Kaiser Richmond Pre-op

[swishbc 0]

I'm feeling a teensy bit better today. The INSIDE of me hurts today, on the left side under my boob (where my stomach is). The gas is SO much better, i can actually take a deep breath now without feeling like dying.

I weighed yesterday cuz I was curious how much Fluid and gas was in me and was 259.8 and I weighed JUST now and was 256.6!!! My lowest weight yet! GAS SHMAS! I'm not having the 10+ gain that they told us we should expect. I'm not gonna argue with that! So since post-surgery yesterday I'm down 3.2 lbs (sure it's mostly gas and Fluid but that's so cool!)

I'm feeling lots better today and I'm even due for meds in 1/2 an hour.

[roseyyyd1 0]

WOW!!! You go Christine! Sounds like you are doing well and a walkin! Are you doing the breather thing too? Found that the more I did, the more it helped to clear the lungs.

So you are now an official Sister of Surgery! (SOS, do you like the acronym? hehe)

What a great group it is here, thank you to Nicole, Reggie and all for the gracious welcome! Hey Riley woman! I just can't wait to meet you all in person. Already have been blessed to meet some at the Sac Support Group.

It is really helpful to share this journey with ladies both online and tangibly, to know that THE difference in our life is finally happening and that the unending support is continual!

Just in case some don't know why I connected up thru Kaiser, I was banded Dec. 10th, 2008 in SSFran by Dr. R. Alami, (there are a few other ladies in LBTalk that have also had him as Dr.) am going for my 3rd fill this Friday and really starting to feel restriction.

My highest weight was 237, orientation 230, surgery 213 (or so) and now 193. My weight loss is a lil slower, which is why I chose the band, I believe mentally & emotionally I need the time to 'adjust' with each pound lost. The really good news is that I was under 200 lbs. (have NOT seen that in over 6-7 years!), was down 2.5 medications and wearing 2-3 sizes smaller in just 2 weeks after surgery! The energy and health benefits are alone some of the best rewards for doing this...to be able to better live and experience life. Now am ready to move on to the next level of losing and taking better care of myself.

(Sorry for the rambling, you all are just an incredible group to get real and be a part of this Sisters of Surgery time!)

Hope I didn't bore you, it is so cool to read the before stories, the journey for each of you, how the support is there thru up and downs of appts, setbacks and surgeries, and the continuing Ladies of Losers (LOL...lol!) that we all are! Have a blessed day and I toast my Water thermos to you all! :confused: :thumbdown:

[riley4183 0]

YAY Christine!! So glad you are doing so well. I DID get the big weight gain after surgery, and it took 10 days to leave! Then I dropped like a rock tho, LOL. Enjoy this fast loss time!

I had the same pain under my left rib for a month - it's from the port. Are you swollen there, too?

Still not losing . . . .playing ping-pong with the same 2 lbs. . . I am working off 1000 calories a day tbrough excercise, eating loess than 1000, and NOT LOSING!!! I am VERY frustrated. I hope my fill on Friday really works. . . . .

[swrktp 1]

Christine sounds like your doing well. Was it more or less dramatic than you expected. I think that the before is worse than after because I keep thinking of all the possibilities and yet I don't know the reality.................I think people always think it is gonna be far worse than it is.

I am still hoping I will be the first one on Monday......... How long was the recovery room and than the barium swallow for you?

So you didn't get ICY it sounds like?

well I am sure ready to go..................than I hope for a couples slow weeks being off work. I am really looking forward to the time off work.

I am losing like crazy this week. Weird cause I am not really trying just not hungry I guess. It seems it goes in spurts a good week, a slow week................his is my good week again. I might be under 230.........(a personal goal) by Monday.............

Hope you continue to do well............

[swrktp 1]

Well this morning I am down another two pounds......... must be all the Water. And I also have a sore throat and cold. Hoping I will be better by Monday or at least that it won't interfer with surgery............

[riley4183 0]

Yikes, shake that cold right away! They do ask you about any cold or sore throat in pre-op, and it can delay your surgery! I was so scared of getting one that I took Airborne, Zicam, Zinc, Cold MD and mega-doses of Vitamin C for the 2 weeks leading up to my surgery! Hopefully it will have run its course by Monday!

[swishbc 0]

Christine sounds like your doing well. Was it more or less dramatic than you expected. I think that the before is worse than after because I keep thinking of all the possibilities and yet I don't know the reality.................I think people always think it is gonna be far worse than it is.

I am still hoping I will be the first one on Monday......... How long was the recovery room and than the barium swallow for you?

So you didn't get ICY it sounds like?

well I am sure ready to go..................than I hope for a couples slow weeks being off work. I am really looking forward to the time off work.

I am losing like crazy this week. Weird cause I am not really trying just not hungry I guess. It seems it goes in spurts a good week, a slow week................his is my good week again. I might be under 230.........(a personal goal) by Monday.............

Hope you continue to do well............

Don't want to freak you out, but it's more dramatic than I expected. I didn't realize how much pain I'd be in and thought that the meds would totally numb me and they don't. Today my pain in the port area and above are what is so sore. I'm sure it's normal pain but I didn't realize how bad it would be.

Time is so foggy after surgery, but I was in at 815 and out at 900 and then I recovered until 1130 when I did barium swallow. I don't remember much of recovery except that I kept asking for more Fentanyl, lol. My nurse was Gail for post-op and Ayesha for pre-op. Both ladies were very sweet and I liked them alot.

They took me down to radiology and I waited in the hallway for about 20 minutes before the dumbass came to take me in. If I wasn't so out of it I would've been cussing them out. Barium was kinda icky but I only had to take 2 sips and she said my band "looked beautiful".

Went back up to recovery, Dr. Baggs came in and talked to me and then I recovered a bit more and at 1:30 got dressed, got my discharge papers, took my first dose of Lortab for the ride home at 1:45 and left at 2pm and was home by 3pm.

[riley4183 0]

Christine, you are in the hurty-est day - day 2 is the worst. It will get WAY better every day after today, I promise! Nap, meds, walk, nap, meds, walk (that's what Dr. Baggs told me) Keep up on those meds and let them help you sleep! I hate meds too but I took the Lortab for 6 days, by day 4 I was taking it only at night but I did keep taking it(until I started hallucinating - really!). By Day 4 you will be bored to death and puttering around cleaning, I promise. Right now just nap-med-walk. And kiss your scale, it's a beautiful thing!!

Just so there's not any confusion about this ladies, the port burns like heck. REALLY, there is a foreign object in there and your body does NOT like it. It gets steadily better, but it hurts for just about a month.

[swishbc 0]

Riley, how much of the Lortab did you take? 1, 1 1/2 or 2 tbsp?

[riley4183 0]

On day 2, I was taking the full 2 and I was taking it every 4 hours! That day HURT! By day for I was taking 1, but there is a HUGE difference between day 2 and day 4.

[swishbc 0]

Ok, I'm gonna go that. I've only been doing 1 or 1 1/2. I'll do 2 for the rest of the day.

How many times a day did you walk and about how long each time? I walk around the house about every 1/2-1 hour when awake and we've taken about 2 big walks for about 20-30 minutes really slowly twice so far today.

Does that sound like enough or not enough or just right?

[riley4183 0]

Just right if it's working for you! You are walking a bit more than I did the second day, I took little baby walks - my son came along to steady me, as I was on the drugs and not too steady - but at least it got me outside, which I REALLY needed. I took about 3, 10-minute SLOW walks a day until day 4 when I felt great and did 4 miles! (POOPED after that, then got the infection & back to the hospital that night). You do have to push yourself to walk, but even just puttering around the house counts, as long as you are moving!

[swrktp 1]

Ok that is what I wanted to know. I figured there has gotta be some pain involved............and yep from what I have heard the second day is the killer. That is what everyone says. I plan to do the meds-nap-wall thing for the first week. I am so looking forward to being able to stay home.

And yep I have a cold it really hit today. I am going to get some medication right now to wipe it out. I CAN'T have this change things. I gotta get better...........

Funny thing is that I think I got sick at the hospital the day I did my pre op............there were alot sick people there last week.

I just got a call from Richmond Kaiser. They got me pre registered for pre op and said someone will call me friday for the time and final details................

So Christine you stayed until after lunch than..............my ride will be anxious to get home but if I am hurting I won't be moving to quick. Hard to tell with pain.............I think I can tolerate alot but than sometimes it is hard to judge pain..........other people probably know me better in that regard.

Thanks all for the advice and suggestions. I think the best thing about surgery will be getting to sleep without having to wake up to get something done. I plan to take advantage of the sleeping and no responsibility thing the first week..................can you tell I have been tired since getting back from Africa.

[swishbc 0]

Tina, will you have someone staying with you the first few days? I hope you do because it's seriously impossible to get out of bed alone. And all the little things that Brian's doing like getting me Water, broth, heating pad, medicine, EVERYTHING. I'm not doing really very much alone. He's holding onto me whenever we walk...

A tip if you haven't heard for when you're in bed. I have 2 pillow laying normal, then on laying long ways so it's under my back and then one more laying normal on top. My mother-in-law is a nurse and recommended doing that because it'll prevent the gas from rising up the body. It totally worked! My gas is pretty much gone from in between my boobs and I've never had any gas pain in my shoulders or neck.

[swrktp 1]

I don't expect no pain but I hope it is tolerable pain..............I had a root canal a year ago that just about did me in since the infection went into the bone...I didn't move from a chair for days. Having my wisdom teeth out was also bad since I got an infection........ I am hoping for less than a root canal and hopefully a bit less than having a baby.........although I did survive that!! LOL.

I don't like medications and usually tough things out without meds but this time I think I better take the meds..............

Just got all the groceries and medication right now. Lots of Tylenol and GasX!! LOL

I will have my daughter around the first three days, but my parents live next door and my mom is a nurse as well. I am sure I will be ok..................after I had my daughter to got stuck in the bathtub and couldn't get out..........LOL. Sounds like this is more of the same. Someone had to pull my naked self out of the tube because I serious could not get out although getting in was not a problem.................

Thanks for the warning and I am gonna try the pillow thing for sure!!!

So Christine are you still glad you did it??? That is my main question!!

Edited April 8, 2009 by swrktp