Post Op Day Five

[GreenEyedMamma 5]

Post-Op Day Five

My surgery was on Thursday, February 24. I arrived at the hospital at 2pm for prep, was in surgery at 3pm, in recovery at 5pm, was in my room by 6:30pm, and the nurses had me up and walking by 10pm. I was on a morphine pump so the pain was tolerable.

I tried to sleep after my walk down the hall but it is darn near impossible to actually get sleep while in the hospital. Nurses are in your room every hour taking vitals or giving you medication. One of the sensors I had taped to me kept coming unplugged and one time the nurses thought I had flat-lined but instead of rushing into my room, they actually called me to see if I was OK.

Another hard part about my hospital stay was the poor 93 year old woman across the hall from me. She suffers from Dementia and had no idea where she was and didn't know she had surgery. All night long I kept hearing her yell "Hello! I need help". Although annoying, I felt really bad for her. It was so sad.

Between the nurses and my neighbor, I slept in 10 minute increments that night and gave up trying to sleep around 7am.

I couldn't have anything to drink until after I had a "leak check" to make sure my remaining stomach didn't have a leak anywhere and after not having anything to drink since 7am the previous day my mouth (and throat) was extremely dry. They took me downstairs around 10:30am for the barium swallow. Now...a barium swallow after this type of surgery is TOTALLY different than one you have while doing a normal Upper GI (which is typically chalky tasting). This toxic tasting crap made me think I was drinking a mixture of the world's worst cough Syrup, really bad vodka, and a hint of flat Sprite and it was blue. Praise Jesus I only had to take two swallows.

I passed the leak test and was finally able to drink some Water. lunch time came and after I had four spoonfuls of the mystery flavored broth, one tiny spoonful of what I assumed was Jell-O, and a sip of juice I was full. I thought for sure it was because I was tired and still thinking about that barium beverage I had earlier but when dinner came it was the same thing.

I couldn't get released until I passed the "pee" test (meaning to pee on my own). I found that really hard to do because my bladder was numb. I had to have a straight cath (just to drain the urine and then removed) twice. It took every bit of my being to go myself and I was finally released at 10:30pm and was home by 11pm. The Hubs got me settled in at home with my 17 year old son "supervising" me while he went to go pick up my pain medication from the 24-hour pharmacy halfway across town. I tried to lie in our bed but I ended up on the L-shaped couch because it was easier to sleep against.

The next three days were spent relaxing, walking around the house, and just trying to get my head back on right after being under anesthesia. Today is the first day my head feels totally clear and I didn't need a nap.

I am thankful to have had this surgery and can't wait to get on with the recovery. I have broken down the negatives and positives of the past five days below.

The Negatives

After having four previous abdominal surgeries, I had mentally prepared myself for the healing process of this surgery. What I didn't (and really couldn't) prepare for was the JP drain I would go home with. I hadn't had one in the past, so I wasn't prepared to deal with this new "appendage".

If you do not know what a JP drain is, it is a surgical drainage device used to pull excess blood and Fluid from the body by constant suction. Using a JP drain after surgery may help you heal faster and decrease your risk of getting an infection, so I am not completely against having it. It just limits a few things I want to do...like go back to work when I wanted or sleep on my stomach (which is comforting for me after abdominal surgery).

I am also having an allergic reaction to one of the medications I was given in the hospital (not sure which one since they gave me multiple at the same time) as well as the paper tape used to keep my bandages in place, both causing an itchy rash. Doesn't make relaxing or sleeping any easier when you feel itchy.

One side affect to having any type of abdominal surgery is it slows down your digestive system as well as your "plumbing". I won't go into the painful details of this but I will say that after four days of struggling, things are finally movin' and groovin' again.

The last negative I have really isn't mine. It's the Hubs. With all this time I have on my hands right now and since I am stuck at home, I have been watching a lot of QVC and HSN. Hey, I only ordered one thing today...

The Positives

One of the benefits of having the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy is you have a large portion (about 85%) of your stomach physically removed from your body, unlike Gastric Bypass or the LapBand where the stomach stays in your body. With having this portion removed, the hormone Ghrelin is removed as well. Ghrelin is the hunger stimulating hormone that tells your body you are hungry. This is a positive thing because of the obvious reason BUT you have to tell yourself to eat and drink so you don't get dehydrated and sick. You also want to make sure you get your Protein in first before anything (which in the liquid stage means you drink a lot of Protein shakes). I have lost eight pounds since Saturday (four of which were gained during my hospital stay from the IV fluids pumped into me).

I received three beautiful flower arrangements from well wishers. One from my parents, one from my office, and one from a group of my really close co-workers spread across the company (Edmonton, Ottawa, Seattle, Tampa, and Hawaii).

The Hubs and my son have been doing their best to take care of me. I am not one to sit around and let people wait on me but they are quick to respond if I do ask for something. They each cooked dinner for eachother and last night I ordered them pizza.

Now, even though my body doesn't think it is hungry, my nose still works and last night it told my brain that it wanted that pizza really bad. My brain suggested it to my stomach but the thought was rejected. Not only because I can't eat solid food right now but because my stomach said "ummm, you aren't hungry". This will be interesting once I graduate to real food. I will have to re-train myself how to eat and to make sure I eat the proper nutrients in the right order (protein, veggies, then carbs).

As soon as I get this darn drain out, I'll be able to get movin' and groovin' on the Wii and with Spring on its way in I'll be peddlin' away on my pink beach cruiser as well.

The last positive I have right now is...with all this time I have on my hands, I can watch as much QVC and HSN as I want and the new craft item I ordered today will be delivered next week...

[Douceur72 3]

This is a GREAT post and thank you for sharing! I love hearing the hour-by-hour stories. JP drain - major eww. I am not sure if my surgeon uses those, or if it's more of a case-by-case basis. Sounds like it went well overall. Wishing you a speedy recovery!

ps - as a former night nurse, I concur that hospitals SUCK for rest & recovery!

[sunnyd 32]

Thanks for sharing your story! I have two weeks left until mine and I love reading all the detailed posts. It seems I can never read enough when it comes to this surgery and all the success people have. Good luck to you as you continue on your journey!

[mjb123 3]

Love your play by play. It is so informative, and I appreciate your positives and negatives. A complete package. Best of luck in your continued healing!

[Beadingnurse 116]

Thank you so much for posting the details after surgery! I am a nurse and have also had abdominal surgery so I should have more than a clue but I still have a lot of questions! I am hoping for a late March, early April sleeve date so I will find out soon enough. One question, did you have an NG tube (nasogastric tube) after surgery? The tubes coming out of your nose to help drain fluids out of your stomach? I was expecting to go home with a JP drain but I've heard different stories on the NG tube. It is removed of course before you go home but it is still a pain.

I don't expect to get to sleep much either as I know how noisy and disruptive hospitals often are. The good news is that sleeve patients usually don't have to spend much time hospitalized. Good luck and keep posting about your results!

[swizzly 901]

Hey, we had surgery on the same day.

Interesting how different experiences are. I didn't have a catheter (except during anaesthesia I guess?) and didn't have any problem to pee after. I didn't get morphine and had quite a bit of pain, but it wasn't the gas pain I read so much about. It was my teeny ANGRY TUMMY.

I was in hospital for six days, but not due to any complications, just due to local practices. The first day without any Water was tortuous for me. The post-op barium swallow was different liquid than the pre-op one, too -- and awful tasting, your description is a good one (but mine was clear, not blue). I had a drain (not sure if it was JP -- but it wasn't coming out my nose), which they removed the day before I left to go home. Drain was sort of disgusting, but wasn't causing me any physical discomfort. Having it removed felt very odd and briefly painful, but really no big deal. The worst thing for me was that they ran my IV through my neck, and all the adhesive Patches they put on (and took off and put on ad nauseum) left a huge rash on my neck.

The first two days post-op, I got nauseated and vomited violently (VIOLENTLY. OUCH. And unlike a normal tummy, it doesn't make me feel better after I vomit. Hmph.) several times. That wasn't fun. They kept giving me nausea medication, but it didn't work straightaway.

They move you to food here as quickly as possible, so I had zwieback (one teeny piece on a full-size plate lol) on day three post-op. Plus tea, Water, bouillion. That moved into Soup and frappes the next days.

What's most interesting to me is how I felt after the first couple of rough days. Because I was HUNGRY. Super hungry. Not head hunger, but low blood sugar and rumbly tummy hungry. I couldn't wait for meal times and was disappointed when I got the zwieback on a plate and a cup of broth. I ate pretty much everything they fed me, except a wee mocha frappe that I didn't like. That said, they didn't feed me much, so I wasn't pigging out or anything. It's a bariatric center of excellence, so they have specific bariatric menus. And now I'm home, I continue to be hungry. I have no problem getting in the three meals and three Snacks on my plan, plus 1.5 liters of liquids per day. Don't get me wrong, I can't eat that much at one go, but I'm ready for it when it's time, and I'm happy to eat it. And I don't have to eat all that slow or chew things to death either. I'm torn between being freaked out by it and being quite glad of it. I will be happy to be a slow loser, as long as I'm a loser. I DO miss the clear full signal I used to get -- I used to have a very strong full feeling and would stop eating when I got it. I don't have it now, so I have to relearn what full feels like to the new wee tummy. I am learning, but slowly -- it would be easier if my stomach just felt full.

I wonder if I will continue to feel hunger, or if that will fade over time?

Sorry, I hope this isn't a threadjack -- I just was inspired by the details of your post! Congrats on the weight loss so far. I think I've lost about 4 kg since surgery, but I forgot to weigh right before. Oopsie.

[GreenEyedMamma 5]

Thank you so much for posting the details after surgery! I am a nurse and have also had abdominal surgery so I should have more than a clue but I still have a lot of questions! I am hoping for a late March, early April sleeve date so I will find out soon enough. One question, did you have an NG tube (nasogastric tube) after surgery? The tubes coming out of your nose to help drain fluids out of your stomach? I was expecting to go home with a JP drain but I've heard different stories on the NG tube. It is removed of course before you go home but it is still a pain.

I don't expect to get to sleep much either as I know how noisy and disruptive hospitals often are. The good news is that sleeve patients usually don't have to spend much time hospitalized. Good luck and keep posting about your results!

My tube came out of my stomach. Pretty much right in the middle. I had to go home with it. I went to the doc yesterday because I had developed a very large rash from something. The doc thinks it is from the prep antiseptic but could also be from the adhesive. I was also having a massive pain on my right side. I thought it was my appendix but it turned out to be deferred pain from the drain (which I found odd because the drain was wrapped to the left and sitting behind my spleen). The Fluid in my drain was pretty much clear so they went ahead and removed it yesterday. It hurt a little. Felt like they were taking a snake out of my belly and even thought the drain was threaded to the left I felt all the pain on the right. After it came out that massive pain I felt on the right was gone. It was the strangest feeling. Last night was the first night I got to sleep on my stomach and I feel great. I think if I didn't have the drain, or the rash, I would have felt great a few days ago.

Let me know if you have more questions. I am happy to answer them for you.

Dawn

[GreenEyedMamma 5]

@swizzly - It is funny how people can have very different experiences. I didn't experience vomiting but I did feel sick to my stomach twice but that was after I got up quickly and both episodes were within the first 24 hours after surgery. Once I got home I didn't feel it any more.

I haven't felt true hunger yet. I did order pizza for my husband and son one night and the smell was driving me crazy with head hunger. Once I was able to progress my diet to mushy foods I haven't experienced the desire for the foods I can't have. I had a scrambled egg today and it was the best egg I think I ever had. It took me about 45 minutes to eat it and when I was done, I was done. I didn't feel like I needed anything further. Maybe when you progress to more solid foods you'll get a more full feeling quicker. I would suggest that even though your new tummy is allowing you to eat at a normal pace, you should still eat slowly. Take at least 20 minutes to eat a meal. It gives your tummy time to communicate to your brain that you have eaten and are full.

Best of luck on your journey and continued weight loss.

Dawn

[thinoneday 445]

Post-Op Day Five

My surgery was on Thursday, February 24. I arrived at the hospital at 2pm for prep, was in surgery at 3pm, in recovery at 5pm, was in my room by 6:30pm, and the nurses had me up and walking by 10pm. I was on a morphine pump so the pain was tolerable.

I tried to sleep after my walk down the hall but it is darn near impossible to actually get sleep while in the hospital. Nurses are in your room every hour taking vitals or giving you medication. One of the sensors I had taped to me kept coming unplugged and one time the nurses thought I had flat-lined but instead of rushing into my room, they actually called me to see if I was OK.

Another hard part about my hospital stay was the poor 93 year old woman across the hall from me. She suffers from Dementia and had no idea where she was and didn't know she had surgery. All night long I kept hearing her yell "Hello! I need help". Although annoying, I felt really bad for her. It was so sad.

Between the nurses and my neighbor, I slept in 10 minute increments that night and gave up trying to sleep around 7am.

I couldn't have anything to drink until after I had a "leak check" to make sure my remaining stomach didn't have a leak anywhere and after not having anything to drink since 7am the previous day my mouth (and throat) was extremely dry. They took me downstairs around 10:30am for the barium swallow. Now...a barium swallow after this type of surgery is TOTALLY different than one you have while doing a normal Upper GI (which is typically chalky tasting). This toxic tasting crap made me think I was drinking a mixture of the world's worst cough Syrup, really bad vodka, and a hint of flat Sprite and it was blue. Praise Jesus I only had to take two swallows.

I passed the leak test and was finally able to drink some Water. lunch time came and after I had four spoonfuls of the mystery flavored broth, one tiny spoonful of what I assumed was Jell-O, and a sip of juice I was full. I thought for sure it was because I was tired and still thinking about that barium beverage I had earlier but when dinner came it was the same thing.

I couldn't get released until I passed the "pee" test (meaning to pee on my own). I found that really hard to do because my bladder was numb. I had to have a straight cath (just to drain the urine and then removed) twice. It took every bit of my being to go myself and I was finally released at 10:30pm and was home by 11pm. The Hubs got me settled in at home with my 17 year old son "supervising" me while he went to go pick up my pain medication from the 24-hour pharmacy halfway across town. I tried to lie in our bed but I ended up on the L-shaped couch because it was easier to sleep against.

The next three days were spent relaxing, walking around the house, and just trying to get my head back on right after being under anesthesia. Today is the first day my head feels totally clear and I didn't need a nap.

I am thankful to have had this surgery and can't wait to get on with the recovery. I have broken down the negatives and positives of the past five days below.

The Negatives

After having four previous abdominal surgeries, I had mentally prepared myself for the healing process of this surgery. What I didn't (and really couldn't) prepare for was the JP drain I would go home with. I hadn't had one in the past, so I wasn't prepared to deal with this new "appendage".

If you do not know what a JP drain is, it is a surgical drainage device used to pull excess blood and Fluid from the body by constant suction. Using a JP drain after surgery may help you heal faster and decrease your risk of getting an infection, so I am not completely against having it. It just limits a few things I want to do...like go back to work when I wanted or sleep on my stomach (which is comforting for me after abdominal surgery).

I am also having an allergic reaction to one of the medications I was given in the hospital (not sure which one since they gave me multiple at the same time) as well as the paper tape used to keep my bandages in place, both causing an itchy rash. Doesn't make relaxing or sleeping any easier when you feel itchy.

One side affect to having any type of abdominal surgery is it slows down your digestive system as well as your "plumbing". I won't go into the painful details of this but I will say that after four days of struggling, things are finally movin' and groovin' again.

The last negative I have really isn't mine. It's the Hubs. With all this time I have on my hands right now and since I am stuck at home, I have been watching a lot of QVC and HSN. Hey, I only ordered one thing today...

The Positives

One of the benefits of having the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy is you have a large portion (about 85%) of your stomach physically removed from your body, unlike Gastric Bypass or the LapBand where the stomach stays in your body. With having this portion removed, the hormone Ghrelin is removed as well. Ghrelin is the hunger stimulating hormone that tells your body you are hungry. This is a positive thing because of the obvious reason BUT you have to tell yourself to eat and drink so you don't get dehydrated and sick. You also want to make sure you get your Protein in first before anything (which in the liquid stage means you drink a lot of Protein shakes). I have lost eight pounds since Saturday (four of which were gained during my hospital stay from the IV fluids pumped into me).

I received three beautiful flower arrangements from well wishers. One from my parents, one from my office, and one from a group of my really close co-workers spread across the company (Edmonton, Ottawa, Seattle, Tampa, and Hawaii).

The Hubs and my son have been doing their best to take care of me. I am not one to sit around and let people wait on me but they are quick to respond if I do ask for something. They each cooked dinner for eachother and last night I ordered them pizza.

Now, even though my body doesn't think it is hungry, my nose still works and last night it told my brain that it wanted that pizza really bad. My brain suggested it to my stomach but the thought was rejected. Not only because I can't eat solid food right now but because my stomach said "ummm, you aren't hungry". This will be interesting once I graduate to real food. I will have to re-train myself how to eat and to make sure I eat the proper nutrients in the right order (protein, veggies, then carbs).

As soon as I get this darn drain out, I'll be able to get movin' and groovin' on the Wii and with Spring on its way in I'll be peddlin' away on my pink beach cruiser as well.

The last positive I have right now is...with all this time I have on my hands, I can watch as much QVC and HSN as I want and the new craft item I ordered today will be delivered next week...

Well no one said that a hospital was the Ritz Carlton for a restful sleep huh? It's a good thing they are there monitoring you to make sure your doing ok. . .can you imagine if you really did flat line and no one cared? Glad to hear your doing fine!

[Billy363627 15]

I truly agree with thin..lol The hospital sucks about getting sleep. I was so aggitated when I had surgery I would hit my pain pump to go to sleep. It seemed like every 10-15 minutes they were in my room taking blood pressure and sticking me with needles.. So I kinda drowned them out with my pain clicker.. I think most of my problems was the leg massagers,about 300 wires contected to me for the first 2 day I had a catheter.drip in my arm , wires going to my fingers. So how would anyone get comfortable under these circumstances..lol When I hit that button all my issues went away and I didn't have any problem sleeping..I am just glad I didn't have a drain tube that would truly truly suck for sure..

[GreenEyedMamma 5]

I truly agree with thin..lol The hospital sucks about getting sleep. I was so aggitated when I had surgery I would hit my pain pump to go to sleep. It seemed like every 10-15 minutes they were in my room taking blood pressure and sticking me with needles.. So I kinda drowned them out with my pain clicker.. I think most of my problems was the leg massagers,about 300 wires contected to me for the first 2 day I had a catheter.drip in my arm , wires going to my fingers. So how would anyone get comfortable under these circumstances..lol When I hit that button all my issues went away and I didn't have any problem sleeping..I am just glad I didn't have a drain tube that would truly truly suck for sure..

Yes, the leg massagers drove me nuts too. They were cool at first (before I had surgery) but became quite annoying after. I hit my pain button quite often and it made me sleepy but I just couldn't stay asleep. I think the longest I slept my entire time there was 1 hour. Last night was the BEST night I slept since I have been home but that is largely due to my drain being removed yesterday. That was SUCH a huge relief. Now, I just got to get rid of this rash...

[GreenEyedMamma 5]

Well no one said that a hospital was the Ritz Carlton for a restful sleep huh? It's a good thing they are there monitoring you to make sure your doing ok. . .can you imagine if you really did flat line and no one cared? Glad to hear your doing fine!

Oh for sure. My parents work in a hospital and they hear it all the time "hospitals are the worst for recovering and rest". HA! I just thought it was funny that they called me rather than just come see me. I didn't have a very nice night nurse. My day nurse was awesome.