Sleeved 3/21/11~Welcome to Spring.

Mar 23, 2011

Well, I am home and sleeved and "ON THE LOSERS BENCH". Herein lies my hospital journey. 
I woke up to the notes I had all over my condo telling me not to accidently drink anything. It was 4am and god knows what I will do THAT early. Wiped my belly down for the 2nd time with the wipes and packed my C-pap.(more on that later)
My friend Cathy picked me up and being so early, there was no traffic on the 280 to S SF. Went to admitting and the reality was sinking in...I am REALLY gonna do this. Once I was checked in, I headed right down to pre op. I was impressed how the lag time was non-exisitant. It was like a fine oiled machine.
About 715 the nurse started my IV with a lil lidocaine and no problem. I was impressed. I met the anesthesiologist, by surgeon stopped by and the guy to check out my C-PAP. By 750am, I was being wheeled into the OR and off to la la land...no more time to be nervous and turn back.
Ok...here we go...I woke saying "nausea',then "pain".the reason I say that is because I noticed over the next couple days I couldn't tell what was nausea and what was just pain. I don't remember the recovery room at all except for those words. They must have taken care of it because I woke in the room hooked to my PCA and IV Lactated Ringers. Day 1 was a blur...Morphine, Pepcid, Zofran, Reglan & Heparin shots. I tried to stay sedated as possible so I could wake to feeling better the next day. I walked at least 4 times which was the care plan on my board. Every time I got up to pee, I walked. My mouth was like the Sahara Desert and I didn't feel good. Nausea/Pain...that was the order of the day. But I wasn't discouraged cuz I am a nurse and I just had major surgery. I expected to feel like crap. That night I tried my CPAP. If you use one, don't bother taking it to the hospital unless you HAVE to have it. I put it on and it only proceeded to blow up my stomach more. I could not tolerate it. No No No. I sat the bed up and slept fitfully. I walked all night long when I woke.
Day 2~The next day was a little better, but I was able to pin point what that pain/nausea actually was and those of you who have been through this know what I am gonna say...GAS! My innards would not move no matter how much I walked. I was thinking omg I have an ileus and I will not get out of here for days. Nothing would pass. So...I walked more. My nurses were AWESOME. They knew I was trying and very supportive. They were kind and understanding. I was started on clear liquids the 2nd day but the apple juice was too strong so I diluted it with water and poured them in my little medicine cups. Dr came in and said I needed to stay another night until I could advance to 2nd stage. Phooeey...but really I was glad to be staying cuz I lived 45 miles away and didn't want to be that far from assistance if I needed it. So I took it like a woman and set out to feeling better. Ok, sorry this is fragmented, but a lot changed in 1 day with my care and I was taking some drugs...the Dr thought the slow bowel thing was related to the anesthesia and the morphine...I started itching like no tomorrow. They changed the morphine to Dilaudid and I only used 6 bolus' all day until this am. Last night, I again tried the CPAP and I could not tolerate it again. I am sure that will pass when my new tummy heals. Again, I walked every time I peed...and I peed every 2 hours with the IV. So I was feeling good about doing that but still not passing gas. Grrrrr. The gas felt like my stomach was spasming and it would come in waves. It would pass and I would think "whew" and then a few minutes later, it would happen again. Finally about 1am I pushed the Dilaudid button and dozed off until 4am when they woke me for vitals. Another note here...My BP generally runs 120-130's/60-70's. My BP was 160-170's/high 80-90's. It must have been the pain from the gas also.
Day 3-This am I still wasn't passing gas. I walked again at 7am and I sat on my bed at 720 and....EUREKA!!! I did it! I was so happy I could have cried. And ya know what? I INSTANTLY felt better. I did more over the course of the morning and we all had a party..(J/k) But I did inside cuz I felt like I was reborn in literally an instant. So when people tell you the gas is the worse, they are right. My little stab sites and the stomach...NOTHING! A lil sore is all I feel. As soon as I felt better I was able to advance to full liquids. I had cottage cheese, applesauce, tea. YUM! In all those 2 days of pain, I never vomited. For that I am grateful. Never liked doing that.
So I graduated and they said I could go HOME!! YAY! My daughter picked me up and she is staying with me tonight with her fiance.
Life is good once again. Thank You to all here on this forum. You helped me get through this for sure.
YOU ALL ROCK in my book!
Linda B   


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About Me
CA
Location
30.6
BMI
VSG
Surgery
03/21/2011
Surgery Date
Mar 07, 2011
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