I am home from surgery and feeling pretty good this morning after a good nights sleep.
I’d like to document a recap for my own records.
Friday:
I woke up at 3am in order to get ready to leave by 4am, as my check-in time was scheduled from 5:30am to 6am. I had to wash the surgical area with a special soap to help sanitize it, which I didn’t quite understand because I’d just be putting on normal clothes after that.
We arrived pretty quickly, my dad and my Aunt went with. I think my Aunt went because she didn’t want my dad driving down to D.C. alone, which was probably a good idea. I was the first patient to get checked in because registration hadn’t even gotten there yet when I got in. They took me in the back and started getting me all suited up an IV’d in preparation. An IV in each hand, some blood samples, and bright blue socks.
They let my Aunt and my dad sit with me for a few minutes while we waited for my surgeon to arrive, then they had me walk back to the operating room and hop onto the surgical table. They put my arms onto armrests, and I guess the guy snuck some anesthesia into me while I wasn’t looking because I don’t remember a damn thing after that.
I remember waking up in recovery and being extremely drowsy. I also remember being in a lot of pain, but not from the surgical area, but from the CO2 they pump into your chest in order to blow it up so they can do work. That gas just sat in my chest and felt absolutely horrible. They had me on a morphine pump which I clicked a few times but it didn’t do a damn thing so I had to just sit and deal with it, which sucked.
I didn’t bother with the morphine after that, despite stern encouragement from my nurses. I don’t really have any interest in the stuff.
They brought my dad and Aunt to see me in recovery and I remember them being there, but I know I had my eyes closed most of the time because I was so drowsy and feeling all that pressure in my chest, so I was focusing on handling that pain more than I was my surroundings.
I don’t remember being wheeled into my room I don’t think, but I must have been I was still pretty drowsy, and my Aunt and dad came in and sat with me for a few. But I told them not to stay too long because they’d be hitting D.C. rush-hour. So they left around 3pm and I mostly laid in bed and slept off and on the rest of the day. Apparently the nurses were supposed to get me up walking but never did, they did put compression pumps on my legs though to help prevent blood clots.
I did get up a few times in the night to use the bathroom, which wasn’t really a problem at all. Again I wasn’t feeling any pain or really any weakness besides the CO2 build-up. They said that would absorb on its own in time.
I got to see the surgical area, and I have 6 holes in my stomach, almost in a near perfect circle. So they were able to perform the surgery laproscopically, which is what I was hoping for. The doctor said I didn’t bleed very much at all. I have to keep my bandages on until I see the doctor again the second week of November. They are water-proof, and if one of them does come off, I just have to put a new bandage on it. I want to keep them from getting infected.
Saturday:
The next day I started getting restless as I was waking up. I watched some T.V, got up to use the bathroom a few times, and started walking around the hallway to keep the circulation going in my legs. The nurses didn’t start actually coming in to check on me till the second day, which was kind of annoying. I was given some liquid antibiotics, and had my temperature and blood pressure checked quite a bit.
My Aunt and Dad arrived around noon, and we had no word from the doctor on whether I would be released that day or not. I also had not had anything to eat or drink since Thursday and my mouth was so ridiculously dry it was probably worse than any other pain I was feeling. I eventually got up and wet some paper towels and put them in my mouth for a bit (without drinking anything), because it was so damned irritating.
Apparently orders were not put in for me to have my x-ray to make sure nothing was leaking, so that finally got put in and I was wheeled down to X-ray. I was made to drink two rather nasty tasting liquids with a live x-ray so they could make sure my new pouch wasn’t leaking. Everything looked fine, no leaks.
Once I got back up to my room, my nurse said she would order me some broth and such for lunch. I don’t think it arrived till 2 hours later. I had a little bit of it, which was at least something.
The doctor arrived about 4pm, which was about the time where I told my dad and Aunt to go ahead and leave cause I probably wouldn’t be released today. So after he looked me over and saw that nothing was hardened in my stomach, nothing was red or swollen in my legs, and I was feeling no pain, that I could go home.
After that things went pretty quickly. I got dressed, got my discharge instructions, and walked myself out of the hospital.
Once I got home, dad did a load of laundry for me, because I am unable to pick up anything over 5 pounds for now. I started getting together all of my ingredients for my things I can drink. Right now I am drinking 1 oz of fluid every hour, which mostly consist of Diet V8 Splash (very very low sugar, and tastes awesome) with protein powder mixed in, chicken stock with protein powder mixed in, and sugar-free raspberry jello (also very good) with protein powder mixed in. These are all things recommended by my nutritionist after surgery.
Today:
Today I was able to take my chewable multivitamin without any problems. Drank my fluids every hour on the hour, and got up to walk around the house or outside every hour or so. I also had some visitors from the Grove, and my sister came to stay the day with me.
Next week I will try to move onto fuller liquids like protein shakes, pudding, yogurts. But I’m not going to push it this week. This week I have to just focus on increasing my liquid intake from 16oz a day to 48oz a day. Tomorrow I will try to increase it by a half an oz each hour, and each day take in a little more.
All and all it wasn’t a horrible experience. Obviously I wouldn’t do it again if I didn’t have to, but I’m through it and onto the next chapter of my life. The hospital post-op care left a lot to be desired, but that just makes me more glad to be home. I really hope I am successful with this surgery, and I really hope I can enjoy feeling normal again once I get through this month of diet adjustments.
As of today I have lost 9.3% of my intended amount of weight I want to lose since August. That’s a very good goal. I imagine I will be weighed again when I get to my doctor appointment in November, so we’ll see that number incline significantly.