Sporin

I felt hunger immediately upon waking up from surgery ... or what seemed like hunger. Who knows! All I know is that it felt like major hunger pains. Paid meds made the feeling go away.
The night I got home from the hospital (and just off paid meds), the hunger pains came back. And they were ferocious. It gave me a panic attack. The hunger lasted about 10 hours, then slipped away after I finally fell asleep.
I am now 4 weeks post-op. Hunger returned about two weeks ago, but it is different than the hunger I felt pre-op or even immediately post-op. It is a "light" feeling, easily forgotten about if I dismiss it, but it does remind me to eat and not forget about food. I like this light hunger feeling I get now.
I do wonder if my hunger will increase as I go along, but I'm no longer very worried about it. Things are going well for me and I am feeling comfortable with my post-op tummy. I feel confident that it will all work out.

I went to see my surgeon yesterday for my 6 month check up. I have 1.4 pounds to lose to meet his weight loss goal. My official 6 months post op will be 20 April 2017. My surgeon and NUT are extremely happy with my progress and said that I have a greater chance of keeping the weight off due to my early success. I am so happy. I think that I should be at his weight loss goal before next Thursday. This was the best decision that I could have ever made. Who would have thought that being a loser could feel so good.

I've been waiting to post my story because I'm afraid it will come out too negatively and may scare off folks looking into surgery. Now that I'm where I am in the recovery process, I feel like I can tell the tale. Plus, I think the stories that are tough are just as important to the discussion.
I had RNY on October 5th 2016. I had it at DHMC in Lebanon NH with Dr. Truss, they have an excellent program and great safety & success stats there. I did months of Dr. supervised diet, psych visits, and all the other Insurance prerequisites. My program weight was 413 lbs and I was 45 years old.
On the day of surgery I was 385 (mostly thanks to the 2 week pre-op diet), my blood pressure was perfect and I was in high spirits. I went into surgery, came out and felt good. I had the broth and Jello they give you, then immediately started feeling pains in my stomach which my Doctor at first judged to be "normal." But it got worse, and that's when things start getting fuzzy. I remember going down for a scan where I was standing and drinking a liquid so they could watch it flow through me. I remember sitting down in a chair after this... and that's the last thing I remember for over a month.
Long story short, everything that could go wrong, did. I had blood clots in my remnant stomach, no one knows why. They split me open and went in to clean that up. I got sepsis. My fever spiked and they couldn't bring it down. One of my lungs collapsed, and my kidneys started failing. Everything was going very badly. They put me in an induced coma because I was trying to pull tubes out and they needed me resting. They filled me full of fluids adding nearly 100lbs. to my overall weight. I was grossly bloated (I've seen the pictures). The skin on feet shed like a snake. They put in a trach. A couple weeks one very insightful Doctor suggested that maybe I was allergic to the very common paralytic they gave me. They stopped giving it to me, administered an antidote of some sort, and my condition began to improve. No one had any idea I was allergic to it, I'd never had surgery before.
All in all I had 11 surgeries. I have a piece of biomesh holding my stomach muscles together. They expect that to dissolve by fall and the Docs expect me to develop a hernia at that time so they are planning on another surgery in the fall.
My wife says I was trying to communicate, with open eyes, long before I remember waking up. She has pictures of me and my eyes are open but it's clear there's no lights on.

When I woke up, I didn't understand where I was or what was going on. I had been out so long, and pumped full of so many drugs, that I had been living in a dreamworld in my head. I thought I'd gone on a drug-fueled bender and crashed my car. I thought I was sleeping every night on a battleship, or a space ship, I had a million crazy theories and thoughts and they all seem totally real to me. My hallucinations lasted well into the time I was in rehab. They put me on an anti-psychotic developed esspecially for patients who had prolonged ICU stays and it slowly cleared my head.
I couldn't speak because of the trach. I had lost over 100lbs while in the ICU for nearly 2 months, mostly muscle wasting from my legs and arms. I couldn't stand or walk. My hands where so shaky that I couldn't write. So I mouthed words and my amazing wife and friends did their best to read my lips. It was so frustrating. Every time I asked my wife what happened she'd start crying so it took a long time to get the full story, and even longer to accept it. Because my hallucinations were so strong, they bled into reality. I didn't know what was real.
My wife had a steady stream of friends and family visiting me, sitting with me so that she could do some work, or take a break. My in-laws are full time RV'ers who spend winter in Florida, instead, they moved into our house and took care of my wife and son. They kept his life as "normal" as possible with school, dinner on the table, basketball practice, etc. I'm forever indebted to them.
As my health improved, I moved to stage 2 of the trach where I could finally speak if I held my finger over my neck. This was AMAZING. I have always been chatty, plus I sing and play the ukulele. I thought I'd never speak again, much less sing. Thankfully that has all come back. I was able to finally have conversations with my visitors and start sorting through everything that had happened. I would frequently ask "Real? Or not real?" about things I remembered. I took advantage of the massages and total care and eventually started PT and OT.
My emotions where another challenge. I would cry at the drop of a hat. When I wasn't in tears, I was very flat emotionally. Everyone, nurses, PT's, OT's, family & friends could see it but I thought that was just my new "normal." It was only after I was home that the fog truly lifted and I started feeling like myself again.
On December 6th I stood up for the very first time (see attached photo). That was a GREAT day.
All in all I was in the ICU for nearly 2 months, then a regular hospital room, then off to rehab for almost 3 weeks, then back at the hospital for an abscess next to my pancreas for 2 weeks, then back at rehab for a week. Now I've been home since January.
Things were tough at first. Our bedroom is on the 2nd floor and I couldn't do stairs yet so I had a rented hospital bed in the living room for a few weeks. We all had the challenging of having me back home, re-integrating me into everyone's lives. it wasn't easy at first, but over the last 3 months we've found our way. I'm doing weekly outpatient PT, I've ditched the crutches I came home with and warm weather meant I could finally do laps of our neighborhood. I'm getting stronger every day, my head is clear, my smile is bright, and I'm loving life.
The only hiccup since I've been home is that I went out to breakfast at a local diner just a few days after returning home. I ate a tiny bit of food, but halfway through Breakfast, I passed out. My wife said it looked like a seizure as I was shaking , and my eyes rolled back in my head. When I awoke, my friends (who we were dining with, one of them was my OT) were already calling 911. I left for the hospital in an ambulance. What the Docs there found after 2 days of monitoring was the the blood pressure medicine that DHMC had put me on was unnecessary, and my B{ had crashed, causing my fainting. They took me off those meds and I've been fine ever since.
So... take away all those complications and the question I get from everyone is... "was it worth it?" I can say now, that yes it was. I've lost 150lbs and will continue to lose. I currently weigh around 260lbs, I've lost 14 inches off my waist and I'm down 3 shirt sizes. It took a while to learn what my pouch likes and doesn't like because the hospital and rehab controlled my eating and portions for so long. Though I'm 6 months out from my surgery, I really am only 3 months out on my own, making my own food choices, and mistakes. Mostly, I can eat what I want, just in very small qualities. I don't really get hungry any more. I eat small portions of healthy food, avoid fried food and sweets, try to get enough Protein, take my Vitamins, and exercise. The Gastric Bypass worked, it was the complications that nearly killed me, and they are rare.
My wife kept a Caring Bridge Journal if you want the play-by-play. It, and the pictures she took, have been an invaluable resource as I've recovered and tried to piece together the time I lost. https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/davemorin/journal/index/0/0/asc
In conclusion, I hope this story helps someone here. I got a lot of great info from this forum before my surgery and my intent is not to slam RNY, my caregivers, or try to discourage anyone. I just hope that it can be educational about some of the risks.

My mom and I have both had the GBP surgery. Neither one of us have experienced dumping. She is 1 year post op and I am 6 months post op. I do not want to experience it either, so I watch my sugar intake closely. I did have a hard time with nausea, vomiting, and dehydration for the first 4 months. So anyone experiencing any of that try to be strong and it will pass. I feel so much better now than I EVER have in my whole life, and I am only 6 months out from surgery. I will say this is a life changing event. It is not an easy way to get healthy. Please take your Vitamins too. It will catch up to you if you don't. Good luck to anyone facing surgery and those that have already taken the plunge!!!

For sure, both times I've tried long spaghetti I've thrown up, yet I have no problem with other shapes of noodles. Weird. Creamy Soups are also a problem so I stay away from them.

Thank goodness you're okay. What a journey to read about, wow! Glad you had such wonderful support from your family. I wish you smooth and calm sailing for the years ahead.

I haven't experienced dumping yet either. But that's because I am super careful about how much sugar or fat I eat in a serving. I did take a bite of something that was pure sugar and while I didn't dump, I felt bad for about 30 mins. I think you'd find if you ate a whole piece of cake or a bunch of fried chicken wings you would experience dumping. I don't think it happens with just a bite of something. I think I read somewhere that over 25 grams of sugar would cause dumping.

I'm so glad that you are on your way to a happy ending! Wow, how scary for you and especially your family. Best wishes for your continued success!

Your positivity is amazing. Im generally pessimistic and negative but you really opened my eyes. Wow, I am so grateful my surgery has gone well and so grateful my complaints are so insignificant in the big picture. God bless you and your family. I hope you get to your goal weight and have a happy wonderful life!

It even hard to imagine what you went through. The bright days are near…my best wishes for you

My heart goes out to you! The whole time I was reading your story, all I could think was "OMG"...I can't even begin to imagine how much you suffered. I'm glad you're doing so much better now and I hope you continue to get better still!

Sent from my SM-G920T using BariatricPal mobile app

I've been waiting to post my story because I'm afraid it will come out too negatively and may scare off folks looking into surgery. Now that I'm where I am in the recovery process, I feel like I can tell the tale. Plus, I think the stories that are tough are just as important to the discussion.
I had RNY on October 5th 2016. I had it at DHMC in Lebanon NH with Dr. Truss, they have an excellent program and great safety & success stats there. I did months of Dr. supervised diet, psych visits, and all the other Insurance prerequisites. My program weight was 413 lbs and I was 45 years old.
On the day of surgery I was 385 (mostly thanks to the 2 week pre-op diet), my blood pressure was perfect and I was in high spirits. I went into surgery, came out and felt good. I had the broth and Jello they give you, then immediately started feeling pains in my stomach which my Doctor at first judged to be "normal." But it got worse, and that's when things start getting fuzzy. I remember going down for a scan where I was standing and drinking a liquid so they could watch it flow through me. I remember sitting down in a chair after this... and that's the last thing I remember for over a month.
Long story short, everything that could go wrong, did. I had blood clots in my remnant stomach, no one knows why. They split me open and went in to clean that up. I got sepsis. My fever spiked and they couldn't bring it down. One of my lungs collapsed, and my kidneys started failing. Everything was going very badly. They put me in an induced coma because I was trying to pull tubes out and they needed me resting. They filled me full of fluids adding nearly 100lbs. to my overall weight. I was grossly bloated (I've seen the pictures). The skin on feet shed like a snake. They put in a trach. A couple weeks one very insightful Doctor suggested that maybe I was allergic to the very common paralytic they gave me. They stopped giving it to me, administered an antidote of some sort, and my condition began to improve. No one had any idea I was allergic to it, I'd never had surgery before.
All in all I had 11 surgeries. I have a piece of biomesh holding my stomach muscles together. They expect that to dissolve by fall and the Docs expect me to develop a hernia at that time so they are planning on another surgery in the fall.
My wife says I was trying to communicate, with open eyes, long before I remember waking up. She has pictures of me and my eyes are open but it's clear there's no lights on.

When I woke up, I didn't understand where I was or what was going on. I had been out so long, and pumped full of so many drugs, that I had been living in a dreamworld in my head. I thought I'd gone on a drug-fueled bender and crashed my car. I thought I was sleeping every night on a battleship, or a space ship, I had a million crazy theories and thoughts and they all seem totally real to me. My hallucinations lasted well into the time I was in rehab. They put me on an anti-psychotic developed esspecially for patients who had prolonged ICU stays and it slowly cleared my head.
I couldn't speak because of the trach. I had lost over 100lbs while in the ICU for nearly 2 months, mostly muscle wasting from my legs and arms. I couldn't stand or walk. My hands where so shaky that I couldn't write. So I mouthed words and my amazing wife and friends did their best to read my lips. It was so frustrating. Every time I asked my wife what happened she'd start crying so it took a long time to get the full story, and even longer to accept it. Because my hallucinations were so strong, they bled into reality. I didn't know what was real.
My wife had a steady stream of friends and family visiting me, sitting with me so that she could do some work, or take a break. My in-laws are full time RV'ers who spend winter in Florida, instead, they moved into our house and took care of my wife and son. They kept his life as "normal" as possible with school, dinner on the table, basketball practice, etc. I'm forever indebted to them.
As my health improved, I moved to stage 2 of the trach where I could finally speak if I held my finger over my neck. This was AMAZING. I have always been chatty, plus I sing and play the ukulele. I thought I'd never speak again, much less sing. Thankfully that has all come back. I was able to finally have conversations with my visitors and start sorting through everything that had happened. I would frequently ask "Real? Or not real?" about things I remembered. I took advantage of the massages and total care and eventually started PT and OT.
My emotions where another challenge. I would cry at the drop of a hat. When I wasn't in tears, I was very flat emotionally. Everyone, nurses, PT's, OT's, family & friends could see it but I thought that was just my new "normal." It was only after I was home that the fog truly lifted and I started feeling like myself again.
On December 6th I stood up for the very first time (see attached photo). That was a GREAT day.
All in all I was in the ICU for nearly 2 months, then a regular hospital room, then off to rehab for almost 3 weeks, then back at the hospital for an abscess next to my pancreas for 2 weeks, then back at rehab for a week. Now I've been home since January.
Things were tough at first. Our bedroom is on the 2nd floor and I couldn't do stairs yet so I had a rented hospital bed in the living room for a few weeks. We all had the challenging of having me back home, re-integrating me into everyone's lives. it wasn't easy at first, but over the last 3 months we've found our way. I'm doing weekly outpatient PT, I've ditched the crutches I came home with and warm weather meant I could finally do laps of our neighborhood. I'm getting stronger every day, my head is clear, my smile is bright, and I'm loving life.
The only hiccup since I've been home is that I went out to breakfast at a local diner just a few days after returning home. I ate a tiny bit of food, but halfway through Breakfast, I passed out. My wife said it looked like a seizure as I was shaking , and my eyes rolled back in my head. When I awoke, my friends (who we were dining with, one of them was my OT) were already calling 911. I left for the hospital in an ambulance. What the Docs there found after 2 days of monitoring was the the blood pressure medicine that DHMC had put me on was unnecessary, and my B{ had crashed, causing my fainting. They took me off those meds and I've been fine ever since.
So... take away all those complications and the question I get from everyone is... "was it worth it?" I can say now, that yes it was. I've lost 150lbs and will continue to lose. I currently weigh around 260lbs, I've lost 14 inches off my waist and I'm down 3 shirt sizes. It took a while to learn what my pouch likes and doesn't like because the hospital and rehab controlled my eating and portions for so long. Though I'm 6 months out from my surgery, I really am only 3 months out on my own, making my own food choices, and mistakes. Mostly, I can eat what I want, just in very small qualities. I don't really get hungry any more. I eat small portions of healthy food, avoid fried food and sweets, try to get enough Protein, take my Vitamins, and exercise. The Gastric Bypass worked, it was the complications that nearly killed me, and they are rare.
My wife kept a Caring Bridge Journal if you want the play-by-play. It, and the pictures she took, have been an invaluable resource as I've recovered and tried to piece together the time I lost. https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/davemorin/journal/index/0/0/asc
In conclusion, I hope this story helps someone here. I got a lot of great info from this forum before my surgery and my intent is not to slam RNY, my caregivers, or try to discourage anyone. I just hope that it can be educational about some of the risks.

Thanks

Lord Almighty, what a frightening experience. I'm so glad you're still here to tell us about it! I hope the rest of your story is nothing but smooth sailing and lots of success. You have earned at least that and so much more...

Holy crap man...my complications are a drop in a bucket to what you went through. I think it's great that you're still positive about it all despite going through all of that. Glad to hear that you are doing so much better and for sharing your story. Best of luck to you!

I've been waiting to post my story because I'm afraid it will come out too negatively and may scare off folks looking into surgery. Now that I'm where I am in the recovery process, I feel like I can tell the tale. Plus, I think the stories that are tough are just as important to the discussion.
I had RNY on October 5th 2016. I had it at DHMC in Lebanon NH with Dr. Truss, they have an excellent program and great safety & success stats there. I did months of Dr. supervised diet, psych visits, and all the other Insurance prerequisites. My program weight was 413 lbs and I was 45 years old.
On the day of surgery I was 385 (mostly thanks to the 2 week pre-op diet), my blood pressure was perfect and I was in high spirits. I went into surgery, came out and felt good. I had the broth and Jello they give you, then immediately started feeling pains in my stomach which my Doctor at first judged to be "normal." But it got worse, and that's when things start getting fuzzy. I remember going down for a scan where I was standing and drinking a liquid so they could watch it flow through me. I remember sitting down in a chair after this... and that's the last thing I remember for over a month.
Long story short, everything that could go wrong, did. I had blood clots in my remnant stomach, no one knows why. They split me open and went in to clean that up. I got sepsis. My fever spiked and they couldn't bring it down. One of my lungs collapsed, and my kidneys started failing. Everything was going very badly. They put me in an induced coma because I was trying to pull tubes out and they needed me resting. They filled me full of fluids adding nearly 100lbs. to my overall weight. I was grossly bloated (I've seen the pictures). The skin on feet shed like a snake. They put in a trach. A couple weeks one very insightful Doctor suggested that maybe I was allergic to the very common paralytic they gave me. They stopped giving it to me, administered an antidote of some sort, and my condition began to improve. No one had any idea I was allergic to it, I'd never had surgery before.
All in all I had 11 surgeries. I have a piece of biomesh holding my stomach muscles together. They expect that to dissolve by fall and the Docs expect me to develop a hernia at that time so they are planning on another surgery in the fall.
My wife says I was trying to communicate, with open eyes, long before I remember waking up. She has pictures of me and my eyes are open but it's clear there's no lights on.

When I woke up, I didn't understand where I was or what was going on. I had been out so long, and pumped full of so many drugs, that I had been living in a dreamworld in my head. I thought I'd gone on a drug-fueled bender and crashed my car. I thought I was sleeping every night on a battleship, or a space ship, I had a million crazy theories and thoughts and they all seem totally real to me. My hallucinations lasted well into the time I was in rehab. They put me on an anti-psychotic developed esspecially for patients who had prolonged ICU stays and it slowly cleared my head.
I couldn't speak because of the trach. I had lost over 100lbs while in the ICU for nearly 2 months, mostly muscle wasting from my legs and arms. I couldn't stand or walk. My hands where so shaky that I couldn't write. So I mouthed words and my amazing wife and friends did their best to read my lips. It was so frustrating. Every time I asked my wife what happened she'd start crying so it took a long time to get the full story, and even longer to accept it. Because my hallucinations were so strong, they bled into reality. I didn't know what was real.
My wife had a steady stream of friends and family visiting me, sitting with me so that she could do some work, or take a break. My in-laws are full time RV'ers who spend winter in Florida, instead, they moved into our house and took care of my wife and son. They kept his life as "normal" as possible with school, dinner on the table, basketball practice, etc. I'm forever indebted to them.
As my health improved, I moved to stage 2 of the trach where I could finally speak if I held my finger over my neck. This was AMAZING. I have always been chatty, plus I sing and play the ukulele. I thought I'd never speak again, much less sing. Thankfully that has all come back. I was able to finally have conversations with my visitors and start sorting through everything that had happened. I would frequently ask "Real? Or not real?" about things I remembered. I took advantage of the massages and total care and eventually started PT and OT.
My emotions where another challenge. I would cry at the drop of a hat. When I wasn't in tears, I was very flat emotionally. Everyone, nurses, PT's, OT's, family & friends could see it but I thought that was just my new "normal." It was only after I was home that the fog truly lifted and I started feeling like myself again.
On December 6th I stood up for the very first time (see attached photo). That was a GREAT day.
All in all I was in the ICU for nearly 2 months, then a regular hospital room, then off to rehab for almost 3 weeks, then back at the hospital for an abscess next to my pancreas for 2 weeks, then back at rehab for a week. Now I've been home since January.
Things were tough at first. Our bedroom is on the 2nd floor and I couldn't do stairs yet so I had a rented hospital bed in the living room for a few weeks. We all had the challenging of having me back home, re-integrating me into everyone's lives. it wasn't easy at first, but over the last 3 months we've found our way. I'm doing weekly outpatient PT, I've ditched the crutches I came home with and warm weather meant I could finally do laps of our neighborhood. I'm getting stronger every day, my head is clear, my smile is bright, and I'm loving life.
The only hiccup since I've been home is that I went out to breakfast at a local diner just a few days after returning home. I ate a tiny bit of food, but halfway through Breakfast, I passed out. My wife said it looked like a seizure as I was shaking , and my eyes rolled back in my head. When I awoke, my friends (who we were dining with, one of them was my OT) were already calling 911. I left for the hospital in an ambulance. What the Docs there found after 2 days of monitoring was the the blood pressure medicine that DHMC had put me on was unnecessary, and my B{ had crashed, causing my fainting. They took me off those meds and I've been fine ever since.
So... take away all those complications and the question I get from everyone is... "was it worth it?" I can say now, that yes it was. I've lost 150lbs and will continue to lose. I currently weigh around 260lbs, I've lost 14 inches off my waist and I'm down 3 shirt sizes. It took a while to learn what my pouch likes and doesn't like because the hospital and rehab controlled my eating and portions for so long. Though I'm 6 months out from my surgery, I really am only 3 months out on my own, making my own food choices, and mistakes. Mostly, I can eat what I want, just in very small qualities. I don't really get hungry any more. I eat small portions of healthy food, avoid fried food and sweets, try to get enough Protein, take my Vitamins, and exercise. The Gastric Bypass worked, it was the complications that nearly killed me, and they are rare.
My wife kept a Caring Bridge Journal if you want the play-by-play. It, and the pictures she took, have been an invaluable resource as I've recovered and tried to piece together the time I lost. https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/davemorin/journal/index/0/0/asc
In conclusion, I hope this story helps someone here. I got a lot of great info from this forum before my surgery and my intent is not to slam RNY, my caregivers, or try to discourage anyone. I just hope that it can be educational about some of the risks.

Wee man, my hats off too you and your whole family! It's very important for these stories to be told so thank you for having the guts for sharing it.

Be safe, kick ass and sending love from Scotland (I'm a girl! [emoji16])

I've been waiting to post my story because I'm afraid it will come out too negatively and may scare off folks looking into surgery. Now that I'm where I am in the recovery process, I feel like I can tell the tale. Plus, I think the stories that are tough are just as important to the discussion.
I had RNY on October 5th 2016. I had it at DHMC in Lebanon NH with Dr. Truss, they have an excellent program and great safety & success stats there. I did months of Dr. supervised diet, psych visits, and all the other Insurance prerequisites. My program weight was 413 lbs and I was 45 years old.
On the day of surgery I was 385 (mostly thanks to the 2 week pre-op diet), my blood pressure was perfect and I was in high spirits. I went into surgery, came out and felt good. I had the broth and Jello they give you, then immediately started feeling pains in my stomach which my Doctor at first judged to be "normal." But it got worse, and that's when things start getting fuzzy. I remember going down for a scan where I was standing and drinking a liquid so they could watch it flow through me. I remember sitting down in a chair after this... and that's the last thing I remember for over a month.
Long story short, everything that could go wrong, did. I had blood clots in my remnant stomach, no one knows why. They split me open and went in to clean that up. I got sepsis. My fever spiked and they couldn't bring it down. One of my lungs collapsed, and my kidneys started failing. Everything was going very badly. They put me in an induced coma because I was trying to pull tubes out and they needed me resting. They filled me full of fluids adding nearly 100lbs. to my overall weight. I was grossly bloated (I've seen the pictures). The skin on feet shed like a snake. They put in a trach. A couple weeks one very insightful Doctor suggested that maybe I was allergic to the very common paralytic they gave me. They stopped giving it to me, administered an antidote of some sort, and my condition began to improve. No one had any idea I was allergic to it, I'd never had surgery before.
All in all I had 11 surgeries. I have a piece of biomesh holding my stomach muscles together. They expect that to dissolve by fall and the Docs expect me to develop a hernia at that time so they are planning on another surgery in the fall.
My wife says I was trying to communicate, with open eyes, long before I remember waking up. She has pictures of me and my eyes are open but it's clear there's no lights on.

When I woke up, I didn't understand where I was or what was going on. I had been out so long, and pumped full of so many drugs, that I had been living in a dreamworld in my head. I thought I'd gone on a drug-fueled bender and crashed my car. I thought I was sleeping every night on a battleship, or a space ship, I had a million crazy theories and thoughts and they all seem totally real to me. My hallucinations lasted well into the time I was in rehab. They put me on an anti-psychotic developed esspecially for patients who had prolonged ICU stays and it slowly cleared my head.
I couldn't speak because of the trach. I had lost over 100lbs while in the ICU for nearly 2 months, mostly muscle wasting from my legs and arms. I couldn't stand or walk. My hands where so shaky that I couldn't write. So I mouthed words and my amazing wife and friends did their best to read my lips. It was so frustrating. Every time I asked my wife what happened she'd start crying so it took a long time to get the full story, and even longer to accept it. Because my hallucinations were so strong, they bled into reality. I didn't know what was real.
My wife had a steady stream of friends and family visiting me, sitting with me so that she could do some work, or take a break. My in-laws are full time RV'ers who spend winter in Florida, instead, they moved into our house and took care of my wife and son. They kept his life as "normal" as possible with school, dinner on the table, basketball practice, etc. I'm forever indebted to them.
As my health improved, I moved to stage 2 of the trach where I could finally speak if I held my finger over my neck. This was AMAZING. I have always been chatty, plus I sing and play the ukulele. I thought I'd never speak again, much less sing. Thankfully that has all come back. I was able to finally have conversations with my visitors and start sorting through everything that had happened. I would frequently ask "Real? Or not real?" about things I remembered. I took advantage of the massages and total care and eventually started PT and OT.
My emotions where another challenge. I would cry at the drop of a hat. When I wasn't in tears, I was very flat emotionally. Everyone, nurses, PT's, OT's, family & friends could see it but I thought that was just my new "normal." It was only after I was home that the fog truly lifted and I started feeling like myself again.
On December 6th I stood up for the very first time (see attached photo). That was a GREAT day.
All in all I was in the ICU for nearly 2 months, then a regular hospital room, then off to rehab for almost 3 weeks, then back at the hospital for an abscess next to my pancreas for 2 weeks, then back at rehab for a week. Now I've been home since January.
Things were tough at first. Our bedroom is on the 2nd floor and I couldn't do stairs yet so I had a rented hospital bed in the living room for a few weeks. We all had the challenging of having me back home, re-integrating me into everyone's lives. it wasn't easy at first, but over the last 3 months we've found our way. I'm doing weekly outpatient PT, I've ditched the crutches I came home with and warm weather meant I could finally do laps of our neighborhood. I'm getting stronger every day, my head is clear, my smile is bright, and I'm loving life.
The only hiccup since I've been home is that I went out to breakfast at a local diner just a few days after returning home. I ate a tiny bit of food, but halfway through Breakfast, I passed out. My wife said it looked like a seizure as I was shaking , and my eyes rolled back in my head. When I awoke, my friends (who we were dining with, one of them was my OT) were already calling 911. I left for the hospital in an ambulance. What the Docs there found after 2 days of monitoring was the the blood pressure medicine that DHMC had put me on was unnecessary, and my B{ had crashed, causing my fainting. They took me off those meds and I've been fine ever since.
So... take away all those complications and the question I get from everyone is... "was it worth it?" I can say now, that yes it was. I've lost 150lbs and will continue to lose. I currently weigh around 260lbs, I've lost 14 inches off my waist and I'm down 3 shirt sizes. It took a while to learn what my pouch likes and doesn't like because the hospital and rehab controlled my eating and portions for so long. Though I'm 6 months out from my surgery, I really am only 3 months out on my own, making my own food choices, and mistakes. Mostly, I can eat what I want, just in very small qualities. I don't really get hungry any more. I eat small portions of healthy food, avoid fried food and sweets, try to get enough Protein, take my Vitamins, and exercise. The Gastric Bypass worked, it was the complications that nearly killed me, and they are rare.
My wife kept a Caring Bridge Journal if you want the play-by-play. It, and the pictures she took, have been an invaluable resource as I've recovered and tried to piece together the time I lost. https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/davemorin/journal/index/0/0/asc
In conclusion, I hope this story helps someone here. I got a lot of great info from this forum before my surgery and my intent is not to slam RNY, my caregivers, or try to discourage anyone. I just hope that it can be educational about some of the risks.

Wait till you start to eat normal again even at the purée stage ... you will soon know what full is lol
I was thinking when I was on the liquid stage that I wasn't sleeved cause I had no real restriction at all.. I had no problems sculling Water either. But solids is s different balll game

It's sort of fascinating how different each programs' pre-surgery diets are.

My friend in CT didn't have to do much of anything except for Clear Liquids 48 hours before surgery.

For me, at DHMC in NH, I have 2 weeks of 1000 cal/day, very low carb, but real food is fine.

Reading every other possible combo on these forums. I wonder why that hasn't become more standardized across the industry yet.

Is there someone you can call at your program to talk to? The nutritionist maybe? Hopefully this is just pre-surgery jitters.
From everything I've read though, the lifestyle change is huge and it's something you have to be committed too 100%. More than a few folks have the surgery and then self-sabotage and not change, and they DO put weight back on. You have to be truly, and honestly committed to the permanent lifestyle change.
Your body will be just fine on the calories you can put in it. Remember, it's going to spend a long time "eating up" all those calories you (we all!) have been storing for years and years.
I think if you go into this surgery wondering how soon you can get back to EATING, then it's the wrong mindset (personal opinion.) You have to go into this optimistic, and excited to use 'the tool" (your surgery) to help you NOT eat, to help you change your life for the better.
Seriously, if you have questions, see who you can contact at your program to answer them and help allay your fears.

Today's the day! Final numbers...
Start weight: 422 Program weight: 413 Day of Surgery Weight: 384.2

Looks like there are a couple of us tomorrow. My surgery is at 10:00; have to be at hospital at 8:00am. Wishing everyone the best of luck and a speedy recovery. Sending prayers and good vibes as we go on this journey together.
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

About 5 hrs post op now...happy he was able to do a bypass.
Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Just 5 short weeks ago, October 5th seemed like an eternity away. Now I staring down the last 4 days of my old life and getting ready to welcome the new. It's been a rough 3 weeks of pre-op diet. I have to say thank you to my family and to the fellow Bariatric pals on here for helping me through. It's been interesting to see how different the pre-op requirements are around the country.
This weekend I'm going to get my hospital bag ready, go grocery shopping for the family and make sure everything is in order, so I don't have to worry about anything but getting healthy.
We have several other pals with surgeries this week...what are you doing to get ready? How are you feeling?
Tammy