What was your after care like after surgery?

[soulsista001 0]

If you had the option would you of chosen to stay in the hospital a night , go to a after care place, or have a live in nurse the few days after surgery?? Did you have any discharge from your wounds?

My surgery is Oct 1st. I live alone and have had numerous people offer to take care of me. I definetly don't feel like I would burden anyone but I'm not sure exactly of the aftercare I will need.. I can afford really any option Would love your input of experience!

[msdv 5]

My experience was that my Dr. had me stay in the hospital overnight the day of surgery. I was up walking and feeling great.

I didn't want to do it but now that it's over I'm glad I did. In his words I had a perfect surgery and I had really no pain and not even the horrible gas pains that some have.

I only took the pain meds the first couple of days more so to make me sleep than for pain.

My Husband went to work but he put the dog out in the am when he left so I wouldn't have to do much. I just wanted to be home alone to sleep

Many bandsters go home the same day and have no problems at all.

If you want a friend to stay with you the first day you should be alright but to pay a nurse ...unless you have a complication which you will not ,will be a waste of good money.

This is just my humble opinion.

Edited September 15, 2010 by msdv

[SoccerMomma73 1,867]

I had to stay overnight, didn't need to. Would have rested better in my own home. I stayed at my parents place for 2 nights (mom's orders) but really I was up and around and getting my own drinks etc.... I would have been fine by myself without help. That said. My son was 5 at the time and I'm single...so, I would have been fine home alone but needed to leave him with the doting grandparents for 2-3 days and let them worry about feeding him and getting him to school, etc. I had 1 spot that oozed a tiny bit but nothing gross or bloody. I was able to handle all my bodily functions without issue.... Like above, I think paying a nurse would likely be a waste of your funds.

Good luck!

[BeachBabe 0]

I had my surgery at 8:00 am and went home at 2:00 pm. Layed in bed for a few days and did not need any help. You should be fine. No discharge from wounds.

[losethemess 14]

The answers to your questions really depends on what your doctor recommends? I think your doctor will tell you if you have to stay overnight or if you'll be discharged the same day. My doctor informed me during my post op visit that I would stay overnight. My surgery took a little over 2 hours. I had the single incision surgery which takes twice as long as the traditional 5 incision lap band surgery and I had a hernia repaired. Hernia's are often undetected and ofter repaired during lap band surgery. I nor my doctor new I had one before surgery. I stayed overnight and to answer your question I'm thankful I did because I was in a lot of pain after surgery. I had a significant amount of pain 2-3 days after surgery as well. I took off one work a week ahead of time and used the entire week to recuperate.

So to answer your questions

Would I have chosen to stay in the hospital a night--Yes ,

Would I go to a after care place. No, I'd rather be at home if I were discharged the same day.

Would I rather have a live in nurse the few days after surgery?? No, I'd rather have a friend help than a nurse, what are friends for if they can't help you when you need them the most?

Did you have any discharge from your wounds? No I didn't have any discharge from my wound. My wound was covered with Dermabond, which gradually disintegrates.

Hope this helps

[kelsey94568 0]

I stayed one night in the hospital because I had an asthma attack as I woke up from the anesthesia. Also, on my way down from the recovery room to my own private room, the nurses that were wheeling my bed down there hit a bump and I was in excrutiating pain for an hour till they got my morphine drip set up. I liked staying in the hospital because I was really nauseous from the pain killers and the nurses were there to help me. Also, I started my period the day of surgery, it was soooo embarrassing! The next day I felt pretty good! Walking around really helps! Plus the morphine made everything worse, and it was nice to switch to vicodin the second day. Btw, there was no discharge from my wounds! The bandages sure were itchy tho!

[Mangofish 1]

I flew halfway across the country, had the surgery in the morning by myself, less than 48 hrs later I was stumbling thru the Atlanta airport by myself. I didn't tell anyone except a couple of friends. No nurse or discharge from the traditional 5 incisions.

Aftercare was ok - you can do it by yourself if necessary but you def. need to stock up on items before hand and have everything prepared. I wasn't very prepared and ended feeling weak and lethargic for most of the week.

[ElfiePoo 109]

If you had the option would you of chosen to stay in the hospital a night , go to a after care place, or have a live in nurse the few days after surgery?? Did you have any discharge from your wounds?

My surgery is Oct 1st. I live alone and have had numerous people offer to take care of me. I definetly don't feel like I would burden anyone but I'm not sure exactly of the aftercare I will need.. I can afford really any option Would love your input of experience!

I went in at 6 a.m. and was on my way home at 1 p.m....two hours earlier than they usually do because I was doing so well. I went home and slept the rest of the day, no help necessary although someone was there and offered to get me Water, etc. I was back at work the following day for a few hours and then full-time the day after that (desk job). No after care necessary by anyone.

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[Grandma26 1]

I didn't need to stay in the hospital. My surgery was at 9:00 am, I was home by 3:00 PM. I was very fortunate, I didn't have any pain, just a mild discomfort. I didn't get the severe gas pains, my incisions we small and no oozing. I rested the rest of the day and went to work the next morning. Surgery is different for everyone, but definately do whatever your doctor recommends.

[MountainMama 5]

I stayed overnight in the hospital and was glad for it. I respond poorly to anethesia and didnt fully wake up and act coherent until about 3 in the afternoon, my surgery was at 10 in the morning,lol. My husband said, "finally, i thought you were never gonna wake up."

I utilized the time at the hospital to be waited on. I had my liquids delivered, my pain meds given IV and was able to rest knowing I didnt have anything other then feeling better to worry about. Had I been home that first night I would have been having children running all over, a dog barking and a husband yelling at this kids and dog to leave me alone lol. My nurses were wonderful. They came in very quickly after I rang out to them and they never took long when I needed pain or nausea meds. For me, the only thing about being in the hospital was, its just not as comfy being in someone elses bed then it is in your own.

Recovery is different for everyone, after that night in the hospital my husband, the kids and I all piled into the car and drove from West Virginia to Tennessee to visit family. I was sore and tired out more quickly then normal but I think all the walking I did was beneficial. I just kept my pain meds handy.

As far as my incisions, I left the steri strips in place until they came off on their own in the shower. I had no dicharge or problems from them at all.

Talk to your doc about what he/she thinks is right for you. There are reasons that some are kept over night more so then for others. You may well be able to do a same day surgery. Good luck to you!

[eadreel 0]

I think it depends on how you personally recover from a surgery. Me, I didn't recover so well. I needed help getting out of bed and up off the couch. It was painful to bend over to pick up anything on the floor (such as feed and Water the pets) and I was dizzy most of the first three days and in a lot of pain. 5 days after surgery I finally ventured out of my house and the five minute car ride to and from church was horrible. Not to mention the sitting and standing for an hour during service! I still haven't dared to try driving and it is now 8 days post-op. Also I accidentally lifted one of my steri-strips when I took the cover bandages off and had to have my husband go to the drugstore to get me some butterfly closures.

Some people recover like they never had major surgery and some recover badly from major surgery.

If you have never had surgery before I would arrange a really really good friend or maybe a family member that is physically capable of lifting you from prone to sitting positions to stay with you a couple of days. The worst that can happen is that you don't need them after the first day and they go home.

[clohse 0]

I was banded Aug 13th. I went home the same day. The first day wasn't that bad. It was on days 2-4 when I became nauseous that I was really thankful to have someone there. As far as the incisions, they had steri strips covered by band aids. No real care needed. Just keep them dry until the strips come off on their own. The port site continued to hurt after the others had stopped, but I kept a cold pack on it and that helped a lot. Finding a way to sleep the first two nights was a bit of a challenge.

All in all, I would say that you should have someone there with you to make things easier, but paying a nurse would be more than you need.

[jasonweinberg 0]

i spent the night in the hospital and enjoyed the care and the morphine drip. the hospital staff was awesome. i live more than an hour away so they recommended i stay at a place attached to the hospital (no care though just a place to stay) and i was fine there and enjoyed my stay. i would have stayed there longer but my mom was watching my daughter and my daughter wanted me home. there was no reason to stay, except peace and quiet. my recovery was easy and uneventful, and i had no oozing or issues with any of my incisions.

[HappyMom 1]

I was wheeled into surgery at 10 am and was walking out of the hospital 2.5 hours later at 12:30pm. I had considerable gas pains, but no real pain from the incisions.

My husband had to work the next day so I was at home along with my two boys 1 & 4. I sat a lot that day and didn't do too much lifting of the baby, but other than that I was just sore (again gas pains).

I think that I would have liked to stay in the hospital overnight.....just to get away from the kids! I was just fine going home.

You may want someone at your place after the surgery just to be there. You may not need all that much help, but it would be nice to have someone around so you are not alone....just in case.

I have 5 incisions and there was no issue with them.....dermabond was applied during and eventually fell off.....so seepage.

Good luck to you!

[soulsista001 0]

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences, definitely helps! I guess I'm just nervous because this is my first surgery/hospital experience ever and I'm electing to do it because I'm self-pay lol! Therefore, just trying to get as prepared as possible.. knowing too you can't prepare for everything!