Thursday, September 24, 2009

1 day POST-OP!!

Hi everyone!! I am home from the hospital!

Let me tell you the story of the last 36 hours!!

Surgery Day:

Woke up 6:00am to scrub with antibacterial scrub and then get dressed and off to the hospital. Had to be there by 8:30 and it was an hour away! We got there and then had to wait for an hour (yes, Dr. was angry about this....I'll explain later)

I was taken back to pre-op and there is where the fun began! They started the IV (ouch), gave me a shot of Heparin(this did not hurt or sting) and then I met with Dr., anestheologist, OR nurses and Pre-op nurses. They let my mom, hubby and BF come back into the pre-op area. I was only in pre-op for about an hour. Dr. Larson was running ahead of schedule and wanted to get going!

At this point I had a mini breakdown when one of the nurses was talking to me....they were all really great though! I had never had any kind of surgery before and it just really hit me at that point.

They give me some happy meds (they called it a cocktail). I was wheeled to the OR and asked to scoot onto the operating table. I hear Dr. Larson ask me what time I got there...."8:30"...he then was angry that it was now 11 and they made we wait so long before pre-op. I was asked to take a deep breath and then another .......next thing I knew I was waking up in recovery!!

Recovery room was quick. I was only in there for what seemed like a short period of time and then they wheeled me off to my room! It was a private room. The bariatric unit was being remodeled so I was on a different floor. The room was great (huge)!! My mom, 2 best friends and hubby were all there!!

Pretty much as soon as I got to my room I wanted to get up and walk...I just remembered...walk, walk, walk and that is what I did!!

Susan, ME, my mom and Kristin!!
Below: Me and hubby!!




My mom and best friend Kristin came back with this super cute frog balloon that we named Rudy!!



Kristin stayed with me at the hospital....she was the biggest help ever! The nursing team was amazing at JFK!! Aji was our night time nurse (he was a male nurse) I was freaked out about this at first, but ended up loving him!!
We did not sleep at all during the night....lots of interruptions and we walked alot.

Day 2:

Today I felt worse than day 1. I feel like I have been beat up from the inside out. I went for the barium swallow and all went ok! I was then given a liquid diet and after eating a few bites. The Dr. showed up along with the nutritionist. He cleared me for discharge!! They actually let me walk out of the hospital!!



Now that I am home I am in alot of pain. I am having severe gas pain after eating (well, drinking). I am trying to walk alot, but I am also so tired from not sleeping last night! I am going to take it easy for the next day or so. I am also having alot of incision pain at the port site....

WARNING: PICTURE OF MY INCISIONS -

Lots of swelling too:



That about sums up my experience!! I am having a hard time having a productive cough. I am in pain....gas I think...going to take some gas-x strips and maybe a hot tea.

Overall, at this point I am still really happy about this decision!! YAY!!

12 comments:

Dana Clover said...

Yeah!! So glad your home and on the mend!
I hope to be doing the same thing in about 3 weeks.

I'm so happy for you! Take it easy, and get ready for the rest of your life.

Gen said...

Congratulations!!!! So exciting. Take care of yourself, REST and take those pain meds!

Tiffani said...

Congrats and welcome to the other side!!! Can't wait to follow along with the rest!

jennyr1222 said...

Congratulations Pookie! I'll tell you the first week for me was rough. Lots of gas pain, major shoulder pain and not a ton of sleep. IT GETS BETTER! I thought the shoulder pain would never go away and it did. Within a week I felt significantly better. Just remember that if the pain gets bad. Without a doubt, the best decision I have made in my lifetime! Keep posting about your progress!!

Kinzie said...

You will feel better soon. Thanks for sharing everything. I did my preop today so just a couple more days and I'm there too! Hang in there sweetie.

pookie said...

Thanks to all of you!!

Dana and Kinzie...I don't regret a single thing and I am so excited for the both of you!!

Gen, Tiffani and Jenny...I have made it!! YAY!!

Pain today (day 2) is better....still bad, but better!!

Unknown said...

I'm glad everything went well. Thanks for sharing! I now have an idea what to expect on the big day.

Sharon said...

Welcome to the land of the banded! Congratulations!!!! I am so happy that I got banded and I feel great about all my experiences. The worst pain I had was in my shoulders which I was told was gas pain?? LOL! Anyway...good luck and we are all here for you!

From Fat to Fit said...

SO blad that it all went so smoothly. My 'cocktail' was the last thing I remembered before waking up...it was great.

Just keep on up the pain meds and walking and you will be as good as new in no time. Congrats!!!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on being banded, I hope that you are resting and relaxing!! Hope to see less of you soon!!

DB said...

Yeah Pookie!!! I am so happy for you. Your new and healthier life begins now!

MartinaB said...

Congratulations and Welcome Home! I am glad to hear that everything went well and you are now home again. I wish you a fast recovery... I am sure you will feel better every day. The worst day for me was surgery day and the day after. Best of luck to you.