Update from home :)

Good morning, all! I had my Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy on Wednesday, so I figured now would be a good time to update everyone. 

First off, thank you to everyone who has been showering me with love and encouragement--you've made this entire process that much easier. 

We went to the hospital at 6:30 on Wednesday, checked in, and were sent up to the surgery floor. They got me all dressed for surgery and gave me a little bit of something that made me a bit loopy. I remember being wheeled into the operating room and moving myself from the bed I was in onto the operating table. I also remember them putting an oxygen mask on me, which had anesthesia in it, and then I don't remember anything else but waking up in the recovery room. I scared the crap out of Anthony because I woke up extremely nauseous, so I was in recovery for about 3 hours before they were able to move me to a room.

I don't remember much about the rest of Wednesday. My friend Amanda (who had the same surgery done by the same doctor in December) came by to check on me, and I feel bad because I passed out mid-sentence. She kept Anthony comfy for a bit. One of the ladies from my support group came by and brought all sorts of sample protein powders, which was super sweet of her. She works in the hospital, so she didn't have to go out of her way to see me, but it was so nice of her to bring the samples.

The rest of Wednesday passed by in a cloud of extreme nausea and sleeping. I got up to walk once or twice, but that only seemed to make the nausea worse, so we didn't do too much of that. I wasn't allowed to have anything to drink, but they did give me a little sponge on a stick to moisten my lips and mouth, which was a godsend. I thought I was going to have an upper GI in the morning, but I didn't end up needing one, which was great.  I didn't use the pain pump very often because the medicine in it, dilaudid, was making me really, really nauseous--the last thing I wanted to do was hurt myself throwing up. 

Thursday was much better. I woke up well rested at about 10:30 and spent the day awake, sipping water, eating Jello (which was diet "Red" flavor, according to the hospital), and walking. I walked a lot. They changed my pain medicine from dilaudid to a liquid version of Advil/Motrin/anti-inflammatory stuff that didn't make me nauseous at all (thank god). My mom got to the hospital around 3, and I was released at about 4:30. PROTIP: Getting a drain pulled out of your stomach sucks. It hurt and felt weird and I think it rubbed up against my liver, which freaked me out a bit.

The next few days will be spent with Anthony and my mom, making sure I don't get dehydrated, burping a lot (getting all the gas out that they used to inflate my absomen), and learning my physical limitations. I have a follow up with my doctor on Tuesday, where he'll hopefully tell me I can move on from a clear liquid diet to purees--I've got a butt-ton of soup in my freezer that I made a few weeks ago specifically for the pureed stage. 

To be completely honest, Wednesday was a bad day and I regretted deciding to do this to myself. However, now that my nausea is gone, as the minutes and hours go by, I'm feeling much better and don't regret the opportunity of life that this surgery is going to give me. 

If anyone has any questions you want to ask, please feel free to either ask below or shoot me an email at shortfatandsassyblog[at]gmail[dot]com

Love you all!!

I'm happy you made it home safe I hope you heal fast and lose a lot.

Thank you!

First of all...CONGRATULATIONS!!!  You did it!!!! 

Thank you for sharing your story.  It sure helps put some of my fears to rest.  I am REALLY concerned about the nausea thing.  Even at my weight, I am really sensitive to medications and am worried I am going to be really nauseated.  When I had my ovaries removed (PCOS), I woke up really sick and remained nauseated for days.  This terrifies me about my sleeve surgery because I'm sure actually throwing up or even dry heaving is going to be super painful and possible cause damage to my new stomach. 

I am so excited for you!!  I can't wait to follow your progress!!  :) :) :)

Thank you so much! This is admittedly the hardest thing I've ever done and I won't lie, on Wednesday night when I was really nauseous, I did ask myself, "What did I just get myself into?" However, once I got used to the pain (which isn't THAT bad) and started walking, I started to feel better and I don't regret it anymore.

I made sure to let my nurses know that I was really nauseous--I think part of it was from anesthesia, part of it was from the Dilaudid, and part of it was because my stomach was empty for 36 hours (I don't know about you, but I get nauseous when I'm hungry). I dealt with it for Wednesday (sleeping, wiping my lips/mouth with cool water and sucking on ice chips helped a bit).

I did dry heave in the recovery room, but I don't remember feeling any pain (probably because I was so out of it). They also gave me a thing called QueezEase, which was kinda like smelling salts, but a lavender and eucalyptus scent that helped a little. Just ask them to give you a kidney bowl or a tub just in case. I never actually threw anything up and they switched me to a different pain medicine (I don't remember what it was called, but it started with a T) and gave me anti-nausea stuff via IV and after that, my nausea was practically gone. You also have to remember that there isn't really anything in your stomach to actually throw up.

If you communicate with your nurses, they should be able to give you something that'll help, whether it's an anti-nausea med or a different pain medication altogether. Also, when you wake up, make sure you start practicing taking deep breaths. It'll hurt at first, but it will help ease the nausea a bit. I'm also finding drinking diet apple juice hurts a lot less than water, and that cold stuff causes more gas pains than room temp or lukewarm liquids.

If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to ask--I'm an open book and would love to help ease your worry--I know exactly how you're feeling right now.

Glad to hear you came through the surgery with flying colors. Everyone's recovery is a little different. Some sprint through it like a wide receiver at the goal line. Others are like running backs, gaining a few yards at a time. You'll have to take it play by play. (Jeez, I can't wait for the football season to start!).

Seriously, do everything you've been told to do, and you'll do just fine. Sounds like you have great support people around you. If you develop any complications, call your surgeon; he/she will know what to do. Good luck (and keep the end zone in sight! )

psychoticparrot

Thank you for the encouragement--you're absolutely fantastic!

I'm trying to do everything I can; drinking diet apple juice, walking, sleeping on my back, etc. I'm going to add a protein shake into my diet tomorrow--I didn't want to ru**** right away.

Hi!  Just wondering how you are doing...I haven't seen any further updates and am thinking about ya!  (sorry if you did post something and I missed it!)

~Suzy

I'm doing fabulous, thank you so much for checking in and thinking of me! I just updated my blog, if you want to take a peek--I've been mostly quiet because it's been a lot of the same :)