_mandy_
Post Surgery Report
Oct 25, 2008
I had my surgery on Oct 16th.
I had a pre-op appt on the 15th. I met with Dr. Keshishian in his new Glendale office and after a quick Q&A session my husband and I went over to the hospital for some blood work and to be shown around. Since I was the first patient in their bariatric program everyone truly went above and beyond. We had an escort everywhere we went and we got the full tour experience. After seeing everything there was to see (and then some) we went to check into our hotel where I downed a bottle of laxative. Ick!
We were at the hospital by the next morning at 6am. Hubby went to the waiting room while I began getting ready for surgery in pre-op. I changed into my hospital gown, did some paperwork, and they started an IV. Everything was going well at first, and then they gave me Reglan. According to Wikipedia it's "used to treat nausea and vomiting, and to facilitate gastric emptying". Unfortunately I had a really bad reaction to it. My surgeon said it was a Dystonic reaction. I'm still unclear if that means I'm allergic to it, but I can guarantee I won't ever take it again. It's difficult to describe how it felt, but I found a blurb about it online: A dystonic reaction often starts with a vague feeling of uneasiness, which then progresses to anxiety, irritability, and the sensation that one wants to "get away" or crawl out of their skin. Soon after an injection of Compazine, if the patient suddenly demands to leave and is pacing the room or fidgeting with their sheets, you can bet they are having this reaction"
That's pretty much to the letter what happened. One second I was ok, the next it felt like all the bad in the world had entered my head. I was writhing on the table wanting to claw out of my skin. Thankfully the anestesiologist knew what was going on and got my surgeon and he gave me the thing that counteracts it. Within about 5 minutes I was somewhat ok again, but had become terrified that something like that would happen again. All I wanted to do was run out of there as fast as I could. If my surgeon, or my husband had said "It's ok to go home, you don't have to do this" I would have left. Of course now I know that's also part of the bad reaction...but at the time I honestly thought I wanted to leave.
By 7am they had me in the operating room. I was still fighting feelings of uneasiness but before I knew it I had been put to sleep, and I woke up in recovery. The pain was nowhere near as bad as I had expected. I loved my morphine pump!
The first day was uneventful. I had my own nurse who stayed in the room with my husband and I and I guess I just drifted in and out of sleep. I wanted to walk as soon as they took me to my room from recovery, but they said I had to wait a few hours - of course when Dr. Keshishian came in he said I could walk as soon as I wanted. (he later remarked that the entire staff babied me too much and he kept expecting to walk in on them giving me a back rub and a foot massage. haha)
Day 2 started out with Dr. K pulling my NG tube. Words can't begin to describe what it felt like, so I won't even try. Later in the day - I can't remember when - I started running a fever. It shot up to over 102 and there were 4 people working on me and packing me in ice. I had blood drawn during that part and my white cells were elevated. I had to go back on oxygen. Good news, all the bad stuff eventually righted itself.
Dr. K kept asking me if I regretted having the surgery. I told him no and that so far nothing (NOTHING!) had been as bad as the reaction I had to reglan. He told me eventually I would regret it because almost everyone hits that stage and to just expect it and remember that it'll pass.
I walked my heart out every chance I got. I was supposed to meet Leslie but when I spoke to her she said she was starting to get sick and after my fever episode I didn't want to take a chance on germs.
I think my cathedar was removed sometime on day 2 as well but it may have been early day 3.
Nausea hit on day 3 afternoon. It was SO BAD and no one knew where it was coming from. My surgeon later said it was probably that I'd had hot broth and a cold popsicle together and the different temperatures did something. He wound up saying nothing by mouth until the nausea was under control.
That would have been all well and good but sometime in early day 3 all my IVs had been removed. I have the worst veins EVAR and they just won't hold and IV very well. They had 4 different ports in my hand and none of them were working anymore. My hands had absorbed so much fluid that they looked like blown up rubber gloves.
About 3am going into day 4 I woke up and the regret hit like a ton of bricks. It had been hours since I'd had any pain medicine, I was absolutely miserable and I was SICK of all the shots they were having to give me in my stomach, thighs, legs and arms. Around 7 or 8am my nurse gave me a shot of morpine and I slept for a few hours and when I woke up I was feeling better.
I had to wait until I went to the bathroom or passed gas before I'd be allowed to leave. I walked lap after lap and nothing was happening. I ended up having to have a suppository and a few hours after that I passed gas. HALLELUJAH!
I think we left around 4pm...stayed at the hotel until Wednesday (the 22nd), Drove home on Thursday, and I've been recovering ever since.
Things to note:
1. When Dr. Keshishian went in, he discovered that my port (I was a revision from lapband) had flipped all the way around. I had no clue, and would have had to have surgery anyways before I could ever get another fill. The upside to this is that I haven't had as much pain from the removal of the port as some people have.
2. Since I was the first Verdugo Hills bariatric patient, the CEO of the hospital gave my husband and I a gift. It's the cutest little Jim Shore Mickey Mouse figurine. He's dressed in a labcoat and holding a clipboard that says Get Well Soon. They even pasted Dr. K's name on his name badge. I felt horrible though because when he came up to give it to me I was right in the middle of being packed in ice so I didn't get to recieve it personally.
3. The day I went to have my drains pulled (oh how I hated the drains) just so happened to be the night of the monthly support/informational meeting. We decided to stay for it and the ladies who were interested in surgery could not get over the fact that I'd had surgery just 6 days ago. YaY for looking normal!
According to my surgeon, everything went perfectly. According to me, it was a lot harder than I expected. I honestly think that the reglan thing tainted everything else - I was constantly in fear of another medication giving me that same reaction. I've never, ever experienced anything like that before. I'm not to the I love my DS stage yet, but then again I'm not even two weeks out. I'm struggling with food and protein and water. I feel like I don't have any energy and I'm sleepy all the time. Again, I keep telling myself that I just had major surgery and this is totally to be expected. I can't help but wonder if it would be different if it had been laproscopic - I don't remember my gallbladder removal or my lap band being this hard on me.
To end on a positive note - I've already lost almost 20lbs. I'm not going to weigh myself daily, or probably even weekly...but I was curious so I weighed earlier this week and was shocked to see such a loss. I have every faith that soon (hopefully soon, soon, soon) I'll be completely happy with the surgery and all of this will seem worth it - I have a feeling it might start as soon as I can sleep on my stomach again!
I had a pre-op appt on the 15th. I met with Dr. Keshishian in his new Glendale office and after a quick Q&A session my husband and I went over to the hospital for some blood work and to be shown around. Since I was the first patient in their bariatric program everyone truly went above and beyond. We had an escort everywhere we went and we got the full tour experience. After seeing everything there was to see (and then some) we went to check into our hotel where I downed a bottle of laxative. Ick!
We were at the hospital by the next morning at 6am. Hubby went to the waiting room while I began getting ready for surgery in pre-op. I changed into my hospital gown, did some paperwork, and they started an IV. Everything was going well at first, and then they gave me Reglan. According to Wikipedia it's "used to treat nausea and vomiting, and to facilitate gastric emptying". Unfortunately I had a really bad reaction to it. My surgeon said it was a Dystonic reaction. I'm still unclear if that means I'm allergic to it, but I can guarantee I won't ever take it again. It's difficult to describe how it felt, but I found a blurb about it online: A dystonic reaction often starts with a vague feeling of uneasiness, which then progresses to anxiety, irritability, and the sensation that one wants to "get away" or crawl out of their skin. Soon after an injection of Compazine, if the patient suddenly demands to leave and is pacing the room or fidgeting with their sheets, you can bet they are having this reaction"
That's pretty much to the letter what happened. One second I was ok, the next it felt like all the bad in the world had entered my head. I was writhing on the table wanting to claw out of my skin. Thankfully the anestesiologist knew what was going on and got my surgeon and he gave me the thing that counteracts it. Within about 5 minutes I was somewhat ok again, but had become terrified that something like that would happen again. All I wanted to do was run out of there as fast as I could. If my surgeon, or my husband had said "It's ok to go home, you don't have to do this" I would have left. Of course now I know that's also part of the bad reaction...but at the time I honestly thought I wanted to leave.
By 7am they had me in the operating room. I was still fighting feelings of uneasiness but before I knew it I had been put to sleep, and I woke up in recovery. The pain was nowhere near as bad as I had expected. I loved my morphine pump!
The first day was uneventful. I had my own nurse who stayed in the room with my husband and I and I guess I just drifted in and out of sleep. I wanted to walk as soon as they took me to my room from recovery, but they said I had to wait a few hours - of course when Dr. Keshishian came in he said I could walk as soon as I wanted. (he later remarked that the entire staff babied me too much and he kept expecting to walk in on them giving me a back rub and a foot massage. haha)
Day 2 started out with Dr. K pulling my NG tube. Words can't begin to describe what it felt like, so I won't even try. Later in the day - I can't remember when - I started running a fever. It shot up to over 102 and there were 4 people working on me and packing me in ice. I had blood drawn during that part and my white cells were elevated. I had to go back on oxygen. Good news, all the bad stuff eventually righted itself.
Dr. K kept asking me if I regretted having the surgery. I told him no and that so far nothing (NOTHING!) had been as bad as the reaction I had to reglan. He told me eventually I would regret it because almost everyone hits that stage and to just expect it and remember that it'll pass.
I walked my heart out every chance I got. I was supposed to meet Leslie but when I spoke to her she said she was starting to get sick and after my fever episode I didn't want to take a chance on germs.
I think my cathedar was removed sometime on day 2 as well but it may have been early day 3.
Nausea hit on day 3 afternoon. It was SO BAD and no one knew where it was coming from. My surgeon later said it was probably that I'd had hot broth and a cold popsicle together and the different temperatures did something. He wound up saying nothing by mouth until the nausea was under control.
That would have been all well and good but sometime in early day 3 all my IVs had been removed. I have the worst veins EVAR and they just won't hold and IV very well. They had 4 different ports in my hand and none of them were working anymore. My hands had absorbed so much fluid that they looked like blown up rubber gloves.
About 3am going into day 4 I woke up and the regret hit like a ton of bricks. It had been hours since I'd had any pain medicine, I was absolutely miserable and I was SICK of all the shots they were having to give me in my stomach, thighs, legs and arms. Around 7 or 8am my nurse gave me a shot of morpine and I slept for a few hours and when I woke up I was feeling better.
I had to wait until I went to the bathroom or passed gas before I'd be allowed to leave. I walked lap after lap and nothing was happening. I ended up having to have a suppository and a few hours after that I passed gas. HALLELUJAH!
I think we left around 4pm...stayed at the hotel until Wednesday (the 22nd), Drove home on Thursday, and I've been recovering ever since.
Things to note:
1. When Dr. Keshishian went in, he discovered that my port (I was a revision from lapband) had flipped all the way around. I had no clue, and would have had to have surgery anyways before I could ever get another fill. The upside to this is that I haven't had as much pain from the removal of the port as some people have.
2. Since I was the first Verdugo Hills bariatric patient, the CEO of the hospital gave my husband and I a gift. It's the cutest little Jim Shore Mickey Mouse figurine. He's dressed in a labcoat and holding a clipboard that says Get Well Soon. They even pasted Dr. K's name on his name badge. I felt horrible though because when he came up to give it to me I was right in the middle of being packed in ice so I didn't get to recieve it personally.
3. The day I went to have my drains pulled (oh how I hated the drains) just so happened to be the night of the monthly support/informational meeting. We decided to stay for it and the ladies who were interested in surgery could not get over the fact that I'd had surgery just 6 days ago. YaY for looking normal!
According to my surgeon, everything went perfectly. According to me, it was a lot harder than I expected. I honestly think that the reglan thing tainted everything else - I was constantly in fear of another medication giving me that same reaction. I've never, ever experienced anything like that before. I'm not to the I love my DS stage yet, but then again I'm not even two weeks out. I'm struggling with food and protein and water. I feel like I don't have any energy and I'm sleepy all the time. Again, I keep telling myself that I just had major surgery and this is totally to be expected. I can't help but wonder if it would be different if it had been laproscopic - I don't remember my gallbladder removal or my lap band being this hard on me.
To end on a positive note - I've already lost almost 20lbs. I'm not going to weigh myself daily, or probably even weekly...but I was curious so I weighed earlier this week and was shocked to see such a loss. I have every faith that soon (hopefully soon, soon, soon) I'll be completely happy with the surgery and all of this will seem worth it - I have a feeling it might start as soon as I can sleep on my stomach again!
Cold Feet?
Sep 24, 2008
I just found out that I was approved yesterday and got my date for surgery today. It's only 21 days away and I'm freaking out.
I've spent so long wishing for this - so long saying "If only I could have this surgery..." - so long convincing myself that it would never happen, that now that it's within my grasp...I'm suddenly terrified. It's like now that it's a reality, I don't know what to do with it. There's also a part of me that is waiting for the insurance co. to call me back and say they made a mistake and I am *not* approved for surgery.
I'm sure there are preparations I could be making, I just don't know where to start. I think it's all made worse by the fact that I'm sick with bronchitis so I can't get my pre-surgery medical clearance stuff done. I just went to the doctor and got some antibiotics yesterday so fingers crossed that my lungs will be good enough to pass the chest X-ray ASAP.
I'm also worried about death. That seems like such a huge thing to say so flippantly, but people DO die from this. I need to focus on the positives...soon I will no longer have this horrible Lap-band in my body...soon I will lose weight...
Of course that's another worry - what if I don't lose weight? What if I fail at the DS like I failed at the band? What if *I* am the one person who goes through all this pain and uncertanty just to have it not work?
I've spent so long wishing for this - so long saying "If only I could have this surgery..." - so long convincing myself that it would never happen, that now that it's within my grasp...I'm suddenly terrified. It's like now that it's a reality, I don't know what to do with it. There's also a part of me that is waiting for the insurance co. to call me back and say they made a mistake and I am *not* approved for surgery.
I'm sure there are preparations I could be making, I just don't know where to start. I think it's all made worse by the fact that I'm sick with bronchitis so I can't get my pre-surgery medical clearance stuff done. I just went to the doctor and got some antibiotics yesterday so fingers crossed that my lungs will be good enough to pass the chest X-ray ASAP.
I'm also worried about death. That seems like such a huge thing to say so flippantly, but people DO die from this. I need to focus on the positives...soon I will no longer have this horrible Lap-band in my body...soon I will lose weight...
Of course that's another worry - what if I don't lose weight? What if I fail at the DS like I failed at the band? What if *I* am the one person who goes through all this pain and uncertanty just to have it not work?
