3 days post-op VSG and I am alive.

Oct 31, 2010

Had my surgery Thursday AM. Came home Friday evening. I may not write much now, and it may not all make sense, but wanted to capture some of my feelings before I forget.

From my perspective, the surgery itself was fairly uneventful. I showed up, answered a bunch of questions, the anesthesiologist showed up, mixed me the daily special, and away we went.

I was in quite a bit of pain when I woke up - they said they didn't want to give me anymore pain meds because they wanted me to breathe more. I stayed in what I would consider a 3-6 pain range during my entire stay. THe stuff that really knocked me out helped the most with the pain but limited my ability to all the other stuff I was supposed to be doing like walking and breathing exercises. The day without liquids was rough, but at least I didn't have to worry that my body was getting enough because they had me on IV. Too much sugar in my  IV apparently, because they woundup giving me insulin shots (I am not diabetic, so this was a pretty big surprise to me). I made it through the day gargling water frequently and using glycerine swabs. Sleeping, and hall walking, it is a blur to me even now. I do recall feeling nausea every time that I sat up, a nasty taste in my mouth, and  short moments of clarity where I could get up and walk. Mostly I slept. I loved the pneumatic massage stockings. I want a set for home.

Swallowing the iodine solution for the leak check the next day was quite an unusual experience - it tsted nasty, and since it was the first thing I was allowed to swallow it was a whole new experience. The restriction was incrediblsaid it's tooe. Like trying to swallow while someone is holding your throat and punching you in the gut. The table had a motorized recline as well. It was a wild ride. I somehow made it through without hurling.

Everything they brought me tasted nasty, with the exception of some vegetable broth which I managed to get down a whopping 3oz over an hour. Everything else was about 1oz/hour at most. With goals of 40oz protein and 480z fluids - it was clear I wouldn't meet that. They were bringing another tray as soon as pushed away the previous.

The surgeon showed up on Fri (the day after surgery), threw open the blinds and said "it's too gloomy in here. go outside and walk. A man your age - we should have you out running." I hope he doesn't read this. I really wanted to punch him.

The hospital wanted to continue giving me insulin injections even though my blood sugar had dropped in the normal range and I was off IV fluids. I declined the injection. I tried to get some answere from the nurses about whethere the amount of restriction I was experiencing was normal or safe. I had troule getting a straight answer,  and decided I would be better off continuing my recovery at home. My surgeon, who in my opinion, seemed impatient to discharge me quickly agreed. We left at 6pm, roughly 36 hours after surgery.

I have had zero problems with my six incision sites. They were small, closed cleanly, and appear to be healing well. Only minor localized pain.

My intestines hurt quite a bit. and are noisy all night.  I feel like I have had the biggest Thanksgiving meal of my life, while having the worst stomach flu, and being asked to drink nasty liquid medicine around the clock. I have taken some gas-x but it hasn't helped much.

Everything tasted like medicine to me. even water. I think I got in about 20oz yesterday.

Had a popsicle today that was pretty good, but no nutritional value of course. That's realy all I can think of right now. I have got to find a protein I can tolerate - I found them all tolerable before surgery, but smells and tastes are so intensified and anything not natural tastes foreign to me.

Hoping things will get better soon. Oh and I gained a temporary 7 lbs during surgery from all the fluids and swelling - another small suprise.

I apologize for all the typos I am sure are above - I'm just not up to proofing right now, and wanted to give an honest account of my experience before I forget. I remain positive that things will get better, they just suck right now.

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