BarbaraW
A complete day lost ...
Nov 17, 2006
Yesterday was a complete waste. After feeling pretty perky on Wednesday, I woke up at 5 a.m. with one of those "oh my God I have a brain tumor" headaches. I remembered that I didn't take my BP pills on Wednesday, and although one day isn't enough to push my BP up that high, I got up and immediately crushed and took them. I took a couple of shots of the liquid vicodin and crashed out in the recliner. Woke up a few hours later, still thumping away. Waited a few more hours, took another vicodin dose and crashed out again. Woke up and the headache was STILL there. Lew called GT Surgery and they said have her eat a scrambled egg... if that doesn't help, get her some Excedrin. Seems they thought I was having caffeine withdrawals and Excedrin has caffeine. Sure enough, two of those fat babies crushed up did the trick.
I'm feeling better today, just really really sore under the right side of my ribcage. Did they leave a hot rock in there or what?
I have to get some work done this weekend though so hopefully I'll feel a little more motivated tomorrow.
Back home, safe, sound, and sore
Nov 14, 2006
I regretted not doing two things before surgery - I should have gotten a cortisone shot in my knee about a week before since I couldn't take any anti-inflammatory meds for the week prior, and i wished I had asked if there were someone who'd had the surgery recently at Munson Medical that would be willing to talk with me about the experience. When I go back for my first follow up on the 30th, I will volunteer myself for that. It would have been so nice to just ask a few questions like do you get to take a shower, do they have shampoo, soap, etc., how do they keep track of your bags while in surgery and make sure they get moved to your room with you, etc.
So, for posterity, here was my experience at Munson:
I was scheduled first for the day, at 7:15,and they required me to be there at 5 a.m. Honestly, I could have gotten there at 6 and still been prepped in plenty of time. There was quite a bit of lag time in there. I signed in, my charming husband in tow, at the surgery check in desk and we took a seat with several other folks in the waiting area. They did indeed call me in first, at about 5:20 and we went back to the surgery prep area. I answered quite a few questions, got a heparin shot in my tummy (blood thinner) and changed into typical hospital gowns, one facing front, the other backwards for a robe, and the also typical rubber treaded slippers. I gave a urine sample for a pregnancy test... LOL... and waited. We watched the morning news, thank goodness they had a tv in there. Finally, my nerves dictated another trip to the restroom, and sure enough, they were waiting to take me upstairs to surgery when I came back out. We went up the elevator and instead of having my husband wait in the waiting room, I sent him on home. I just couldn't stand the thought of him bugging the staff out there for updates, as he has the patience of a flea! We had someone coming to our house to hook up satellite internet anyway, so it was time well spent for him.
They took my overnight bag and CPAP machine from me there (they had been labeled with my info in the prep area) and I was given a stretcher and cute little hairnet and an IV. Again, I answered the same questions, but that is the routine in any hospital that takes as lot of care and caution to get all their ducks in a row. Dr. Nizzi came by to see me and I asked him if he got a good night's sleep... lol. Pretty much on time, I was wheeled into the OR. That is absolutely the last thing I remember. I don't remember them giving me more meds, the oxygen mask or anything. I thought at least I'd remember counting backwards or something!
i woke up in the recovery room with a very nice man named David taking care of me. I kept drifting in and out. At one point he asked me about any abdominal pain, and I told him that what was really killing me was my knee. I explained about the arthritis and the lack of pain meds all week (at least I think i explained it, who knows when you're that dopey). He must have understood, because he noted it on my chart. He gave me something and shortly, I was feeling pretty darn good and must have been smiling, cause he said I looked happy. I think it was lying for so long in one position that really set my knee off, I tend to keep moving it around to keep it from stiffening up.
I was taken to my room on East 2 around 11 a.m. and had a very nice nurse named Leslie, very pretty too. They scooted me over onto the bed like I was light as a feather! I got ice chips which were welcome since my mouth tasted terrible! I had torodol for pain in my IV and got another heparin shot in my tummy. I dozed off and on and they let me know my husband has been called. He showed up about 1 p.m. saying that he had been trying and trying to call me. We discovered the phone was unplugged and took care of that little problem. Right before he came, I had asked to get up and go to the bathroom. They were surprised I wanted to get up that soon, but I was ready. While you're on an IV, they have to unplug the IV stand and they also place a pan, called a "hat" in the toilet to catch and measure your urine. So, it's a production number just to go pee. Lew looked exhausted so I told him to go on back home and get some rest. I called my office and talked to Pam, the receptionist and let her know I was doing fine. A few minutes after I hung up with her, Birgit, Carrie, and Christie called me. I LOVE MY CO-WORKERS! I dozed a little more, ate more ice chips, and shortly after 5, Birgit, Pam, Erin, Arvida, and Carrie came to visit for about an hour. I did not have a roommate at that point, thank God, as we were pretty noisy. After they left, I got up and went to the bathroom again and took a lap around the nurses station. I had very little pain and best of all, my knee was feeling great! It was very cool to walk without limping.
I got a roommate around 9 or so, she had come into the ER with chest and abdominal pain and ended up having her gallbladder removed. She was not feeling too perky at all, and I don't blame her!
I walked the hall again at 10, a respiratory tech came in and hooked up my CPAP machine and I crashed out around 11:30. At 3, when they came in to check my vitals, I asked for some pain meds - torodol again. I was given liquid vicodin at one point, but it made me a little queasy with only ice chips going down.
They kept coming in at taking my blood pressure early this morning and it seems it was really low - 60 over 40. I thought it was just because I hadn't been up yet and while we were talking it over, a wheelchair escort, very nice lady who had been doing it for 7 years, showed up to take me down to radiology for the barium swallow. The Nurse Practitioner, Mary Kay, showed up at the same time and said since I was leaving, she'd be back around noon to go over the diet. Dr. NIzzie had already been by earlier just to say hi and that all went really well with the surgery.
The barium swallow was fun, I was so sick of ice chips even that nasty stuff felt good going down my throat. I saw the band, right in place wher eit should be, and the barium stuff sliding down with no leaks. I think that's the first time I really felt like I'd been banded.
I called my husband when I got back upstairs and said since Mary Kay wouldn't be back until noon, he could go on and run his errands and he should call me around 12. Of course, about fifteen minutes later, Mary Kay showed back up and gave me the okay to be discharged. Sheeeesh. Things started moving right along then, got the IV out, another heparin shot, and then YAY, I got to take a shower. When I got out, I asked Carrie to call Lew for me (the office is not long distance,but home is) and let him know I was getting ready. He called right back and said he was on his way. I packed everything up, talked to my roommate a bit, wished her well, and shortly after got the heck outta there! All in all, I give Munson high grades. They took excellent care of me and it was an all around pleasant expereience, considering.
Stopped by the office to pick up a lovely present from Arvida and headed for home sweet home.
Had some crystal light, some broth, and yes I could tell something was different. Gas pains, yup. And things go down a little differently. I have to remember to sip, not gulp.
But surgery is done... and I only have to do clear liquids for 2 days, then full liquids for a few days moving into pureed foods. They want me back on solid food by the time I go in on the 30th. YAY. I'm even looking forward to cottage cheese and applesauce.
So, for posterity, here was my experience at Munson:
I was scheduled first for the day, at 7:15,and they required me to be there at 5 a.m. Honestly, I could have gotten there at 6 and still been prepped in plenty of time. There was quite a bit of lag time in there. I signed in, my charming husband in tow, at the surgery check in desk and we took a seat with several other folks in the waiting area. They did indeed call me in first, at about 5:20 and we went back to the surgery prep area. I answered quite a few questions, got a heparin shot in my tummy (blood thinner) and changed into typical hospital gowns, one facing front, the other backwards for a robe, and the also typical rubber treaded slippers. I gave a urine sample for a pregnancy test... LOL... and waited. We watched the morning news, thank goodness they had a tv in there. Finally, my nerves dictated another trip to the restroom, and sure enough, they were waiting to take me upstairs to surgery when I came back out. We went up the elevator and instead of having my husband wait in the waiting room, I sent him on home. I just couldn't stand the thought of him bugging the staff out there for updates, as he has the patience of a flea! We had someone coming to our house to hook up satellite internet anyway, so it was time well spent for him.
They took my overnight bag and CPAP machine from me there (they had been labeled with my info in the prep area) and I was given a stretcher and cute little hairnet and an IV. Again, I answered the same questions, but that is the routine in any hospital that takes as lot of care and caution to get all their ducks in a row. Dr. Nizzi came by to see me and I asked him if he got a good night's sleep... lol. Pretty much on time, I was wheeled into the OR. That is absolutely the last thing I remember. I don't remember them giving me more meds, the oxygen mask or anything. I thought at least I'd remember counting backwards or something!
i woke up in the recovery room with a very nice man named David taking care of me. I kept drifting in and out. At one point he asked me about any abdominal pain, and I told him that what was really killing me was my knee. I explained about the arthritis and the lack of pain meds all week (at least I think i explained it, who knows when you're that dopey). He must have understood, because he noted it on my chart. He gave me something and shortly, I was feeling pretty darn good and must have been smiling, cause he said I looked happy. I think it was lying for so long in one position that really set my knee off, I tend to keep moving it around to keep it from stiffening up.
I was taken to my room on East 2 around 11 a.m. and had a very nice nurse named Leslie, very pretty too. They scooted me over onto the bed like I was light as a feather! I got ice chips which were welcome since my mouth tasted terrible! I had torodol for pain in my IV and got another heparin shot in my tummy. I dozed off and on and they let me know my husband has been called. He showed up about 1 p.m. saying that he had been trying and trying to call me. We discovered the phone was unplugged and took care of that little problem. Right before he came, I had asked to get up and go to the bathroom. They were surprised I wanted to get up that soon, but I was ready. While you're on an IV, they have to unplug the IV stand and they also place a pan, called a "hat" in the toilet to catch and measure your urine. So, it's a production number just to go pee. Lew looked exhausted so I told him to go on back home and get some rest. I called my office and talked to Pam, the receptionist and let her know I was doing fine. A few minutes after I hung up with her, Birgit, Carrie, and Christie called me. I LOVE MY CO-WORKERS! I dozed a little more, ate more ice chips, and shortly after 5, Birgit, Pam, Erin, Arvida, and Carrie came to visit for about an hour. I did not have a roommate at that point, thank God, as we were pretty noisy. After they left, I got up and went to the bathroom again and took a lap around the nurses station. I had very little pain and best of all, my knee was feeling great! It was very cool to walk without limping.
I got a roommate around 9 or so, she had come into the ER with chest and abdominal pain and ended up having her gallbladder removed. She was not feeling too perky at all, and I don't blame her!
I walked the hall again at 10, a respiratory tech came in and hooked up my CPAP machine and I crashed out around 11:30. At 3, when they came in to check my vitals, I asked for some pain meds - torodol again. I was given liquid vicodin at one point, but it made me a little queasy with only ice chips going down.
They kept coming in at taking my blood pressure early this morning and it seems it was really low - 60 over 40. I thought it was just because I hadn't been up yet and while we were talking it over, a wheelchair escort, very nice lady who had been doing it for 7 years, showed up to take me down to radiology for the barium swallow. The Nurse Practitioner, Mary Kay, showed up at the same time and said since I was leaving, she'd be back around noon to go over the diet. Dr. NIzzie had already been by earlier just to say hi and that all went really well with the surgery.
The barium swallow was fun, I was so sick of ice chips even that nasty stuff felt good going down my throat. I saw the band, right in place wher eit should be, and the barium stuff sliding down with no leaks. I think that's the first time I really felt like I'd been banded.
I called my husband when I got back upstairs and said since Mary Kay wouldn't be back until noon, he could go on and run his errands and he should call me around 12. Of course, about fifteen minutes later, Mary Kay showed back up and gave me the okay to be discharged. Sheeeesh. Things started moving right along then, got the IV out, another heparin shot, and then YAY, I got to take a shower. When I got out, I asked Carrie to call Lew for me (the office is not long distance,but home is) and let him know I was getting ready. He called right back and said he was on his way. I packed everything up, talked to my roommate a bit, wished her well, and shortly after got the heck outta there! All in all, I give Munson high grades. They took excellent care of me and it was an all around pleasant expereience, considering.
Stopped by the office to pick up a lovely present from Arvida and headed for home sweet home.
Had some crystal light, some broth, and yes I could tell something was different. Gas pains, yup. And things go down a little differently. I have to remember to sip, not gulp.
But surgery is done... and I only have to do clear liquids for 2 days, then full liquids for a few days moving into pureed foods. They want me back on solid food by the time I go in on the 30th. YAY. I'm even looking forward to cottage cheese and applesauce.
Last chance ...
Nov 12, 2006
Today was my pre-op clear liquids day. I had chicken broth, beef broth, two lime popsicles, lemonade, and white grape juice. Needless to say, I wore a groove in the hallway going to the bathroom! No wonder you lose weight on a liquid diet.
We had a great early Thanksgiving dinner yesterday and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Everything was good and I ate plenty, but I didn't totally pig out. My friend Erin said if it were her, she'd be eating everything she loved just in case she never got to eat it again. Erin loves food, maybe more than anyone I've ever met, but of course, she is just a tiny little thing. When she talks about certain foods that she likes, like sushi and the turkey parmesan sandwich from Cherf's Inn, you would think she was talking about sex. Food is an absolutely sensual experience for her, so she goes to Curves three times a week and eats spartan lunches.
At this point, full liquids is looking like a banquet to me. Hope all goes well tomorrow, I'm looking forward to looking back on it.
We had a great early Thanksgiving dinner yesterday and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Everything was good and I ate plenty, but I didn't totally pig out. My friend Erin said if it were her, she'd be eating everything she loved just in case she never got to eat it again. Erin loves food, maybe more than anyone I've ever met, but of course, she is just a tiny little thing. When she talks about certain foods that she likes, like sushi and the turkey parmesan sandwich from Cherf's Inn, you would think she was talking about sex. Food is an absolutely sensual experience for her, so she goes to Curves three times a week and eats spartan lunches.
At this point, full liquids is looking like a banquet to me. Hope all goes well tomorrow, I'm looking forward to looking back on it.
So... what would the condemned prisoner like for her last meal?
Nov 10, 2006
Surgery is Monday, three days from now. Lucky me, I'm the first up that day, which means I have to be at the hospital at 5 a.m. If that's not bad enough, we live about 45 minutes away, so I'll be up at 3:30. My husband is NOT thrilled at all. Offered to take me to a hotel Sunday night and leave me with cab fare. Charming.
I will hate being away from my office for a week more than not eating. I have such supportive co-workers and really feel loved there every day. I got a lot of hugs and well wishes today, along with threats that they will show up in my hospital room Monday night with martinis (for them, of course!).
Since I won't be eating on turkey day, we decided to have Thanksgiving tomorrow. My mother-in-law has been battling cancer for 8 years now and we cooked T'giving last year as she was just not strong enough. We're inviting her and her husband over tomorrow but it's snowing like mad outside right now, they might not be able to make it.
I've been thinking a lot about the idea of having a "device" inside my body. Something about it creep me out, reminds me of the creature bursting through John Heard's body in Alien. Now THAT is a productive burp! hehehe. But, I reminded myself that I have a lens implanted in one eye, people have plates in their heads, titanium screws, pacemakers, etc. So I'll have a substantial rubber band.. big deal.
No fear yet. I'll probably be too pissed off about getting up at 3:30 on Monday morning to be afraid then either.
Onward!
I will hate being away from my office for a week more than not eating. I have such supportive co-workers and really feel loved there every day. I got a lot of hugs and well wishes today, along with threats that they will show up in my hospital room Monday night with martinis (for them, of course!).
Since I won't be eating on turkey day, we decided to have Thanksgiving tomorrow. My mother-in-law has been battling cancer for 8 years now and we cooked T'giving last year as she was just not strong enough. We're inviting her and her husband over tomorrow but it's snowing like mad outside right now, they might not be able to make it.
I've been thinking a lot about the idea of having a "device" inside my body. Something about it creep me out, reminds me of the creature bursting through John Heard's body in Alien. Now THAT is a productive burp! hehehe. But, I reminded myself that I have a lens implanted in one eye, people have plates in their heads, titanium screws, pacemakers, etc. So I'll have a substantial rubber band.. big deal.
No fear yet. I'll probably be too pissed off about getting up at 3:30 on Monday morning to be afraid then either.
Onward!
And now the pace quickens.....
Nov 03, 2006
So, once all the paperwork is done, things start happening a lot faster! One week after my psych eval, I was called with a surgery date - November 13. I went for all my pre-op stuff this past Wednesday (November 1) and got through that in fairly short order. In fact, the most stressful thing about it was trying to get out of the @#$(*& hospital parking lot. They are doing construction there and it is a real zoo! Not to mention, I was driving my co-workers boat of an SUV and trying desperately not to put a scratch on it.
That afternoon, my charming husband and I went in for the pre-op visit with the nurse practitioner and the surgeon. As we sat down in the waiting room, the first thing hub said was "how long is this gonna take?" I thought "the rest of my life" but I answered, "I don't know."
The doc was friendly but still professional, which is something I like in a person who is going to be cutting holes in me. One of the interesting things he said was that they are only doing lapbands on women right now (they just started doing them two months ago). He said that after a few months, they would start doing men. I was trying very hard to picture what anatomical difference there could be in that area of the body that would make it more difficult to do men! Dr. Nizzi said it was the layer of fat that men have. Hey, wait a minute! Haven't we always been told we have a extra layer of fat? Anyway, if I do well, I think my hub will explore having the surgery himself. Sure would make it a lot easier around here if we were on the same page, nutrition wise.
So, I'm cleaning house and getting ready for several days of a liquid diet. Too bad you can't have red dye before surgery, strawberry jello is the only kind I like!
That afternoon, my charming husband and I went in for the pre-op visit with the nurse practitioner and the surgeon. As we sat down in the waiting room, the first thing hub said was "how long is this gonna take?" I thought "the rest of my life" but I answered, "I don't know."
The doc was friendly but still professional, which is something I like in a person who is going to be cutting holes in me. One of the interesting things he said was that they are only doing lapbands on women right now (they just started doing them two months ago). He said that after a few months, they would start doing men. I was trying very hard to picture what anatomical difference there could be in that area of the body that would make it more difficult to do men! Dr. Nizzi said it was the layer of fat that men have. Hey, wait a minute! Haven't we always been told we have a extra layer of fat? Anyway, if I do well, I think my hub will explore having the surgery himself. Sure would make it a lot easier around here if we were on the same page, nutrition wise.
So, I'm cleaning house and getting ready for several days of a liquid diet. Too bad you can't have red dye before surgery, strawberry jello is the only kind I like!
About Me
Kalkaska, MI
Location
36.6
BMI
Surgery
11/13/2006
Surgery Date
Mar 10, 2006
Member Since
