diana44
At Home -- Real Time Begins
Sep 07, 2013
So I finished all my consults, clearances, supervised weight loss, and pre-op. Did a little begging w/ the insurance company, paid my 20% and my surgery was finally approved and scheduled for 9/4/13 at 7:30 am.
I think my pre-op weight was 283 the day of surgery. The heaviest was 290. I spent a lot of effort making sure I didn't go over that 290 weight once I began my journey. During the 2 weeks pre-surgery it was to be no carbs and for close to 4 weeks I stuck by that (I cheated a little here & there); however, what I found is that after a few weeks of no breads and starches when I ate them it felt like a bowling ball in my tummy. Hmmm, my body was already changing.
So, on 9/4/13 the surgery was scheduled. I went for pre-op. Since I had gall stones, Dr. Macik decided to remove the gall bladder. So, I knew there was going to be a lot of tummy work in the operating room. I really don't remember how I felt other than determined. I knew it was going to be a big change but I couldn't go on like things had been in the past so here comes the big unknown.
On the day of surgery, myself and boyfriend drove down to the hospital at the crack of dawn. No traffic got in our way. I had told him we needed to be there by 5am and good thing -- b/c we made it there right on time @ 5:30a.m. I was taken back and was dressed in Northside's fashionable hospital gown (which I hear won lots of fashion awards of late) and was given a nice shot of Versed and off to la-la land I went.
I awoke to my boyfriend, Collins, by my side watching me sleep. He had lots of reservations about the surgery; however, when it was clear I was taking control of my body and moving forward he did 180 turn around and became very supportive.
So, they wheeled me into the OR and put the mask of deep sleep over me told me to breathe deeply and by the 3rd breathe I was out like a light and that was the last thing I remember until I woke up in PICU (post-surgery ICU) the bariatric unit they keep you at. Collins was with me and I began meeting the nursing staff who were terrific and then some. I cannot speak highly enough about Northside's nursing staff they were phenomenal.
They kept me comfortable and kept my pain meds where I could tolerate the pain but not keep me comatose. They were always friendly, nice, supportive, and smiled always. They were awesome. Deborah the bariatric nurse was there every step of the way as well explaining things in detail.
The first day the doc came and saw me and said he had to also do a hiatal hernia repair. I knew that was there b/c it was in the upper GI report that got shipped off to him. I guess, I read more about my reports than the doc. Needless to say, he found out about it during surgery and fixed it. That meant I had 3 major surgeries all in one & he told me that would increase my pain levels which OMG did it.
The first thing they did was take me down around 8pm to do a swallow test to ensure no leaks. I was too groggy and could not swallow enough of the barium to get it into my tummy so it just sat in my esophagus. No clearance for me. Which meant only ice chips until it could be redone the next day. I remembering them asking me if I could open my eyes and I replied "you don't need my eyes open for me to stand in one place and swallow." My body can only follow one direction at a time. Really, I think it was too early and I was too drugged for them to have success at this -- but the Doc wants to know about leaks ASAP and I can understand that.
So, ice chips became my lifesaver. They helped so much with the nausea it was unbelievable. There felt like there was a big gas bubble over my tummy where the hiatal hernia was and ice chips were the only thing that I could get down w/o excruciating pain.
I would hurt so bad that I would get nauseated. I didn't realize the one thing they didn't want you to do was vomit. The sore tummy muscles I could handle and the incision pain was tolerable. The gas pains and cramps were horrible. Thank god for dilaudid.
Being a recovering person, I didn't want to abuse my pain meds and with the dilaudid I noticed I could tolerate pain for 1-2 hrs past the allotted time which was good.
Then they switched me to the Roxicet oral and I kept that dose 1/2 of the recommended dose. Which meant I hurt a little bit the last couple of hours -- but, hey, I had 3 major surgeries in one.
Collins was there every step of the way. He helped me walk the halls of the hospital NIGHT and DAY!!! Helped me back and forth to the bathroom. Slept on the uncomfortable chair/bed nightly. Helped me shower -- everything! He's been great!
So, on Friday they decided it was discharge day and I agreed. Deb helped me find things that my tummy could handle which meant cold, cold, cold stuff. Dr. Macik told Collins how to fix my milk where I could get it down. So, we had a plan now and we were waiting for the D/C orders to rock and roll home!
Collins went into fix milk mode and crush ice chips. So I was discharged on Friday and for the last couple of days have been home eating the frozen chocolate milk that he made from Nestle Quick Sugar Free.
I weighed in today @ 271 lbs. That's what a 30 lb loss since the beginning of my journey. It's beginning to get easier to walk. I'm feeling less joint pain -- but that could be b/cof the roxicet.
But, I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing, walking, drinking, and having a good attitude at this new way of life.
Diana
