I wanna know stories!

[askinnyme1 25]

I wanna know every ones experience the day they checked into surgery!!

[Sparklette 381]

I got there at 5;58 am, checked in waited about five minutes. Then they took my mom and I back to the prep room. There they had me change in to a gown and socks then. stuck my IV in, they had to poke me almost 6 times before they found a good bleeder. The gave me a shot of blood thinner and antibiotics. They drew some blood.

Then everything went really fast, the anesthesiologist came in and asked me to take out my contacts, (after that it was all a blur, literally and figuratively) And they pushed me down to the operating room, had me move over to the table and then they had me breathe in gas as they started prepping me. I remember one of the guys was wearing an avengers themed scrubs. Then just as I was about to comment on them I woke up in recovery.

[elli'smommy 160]

Sparklette

How long did your surgery wind up taking? Did everything go as they wanted? Did they tell you who big or little they were able to make your pouch?

BTW, welcome home! Hope youre feeling well!

[karlam29 221]

Sparklette good to know about your story that helps for people like me im just starting this process my first visit with the surgeon its on tue 30th excited to know more and how long its going to take. my best wishes for you and keep us posted on your recovery and progress!!

[askinnyme1 25]

My surgery is may 6...im soooo excited! Im starting to get really nervoud now! !!

[kjrny2013 33]

i first checked into the surgery at a seminar on Jan 17th. I had completed and returned my paperwork prior to the seminar so the very next day they called me and scheduled my nurse, pshych, and nutritionist visit for the next week. The week after that I had my one on one with the doctor himself. They called me to schedule an upper endoscopy within a week. My paperwork was being sent to insurance for approval. Once I got my approval a couple weeks later, I got a call to get my pre-op testing done and attend a 3 hour class. My dr office was very informative and there was no way you would not know exactly what you were getting into after all the classes and info they give. The soonest date they had available was 4/2. So from start to finish, it was a total of 2.5 months, less than 3 months. I know some insurance companies require you to do a 3 or 6 month diet prior to approval. My insurance did not have any prerequisites (YAY)

I went into the OR around 9:30-10:00AM and I did not get into my regular room til around 3ish pm. Mine was done with the DaVinci robot and dr said it does take a little longer because there is a lot of setup involved. Then I was in recovery for almost 2 hours I believe. I had the ON-Q pain pump so I actually had very little discomfort in my belly. I was able to keep the pain pump in and just had to pull the tiny catheters out once the medicine was gone several days after I was home. It was AWESOME. It keeps your belly numb so that you don't have so much pain that you can get up and walk around right away. If you have the option of getting the ON-Q, I would highly recommend it.

[mom2lucky (suznc) 81]

Best part of my surgery day was the drug they gave me to relax. I was so nervous until then. As soon as you get your IV, you can get the versed or whatever your anesthesiologist or surgeon orders. The Lovenox shot hurt a bit. Went to OR & next thing I knew, I was in recovery getting more drugs & my Cpap machine hooked up. I never needed pain medicine again once I left recovery. Gas was uncomfortable but not intolerable. Went home the next day. Would do it all over again & earlier in life too. Good luck to all with upcoming surgery.

[Sparklette 381]

Sparklette

How long did your surgery wind up taking? Did everything go as they wanted? Did they tell you who big or little they were able to make your pouch?

BTW' date=' welcome home! Hope youre feeling well![/quote']

My sergeon said he tried to make my pouch a little smaller than usual he made it about an ounce and a half.

My parents said it took about two and a half hours. I went back at 730 and woke up in recovery at I think 130.

[Sparklette 381]

Sparklette good to know about your story that helps for people like me im just starting this process my first visit with the surgeon its on tue 30th excited to know more and how long its going to take. my best wishes for you and keep us posted on your recovery and progress!!

It hasnt been as bad as I expected. I havent had any nausea but I havw been taking everything as slow as humanly possible. The worst part of recovery is the gas pain its awful.

It is very important to do as much reseaech as possible. I was pre op for almost a year and almost every day I found out something new. Take your time and ask every question you can think of. And dont avoid horror stories they give you priceless information.

[Sparklette 381]

Here is my tummy as of yesterday. Its upside down. I have seven incisions. Only one of them really hurts. .

[mzshay35 215]

Yea i have been researching for a year i find out something new everyday on this site u havent had my surgery yet but i know a lot thanks to everyone here

Mzshay35 RNYTalk

[chatsmom 22]

I may be quiet at times, but I read all the posts here in pre-op mostly. Just wanted to thank you all for your insight.

[Jodibee 17]

I thought about having the surgery for about five years. I have never had a surgery before and was so afraid. I went back and forth on the decision so many times. I finally decided last August to go to the seminar( in my head I was thinking that will help me decide that I'm crazy, this is extreme and not for me and I'll finally get this out of my head and move on with my life). The opposite happened. I left there thinking. This surgery will not only change my life but save it too. I thought I can handle this and I will finally be healthy. So I went through the pre-op process. Psych evaluation, tests, six months of nutrition appointments. I know a lot of people don't want the six months of nutrition but I was happy my insurance required it. It gave me time to really educate myself and prepare my body and most importantly my brain for lifelong changes. Then onto my surgery. It was this past Tuesday the 23rd. I thought I would be a nervous wreck but my head was in a good place and I was ready. I had to be at the hospital at 1015 for a 1215 surgery. They prepped me, pee test, iv, checked my vitals. The surgeon was a bit behind schedule so I think it was actually at 130 or so. While I was waiting the surgical team all came in to introduce themselves. That is all I remember beforehand. Can't even remember being wheeled out of te pre-op room. I have vague memories of waking up a couple times in post op for a few seconds and then I was in my room. My sister said my surgery was about 45 minutes and I was in recovery about 2 hours. The surgeon said everything went perfectly as planned. By 6 that night the nurse helped me up to walk my first lap. My sister was shocked how easily I moved around and got up. That first night the worst part was a sore throat from the breathing tube that was in during surgery, and not being able to drink to sooth it. I would sleep a couple hours then walk a few laps, did this all night. Walked a mile my first night, did three miles all together while I was in the hospital. I think that was the best part because I didn't have a lot of gas or pain because I was very mobile. Also became a champ on the spirometer. On my second day my blood work showed low potassium so I had to have 4 bags of potassium in my iv in a 4 hour period. It burned going into my arm. This was by far the worst pain. On day two I got little sips of Water, did well with that so had my first Protein shake... Took a couple hours to get down but I tolerated it well. The next morning I showered, had another shake and was released. So far doing well at home. I have four incisions that are about an inch long, healing up nicely. I am very scheduled on taking meds, drinking shakes and walking. The schedule helps. I nap a ton too. Sat on the porch swing in the sunshine the other day and it felt so good. So far I have been very happy with everything. By the time I left the hospital I had been taken off 2 of my 3 bp meds. I am really looking forward to all the other improvements on the horizon. I know this is a really long post but it felt really good getting it all out. This is the story from a person who was petrified to even begin this process but today at five days out is off pain meds, feeling great and so excited to for all that life as to offer. Best of luck to everyone on this journey.