Two days post op: hanging in there

Hi everyone,

Well, I've got my sleeve and I am home. My perception of time was so skewed and weird in the hospital. My sleep schedule was totally out of whack. 

I'm having a hard time getting comfortable at home. I'm supposed to take Roxycodone every four hours, and it seems to wear off at 3. My bed and chairs are uncomfortable. Either too flat or too upright. My kingdom for a recliner! My husband is buying me a ramp shaped pillow... hopefully that will help. 

I definitely feel like I've made some progress each day. I was begging the nurses to let me walk the first night. I walked five times the second day and five times today. The nurses said they were really impressed with my progress and that they wished more patients were like me. Walking definitely helped sooo much. I could feel the gas burbling out of me. I did have my urinary catheter in until last night and it made walking uncomfortable, but I powered through it.

The swallow test was definitely the worst. I felt ill for hours afterwards, and they were a little rough with me and I felt like my IV was about to get yanked out. Afterward, during my first sips, I threw up after one ounce of water (which I drank 3ml at a time over 20 minutes). Water just hurt so much hitting my stomach. I switched to room temp broth and now I can sip at a good pace and had no trouble getting fluids in today.

Last night, the  nurses were saying I would have to stay an extra day because I kept vomiting up my crushed pills. So I really pushed today to get them down. I still feel like vomiting each time I take them, even though I have tried to mask the flavor as much as possible. 

I'm a little overwhelmed with short term disability paperwork. I had planned on taking six weeks off work, which my surgeon's office recommends (they say 4-6 weeks) but I see the physician who filled it out (not my surgeon) put down 4 weeks. I hope that I can get that corrected. I planned to return after Labor Day. I have two claims to file and it is a huge hassle. I was also promised help with this by hospital staff that never materialized. 

I haven't had much buyer's remorse or other emotional stuff. I think it mostly hasn't hit me yet. I am focused on healing right now, not my decision to have this surgery.

My nurses and nurses aides were amazing. I want to figure out a nice thank you gift or write a note or something. 

Sorry for being all stream of conscious-ey. I'm loopy from the meds. I really found it useful to read everyone else's experience so I hope this is helpful to someone out there!

Hi Eliza. I am glad that your surgery went well and that you are on your way to recovery.

Glad that all is heading in the right direction. Thanks for the play-by-play on what you have experienced. I am having my sleeve surgery on Wed. Knowing what to expect sure helps you prepare of what to expect.

Welcome to the losers bench! I'm glad they gave you heavy duty meds. I was sleeved in Mexico and they sent me home with a mild anti-inflammatory. The first week is hell. But I'm two weeks out now and feel pretty darn good. No abdominal pain, no incision problems, just feels a bit weird. So strange not to eat and not be hungry (except for head hunger. Smells really set me off). But you're on the other side now, this is the hardest part you are almost through, and it gets better every day!!!! Congratulations on your sleeve.

Wondering why they don't give you liquid medicine.

Unfortunately my antidepressants don't come in liquid formulations so I have to crush them. 

The ASMBS says that we're allowed to swallow pills from day one, which is what I did.  I don't know how large your pills are, but there really isn't a medical reason you need to crush them.  

I will probably call the doctor about it. I'm getting better at taking them but I would infinitely prefer to swallow them.  The pills are not huge. 

Hello,

Congratulations on your sleeve.  I will be getting one in mid September.  This might be a dumb question, so please forgive me if it is not appropriate.

It appears that you were able to lose almost 100 pounds prior to getting the sleeve.  Why did you not just continue with what you were doing?  It looks like you had amazing results without the operation.

My high weight (which I count from) was in 2011, so it took me three years to lose 100lbs. I want to have children and my biological clock is ticking, so I couldn't afford to spend more time on this. I feel I need the help of surgery to get me to my goal. Part of the reason it took me 3 years to lose 100lbs is that I backslid at times into old habits. I know that's possible with the sleeve, but knowing my style of overeating (I don't graze, for instance), my hope is that it will provide a backstop of sorts if that should happen in the future.

You know, I had the surgery, so there's no point in me thinking about this.