Salsa's Summer Surgery!

[salsa1877 10]

Jabba the Hut is NO MORE!

The surgery was 4.5 hours long and I was discharged 1 hour and 15 minutes after the surgery was finished. Yeah....they are very efficient there!

The doctor has already called me at home to make sure that everything is going well. She is the sweetest lady ever. Then the anethesiologist was a hoot. Seriously had the best bedside manner ever. Those guys are usually stuffy jerks but this one was cracking jokes and we were talking chemistry right up until I dozed off.

During surgery she only removed 4.1 pounds. She was not able to get the tummy TOTALLY flat but said that she would do that at a significant priced reduction when I have my breast lift. She just didn't want to compromise blood flow. So there will be a tiny little pooch right underneath my breasts but the rest of the tummy will be flat. She actually went out and discussed it with DH before making the final decision on what to do. She could have made the decision on her own, but instead opted to discuss it with family...how cool is that! She truly is an amazing woman and doctor. You can already see improvement. I am obviously still in the binder but it is so flat! Makes my boobies look REALLY big now though! DH says he is going to have to get two sticks to beat off the high schoolers! I already had a few flirting with me at the end of last year. Kind of creepy...no one ever hit on me when I was fat. At first I didn't even notice that they were doing it...then I got freaked out.

[bosteph 2]

Hooray!!!:thumbup::lol:

[kareyquilts 1]

Salsa: You're funny! So glad you're doing well! Welcome to the FLATLANDS! Congratulations! So did your PS doing the vertical anchorplasty? It sounds like you have a doc that is looking out for your best interests. These 2 part surgeries are a pain, I'm still looking forward to another surgery as well, but it will all be worth it! Rest and my God bless you. Looking forward to hearing more...

[TexasBecky 1]

Salsa, sounds like you are doing great and your doctor does sound wonderful. How appropriate that this is Independence Day - your first day of freedom from Jabba!

Keep resting and taking your meds on a regular schedule. Becky

[salsa1877 10]

Yes she did do the vertical incision so about 90% of my tummy is flat. there is just a small section under my breasts that is a bit poofy. But it will actually be able to be pulled underneath my bra so no one will really be able to tell. It is not something that I am concerned about greatly. I NEED a breast lift but it is going to have to wait a while as I am officially broke! So I will have to wait but I am just so happy that most of me is flat.

I did not sleep well last night at all. I would doze off for about 20 minutes and then be up for an hour. I just wasn't tired and my meds are not knocking me out like they used to. I wasn't in pain at all. In fact I got up and took my meds on my own last night. But then I had to wake up DH to have him help me with my drains.

Yes Becky I thought that it ws perfect to have my surgery so close to Independence day! I even said that to the doctor and she laughed!

[mcgreen 0]

glad you are doing well and YEA for getting rid of Jabba!

:thumbup:

[LadyBugRed 2]

Glad to hear you are doing so well. Remember to rest though!!

[Froggi 4]

yay glad you're doing well!! Congrats

[nurse niki 0]

WooHoo! Congrats and well wishes for a quick recovery!

[Candle 11]

Woo-Hoo!!!! :thumbup:

Thanks for checking in. You are so brave - I hope you're still feeling good.

How many drains do you have?

[salsa1877 10]

I have 2 drains in. The left one is draining about 20 ml every 6 hours. The right drain is draining about 10 ml every 6 hours.

I am doing pretty well. I am a little sorer today than I was yesterday, but still not in a whole lot of pain. I hope I sleep better tonight though. I haven't slept much today. Just laid here in my chair. BTW if you are having a TT and don't have a recliner an anti-gravity lounge chair works magnificently. It is easy to get in and out and you don't have to use your tummy muscles to recline. It has been a lifesaver. I think it is easier to get in and out of than a bed would be.

We took the binder off to look at my tummy but it was totally covered in a bandage so I couldn't see anything. I was hoping to post pictures but you really can't see anything. We are going to have to wait to post until after my post op on Monday. I am assuming she will take off the bandage and we will make sure to get pictures.

Well that is all I have to report right now. Really the pain isn't too bad. It feels like I have done about 300 too many situps but that is about it. I have a bit of gas that is causing some pressure but otherwise it really isn't too uncomfortable. I am not getting in very many calories though. I just don't have much of an appetite. We are going to try and get me above 1000 today, but it could be a stretch. I had about 500 yesterday. She would really like me at 1800, but that is going to be tough. I am making sure that everything I eat is really high in Protein so I am at least getting in that nutrient.

[TexasBecky 1]

Good morning Salsa! I'm glad to read that you're doing so well. I hope you were able to get some rest last night. If not maybe you should ask the doctor for something to help with that.

I didn't want much to eat the first few days either, but forced myself to drink Protein supplements at least. My doctor is fanatical about the importance of Protein to proper healing.

Still wishing you a speedy recovery, Becky

[Frangipani 1]

Hi Salsa,

I was like Becky -- almost no appetite those first few days. My plastic surgeon is also really big on getting the proper nutrients and ordered regular meals, but you might recall that I had two Dr.'s and the GYN wanted me to be on "clears," so it was pretty hilarious the way my menu plan kept getting changed back and forth for three days. However, for one meal when I was on the plastic surgeon's plan, they brought me chocolate cake and it was Yummy!!!! My band was so tight (I opted not to be unfilled) that I was only able to have a few bites, but it was a heavenly few bites -- it made my day!

My advice is to try to eat some foods you enjoy to entice yourself to eat a bit. During that first week after surgery I ate all kinds of things that I love but have been avoiding since being banded such as pizza, reuben sandwich, and potato Soup, among other things. I was only able to eat very small portions, so it was absolutely fine, and this way I managed to get some badly needed calories in my body. My Dr. thought it was a great idea too.

The other thing I had and enjoyed was Jello Brand, sugar-free rice pudding (thank you Karey :thumbup:), crème brulee flavor. It's very, very tasty and only 70 calories -- it's very easy for us bandsters to eat too!!!

When you first see your incision, remember that it will look very rough, but that it will go through many, many changes as you heal. When I first saw my incisions, I would have probably freaked out had I not been on morphine at the time (LOL :tt2:), because it looked absolutely awful. I cannot even describe it, it was just so puckery and gross.

If I hadn't been 1000% confident that I had a wonderful Dr. who did beautiful work, I would have been very concerned that something was seriously wrong. Now at three weeks post-op things seem to be settling down and I can see that eventually my incision will heal quite nicely, as will yours.

You're doing great, Salsa! Have a wonderful and restful day :smile::cool2:!

Edited July 5, 2008 by Frangipani

[kareyquilts 1]

Salsa: Yes those tummy muscles do hurt! Glad you have the recliner and I'm glad that you're resting during the day. Especially since you aren't sleeping well at night. Hope you have some good movies to help you chill and relax. Whose helping you?

[salsa1877 10]

My husband is not working right now so he is home all the time with me. He is the greatest! Doesn't even flinch when helping me with the drains. Actually he does all the work with the drains. He says there is no point in having me do it when he can do it for me.

I did sleep a little bit better last night...and I feel better today. My muscles are not as sore this morning. My neck is really hurting though. How long did you have to walk hunched over? My back is pretty stiff. My post-op is on Monday so I figure I would stay pretty hunched over until then, but I just wondered how long you all stayed bent over. I did make sure that I got over 100 grams of Protein yesterday. I just kind of force myself to eat and only eat Proteins. I think I got to 1200 calories yesterday.

Thanks for the heads up about the incisions. I will see them in the doc's office on Monday and I wouldn't want to break down in tears. I can't wait to see my flat tummy.

Well I am going to try and sleep a little bit more.