? I had never felt pain like that in my life. The stomach pain was so intense I felt like I could not move on my own. And my back was still hurting me. The burses were great - they kept trying to adjust me into a comfortable position. I finally just zonked out from the morphine so it was a non-issue.

I got to my room at 7pm, and at 10:00 they got me up to walk - what an ordeal! I felt like I could not move at all, let alone scoot to the edge of the bed and walk. The nurse (Dani, bless her heart) was awesome. She gave me some rules: Dont forget to breathe and dont walk further than you are going to be able to walk back. The "remember to breathe" advice was the best - it's hard to describe how difficult breathing can be after surgery!!! I made it out my door, about 6 ft down the hall .. and back.

They got me up again at 11:30 to walk - I made 1/2 lap around the floor, but it was hard. Every time they'd give me morphine, I'd doze for 2 hours then would wake up. Dani kept coming into my room to check my vitals, and told me I was the only patient that was awake! I dont know why, I wanted to be very aware of my surroundings.

The next day went ok - they got me up at 6am and I stayed in a recliner in the room all day. I was fortunate with no severe complications. They switched from Morphine to Lortab (Vicoden) that day and I did ok with that. The catheter they put in while I was under came out that morning, so my objectives for the day were to walk and pee. I also had to practice deep breathing into a Spirometer and drink a lot of water. My problem is - I couldnt pee! If I couldnt do it, the catheter was going back in at 1pm .. fortunately, I peed right before then.

They discharged me the next morning - I say it again - I was lucky to have no complications.

 


About Me
Chandler, AZ
Location
41.5
BMI
RNY
Surgery
06/16/2008
Surgery Date
Jul 08, 2008
Member Since

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The Days After Surgery
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