Probably The Nuttiest Patient My Doctor Has Ever Seen....

[Jadesatin 31]

Hey there...

Lisa's back and ready to chat, chat, chat.. Where O where do I begin ??

My "last meal". I felt like Jesus at his last supper. The Friday before my surgery after eating very good for two months I had the wonderful " I will never eat like this again meal". I went with my daughter to Hurricane Grill and had 3 Conch fritters, 1/2 chicken wrap, few chips, 1/2 chicken fajita and OH YES a Sangria... TOTALLY off my diet but I was going to go out with a bang if I wasn't going to eat for the next two days.

Saturday was an OK day. I got to have a "no chew" diet of Yogurt ( with no fruit in it), Protein Shakes and sugar free pudding.< /p>

Sunday was a little harder as it was a "clear liquid" diet of Chicken broth, Water, sugar-free Jello and Vitamin waters.

I ate my last bite of jello at 12:02 and then that was it until after the surgery. I didn't have to wash with any special soap or use listerine to cleanse my mouth. I showered, shaved and went to bed.

OH on the bag note.. YOU will pretty much need NOTHING in the hospital. What did come in handy was pull-up toilet wipes ( for personal hygeine), Lip Balm b/c you can't eat anything at all for two days, No slip shoes b/c you will be walking and about 20.00 for the phone/tv hook up. Other than that you are provided with a gown, socks, tooth brush, tooth paste, lotion for your legs and arms, any "food" your allowed to eat. You sleep 75% of the day and the rest of the time you are being poked, prodded and bugged by nurses.

Woke up early on Monday morning, dropped my daughter off at cheer camp and had my husband drop me off at the entrance to the hospita at 9AM. Some people invite people to sit with them.. I just wanted to have peace and quiet. He was a nervous wreck. Advice... if your spouse/parent/sibling is more nervous than you don't have them with you unless necessary. I walked over to admitting and got my paperwork put throu, went to the admittance area and had my urine tested for a pregnancy test ( NOT ). Ended up waiting for 4.5 hours in the waiting area. About 8 other people were taken for various surgeries before mine. UGH what a LONG wait.

Finally was called at 1:20. Was given a great comfy cozy blue gown with these terrific interesting slits in them ( for surgery ??) and some fuzzy "no slip" socks. My stuff was put in a bag and labled with my name. I went to sit in the nurses office where I was poked and prodded trying to find my vein. And this was the "good nurse". Finally the officer came to take my things, I was given a blanket and reclined back to take a nap until my name was called to go back to the Operating Room (OR). Apparently my name was called but they couldn't find a stretcher for me b/c the next thing I knew the OR nurse came to the front nurses station asking how long I was going to take. UH.. I had been ready since 2:10 and it was now almost 3PM.

My Doctor and Anestesiologist came to the nurses station to ask if I was ok. Doc made me sign my last consent form to do the surgery and the anestesiologist asked if I had any concerns. I said " Uh yeah. When are we going to get this show on the road?? Can't I just walk to the OR ".. He laughed and said in his Russian accent " I like this one. You want to walk... well lets go". What a nice little parade it was me being led by the Doctor, Anastesiologist, Head OR nurse and an assistant. It all seems like a dream but I walked right into the OR, smiled at the attending nurse as she said " SHE WALKED ??!! Never in 10 years have i seen a patient WALK into the Operating Room" LOL. I hopped up onto the table and said " Now what??" They told me to lie down with my feet against the foot pads, I put my arm out onto the extendable arm rest and the anestesiolagist said " We're going to give you a cocktail mairtini now" I said "Sir... If its a chocolate martini give me a double".... AND THAT WAS THE END OF MY PRE SURGERY LIFE...

According to the calls to my hubby from my doctor I went into surgery at 3:20 and was out by 5:10. Apparently I got the 2 for 1 special... I had a hernia in my abdomonial wall and my intestines were poking out... in addition to the gastric sleeve. Come three hours later I wake up super groggy like "Holy Cow it was over !!" I looked at the clock and it was about 8PM. I was not feeling any pain at all just super groggy from the anestesia. I woke up about an hour later with a clearer head and just remember asking for my cell phone. I planned to call my hubby to let him know I was OK and tell my daughter goodnight. By 10:30 the phone still hadn't come so I asked the nurse to wheel me to the nearest phone and let me call my daughter. LOL Persistant little bugger I was. She got me a phone and I spoke to the hubby. Daughter and mom were sleeping. I have NO IDEA what my conversation was about I was still out of it. My throat was a bit sore from the breathing tube they put down my throat but not worst than a dry throat.

Next thing I know I was being wheeled into my room and my roomy ( who was one of my nurses at the baratic center who also had her's done the same day) was calling my name. I said " Hey Stacy.. welcome to the other side" and passed out again. The nurses do not leave you alone for the entire first night. They check your blood pressure and temperature every two hours. They poke you will small needles every six hours to give you medicine to thin your blood ( choice arm / belly ) and you are not allowed to eat anything. UGH. Thank goodness my "swallow test" was the next day. I was given 3 cotton swabs flavored with Lemon that tasted delicious ( but later when I tried them taste HORRIBLE ). I slept on and off that night and the next morning. Funny thing was.. there was no pain. I read this on another persons report but really aside from the "fear" your going to rip something you don't feel any pain. it is mostly just an ache. Mainly in one area where they remove the remaining stomach from. Mine is still tender three days later. You do get a little button to push to get meds when you need them but for the most part the only real uncomfortable feeling is the gas left in your bloated stomach. Oh the other gross thing was the catheter. I mean it didn't really hurt persay but its not comfortable. When they wake you up in the morning the nurses made me sit up in a chair to get my blood circulating and that damn thing hurt when I sat down with it.

In the morning the doctors came in and looked at my gross belly then it was time for my test. Woo Hoo. The swallow doctors took a general xray of my belly area. They then handed me a cup, laid me on a tilted table and told me not to drink it until they said. They left the room and I swallowed it. The doctor could see the gross tasting 1oz of liquid run down my esophogus and into my stomach. She repeated the test and then it was over. I was cleared to eat. NO leaks. YAY !! Good news one.. good news two I got to get the damn catheter out. OK so we don't feel it going in ( for ladies) b/c we are sleeping but when they deflate it and pull it out feels like a burning UTI. So not comfortable but it's only for a second and then its gone. Only sucky thing is its replaced with peeing on a "hat" thing that fits into the toilet so they can measure how much you are peeing and how much fluids you are intaking.

Back up to my room. More blood pressure and more temperature taking then it was lunch time. Ohhhh what's for lunch... Oh joy... a 3 oz cup of yellow jello, a 3 oz cup of chicken broth and 3 oz of crystal lite lemonade. Ohhhh before you get so excited you can only have 3 oz TOTAL of these three. So the first meal was 1 1/2 oz of chicken broth and 1 1/2 oz of jello. I was also allowed to drink water non stop as much as possible. That night I was able to sleep a little better and was only bothered twice in the night by the nurse. The day passed pretty uneventful with another visit from the doctor and not too much sleep.

The next morning my doctor cleared me to go home so after another Breakfast and lunch of broth/jello I got to go home. WOO HOO !!! And so begins my new life after Vertical Sleeve surgery...

Short recap of since I've been home... Got out of the hospital and told my hubby to go to McDonalds... ( GASP.. Not for me silly people for him... LOL). He ordered a Big Mac meal with a soda and large fries. I sat there with my bottle of water and watched him eat. What I used to love now became disgusting. I have been eating just my Protein shakes for the past two days and haven't been hungry at all. It's all been fine and you will be fine too. Still a little sore on my biggest scar but it will pass in time.

Hope you all enjoyed my story. Take care and Good Luck to all..

OH BTW... I've lost 8 pounds since Monday. WOO HOO !! I'm on my way !!

Oh kind of what to expect after surgery. The two incisions on my left ( close to each other ) are where they took the rest of the stomach out and are the ones that bother the most. The other 4 I don't even know are there. I was closed up with surgical glue so it will fall off over the next two weeks. No scars except 1/2 " to 3/4" lines. YAY !!!

[Lissa 2,631]

I don't think you're nutty. Your writing is VERY articulate. Thank you!

[kmwheel 127]

Thank you so much for sharing all of the details of your story...it's so nice to get an idea of what it's going to be like!

[traceyinflorida 499]

Lisa, thank you for sharing your experience! I know it will help so many people who have no idea what to expect. I am so glad all went well. I love your story of walking into the OR and your joke with the anesthesiologist about the double chocolate martini! I am jealous because you got more to "eat" in the hospital than I did! All I got was Water after my leak test. Not that I really wanted anything, but some tasty warm broth would have been soothing! Welcome to the Loosers Bench!

[N/A 96]

Thank you for your great post! It really helped to prepare for what will happen soon. Hope you continue to post with your humor as you progress further! Congrats on your weight loss so far.

[mom2five 292]

Thanks so much for telling us all about your experience! This is exactly what I needed to know. I've been trying to imagine what it will be like.. to calm myself. I assumed it would be similar to my gall bladder surgery but I can't really remember it because they had me on morphine before and after (I was in a lot of pain)... but I did really well with that surgery.

Sounds like you did great. I hope my experience is as good as yours!

[DanaInNewOrleans 513]

Lisa, thank you so much for taking the time to put your experience down for us!! I LOVE reading everyone's stories---every little detail!!! It helps take the mystery and fear away. And yours was perfect!! I felt like I was there with you. Hell, by the time I finally get to surgery (late November) it will feel like deja vu after reading everyone's stories. Congratulations!

Ok Pre-Surgery VSTers, we need to all promise to try and write our stories -- think of how much this helped US and when we write our story we will be helping each other and all the new VSTers after us.

I promise!!

[scorpion509 107]

Lisa, thank you for share your experience. you are great writer. I love all details you gave. it make me more calm

[BigMommaNoMore 41]

Your response to surgery sounds very similar to mine. I didn't have any major issues after surgery except a little nausea from the anesthesia. I didn't have a pain pump to push. I actually didnt need it. I took one dose of pain med while in hospital and really only took that to get some rest. Antiemetics were my best friend!!

I've been home since late Tuesday night and all has been good. I am just a little sore from the larger incision but far from miserable. I have a little discomfort when I drink. I find it easiest to consume warm broths or Protein shakes that are blended with ice and are kinda creamy/thick. Water makes me feel like a swallowed a big ole rock that is sticking in my throat.

I am pushing onward and downward. I am down 11 pounds since Monday!!! I can see the new thinner me coming around the corner!!!

Good luck with your weightliss journey! I look forward to sharing this journey with you!!

[JerseyGirl68 1,172]

Thanks so much for sharing, it helps enormously to have an idea of what to expect.

[jbart0973 19]

It's so great to read your story and how your surgery went so well. I am looking forward to my surgery in December. Although I am apprehensive after reading some horror stories, it's success stories like yours that make me so excited! Good luck on your journey! I can't wait to hear your progress!

[cmaloney 151]

Loved your story... Mine was pretty similar. Especially walking in the OR...good luck to all of us..

[onedaycloser 136]

WOW! Thanks for sharing your experience with all of us who are waiting! I hope all is going well with you??

Thanks once more!!!????

[abranewme 98]

You rock! I needed the details! Especially with my hubby being as nervous as yours! LOL

[Geminitraveler 2]

Hi, we have the same surgeon.

Thank you so much for the blow by blow of the whole hospital stay. Your great spirit probably helped the quick recovery.