My Hospital Experience

Jan 04, 2009

Hello all,

I had Lap RNY with Dr. Kuldeep Singh on 12/8/08.  My surgery went extremely well....it was "textbook", the best possible outcome.  Dr. Singh did find and repaired a hiatal hernia that I had no idea I had.  In addition to that incision, I have 4 other cuts less than an inch long plus the JP drain hole.  I also received a pain reliever called "On Q" which inserted two thin fiber optic-like tubes just under the skin which distributes pain meds to the incisions.  My husband removed the "On Q" about 4 days after I returned home.  It did not hurt at all.  The hospital removes the JP drain tube before you leave and that was a bit uncomfortable.
  St. Agnes is the best!  Nearly all the nurses and techs were great.  I had a nurse and a tech (who is kinda like a nurse's assistant) assigned to me for 12 hour periods at a time.  The following were fabulous:  Nurse Laureta, Tech Jay was a doll, he was very prompt emptying my bags and took me on my first walk.  Night nurse Laide, she was a sweetheart.  My last nurse was Teresa, very nice, professional and attentive.  And last but not least, my buddy Ola.  Ola was my last tech and she was my sister in purple...lol.  She is very patient and kind.   My advice for rooms:  don't let them put you in rooms 409 thru 413, they face the construction and are very noisy.  Construction goes on from 6:30am to about 5:30Pm.  If you are near the nurses station, it might be noisy too but you can always close your door.  I recommend that anyway.   First day, I was pretty much in and out of it....no pain though.  I could hear my husband and mom talking and could respond to them, but I kept my eyes closed most of the day.   Second day, still foggy, but more alert.  Second and third day were the worst for me because I started to feel trapped.  My legs were in compression stockings so that I wouldn't get a blood clot.  I could not get out of bed by myself, I had to have someone unhook me from the stockings.  Plus, I was getting a headache from all the construction noise.  On the plus side, I passed my "leak test" so I was allowed to begin fluids.  I didn't drink a lot but my advice is to try to drink some, even if you don't want it.  For me, room temperature or warm fluid was better than ice cold.  Had to dump the ice out of the water. 

I had a little melt down the night of day 2.  I had a horrible nurse/tech combo that night.  This tech, luckily I didn't get her name, would let the door bang open every time she entered my room.  After not being able to rest all day because of the construction noise, plus trying to find a comfortable (ha!) position, I had just sent my husband and mom home (they were looking as rough as me!), I turned off the TV, just drifted off to sleep when BAM went the door!  My heart raced.  Tech Ratchet checked my vitals, looked at my drain and left.  Off to slumber one more time.....40 minutes later...BAM....she was back.  I called in my night nurse, crying, and demanded that she call my husband and get me out of there.  Although she wasn't as unpleasant as the tech, she was not as warm as all the other nurses I had experienced to that point.  However, she did promise to leave me alone between 12 midnight and 5 am so I could get some sleep. 

Felt better on day 3 with my 5 hours sleep under my belt (ha!).  Started pureed food.  Oatmeal was good, went down well.  Lunch brought pureed chicken which looked nasty but I mashed it up some more with my fork and it was "do-able".  Ate a bite or two of mashed potatoes.  Still don't know what the green stuff was...but it didn't appeal at all.  Advice to others:  Don't feel like you have to eat it all, They bring more food than you can possibly eat.  I think they give you different stuff so you can find something you like (tolerate?).   Went home day 3, wasn't sure I ready but by the time I got dressed, I felt 100% better.  For some reason, when I put on my pants, it gave just enough pressure on my stomach so it lessened some of the surface pain I was having.  I did get the On Q and it seemed to be working all right except right at the insertion location (realized later that it was the clear plastic tape that they use to secure it to your belly that was giving me a "pulling" sensation.)    My advice to others:  I wouldn't bring a lot of clothes, or a lot of anything with you to the hospital.  Things I would recommend:  baby wipes helped a lot, hand lotion, toothbrush/paste and chap stick (a must!).      

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