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My New Life....

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One week later

Today is exactly one week after my band. The pain on the incisions is like little needles, and boy a lot of itching, which is very good as it's a sign of healing. My chest pain from the hernia continues but it's certainly much better as each day goes by. The biggest problem is when I sleep at night. I am still using a few pillows to be at a 45 degree angle. I attempted last night to sleep with just one pillow, which is the norm for me, but boy did I regret that decision. I kept feeling as if a hand was pressing down on me and couldn't find comfort in any position. At least it was a hand and not a person as right after surgery. I put the pillows back and tried to go back to sleep... oh it was useless!   I also did another stupid thing last night, or should I say another experiment. Given I was feeling good the whole day, without any pain killers, I decided not to take any before I went to sleep. What a great idea!!! I often wonder what am I thinking... I had this "I can do everything" mentality, as if I had to impress the walls in my apartment! It only made my pain worse, appart from the pillow experiment.   So, one advise, to anyone who may be reading my journal, do not be a martyr when it comes to pain. And, if you are trying to impress someone, find another way !   In terms of food, I started feeling hungry last night, for the first time after the surgery. That was tough. Somehow, chicken broth or slim fast shake couldn't satisfy my hunger. I kept drinking water, which seemed to help. Each day since my surgery I see to be in negative calories. I should be taking approx. 1,000 kcals a day. Days one and two my intake was almost nothing and then between -500 to -200. Yesterday I reached 970 and today, it's already 8:44 and I'm up to 660. I do feel hungry right now but not nearly as close as yesterday. Well, getting my monthly friend in the morning had lot to do with my extreme hunger yesterday, so it's all good. I'm happy when things make sense!   I look forward to next week in getting into mushies. I need to start thinking what will I have next Tuesday, so when I feel hungry I can shift my hunger to Tuesday's meals.... Not sure how would that work but oh well... it's a thought!
Grumpy_nyc

Grumpy_nyc

1
 

My first minutes, hours, day after LB & hiatal hernia repair

The very first minute I remember it was in the OR when the anesthesiologist was removing the tube from my throat. I remember people talking, calling my name, telling me everything was finished, that I was ok and that they would move me to the recovery area. I also remember that I wanted to reply to them but I couldn't. I had no strength and was still under the influence of the anesthesia.   After 45 mins that I was in the recovery room I was able to talk to the nurse who was by my side. She was asking me how I felt and I was telling her I had this horrible pain on my chest, as if someone sat on it and didn't want to move! It was all expected because of the anesthesia tube. Apparently they inflate your lungs with air in order to proceed with the surgery. Upon removal of the tube, your lungs are still filled with this "air" which is translated as gas pain. She gave me 4 cc of morphine, I felt a little better but I still felt that heaviness. I got another 4 cc of morphine and an ingection of something, on my leg, b/c I was getting nauseous from the morphine. My nurse was trying to make me as comfortable as possible, constantly kept asking me how my pain was on the scale of 1 to 10. When I reached a 4 [of course being the typical auditor (my profession), I kept telling them 4.5 which doesn't exist on their scale ] they moved me to my room. These were the first couple of hours after the surgery.   While in my room, I was told by another nurse that was assigned to me at that point, that when I feel up to it, she would help me to get out of bed and walk. That was a task on its own! Mind you, the chest pain was a little less but still there! She also mentioned that the more I walked the more the gas will come out. Burping was a great thing, according to the nurse, b/c the air comes out but very painful to me. My surgery was at 4:00pm, it lasted for 45mins. The tube was removed between 5:00-5:15, I was in the recovery at 5:45pm and then my room around 7:45pm. I didn't start walking until 10:30pm. The difficult part and painful at the same time was to get out of bed. Given you need to sit up, imagine doing a crunch at the gym. All your abdominal muscels are "getting together" but the incisions are there to make your life difficult! Once I got up, I was fine. I took my IV for a ride and off my room I went. Now, mind you, I didn't ask for the nurse's assistance. If I had done that, maybe getting up would have been a little easier. So, do not follow my example there! I managed to do 13 rounds, they encourage you to do at least 10, and the more I walked the more the air was coming out as burping.   My first night was painful. I was lucky enough to be alone in my room with a beautiful view of Manhattan at night and the lights of the 59th street bridge. I found that having my bed on a 45 degree angle worked very well with my pain. One thing they put on me in the OR, before even the surgery started, was a pair of boots that help to prevent blood cluts. I boots are attached to a machine and every 2-3 seconds you feel like a force of air on the curve of your foot. Not painful at all, it's actually pleasurable. They only take those off when you start walking. The whole idea of walking is one to help you with the gas but most importantly to prevent the blood cluts. The nurse asked me when I was going to sleep, if I wanted the boots, given I did walk. I still wanted them on for the night. Now, that was up to me, but it didn't help my sleeping. I was able to sleep for 3 hrs the first night. One thing I forgot to mention was that around 11:00 pm they started giving me ice chips and I had to try to go to the bathroom either before I sleep or even during the night. They have to see that your blader is working fine. Now, that was difficult, b/c I only had the IV fluids until then, but have the water running in the bathroom and pray During the night, I experienced also upper back pain. It was really intense and I still had the chest pain.   Next morning, the nurse came to my room around 5:45, took my vitals and then I waited for the doctors to do rounds. I got up and walked a little. My doctor stopped by at 8:30am, and I asked her about my back pain. Apart from the gas, it is also a reflex pain from the chest, from the removal of the hernia.   I was in pain and the difficult part was to get dressed. Make sure when you get to the hospital you wear louuuuuuse clothes. Your incisions would be almost at your waist line and forget putting pantyhose. I would recommend sweat pants that they are soft on the waist line and if you have those with the string that you can adjust, even better.   The first day and especially night were very hard. My doctor gave me a prescription of vicodin to take 1 to 2 tablets every 4 to 6 hrs. You are not supposed to exceed 8 tablets a day. Needless to say I took all 8. Do not be a martyr. If you are hurting, take the pills. During the night, I had pillows on my sides. I sleep on my side but I couldn't turn due to the incisions. Pillows helped. I've also used 3 pillows under my head so I can be at the 45 degree angle. I did have a strong pain on my chest, but it was only in the middle of the chest, which is from the hernia. And, all sorts of pains all over. First night out of the hospital was horrible. Plus, the fact I was alone didn't help. I don't have family in the US and my boyfriend was away on a business trip which couldn't be changed. It's not like you won't have pain if family is there, but I think having someone around would be very comforting.   Day 2 was much better. My painkillers were reduced to 6 then 4 in Day 3 and yesterday I took 3. Today I'm filling much better. I still have the back pain, the pain in the middle of my chest and the incisions surface every so often with needle like pains but the degree is much less, and it is normal. Remember to crush your pills. I've read someone's suggestion here to crush them, put them on a tablespoon, add a few drops of water, drink them like that followed by apple juice. That worked much better than putting them in tea or anything other liquid. Plus, you suffer for a second vs. having to consume the whole cup of tea which was very bitter, no matter how much Equal I sued.   In terms of what to take with you at the hospital, I took my robe, sleepers, my pjs but couldn't use them b/c I preferred that huge and comfortable gown from the hospital, a case for my glasses w. my name on it, a small towel, a toothbrush/toothpaste, my facial cream and underwear. I didn't really use my robe though because it was took hot at the hospital and they did provide me with sleepers but I liked mine better.   While I was waiting for the surgery, I asked my doctor to give me the prescription for the pain killer at that time and my girlfriend went to fill it out while I was in surgery. In that case, it was one less anxiety the next day going home. Make sure you have in your house/apt. shakes, I personally like the Slim Fast Easy to Digest shake b/c they are not as thick, I also had chicken broth, prune juice (it was proven to work well, but I drank a cup on the 3rd day), Propel water from Gatorade in berry flavor (there is also a citrus one but it's not as tasty). They gave me Propel at the hospital and them my girlfriend bought more and left them in my apt. It is a vitamin water.   Regarding Gas-X, I've never used it until someone mentioned it to me here. I bought it yesterday and it works pretty well. My back pain in almost gone.
Grumpy_nyc

Grumpy_nyc

1
 

LB jargon....

I was looking some of the posts a few minutes ago and found the following link. Some great people here put together this lists of lapband talking jargon that is soooo helpful. I often read posts and there have been many instances where I can't follow, and that's not because of extreme hunger..... I decided to put the link in my journal for a quick reference.   It's very helpful, try it!     http://www.lapbandtalk.com/abbreviations-and-they-t7959.html
Grumpy_nyc

Grumpy_nyc

1
 

Feeling the port

Friday, January 12th was my first day back to work. People I work closely with noticed that I lost weight which made me feel good. I have kept my lapband surgery a secret, even from my family and only two people know. Thank God for the hiatal hernia and this is what everyone knew I was repairing.   Wearing a business suit became a little painful towards the end of the day. I couldn't wait to come home and change to something more comfortable. And... as I was doing that, I felt the port for the first time! I was so scared, thinking I did something wrong, wondering if my pantyhose was putting pressure on it the whole day and now I could feel it. A thousand thoughts were going through my head and couldn't really relax. I kept putting my hand on it, trying to understand why on earth I am feeling it now. I am still very conscious about it today. I still keep putting my hand on it, slightly pressing it. I never realized that I can actually feel it. I honestly do not like that but now it's done. I certainly don't regret having the band, but if I can feel the port with such slight pressure, so will someone who is holding me or be intimate with me. Now THAT is a major problem! No answers on that one yet. I'll have to wait and deal with it when it happens.
Grumpy_nyc

Grumpy_nyc

3
 

Crushed pills - Suggestions

I should consider myself lucky that I don't have to take many pills during the day. However, the few I do have to take, including the pain killers which became my best friends, in the first 3 days, I had to find ways to take them. I bought the, oh so familiar to all, pill crusher from my local drugstore before my surgery so I was ready when I got back home!   It is amazing to me how all pills taste so bitter. What happened to the nice flavors when we were kids? Why nobody thought that adults would like those as well, especially in moments like these!   Before you even start this process, check with your doctor or pharmacist if any of the medications you take come in liquid form. That would be ideal.   Here is what I found useful, during the times of the liquid diet:   1> Make a small cup of hot tea, load it with Equal (or any other preferred sweetener) and drop them in. Put the tea in the fridge and when cold, drink it in 3 sips. [My medication didn't disolve in cold water]   2> Do the same as above but instead of tea, use hot chocolate. I didn't have to use Equal, it was sweet enough on its own and also the chocolate masked the taste. The problem was that I couldn't do it in 3 sips as I had to use a whole cup of water or milk to do the chocolate. For some medications, 1 cup may be to much.   3> Mix them in one teaspoon of honey.   4> Fastest but yucky.... Put the crushed pills on a tablespoon, fill it up w. water and swallow it fast. Then, follow with a cup of juice, sips at a time, or 1/2 a teaspoon of honey to take away the bitterness or even with your cup of hot cocoa.   5> If you are into the mushies, you can mix them in one or two tablespoons of apple sauce, with Equal and cinnamon. I haven't tried it yet, as I'm still in the liquid phase, but it was my doctor's recommendation.   Good luck!
Grumpy_nyc

Grumpy_nyc

3
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