Stephen P.

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5 Days ago this very hour, Dr. Lautz was finishing up my surgery and closing my incisions. I was a miserable SOB for almost the entire first 3 days and I guess I know why. They had me on an "on demand" Dilaudid drip that I could activate every 15 minutes. So in the first 72 hours, I could have administered up to 288 doses. I administered 8 !!!   The reason was not because I am just a stubborn guy or macho. I just chose to deal with the pain instead of the nausea from the Dilaudid. Anyone even considering this, DO NOT do it! The pain builds up and you end up being a regretful, miserable person!!! I FINALLY listened to all of your responses and the nurses advice and the last several hours of my hospital stay they crushed up another form of pain meds and put them in  whatever I was drinking /eating at the time. NIGHT AND DAY difference once they got the pain under control! I came home Friday afternoon and have used the crushed up pain meds as needed and it has just made all the difference in the world!! Don't get me wrong.... I am not totally pain-free.... but that would not be realistic only 5 days out! I feel good. The pain is minimal considering and the gas pain is basically gone (with he exception of some burping right after drinking (still haven't figured out why yet). I am feeling optimistic about being Post Op and I appreciate all the well-wishers welcoming me to the losers bench!!! I haven't decided how often I will weigh in. The good thing is, I do not own a high capacity scale so I cant do it at home. If I did, I would be on it probably multiple times a day. My first weigh-in will be at my first post-op appointment (June 10,...exactly 2 weeks from my surgery). After that, I am debating whether I will weight myself every week, bi-weekly or monthly...  any suggestions? Well, thanks again for everything and I will accept being yelled at not for not listening about the anti-pain meds!!!  :)

Well, the pain is a little better but still very bad when i burp and take deep breaths....I am able to get down about an ounce of water or protein shake per hour. I don't think that's enough to hydrate a body but we will see.... Well, that is the latest. 

I am getting released tomorrow morning!   The gas pain has definitely gotten better with more walking but after each walk, when i Burp, i do still have some pain.... The thing I wanted to ask some of the veterans here is, I have abdominal pain. pretty severe in fact when I stand up...It feels like someone is tugging on your insides..hard to explain....I can only assume this is normal since less than 3 days ago he was cutting and probing around in there. I  mentioned the abdominal pain to my surgeon and he said use this pain as a baseline.... If it gets worse instead of better, call him. I am just looking for people that have already have this and lived it, Pretty severe abdominal pain is typical? Also, I started my protein shakes today!  It is wild having to take an hour (or 2) to finish an 8 oz shake!!!  :)     Thanks again everyone for everything! his would be a very rough unknown ride without you.

I do not want to sound like Debbie Downer but after this brutal gas gain and my blood pressure being hi (159/80),,,i am wondering if i made he right decision...  i have to start sipping water.it seems daunting. I am trying to burp but when i do it is excruciating,,,,   is this normal?  if it is, how long does this last?  thank you guys.

Well, I leave my house in less than 7 hours to head to the hospital for my VSG surgery. I have to be there at 7:00am and my surgery is slated to begin at 8:30am. I am nervous and excited but more nervous at this point. I have read a lot of stories (both here and elsewhere) of people who take this huge step of getting surgery to help with this problem we all have and somehow end up gaining a lot or even all of their weight back. I am positive that like me, they said "Once I do this and finally lose it, I will NEVER get myself into trouble like this again." I hope my fear is a good thing in this respect! If I can re-read these words and remember this feeling down the road, maybe I can use this fear as a motivation until eating healthy becomes second nature. Well, I do not anticipate a heck of a lot of sleep tonight, that's for sure!  :)          I am hoping that this surgery will be an important part of me getting healthy and happy once again! Something I have not been in 20 years.  I have received a great amount of support and kind words from many members here. I only wish I started posting earlier! Well, better late than never! Thanks for listening. :)

This is about as nervous as I have been. I had the Pre-Op testing done yesterday and I found out all of the neat ways that General Anesthesia can KILL you! lol.  There is no question I am going through with it and hopefully this time I will not be cancelled. I do not think I can handle another mental letdown like that. I wish I could fasts forward 7 days and get this done! The Pre-op diet was brutal the first 3 days or so. Not so bad now. I used to buy into the opinion when people would say "You're taking the easy way out".. B.S... this is most assuredly not easy and I know that the hardest part is yet to come, when it is time to maintain a healthy body weight/BMI !