Home from Surgery! First day post-op.

Jul 08, 2009

Warning....this is very long....so if you don't want to read my ramblings, you are welcome to skip to the highlights that are bulleted at the bottom.


It’s funny….but a million things went through my mind the night before surgery. I had done well on my pre-op diet and was so proud of myself, but I found my mind wandering back to the dreaded diets of fatness past. I thought…am I going to fail again…will this all be for naught? Will I survive the struggles of post-op? I am I doomed to be fat forever? And then when I woke up in the morning of my surgery….as I showered all I could think of is how wonderful life is going to be when I can do the things I’ve always dreamt of doing….and amazingly I felt all that negativity leave me. And again, my mentors of positive thinking reminded me how easily one positive thought changes the scheme of things.

Arriving at the hospital (6:30 am)  I was nervous...don't get me wrong….who isn’t scared and or nervous before a surgery? But then I was greeted and tended to by the most wonderful staff and life was indeed moving toward that positive direction.   I have a cast on my left foot from ankle surgery I just had 6 wks ago and it seemed to be the attention getter of entire staff. Its bright purple wrapped and loaded over with bright green paintings of hidden Mickey’s (mouse) and Disney stickers (I’m a Disney fan if you haven’t noticed already?). So it was like a fun conversation for us all as we meandered through the mundane tasks of vitals, IV’s, and the wait for me to be carted to the surgery room. I felt good and so ready now for my new life. 

The anesthesiologist was the first to come visit me before surgery and he was soooo kind and very happy to answer questions. I told him of my concerns about being sedated again so soon after a previous surgery. He was very reassuring that all would be ok since the lap-band surgery wouldn’t keep me under (anesthesia) very long. Then my doctor, Dr. Simpson came in and chatted with me for a bit, again reassuring all would go smoothly. As I awaited my turn to go have surgery, my wonderful hubby at my side, it was nice to hear the nurse tell me more about Dr. Simpson and what a great doctor he is. How he teaches other doctors the lap-band procedure, that he’s always there for his patience, and so much more. I was now more then ever excited to get this done.

All went well during surgery. I was told it took only 20 minutes to complete. Coming out of anesthesia in the recovery room was a blast (if you can believe that). My nurse was also a HUGE Disney fan. We talked about our family trips to Disneyland and lots of other Disney stuff. It was an awesome way to get out of my groggy fog of the operation. He gave me Demerol for the immediate pain of feeling like I had been socked in the stomach. He assured me that after that the only pain I’d probably have most was that from the gas (C02) that they have to fill the tummy up with during the surgery. *Side note; I have since learned that C02 is used to expand the stomach to make easier for the doctor to access the tummy). They had me sip on mint tea before I was to leave the recovery room (not sure why). Both nurses in the recovery room told me I looked great for someone just having had surgery and I took their compliments with a thank you and a happy smile, storing their words in the back of my mind for struggles that would come later through my night of recovery. I knew it would be happy thoughts to pull me through.  

When I was rolled into my hospital room I was greeted by yet another awesomely friendly nurse. She was wonderful and was kind enough to explain (as like with all the other nurses) of what I was to expect as I laid there recovering. Of course the happiness of this day was dampened by the non-stop coverage of Michael Jackson’s Memorial service. I was dumb enough to watch it, and cried several times...which doesn’t really help with the gas in the tummy. The emotions became added pressure which I tried dearly to control.

 I was given Jell-O and chicken broth for breakfast with some Crystal Light Raspberry Lemonade and water. I could only eat half of each at first and sipped on my CL most of the morning. I did manage to finish breakfast a short time later. This was something I should’ve recorded in my mind. Because at lunch, I sipped both broth and jell-o at one sitting and became terribly uncomfortable not even 5 mins after that. But, I was hungry LOL!! So I got up for my walk and that got me burping (who ever thought belching could feel so good and be so acceptable….ha ha). My first walk I was stiff and a miserable with bloat. I thought it would never end. And being in a cast wasn’t much fun as I went for this walk But I did it…I knew if I didn’t I’d be just awful the rest of the day.   Each walk got better, but I still didn’t catch on to the 'sip half now save the rest for a little later', because I ended up sipping up dinner all at once too. Sooooo…you know the rest…I was up walking to get it moving around.
 
Dinner was early, like 5 pm or so, and I am used to later dinners (like around 7 pm). I found myself extremely hungry by 7 and I wasn’t sure what to do. I asked the nurse for a protein drink only to find out that it’s to thick and I’m not on that phase yet. Only clear liquids. Ugggg….what to do??? I knew having more jello or broth wouldn't sustain me. The one thing that I have learned about myself since the pre-op diet is that protein goes a looooong way with me. My husband was determined to get me some protein. So he was awesome enough to head out to Wal-Mart where he found Super Whey protein shots in a clear liquid form. It’s fruit punch and I only sipped a quarter of it (the drink has 26 grams of protein) and found myself feeling satiated. I even had energy…enough where my family stayed and visited til almost 10pm. Even the night time nurse came in and joined us. 

I can’t say that I slept well that night. I don’t do well in hospital beds and I couldn’t sleep on my tummy (which is my favorite way to sleep). I had asked the night nurse for an extra pillow which was useful because I hugged onto it as I slept on my side.   I was up by 7 am the next morning. My tummy was a little achy at the surgical spots. But nothing really bad. I went for my morning walk around the hospital and then awaited breakfast and the arrival of my hubby to take me home. I’d like to say that I did a little better eating…or rather sipping breakfast…but ummm…yeah….I still haven’t learned. I guess I’m a glutton for punishment. But when my hubby came to pick me up, I was all ready to get out, get home, and get on with my new life (I know I keep saying that...but that's what it is). He wanted to stop and get me more of that clear protein, so we went to WalMart. And amazingly, I strolled around like I wasn’t someone who just had surgery. We were in there over an hour and the only thing that bothered me was that I had become really thirsty and I couldn’t gulp down my Power-Aide Zero like I really wanted to. Hmmm….maybe I AM learning…he he. 

The points you are probably wanting to know;
*Yes I had severe stomach pain coming out of surgery. Demerol took care of that.
*No; that extreme pain never came back.
*Yes there is A LOT of gas. Only you can help with that. Get up and walk. Seriously…walking helps move it.
*Sip…and I do mean SIP your liquids. If you don’t want that overly gassy bloat, please heed my warnings…don’t over drink your meals. Silly as it may sound. You’ll be happy that you did!!!
*Take some deep breaths and blow them out slowly…that helps a lot too.
*Most importantly….STAY POSITIVE!! You’re a new you and these few pains are all a part of the journey to your fabulous goal!!!!

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