Home from the Hospital - my experience during the first few days.

[Brian66 85]

Hello all,

I had my VSG on Tuesday, July 13th at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan. The day of the surgery was a little frustrating because the procedure was scheduled for 4:00 pm and I did not end up walking into the OR until around 7:00 pm. I had been warned that my doctor often runs behind schedule and given such a late scheduled hour for surgery, I was not surprised to have to wait. Other than the long delay, everything went smoothly. The anesthesiologist had some concerns about inserting my breathing tube and there was some discussion about using a camera to visualize things, but I am not really sure if they needed to resort to that. The last thing I remember about the OR is having my throat sprayed with some awful local anesthetic to prepare for the possible insertion of the camera and then I was out.

I woke up in the recovery room at about 9:30 pm and my only complaint was that awful taste in my mouth from the anesthetic. Fortunately, that passed quickly enough and the next thing I knew, I was being brought to my room at about 11:00 pm. I had not discernible paiin and I was alert enough to be able to call my family and tell them that I was alright.

I slept on and off that first night, but I had no real pain to speak of. A little discomfort from the foley catheter, but that was about the worst of it. I was woken up bright and early the next morning (Tuesday) and taken down for an upper GI series to check for leaks. The contrast solution was very unpleasant to drink, but the test passed quickly enough and I was thrilled to hear that there were no leaks detected. I was cleared to try clear fluids after the leak test, but I really had no desire to eat or drink anything. The only amazing thing was that I found that even swallowing the smallest amount of Jello produced some pain which made me realize just how sensitive the stomach was.

I was able to walk around the floor on Tuesday and I am happy to say that I had none of the horrendous gas pain that I had been warned about.

When I was asked about my pain level on a scale of 1-10, I could honestly answer that it was about a 0.

On Thursday morning, I was cleared to go home and I was picked up at about 11:30 am. As soon as I got in the car, I felt quite a bit of nausea and the hour ride back home was a little unpleasant. No vomitting, just really extreme queasiness. I wsa pretty wiped out by the time I got home and I did sleep for a few hours.

The nausea was pretty bad by Thursday night and I did get some relief by taking the prevacid that was prescribed when I left the hospital. The first night was a little bit rough and I found myself wondering if I had done the right thing. Classic buyer's remorse, I guess, which I sort of expected, but it was still not pleasant to deal with.

Friday was definitely better in terms of the nausea and today has been even better. Still a little queasy, but definitely manageable. I am also bothered by a sort of medicinal taste in my mouth, but I find that this is getting better as I am able to consume more fluids.

I am still nowhere near where I need to be in terms of Protein and fluids, but it is definitely getting better everyday. My main concern is getting in the minimum amount of fluids because my surgeon warned me that dehydration is a major cause of hospital readmissions for VSG patients.

It is sort of strange being home with my kids in that I feel like we are existing in parallel universes at the moment. Their world is pretty much normal and mine is much the same as theirs, except it does not contain food. They are being very sweet and try not to talk about food in front of me, but I have to say I have absolutely no hunger and it really does not bother me to be around food. In fact, the nausea I had been experiencing made the thought of any food very unappealing. I was able to take them to the mall this afternoon and I bought lunch for them. I did feel a little sad at not being able to share in the meal with them, but the feeling passed quickly enough.

The really good news is that I am down about 25 pounds since fist consulting with my surgeon back in March and I have lost about 10 pounds since my surgery. The best part of today is that I was able to put on a pair of shorts that I received as a gift last June that never fit and they were very comfortable. I guess I am really on my way!

Just wanted to let you know where I was at the moment and to thank you for all your support on this sight

Brian

[mila1013 0]

Brian,

congrats on your surgery, sounds like you had a great experience (well except office staff-that can be really bad) so you stayed 2 nights and it sounds like you are off to a great start, hope you have great success, rest up

Mila

[CraftyChristie 62]

Thanks for sharing your story. Glad to hear every day is getting better. Wish you all the best!

[Maddie 9]

Glad you are home and doing well. Take care and best wishes for a speedy recovery.

[deletedsally 8]

Wow...25 pounds already? That's great! Congratulations on your surgery. Keep us posted on how you are doing.

[SouthernSleever 228]

Sounds great. Thanks for sharing your story with us!

[Dansha 16]

Brian,thanks for the update. I love reading the details. Best wishes for a speedy recovery, but it sounds like you are already on your way.:thumbup:

Deb

Edited July 18, 2010 by Dansha

[SParkle 4]

HI and congratulations.

Each day does get easier and the first couple of weeks will pass by quickly for you... well done on your weightloss so far!

Kathy

[Jane_J 117]

Glad all went well for you Brian. It will be great, you need to get a ticker going!!

Jane x

[Basbosa 0]

i had sort of the same experiance except with the gas pains :S