virginiann

Oh my goodness! Am I to understand that all three of us were in the same hospital at the same time? Boy that is way cool. I came out of the hospital 9 pounds heavier than when I went in. I about freaked until I remembered it has to be the junk they shove into you. I went into the hospital at 208 came out 217 and this morning I am back down to 211. I too have this lump in my chest. I do not know what it is but I have noticed that if I drink to fast or gulp it is really noticeable. If I could only burp one good loud screaming burp I know I would feel better. But it keeps coming out the other end! and loud! I was told to take the bandages off but leave the steri-strips on. But if your incision sites look good I wouldn't stress about it. I am a big believer of pain meds. I have no kids at home, have no intentions on jumping in the car and going anywhere. I get up and move around and walk plenty. I will not be in pain, there is no reason to be, unless you feel susceptible to additions. The pain meds takes the edge of the port pain. It is a little easier to get up and down from my recliner with the meds. Getting out of bed in the morning, now that is another story. You would of thought that someone was spearing me in the side it hurts so bad. So far I have not been hungry and yesterday I came up with an idea to get me to get my Protein and liquids in. I made a batch of Protein Drink mix with some instant pudding and set it in the freezer. When it was frozen I ate off of it till it was melted. Almost a full 10 oz I did the same for my Crystal lite. I made it into a slushy. So between that and my Soup and my decaff coffee in the morning I know I got in what I needed to. Other than that it has been a huge chore. Do you gals work? If so when do you plan on going back, and what do you do? I live on the West side Peoria/71st Ave. My post op visit is on June 1, 2007 I think at 11am

Gas!! That is an understatement. I feel like I am going to explode!! And I get up and walk around a lot. I've done a few light chores, a load of laundry, dishes. Cooked dinner for my husband and Son.. My port side is extremely tender. I hope I will be up to going back to work on Monday. Virginia

Here is what I decided to do about getting the liquids in me and it is working. I made some Crystal Lite ice cubes and added them to more crystal lite and blended until it was slushy. I did the same thing for my Protein shakes.That one turns out to be more of an Ice Cream consistency. Hope this gives you an couple of ideas. It sure prevents me from gulping.

Thanks Carrie. I do have Hydrocodon (Vicoden) and that works great. I guess I just want to be one of thos that says "oh it doesn't hurt".... How can that be? Oh well, I can only deal with me. Virginia

I had my surgery on Monday 05/21/07 and I too had a terrible time yesterday getting my fluids in. Let me tell you what I did for today. I made cherry Crystal Lite ice cubes blended them along with added Crystal Lite. What I got was a slushy I could use a spoon to regulate my size an easy of going down. I also did the same with my protein drink. Only with that I added sugar free hazelnut syrup. I drink decaffeinated coffee in the morning. Yesterday I could only drink a half of a cup today I was able to drink the full cup. I know it is going to take some time for the pain to subside, but I am on this journey to the end! Virginia

I have a ton of pain at the port site. It makes getting up and down difficult. This had better subside by Monday. That is when I go back to work. I only remember one gal to the right against the wall and her husand was tall as well but I didn't think he need the band so it must have been someone else. You can e-mail me privately if you would like. virginiann@cox.net

I also went to the WLIAZ. Dr. DeBarros did my surgery on May 21st. The hospital staff was great. The hospital itself was very old and in need of work. I was just so impressed how organized the whole day was. When I went into admitting, they had all my medical records, meds, what I was in there for. It went like well oiled machine. I have hypocalcaemia which means my Calcium is always low. There are not a lot of doctors that know how to treat this disease. However, Dr DeBarros as very familiar with it and decided to keep me overnight to make sure all went well. Unfortunately, it did not. I had to have a bag of Calcium the next morning and I was not released until Tuesday night. I have a ton of pain at the port site, and I’m learning how to eat and drink which is weird if you think about it. Although I am in a lot of pain, I know I can do all of this on my own if necessary. Having someone stop in and check on the two of you you will be fine. I have been droping hints that he get it done and he said no way! Good luck to both of you! Virginia

Wow, you guys are discribing me to a T. My port site is the only part of me that hurts and I would give it a 10 when I try to stand up or get out of bed. I have that same strange feeling in my chest..from what I have read, and trust me it has been a lot. That is the indicator of being full. So yesterday I blended my Protein shakes until they were foamy and ate the foamy part with a baby spoon. I was much more confortable the rest of the night. Here is a question for you all: I am scheduled to go back to work next Monday, but if this pain doesn't lessen, there is no way I could go back to work. What advise can you all give me? Virginia

I talked to my doctor and nutritionist about this 'grazing' thing. And it has always been reccomended by the NIH, ntritionists, doctors and more... that eating 5-6 small meals a day is the healtiest way to eat. It keeps your sugar levels and it is not 'grazing'. Grazing is sitting your butt down on the couch with a bag of chips and dips, then fixing yourself some ice cream. You get the picture...