The VSG Experience, 4 days Post-Op

Mar 14, 2009

Well, I've been getting lots of messages and TONS of questions about how my surgery went on the 10th, so I will go ahead and just write it all here....and if there are more questions....feel free to message me!!  I want to help in anyway I can!

My surgeon is Dr. Trace Curry in Cincinnati, OH.  He's an amazing man!!! Very nice and down to earth....not one of those jerk pretentious doctors!!!  He honestly cares about your health and success with weight loss surgery.  I didn't even meet any other surgeons....when I met him and read all the reviews....I knew he was my guy!!  I attended his seminar in December '08....and from there, began planning my journey!!!

I am a self pay patient, which means my insurance was of absolutely NO help...which wasn't that big of a surprise.  But fortunately for me, I am in a position where I can afford it on my own.  I have awesome parents who are letting me live with them while I am in college.  I work full time and I JUST paid off my car....so.....VSG here I come!!!!!!

When I went in for my initial consultation with Dr. Curry and his very large staff of nurses, dieticians, and more nurses, I was set on having RNY Gastric Bypass.  When Dr. Curry came in to meet with me, he suggested the VSG.  He said that the weight loss was very similar to a bypass, and it was cheaper (since I'm a self pay!)  He actually suggested the cheaper option....that right there told me that he cares about way more than money.  It took me a few days to decide, but I finally did.  I called and scheduled my surgery for March 10th, 2009.



I consider this date to be my "rebirth" date.  I went under anesthesia as one person, and came out of it a completely different person.  It's a pretty cool concept, if you think about it!

Anyway......March arrived.  My doc had me on this diet called "Medi-fast"..........Yuck.  I've never tasted stuff so horrible in my life.  GRRRRROOOOOSS.   But he wanted me on it so that I could lose as much weight as possible before the surgery.  So I faught thru it and made it.  Of course I cheated............a lot.................but I still made healthy choices.  I lost 7 lbs.  

Finally, March 9th arrived.  The day from hell.  I had to be on clear liquids all day.....then nothing after midnight.  Talk about starvation.  I thought I was going to die!!!  I've never been so hungry in all my life!!!  But again.....I faught thru it.....and I made it.

Tuesday, March 10th, 2009.

I woke up that morning at about 5:30.  I had to be at the hospital at 6:20.....so needless to say....it was time to haul ass!!!  My mom and I got into the car and drove off.  I almost puked when we pulled out of the drive way from being so nervous.  I mean holy hell?  Do you know what they were going to do to me today???? They're going to poke a bunch of holes in me and rip my stomach out!!!!!!!!!!!!  (Could I be more morbid? ;)  It's just my nature, sorry!)  I was really freaking out!!!  We pulled into the parking lot and I turned into a zombie.  I just got out of the car, got my bag, and walked slowly and quietly to the door.  I went to the desk to let the receptionist know that I was there to have surgery.  She instructed me to have a seat, and told me a nurse would be with me in a moment.  It was about 10 minutes....but it felt like 3 seconds.  A very skinny blonde woman came out from the hall and called my name.  I walked back with her and she instucted my mom to wait in a small waiting area for about 20 minutes....and then she could come and be with me in Pre-op.  

The nurse walked me back to the pre op room, and it was loaded with beds and curtains.....even a few people hooked up to IVs and had those funny looking blue caps on their heads.  Those always make me laugh.  She took me to my own private little curtained area and instructed me to stip down to nothing and put on a gown.  I complied.  I was relieved to see that they had supplied me with a very cozy pair of grey socks/slippers....my feet are always so damn cold.  I laid down on the bed and got under the covers, and about 20 minutes later.....another nurse finally came back and started my IV and put one of those stupid caps on me.  And to add insult to injury...they put this really big long black sticker on my forehead that they claim "tells my temperature".  Oh jesus.........I must look like a complete dork.  But when the nurse came back with a big syringe full of Versed..............I didn't care anymore.

My mom came back to the room with my Grandmother and my Aunt who had just shown up.....They were all standing around my bed looking at me and holding my hand telling me that it was going to be ok.  This would had been the point where my eyes would have exploded with tears (as they are right now while I'm typing this) but I was so drugged up....I just laid there staring into space.  Then a man came into the room and he stood in the middle of the room and slowly turned and pointed at each patient.  Kinda like duck duck goose.  Guess who his freakin' goose is???  They told my family it was time for me to go, and escorted them out of the room and wheeled me back to the OR.  We stopped just outside of the last OR on the left.  OR 11.  I could see thru the windows the big lights over the table.  Then someone walked out of the room and the doors swung open......I saw the table.  It looked like a total torture chamber in there.  We stood outside the OR waiting for the staff to prep the room for about 5 minutes.  Then the nice gentleman who was with my Anesthesiologist pushed the button on the wall.....and the doors flung open.  Time for me to go.  

They alligned my bed and the OR table and asked me to "scoot" on to the table.  I laid down on the torture table and there was another man down at my feet putting on these cuff things on my legs.  I looked over and my surgeon walked out from a little room and he was putting his mask on.  He said "Why are you still awake? I can't operate on you while you're awake!"......I laughed and said "Please don't!".  So then, my anesthesiologist came over with a huge syringe in his hand, and I saw the needle poke thru the port on my IV.  He told me I was going to feel a slight burn....but at the same time, the assistant anesthesiologist turned my head back so I was staring upward and he put a mask on my face and said very gently "Here's some gas for you to breathe.....just take slow breaths.................................................have a good nap".  I felt the burn in my hand, and suddenly felt my arms and legs going numb.  I was staring up into that big light above the table......and it slowly faded away.

Then pretty suddenly, I woke up in the recovery room.  I had a not so nice nurse in there....but nurses who have to deal with people coming out of anesthesia can't be the nicest people anyway.  I kept waking up and drifting back off again.  I remember waking up a couple of times and ripping that stupid oxygen thing out of my nose.  LOL.  The nurse came back to my bed and realized I had ripped it out and yelled at me.  "Lyndsay, you HAVE to keep this oxygen on!".  Blaah.  I wanted to punch her but I was too messed up to realize it.  Then my mom and my sister came back.  Hmm....when did my sister get here? I didn't know she was coming"......I opened my eyes and looked at them and went right back to sleep.

I woke up a while later when they came to take me to my room.  I love being pushed around in beds....it's so fun.  You just watch the celing above you and enjoy the ride.  The only time I don't like it is when I'm being taken to the torture chamber!!  I got to my room and fell back asleep.  My mom came to me and told me that she was going to leave for a little bit, but that my dad was there, and that she would be back in a few hours.  I remember waking up a few times and seeing my dad sitting next to me writing on a clip board......don't have a clue what the hell he was doing...but I thought it was awesome that he was sitting at my bedside watching me sleep for god knows how long.  

I was admitted to the hospital at 6:30 that morning, and I was out the door at 4:30 in the afternoon, the following day.  My nurses were ok.......They could have done a better job, but they had so many patients.  I only hit my call button to ask for more ice chips and pain meds.  The morning after surgery, my favorite nurse, Danielle, came in and told me she was going to have a tray brought in for me.  Oh crap.  I get to eat?  After about 2 hours....there was a tray brought into my room.  I had a nice bowl of broth, a bowl of Jell-O, a small cup of Crystal Light, a cup of de-caf coffee, a little tray of sweet and low, and a sugar free popsicle.  :)  I was excited about the popsicle because it was blue raspberry. HELL YEAH!  Someone up above sent me that popsicle!  They knew blue raspberry was my total fav!!! It was kinda weird taking my first bites.  I was careful to make sure to take small bites.......When it would hit my stomach, it hurt a little....but I was told this was completely normal.  Then I tried the broth.....it was ok.....but I really liked the Crystal light.  It wasn't ice chips!!!!!  The Jell-O I didn't care for....it was too warm and goopy.  

So FINALLY...it was time for me to go home.  My dad picked me up at the front entrance to the hospital where a very nice man wheeled me down there in a wheel chair.  He took me home and as soon as I walked into the door, I started to feel a little sick.  I think it was just because I had walked a bunch and I hadn't done that in a while....lol.  The journey home from the hospital can be rough!  So I sat on my bed and went for my anti nausea medication, which are just small white pills.  About 3/4 the size of an M&M.  I went to swallow it......of course it didn't go down.  They seriously need to coat those damn things.  So I had to swallow another mouthfull of Propel to get it to go down, and I don't know if the pill got stuck....or if it was just too much liquid at once, but holy hell.  I started to salivate like a rabid dog and felt like I was going to pass out.  Finally after about 5 minutes it passed and I felt a little better.  I laid down and went to sleep.  I woke up about 5 hours later and did the same thing.  My mom woke me up and asked me if I had even moved since I came home....I told her yeah and that I had just taken more nausea meds and fell back asleep.  She told me I needed to get up and start drinking more.  My surgeon has me on this god awful clear liquid diet.  It's ok, though.  I do feel head hungry at times.....but I just keep sipping and eating my popsicles!!!  

So far I only have 2 complaints. The first is the swallowing pills thing.  That is getting easier though.  I took some meds last night and they went down super easy...no problems at all.  YAY!  :)  The second complaint is these damn gas pains.  It was tricking me for a while....I thought I was hungry!!!  It really does feel like your stomach is growling, then I would get this bubbly feeling in my throat.  It's not painful, but just really freaking annoying. I've been taking Mylanta, and it's been helping tremendously with that little problem, so YAY#2!  I will be going to see my surgeon on Tuesday for a post op check up...and then I will be able to go on my puree diet.....Which I am oddly looking forward to!  A whole week of nothing but liquid....you're ready for something different!!!!! 

Hope this answers most of your questions....again, if not...just email me!!!

Oh and by the way.................Since I was weighed on Monday..................I have lost 25 lbs!!!!!  WOOOT!!!!!!!!

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