CALLING ALL JULY 2016 SLEEVERS

[Michele1325 1]

July 29th here.

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[maryd2929 12]

I'm scheduled for July 12th. I'm nervous too. Just hoping for no complications.

Me, too! Not too nervous but ready to get this show on the road already. :-)

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[tlyons72 43]

Just ordered the Biotene spray in anticipation of my surgery Friday. Thanks for the advice!

Edited July 9, 2016 by tlyons72

[maryd2929 12]

Ok I'm home now, comfortable and my typing arm isn't hooked up to an IV anymore so I can let you guys know how it went.

I found these play by plays so helpful when I was researching the board so hope this one is too. Here goes:

- I showed up at the hospital at my designated time of 8:15 am on Thursday. When I got there, the Preoperative nurse went over paperwork with me, had me take a pregnancy test, had me change into a gown and set up my IV who I promptly named Blue IV Carter. Since I had no one with me and had not invited visitors to the hospital, the preop nurse also wrapped up my clothing and bag and left it with security.

- while I was in the preop room the following people came by to check in with me and see if I had any questions: the surgeon, my physicians assistant, the surgery nurse, the anesthesiologist, and the anesthesia nurse.

- I was also left alone in the room for quite some time as the surgery before mine ran long so I took that time to peruse my file and read all my clearance letters. I noticed that the shrink who did my psych clearance had not listened to a word I said and his letter was riddled with errors but oh well, it was effective for my insurance company and I see my own therapist anyway.

- the surgery nurse comes to fetch me and walk me into the OR where I was greeted by at least a dozen people. The anasthesia nurse told me the first thing she would give me would feel like a "glass of wine" and one of the surgery assistants told me he was hooking me up to something that would massage my legs. "Oh, like a fancy spa." I said and then my surgeon came to wish me a good sleep and that's the last I remember until

- I woke up in the post op room extremely nauseous and in a lot of pain. I was retching and dry heaving a lot. The anasthesia nurse was there and showed me how to use my PCA and I proceeded to press the button repeatedly. This was the worst part of the whole experience. I ended up spending almost 6 hours in the post op room while they got a room ready for me. The hospital was backed up and they apologized for this several times. My mouth was super dry, to the point of pain, my cheeks sticking to my teeth and what not. The post op nurse brought me some cups of Water to swish and spit which brought some light relief but I was fantasizing about the bottle of biotene spray that was locked up with security. I also must have slept quite a bit while down there. They brought several other patients in and out from other surgeries while I was there. At some point my surgeon stopped by to tell me he had done a liver biopsy as well.

- eventually transport took me to my unit, which was not my surgeons preferred unit but made me happy because it was a unit with all private rooms. The transport was also awful- they banged me into a wall and Blue IV Carter got stuck a couple of times. As soon as I got into my bed in my unit I started dry heaving again.

- I met my (lovely) nurses and begged them to retrieve my bags from security for me. While I waited for those I swished and spit some more and drifted in and out of sleep.

- when I got my bags the biotene was a huge life saver. It kept my mouth moist for the rest of the night as I was on nil per mouth and wasn't even allowed ice chips or Water. Shout out to the bariatric pal community for recommending I pack that.

- at this point (7:30/8pm) I started feeling pretty great. The pain meds were doing their job and the nurses gave me Zofran for nausea which worked great. I started doing laps around the floor with Blue IV. About every 5-6 laps elicited a little burp which felt great.

- I spent the rest of the night alternately sleeping, walking my laps, spraying with biotene, and using the spirometer. Around 2am the nurse asked me if I had urinated. I had not and she informed me if I didn't go soon she would have to insert a catheter. I interpreted this as a grave threat and stepped up the laps and made many attempts to pee while running the shower and sink faucets. At some point my nurse changed me from a clear bag of IV fluids to a yellow one rich with Vitamins. Between that a YouTube video of a babbling brook I propped up on the sink I finally went around 5:30 am and the catheter threat was over.

- I slept about an hour and was awoken by a parade of about 10 cheery residents, 3 of whom were in my surgery. They asked how I was feeling, checked out my 5 incisions and went on their merry way. They returned throughout the day in various configurations of 2-3 at a time to make sure I was walking, using the spirometer and feeling okay.

- my surgeon came by around 9 am to check in and tell me that the surgery went great and I would be free to go around 3-4 pm and that I could have Clear liquids.

- my nurse brought me a tray of tea, water, veggie broth, orange jell-o and apple juice. I had the water and about half the broth. It felt great ! And elicited more gentle burping.

- around 12 pm in preparation for my discharge they took away my dear Blue IV Carter and replaced her with a non PCA model. Bye bye morphine.

- I then slept hard for about a 2 hour stretch- the longest stretch of the whole ordeal. When I woke up there was a lunch tray with the same stuff as the Breakfast try. I had half the broth again.

- the surgeons PA came in with my discharge paperwork and final instructions. I changed into my clothes, called an Uber and now I'm recovering comfortably at home. Voila.

tl;dr- surgery went fine, pack biotene, try hard to pee.

Thanks for the play by play! It's very helpful. I go to the batters box Tuesday morning. And after that the losers bench. Blue IV Carter...love it!

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[skinnychic16 22]

Going home today!! I agree about the biotene, it was awesome! And I wish I hadn't packed so much stuff. I haven't used anything except my toothbrush, face wash, biotene, phone and iPad. I'm planning to wear the same clothes back home, didn't even need my PJs.

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Edited July 9, 2016 by skinnychic16

[sailaway 9]

New to posting. Surgery 7/13.

Nervous!!

[melvin5ft2 56]

me too! Hospital staff and my surgeons office all announced that I must be excited. I think the reason I'm more nervous than excited is because I understand the challenges ahead of me now. Just hope all goes smoothly with surgery.

July 11th! Very anxious!!!


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[tlyons72 43]

So...I'm sitting here at work keeping myself entertained/busy. One thought keeps returning ... and I'm a little embarrassed to admit it but since I'm not really doing anything anyway, I shall.

After the surgery, my boobs are going to shrink. Yes, this is actually the single thought occupying my mind at present. TMI? Probably.

You see, when I was younger and quite a few pounds lighter, they were fine. They were a good size for my frame. Then I had children, 4 to be exact. I nursed all of them. Mothers out there will understand what I'm saying. My once exquisite mammaries were reduced to old, stretched out gym socks. Gaining weight, though biting the big one, did give me one benefit....a nice pair of knockers again.

Now, before you go crazy understand that I have no intention of backing out of the surgery just so the "girls" can look nice. That's just insanity. I will miss them though.

Maybe I should have a "going away party" for them.

[BABYBLUES425 13]

Tlyons72.... It if it brings you any comfort your not the only one who has thought of that too... It has crossed my mine once or twice .... Just think you can be healthy and skinny and we can always buy a push up bra...lol

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Edited July 9, 2016 by BABYBLUES425

[kgarrettsatx 109]

Ok I'm home now, comfortable and my typing arm isn't hooked up to an IV anymore so I can let you guys know how it went.

I found these play by plays so helpful when I was researching the board so hope this one is too. Here goes:

- I showed up at the hospital at my designated time of 8:15 am on Thursday. When I got there, the Preoperative nurse went over paperwork with me, had me take a pregnancy test, had me change into a gown and set up my IV who I promptly named Blue IV Carter. Since I had no one with me and had not invited visitors to the hospital, the preop nurse also wrapped up my clothing and bag and left it with security.

- while I was in the preop room the following people came by to check in with me and see if I had any questions: the surgeon, my physicians assistant, the surgery nurse, the anesthesiologist, and the anesthesia nurse.

- I was also left alone in the room for quite some time as the surgery before mine ran long so I took that time to peruse my file and read all my clearance letters. I noticed that the shrink who did my psych clearance had not listened to a word I said and his letter was riddled with errors but oh well, it was effective for my insurance company and I see my own therapist anyway.

- the surgery nurse comes to fetch me and walk me into the OR where I was greeted by at least a dozen people. The anasthesia nurse told me the first thing she would give me would feel like a "glass of wine" and one of the surgery assistants told me he was hooking me up to something that would massage my legs. "Oh, like a fancy spa." I said and then my surgeon came to wish me a good sleep and that's the last I remember until

- I woke up in the post op room extremely nauseous and in a lot of pain. I was retching and dry heaving a lot. The anasthesia nurse was there and showed me how to use my PCA and I proceeded to press the button repeatedly. This was the worst part of the whole experience. I ended up spending almost 6 hours in the post op room while they got a room ready for me. The hospital was backed up and they apologized for this several times. My mouth was super dry, to the point of pain, my cheeks sticking to my teeth and what not. The post op nurse brought me some cups of Water to swish and spit which brought some light relief but I was fantasizing about the bottle of biotene spray that was locked up with security. I also must have slept quite a bit while down there. They brought several other patients in and out from other surgeries while I was there. At some point my surgeon stopped by to tell me he had done a liver biopsy as well.

- eventually transport took me to my unit, which was not my surgeons preferred unit but made me happy because it was a unit with all private rooms. The transport was also awful- they banged me into a wall and Blue IV Carter got stuck a couple of times. As soon as I got into my bed in my unit I started dry heaving again.

- I met my (lovely) nurses and begged them to retrieve my bags from security for me. While I waited for those I swished and spit some more and drifted in and out of sleep.

- when I got my bags the biotene was a huge life saver. It kept my mouth moist for the rest of the night as I was on nil per mouth and wasn't even allowed ice chips or Water. Shout out to the bariatric pal community for recommending I pack that.

- at this point (7:30/8pm) I started feeling pretty great. The pain meds were doing their job and the nurses gave me Zofran for nausea which worked great. I started doing laps around the floor with Blue IV. About every 5-6 laps elicited a little burp which felt great.

- I spent the rest of the night alternately sleeping, walking my laps, spraying with biotene, and using the spirometer. Around 2am the nurse asked me if I had urinated. I had not and she informed me if I didn't go soon she would have to insert a catheter. I interpreted this as a grave threat and stepped up the laps and made many attempts to pee while running the shower and sink faucets. At some point my nurse changed me from a clear bag of IV fluids to a yellow one rich with Vitamins. Between that a YouTube video of a babbling brook I propped up on the sink I finally went around 5:30 am and the catheter threat was over.

- I slept about an hour and was awoken by a parade of about 10 cheery residents, 3 of whom were in my surgery. They asked how I was feeling, checked out my 5 incisions and went on their merry way. They returned throughout the day in various configurations of 2-3 at a time to make sure I was walking, using the spirometer and feeling okay.

- my surgeon came by around 9 am to check in and tell me that the surgery went great and I would be free to go around 3-4 pm and that I could have Clear Liquids.

- my nurse brought me a tray of tea, water, veggie broth, orange jell-o and apple juice. I had the water and about half the broth. It felt great ! And elicited more gentle burping.

- around 12 pm in preparation for my discharge they took away my dear Blue IV Carter and replaced her with a non PCA model. Bye bye morphine.

- I then slept hard for about a 2 hour stretch- the longest stretch of the whole ordeal. When I woke up there was a lunch tray with the same stuff as the Breakfast try. I had half the broth again.

- the surgeons PA came in with my discharge paperwork and final instructions. I changed into my clothes, called an Uber and now I'm recovering comfortably at home. Voila.

tl;dr- surgery went fine, pack biotene, try hard to pee.

Omgosh thank u for all the info. So glad u are home and on the losers bench. Cant wait to join you!!!!!!

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[higher 966]

Good luck everyone.

I am two days post op now. Woke up with some discomfort around 6:30 am and went for about a mile walk around the neighborhood. I think it really helped and since then I've been having no trouble slowly sipping fluids and passing gas. Trust me you want to pass gas anyway you can.

I'm supposed to start Protein Shakes today and I was able to get down 8oz of fairlife milk mixed with half a scoop of Quest Protein Powder. It took me about 4 hours- I napped somewhere in between. I'm sipping a cup of broth now and am also on my third 8 oz mini bottle of Water.

I was in a lot of distress last night and when I woke up this morning but the rest of the day has been manageable. So hang in there everybody. I'm also keeping up with regular doses of Tylenol with codeine which I'm sure is helping.

When I came home yesterday I was up 8lbs from my surgery day weight due to all the IV fluids but now I'm just 2 lbs up.

[christya222 8]

I have my surgery this coming Thursday(July 14th). I am on day 10 of opti-fast prescribed by Doctor. Excited and amazed I have done this for almost 10 days. Heading towards the finish line of the fast and ready for next chapter!! I am 55 and have been around 200 pounds for about 15 years. I have always been an emotional eater and yo yo dieter. I have lost the same 30 to 40 pounds many times. This is definitely just a tool toward my life style change. I have been reading, journaling and will find a support group and maybe a therapist too. I am looking at this as "All hands on deck". I wish the best for all of you and hope to enjoy this forum for years to come!

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[christya222 8]

Thanks so much for the play by play! This is so helpful! I'm July 14th!

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[BPNY21 13]

So...I'm sitting here at work keeping myself entertained/busy. One thought keeps returning ... and I'm a little embarrassed to admit it but since I'm not really doing anything anyway, I shall.

After the surgery, my boobs are going to shrink. Yes, this is actually the single thought occupying my mind at present. TMI? Probably.

You see, when I was younger and quite a few pounds lighter, they were fine. They were a good size for my frame. Then I had children, 4 to be exact. I nursed all of them. Mothers out there will understand what I'm saying. My once exquisite mammaries were reduced to old, stretched out gym socks. Gaining weight, though biting the big one, did give me one benefit....a nice pair of knockers again.

Now, before you go crazy understand that I have no intention of backing out of the surgery just so the "girls" can look nice. That's just insanity. I will miss them though.

Maybe I should have a "going away party" for them.

I am the opposite I'm looking forward to mine shrinking. Mine started developing when I was 9 so they have been huge ever since. I was actually looking into a reduction before I decided on the sleeve. So I welcome them being smaller after the surgery even if they are deflated.

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[LucyLuDiva 6]

July 13th????

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