maj0rl0ser

I got my APAP machine in January 2013 and have never slept better. I wish I'd have gone for my sleep study long before that. All those years without sleep really was one of my biggest contributors to my weight gain. Getting clearance for surgery from my pulmonary doctor was a requirement for WLS. When I had my upper GI endoscopy and when I had my WLS the hospital told me to bring my hose and mask with me. They said they had machines and would adjust the pressures as needed. But in both cases it was never used. Funny thing is when I went in for my surgery this past Monday I was admitted to the hospital for the night and it wouldn't have mattered if I had used the machine. They never let me get any sleep anyway. I was getting poked, prodded and checked every 15 minutes by one member of the staff or another. It ends up that I had become famous with the surgical staff since I woke up during the surgery and started having a conversation with the surgeon. I don't remember a dang thing, but I guess it freaked them out a bit.

I am so jealous and happy for you. Hopefully next week will be different for me. Keep up the great work. It sounds like you're having a pretty great start with your sleeve, except for the damn cold. I fought off a cold the week before my surgery and was really worried about having bad chest congestion at surgery time since I also have asthma. There's some nasty flu bugs going around this year. A lot of people on my job are sick. it seems like we're all doomed to get something this year.

Russ, How did your first week go? Besides the killer cold from hell, did you have any other problems? Bad nausea or pain? Does any particular type of food get you sick? Sweets? Hot? Cold? Dave

I didn't drink during the two week pre-op diet. But I did have one last trip with friends to World of Beers. I love Belgium Trappist ales, so it was my last time to enjoy bottles of Chimay and Rochefort for a long time. I definitely don't plan on giving up drinking forever. That's just crazy talk. Even my doctor told me that eventually I'll be able to drink again, just that I'll be an cheap date since the alcohol will enter my system so much quicker. I'll also only be able to have maybe one drink and have to drink it very slowly. I'm also a fine wine connoisseur and have a decent amount at home. I am not giving up on those bottles since far too much money is invested. Most of the bottles won't reach their peak for a few years, so I've got time on my side.

I had my surgery on Monday and I too have bad nausea. The doctor gave me Zofran ODT that I'm supposed to take one every 4 hour for nausea. Gas and pain really hasn't been a big problem, but like this evening, sometimes I feel like I'm going hurl for no reason. About the only thing I can drink is very small amounts of water and chicken broth. I just tried some Isopure Alpine Punch and it kicked my butt. If you find something that works, please let us know.

Besides having my surgery on Monday, I had my first major victory since going through weight loss. My PCP took me off all of the high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes medicines today. The only pill I have to take is for my thyroid, which I'll be on for the rest of my life. It may not seem like much to most people, but it's a major milestone for me.

It's just not very comfortable getting it down. Anything more than a tiny sip gets me nauseated and it hurts. I'm not sure if it's because they also fixed my herniated hiatus. I would have figured by now some of the internal swelling would have gone done, but I guess not.

It's tough. So far I've had one 16 ounce bottle of Water and 1 cup of broth today. I'm not sure if it's nausea or pain, but even little sips don't feel great going down. I haven't taken any pain meds, nausea meds or Gas-X today. I just didn't want to mask anything today to see how I'd do. Probably stupid, but I'll find out as the day goes on.

No kidding. They pumped four bags of fluids plus other meds in me while I was there. I felt like a water bag. They wanted to see me pee before they would discharge me. If I didn't pee that evening after surgery they threatened to put the catheter back in. Needless to say I forced it out.

So how has it been for you this week? How are you doing taking on fluids?

I'm on a clear fluids only diet till I see the surgeon next Wednesday. But I'm having a tough time getting fluids down. Yesterday I had two 16 oz bottles of Water, one cup of decaf coffee and one cup of chicken broth. Today I've had one 16 oz bottle of water and I'm working on a cup of French onion broth for lunch. I'm supposed to be drinking at least 48 to 64 ounces of Fluid per day. I haven't taken any pain meds, nausea meds or Gas-X. I'm just not sure if it's pain from the surgery, gas pain or nausea that is making it so tough to get fluids down. It's just an overall weird feeling every time I take a sip.

My doctor said no caths or drains after the surgery. What he didn't say was they did use a catheter during the surgery. Luckily for me they put it in and removed it while I was out. Granted, they had to verify I could pee on the evening after surgery or they were going to put the catheter back in. It wasn't easy but I forced pee out just to prevent that from happening while I'm awake.

Today is day 3 and getting enough Water down ain't easy. I've got to sip all day long just to make my quota. Right now anything that is really sweet tasting is murder. The liquid Tylenol and liquid Lortab pain meds are a disgusting cherry syrup that is just hell for me to get down. The liquid Wellesse Vitamins aren't much better. But as long as I sip the water I'll survive for now. I haven't taken any of the nausea meds this morning to see how it goes. My stomach is grumbling pretty hard but I don't feel like I'm going to hurl. I definitely don't have any desire to eat or have any cravings, so I guess that's a good thing. I don't think I've had a real problem with gas, but I have been dropping bombs that melt paint. Even my cat shook his head and had to run out of the room.

Everything went fine for me. I got to my room around 1pm. I'm walking the halls and just waiting till tomorrow when I can get my first sips of Water. In the mean time my mouth is as dry as a desert.

Cover me, I'm going in! Headed to the hospital for the big day.