I remember a time when I thought I could never forget what it was like those first few weeks after my RNY gastric bypass surgery. But it's been almost two years now and a whole lifetime since then.
My friend heads to the OR tomorrow morning for her RNY. I'll meet up with her Thursday when she gets out and then spend those first few days of her recuperation with her. I want to be the best support for her and give her the benefit of my experience.
I remember what I ate and how I ate. I remember measuring, monitoring and drugging. But I don't remember how I felt. I think there was frustration. Remorse? I don't remember that. Anxiety? Maybe. Cranky--of course! We're talking about me,after all.
So help me out. Tell me about your immediate post-op experiences--RNY, LAP or DS. I'm curious to know our similarities and differences. And any tips that I can pass along.
I CHOOSE
...to love myself.
...to treat myself gently, with patience and respect.
...to accept responsibility for every aspect of my life.
...to be present, awake, aware.
...to be open to possibility.
...to leap with the intention of landing.
...to do amazing things.
...to treat myself gently, with patience and respect.
...to accept responsibility for every aspect of my life.
...to be present, awake, aware.
...to be open to possibility.
...to leap with the intention of landing.
...to do amazing things.
Monday, June 18, 2007
WLS--Let's start at the very beginning
Posted by JUST JEN at 7:27 AM
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6 comments:
Hey Jenn, mine is becoming a distant memory at 7 months ago, but I remember sleeping. I was so tired I slept, sipped and walked for two days after surgery and that was about it. I was tired alot until day 4 then I perked up. I was very frustrated trying to drink protein shakes and getting the timing of everything down. Not forgetting the vitamins, sip, sip, sip...rest then chew, chew, chew. I was cranky...I mean really cranky but at the end of the day each day I would be so proud I made it through and wouldn't change the experience or the benefits for anything in the world.
I'm 6 1/2 months out from lap rny. I remember being in more pain than I thought I was going to be, but I'm also a big baby. Gas pains were an issue. I needed to walk more, encourage your friend to walk.
I had trouble sleeping, mostly b/c I could not get comfortable. Propping myself up with couch cushins on my bed finally did the trick. I did have a day of breaking down crying about the 4th or 5th day home from the hospital. I think it was reality hitting home, and I felt better after getting it out.
Looking back I'm frustrated I did not have more protein choices back then. Now I have many, many protein supplements I love...I was stuck with the crap from the hospital. A variety of better tasting supplements would have been nice to have on hand.
The first few days and weeks were hard. But I did look back at my journal to see that every day, every week I felt better, had more engery, and general less 'blah' as time progressed. It takes time to heal.
Not obsessing over the scale that first month is hard too...there is so much going on with fluid retention, etc don't let her get discouraged if the scale is not doing what she wants it to do.
Wishing her all the best!
I wrote it up on my blog http://squares-ville.blogspot.com/2007/06/early-wls-days.html
I had surgery on a Thursday and was in a drug haze through Friday. I learned to get a single drop of water around my entire mouth. I spent Saturday sitting up for as long as I could and getting up and walking around. Saturday night was actually the worst. I was feeling so much better I was ready for all that monitoring crap to be taken off me. By Sunday I was amazed how improved I felt. I rested pretty easily when I got home. I made no attempt to do anything too quickly and I didn't care one bit about when I was going to eat anything in particular.
I will never regret anything about it. Discomfort for a matter of days to gain a whole new life.
I'm making WW read ALL of your comments as soon as she can focus on a computer screen. Keep em coming!
Hi Jen (and WW - congratulations!).. I don't remember much about the first 24 hours after surgery. I know I had some good drugs and that I said a lot of silly things that my family and bf made sure to tell me all about later. I remember being uncomfortable with all of the tubes connected to me. I was very thankful when they removed the catheter.. that was awful. I couldn't wait to take a shower and get that "hospital smell" off of me. I was sore and foggy-headed on the way home. I remember wondering why I didn't feel worse .. kinda wondering if they had actually done something to me. That feeling lasted for about a week. I eventually figured out that yes, they had indeed rerouted my intestines, and there was lots to learn about my new tummy. WW - my advise to you is to do lots of reading, lots of talking on message boards.. and call Jen with all of your questions. Having the support of other post-ops, especially during those first couple of weeks, is really important. Good luck and take care!
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