Hey guys, my name is Robin and I'm a brand new bariatric patient. I had the gastric sleeve performed four days ago, December 20th, 2016 in Coral Springs, FL. The reasons why are certainly familiar to all of us; I was tired of failing to be healthy and I decided to hard boot my life by removing will power from the weight loss equation.
Day one was decent, actually. I'd hear horror stories about the pain, the constant vomiting and dry heaving, and I was prepared for the worst. Going into surgery I was given Zofran (an anti-emetic) through my IV, requested it upon waking, and then after I was transferred to my room, I received a shot of phenergen. There was never a point where I thought I would vomit, and my pain was surprisingly minimal. The abdomen was sore from the incisions, but far less that I anticipated. The worst pain was referred gas pain that settled in my upper right shoulder. The morphine pump handled everything and I slept like a baby the first night.
Day two was remarkable. The morphine kept me pain free as the day before, and I was able to tolerate Clear liquids, but very little because I had a hiatal hernia repair with the sleeve and that made sips very painful. My morphine pump was taken away by the nightshift RN, and I survived the night on pain pills.
Day three was the day I was discharged and things went a little south. My IV infiltrated (when the fluids seep into the tissues) and was replaced post-op, but on day three for whatever reason, my lymphatic system went to town and the arm was swollen and painful. An ultrasound showed two small non-occluding clots, but my BP was high so I had to stay until they got it down. Meanwhile I got the shakes, and my head was pounding. It didn't take much for me to realize that I was suffering from a low-grade fever. I went home and took Tylenol and my pain medication, and slept most of the first day home.
Day four was a mental game. I began to eat 2 oz of cottage cheese and got very uncomfortable. I went to bed for hours. Later in the day I was able to tolerate only one ounce of cottage cheese, and slept a lot. I had a mini mental breakdown when my family sat down for dinner and the house smelled of steak. I recovered.
It's day five now. I woke up feeling human. My abdomen is sore, but only slightly, and occasionally the gassy feeling in my shoulder rears its head. I'm able to swallow more fluids at one time which is helping me get them all in. Currently my family is having Christmas Eve dinner, and I'm working on my Water intake. It's a chore.
Over all, I feel bloaty and scared, but this is the first day I feel positive that I made the right decision.
