JMS

I had surgery on 2/28. I was having pain in my calf for the last week or so. Today I was diagnosed with a blood clot. I now am taking a blood thinner for the next 6 months. Doc said I was a ticking time bomb.

I have learned pain is felt in different forms and not just by the traditional hurting/sore feeling. In my case nausea and coldness were forms of pain that last even up until today. I can actually deal with the actual soreness but still need to take the pain meds which takes care of the coldness and nausea.

Day 1- arrived at the hospital mostly excited to start my new journey and some nervousness. My surgery was at 8:30 am and Everything went smooth and before you know it I was being woke up in recovery around noon. Very groggy and do not really remember much until about 5 pm when they got me out of bed for my first walk. Dry mouth was a real issue but the ice ships and swabs really helped. Did fine and walked more then they wanted. Morphine pump was kicking in and I really didn't feel too bad. The worse part was getting in and out of the bed with all the wires and 2 drains hooked up to me. Day 2 ( 1 day Pre-OP)- Felt pretty good but did not sleep very well all night. Kept doing my walking and sippen thing. Pain was well controlled by pain meds with no issues. Doc came by and said everything went well and that I did good despite some issue with nicking my lived because it was quite fatty and they needed to lift it out of the way with a special tool. Said if I keep doing good I would be release the next day. Later at night started getting real itchy from morphine so switched to Dilauded tablet. Still had both drains and which were irritating when trying to move around. Day 3 - Pain was not controlled the same as when on the morphine but tolerable. Was urinating quire frequently like every hour so was in and out of bed/chair often. Kept doing my walking and sipping. Very tired feeling due to not much sleep in hospital, besides the noises they wake you every hour for one thing or another. Stopped taking the pain pills early on because I thought they were making me so tired. Pain was significant but tolerable. Felt like you been punch several times in the gut. Was anxiously waiting to get released and finally around 5 pm they removed the two drains took all the monitors off me and sent me home. I was in moderate pain but very tired feeling, couldn't wait t just go home and sleep. Well although my sleep was better it was certainly not without discomfort and frequent urination so I was up at least every 2 hours with lots of tuning to find a comfortable position. Day 4 (yesterday) - Woke up and immediately took a shower and a nice shave. This really wore me out. Still no pain meds but pain was a wee bit better. Still felt groggy and tired. Started to feel a bit nauseous around mid-morning. Still peeing razor blades. Had my first bowl movement. Felt like I had to really force my self to sip water and protein. It was a real struggle and I did not get even close to what I was suppose to. Starting feeling like "What did I do to my self" wishing I was would never have done it. Hated the feeling, couldn't drink, walk or anything, just toss and turn the hours away. Just wanted to feel normal so bad. Pain was tolerable, still not taking pain meds, really had a hard time even watching TV, just couldn't concentrate. Forced about a half bottle of Isopure down along with some water and some milk. Regretting ever doing this. Day 5 (today) - Slept much better last night, not urinating as much thank god. Still nauseous and feeling like I cannot get liquids down. Still very tired feeling. Will I ever feel normal again?? Still regretting what I did. Down 14 lbs since Day 1. Will keep posting updated to the diary as I progress.

Day 6 - The seasick like symptoms and the in ability to get in liquids continued so yesterday after noon I started taking the pain meds as suggested by many as guess what...... As stated they helped greatly with all my symptoms so pain meds it will be as needed. My sense of smell is still very heightened which is weird. I slept great last night. I was dreaming the whole night and only woke once to go to the bathroom. Wife said my snore is down to a minimum (low Grumble). Was still very tiresome to take a shower and I needed a big rest afterwards. Down 16 lbs. since day 1. Another day and a little better.....

I know a lot of you have reported that you no longer need to take Blood pressure and Lipid meds. Most report higher energy. Some of you have claimed sleep apnea has gone away etc... What other positive changes you have seen after VSG like skin conditions, Knees, Back etc....???

Yes I been taking the Zofran and it does take the edge off. How long with the nausea last?? Funny thing I noticed since I have been home. My sense of smell has like quadrupled or something, anyone else??

Thanks all, seems like a recurring theme about taking the pain meds. Will the pain meds help reduce the nauseous feeling? I think I could get the liquids down better if I was not sea-sick like.

Yes I did, it is kind of nice because once removed not only is there razor blades getting up and going while still in the hospital is tough and often.

They are saying I need to stay until Sunday. If I stay feeling this good I can't imagine why however I do have a lot of wires and monitors hooked on me.

Was sleeved yesterday at 830 am and I feel pretty darn good, now it's not even been 24 hours yet but hey this is great. I'm I safe or can things turn for the worse? Anyone go from great to poor?

I feel like I can drink the cup down pretty fast, of course I'm sipping but do not really feeling restricted

Surgery at 830 am est.

Sleeve in place and doing real well. Only complaint is the dry mouth but they gave me a cup of ice water and a swob. They told me no drinking yet but I have been sneaking sips with no problems. I'm on my way to skinnyville!

......If I will ever fall a sleep tonight lol/ Millions thoughts running through my brain. 7 am report time!!!

THANKS ALL! Just the extra motivation I needed for tomorrow!!!

Thank you, tomorrows the day!!!

About 1 week to go, anyone have Dr. Noel Williams from University of Penn in Philly?

WOW all such great things to hear! MrsG & SassyGirl very interesting about the skin clearing up, I wonder if I will see similar results as I tend to have very oily skin with clogged pours and such. I think it has a lot to do with all the fat in my blood (High triglycerides)That would be awesome if I seen an improvement there.

That's AWESOME, congrats! Did you have any complications or excessive pain afterwards?

gfap61 thanks for sharing that. How is your progress going? 1 day to go for me!

Getting real close and I can't help but think am I going to be the one this will not work for??? Will something go wrong??? Is this real??? Will my life change for real??

Blueskies no diet here either, not even the day before surgery. Just nothing after mid-night?? Does that sound right?? Will my stomach be empty by morning say if I ate at 6 pm the night before??

Has anyone had their Lactose Intolerance Improve after the surgery?

My surgeon says he uses Robotic Laparoscopic Surgery. Is this different or is this the same as everyone is getting?

So are there any advantages to the patient when they use the Robotic procedure?