4th Day Post-Op

[Guest guest]

Good for you Joe!

I will keep you in my prayers that you continue this wonderful recovery.

Keep us informed. I'd like to know how you are doing.

[Guest guest]

Joe you are sooo funny what a pesonality! your wife must be a blessed women!

LOL with you!

cassandra

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 4/16/00 6:26:11 PM Central Daylight Time,

joearrowood@... writes:

<< had a truly nasty old nurse in the recovery room (my wife who never says

anything bad about anybody agreed with that assessment). Fortunately she

seemed to be mad at somebody (maybe everybody) but me, but I kept expecting

one of the other nurses/staff to slap her up the side of the head. Once I

got to my room I would have to say that the floor nurses were fine. There

seemed to be a lot of vacant beds on the floor so I didn't lack for

attention. I did ask every 4 hours for my Demerol. No one ever offered or

mentioned the pump and stupid me just assumed somebody had assessed the

situation and decided I didn't need the pump. I read later that one should

" demand " the pump if they want it. >>

You need to report this to the hospital. Dr R cant police them.Both the

grouchy nurse and the nurse that did not give you a PCA(patient controlled

anesthesia) should be talked to by their immediate supervisor.

Also I would address this letter to who ever is in charge of patient care. I

would report the anesthesiologist that let you have a comprimised airway.

THAT IS DANGEROUS. They should have listened to you.

Aside froom that if I were you I would be evaluated by an Ear ,Nose and

Throat doctor to determine if anything can be done to minimize the airway

problems you experience for the future........you never know when you may

need another operation.

Why on EARth does it take them one hour to intubate you? Maybe you need a

custom made Endotracheal Tube. If that is so I would be darn sure to have one

made and kept somewhere in case I needed it....STERILE.I have seen difficult

intubations(working in ICU) .Most patients that are Not coding(ie respiratory

or cardiac arrest) can be intubated in a controlled situation without

compromising their airway. Anesthesiologists are " slick " at doing this. I

would for sure have an evaluation.I also would write that letter to

administration. Even if you have altered anatomy and especially with your

history they were NUTS and negligent to to what you said about not being more

careful. In the future you may want to consider having an fiberoptic

intubation as a backup so they can SEE where they are going.You may also need

a longer endotracheal tube. Some obese patients are difficult to

intubate.Also I wonder if you have sleep apnea?

P.S. I read back your note and noticed the recovery room nurse was the nasty

one. ANywhere I worked the recovery room nurses started the PCA pumps.

Another reason you may not have received it.Its a lot easier getting you

stablized and start that in Recovery room than waiting until you get back to

a regular room.

Also I feel its high time for a dedicated floor or area for WLS patients in

that hospital with nurse that only take care of them. What kind of loo loo

would keep giving you Intramuscular shots when its so simple.....mind you

timeconsuming at first...but its a DUH./you can give your own shots. You are

more alert with PCA....thus able to be moblie sooner and move around.

[Guest guest]

Joe!

Thank you for the most entertaining, uplifting post I have read all day!

Maybe all week. You have lifted me from the lowest of low days! Thank you.

I am in awe and very envious of you as well! Dr. R. told me that you were

up, dressed and had your CPAP packed even before his 6am rounds. You and my

Littermate Sharon (Sharhazel) must be related lol!

It sounds like you are doing so well and I am so happy for you. I am still

working on figuring out what I can tolerate. So far juices, any except

grapefruit, make my tongue swell and I feel thirstier than ever. I can't

handle the sugar even watered down. Yogurt which I love tastes like vinegar.

So far I have had good luck with cottage cheese, a bit of all fruit smoothy,

a few bites of scrambled egg (is that a big no no? It made me feel

wonderful!) and grapefruit juice watered down and with a fair amount of

equal. The saltines were great the first couple of days, but now though I

crave the salt (anybody got a salt-lick handy?), they too make my mouth feel

like cotton. I tried a few sips of slimfast over ice today and went running

to the bathroom. Oops!

I look forward to following your progress, particularly since you had surgery

the day after me!

Congratulations on your new life!!

{{HUGS}}

Claire

Redhead in FL

MGB 4/10/00 !!!!

Dr. Rutledge (http:/clos.net)

" He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it until the

day of Christ Jesus. " - Phil. 1:6

[Guest guest]

I logged in every hour Friday night and in the early a.m. Saturday trying to

find news on 's condition. When word finally came Saturday that she

had passed away Friday evening it was like a big sock in the gut for me. I

never had the chance to meet her but I had read her posts and met her sister

at clinic and I guess was just thrown for a big loop at the thought of

someone with four young children dying (of any cause or for any reason).

The loss of this brave woman who was striving to make a better healthier

life for herself and her children is the only thing that has tempered my joy

at having the MGB. I am sure that 's family will be on all our minds

for a long time to come.

I warned the anesthesiologist that the last time I had surgery I had to be

intubated on an emergency basis and that they almost lost me on the

operating table. Apparently that warning didn't register in the right place

in his mind, and sure enough I am told that as soon as I got a few whiffs

from the " gas " mask my airway collapsed. I've been told they spent the next

hour intubating me so I assume Dr. R. was thrown behind waiting for them to

stabilize my breathing. Anyhow, the only damage seems to be a sore throat

which has gotten progressively better and some tenderness in rear jawbone.

I had a truly nasty old nurse in the recovery room (my wife who never says

anything bad about anybody agreed with that assessment). Fortunately she

seemed to be mad at somebody (maybe everybody) but me, but I kept expecting

one of the other nurses/staff to slap her up the side of the head. Once I

got to my room I would have to say that the floor nurses were fine. There

seemed to be a lot of vacant beds on the floor so I didn't lack for

attention. I did ask every 4 hours for my Demerol. No one ever offered or

mentioned the pump and stupid me just assumed somebody had assessed the

situation and decided I didn't need the pump. I read later that one should

" demand " the pump if they want it.

At any rate the Demerol was better than chocolate cake and fudge combined

used to be. While under the influence of this marvelous stuff I tromped

around the hospital halls incessantly with my double layer Martha

hospital gown. It's funny what different people are afraid of...I think I

feared the " gas " pain I had heard mentioned as much as anything. Gas pain

was negligible but I walked so much that I had a very sore calf muscle in my

right leg when I got home. Hopefully I didn't scare too many small children

in the hallway.

I have tried to get in all my pills, vitamins, supplements since coming home

Thursday. I have had a lot of Orange-Carrot diet Snapple which I adore and

only has 20 calories per bottle. I also have had at least one can of Boost

daily which I got at hour local Kroger and is a chocolately little treat

that doesn't taste at all bad. As far as I can tell I have not experienced

the " dumping " syndrome. I have eaten a few bites of peanut butter (this may

have been a no-no), a banana (not all at one sitting), and pureed fruit

cocktail and pineapple. This pureed fruit is great for putting your

Citrucel in although my Citrucel has a nice citrus flavor which has

pleasantly surprised me. They even have managed to improve the taste of

Carafate since the last time I had it. Nothing in the way of food seems to

have caused any problems. I am very conscious however of limiting what I

consume at any one time to the prescribed amount. I also have found that

little bites are fine but a big bite almost immediately gives me a heartburn

type feeling.

I would recommend to anyone who feels they are warmer natured than " normal "

to take a fan with them to the hospital. I had to send for mine. Even

though the air conditioning was turned as low as I could get it (and I think

it was working fine) I was much more comfortable when the fan arrived...may

just be a psychological thing since I sleep with one summer and winter at

home. I also would recommend to any of you that have a CPAP machine for

sleep apnea that you take your own machine to the hospital with you. I was

drowsy for the first couple of hours in the regular room and I would have

paniced at the thought of going to sleep and having the airway collapse if I

had not had the old trusty machine. Keep in mind I have slept with it for

about 10 years EVERY NIGHT. It is not my friend...just my constant

companion and I am looking forward to being able to donate it to someone

else just as soon as some pounds have disappeared.

Things have gone so well that I almost feel guilty. I felt like I had to

share a positive experience with pre-ops just to help them remember that

sometimes things do go exceptionally well post surgery. I realize I could

" seize up " and depart this world in the next minute, but so far (knock on

wood) things look fine from my perspective.

I drained our ornamental pond in the backyard today and got down on my hands

and knees and picked up leaves, caterpillars (was not tempted to eat any of

them) , etc. for about two hours. That's about the most vigorous activity I

can claim so far and it was something I really wanted to do. I have felt a

little tired since surgery but then I felt a little tired all the time prior

to surgery (and I mean all the time) . I actually made it through the day

Saturday without a nap which had become an almost daily routine prior to

surgery.

Interestingly the muscle spasms that I normally have daily in upper back and

shoulder have not occurred at all since surgery even though I have

discontinued the daily muscle relaxants. It's hard to think that surgery

can be credited with that improvement...maybe it's just that I got

completely relaxed and without tension from the anesthesia and the demerol.

I hope I don't blow up anybody's e-mail with this epistle...that would be

almost as bad as blowing out our new stomach pouch. I've just had all these

pent up words since Wednesday that needed a place to go...please let me know

if there is anything I can share with any of you that will make your journey

to a healthier life easier.

I only saw Dr. Rutledge for a few minutes prior to departing the hospital

Thursday but it was enough time to thank him and to ask him a few questions

about post hospital procedures relative to the ton of medications I used to

take daily for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. What I didn't

know at the time was he probably was really preoccupied trying to deal with

's crisis situation. Anyhow, I hadn't expected him to adopt me or

move in with us and I only hope he can maintain his health and continue to

bless as many people as possible with this procedure.

[Guest guest]

Joe, so glad to find another man in the group. If you feel up to it

would you contact me at mb7644@.... Thanks

Mitch

> I logged in every hour Friday night and in the early a.m. Saturday

trying to

> find news on 's condition. When word finally came Saturday

that she

> had passed away Friday evening it was like a big sock in the gut

for

me. I

> never had the chance to meet her but I had read her posts and met

her sister

> at clinic and I guess was just thrown for a big loop at the

thought

of

> someone with four young children dying (of any cause or for any

reason).

> The loss of this brave woman who was striving to make a better

healthier

> life for herself and her children is the only thing that has

tempered my joy

> at having the MGB. I am sure that 's family will be on all

our minds

> for a long time to come.

>

> I warned the anesthesiologist that the last time I had surgery I

had

to be

> intubated on an emergency basis and that they almost lost me on the

> operating table. Apparently that warning didn't register in the

right place

> in his mind, and sure enough I am told that as soon as I got a few

whiffs

> from the " gas " mask my airway collapsed. I've been told they spent

the next

> hour intubating me so I assume Dr. R. was thrown behind waiting for

them to

> stabilize my breathing. Anyhow, the only damage seems to be a sore

throat

> which has gotten progressively better and some tenderness in rear

jawbone.

>

> I had a truly nasty old nurse in the recovery room (my wife who

never says

> anything bad about anybody agreed with that assessment).

Fortunately she

> seemed to be mad at somebody (maybe everybody) but me, but I kept

expecting

> one of the other nurses/staff to slap her up the side of the head.

Once I

> got to my room I would have to say that the floor nurses were fine.

There

> seemed to be a lot of vacant beds on the floor so I didn't lack for

> attention. I did ask every 4 hours for my Demerol. No one ever

offered or

> mentioned the pump and stupid me just assumed somebody had assessed

the

> situation and decided I didn't need the pump. I read later that

one

should

> " demand " the pump if they want it.

>

> At any rate the Demerol was better than chocolate cake and fudge

combined

> used to be. While under the influence of this marvelous stuff I

tromped

> around the hospital halls incessantly with my double layer Martha

> hospital gown. It's funny what different people are afraid of...I

think I

> feared the " gas " pain I had heard mentioned as much as anything.

Gas pain

> was negligible but I walked so much that I had a very sore calf

muscle in my

> right leg when I got home. Hopefully I didn't scare too many small

children

> in the hallway.

>

> I have tried to get in all my pills, vitamins, supplements since

coming home

> Thursday. I have had a lot of Orange-Carrot diet Snapple which I

adore and

> only has 20 calories per bottle. I also have had at least one can

of Boost

> daily which I got at hour local Kroger and is a chocolately little

treat

> that doesn't taste at all bad. As far as I can tell I have not

experienced

> the " dumping " syndrome. I have eaten a few bites of peanut butter

(this may

> have been a no-no), a banana (not all at one sitting), and pureed

fruit

> cocktail and pineapple. This pureed fruit is great for putting your

> Citrucel in although my Citrucel has a nice citrus flavor which has

> pleasantly surprised me. They even have managed to improve the

taste of

> Carafate since the last time I had it. Nothing in the way of food

seems to

> have caused any problems. I am very conscious however of limiting

what I

> consume at any one time to the prescribed amount. I also have

found

that

> little bites are fine but a big bite almost immediately gives me a

heartburn

> type feeling.

>

> I would recommend to anyone who feels they are warmer natured than

" normal "

> to take a fan with them to the hospital. I had to send for mine.

Even

> though the air conditioning was turned as low as I could get it

(and

I think

> it was working fine) I was much more comfortable when the fan

arrived...may

> just be a psychological thing since I sleep with one summer and

winter at

> home. I also would recommend to any of you that have a CPAP

machine for

> sleep apnea that you take your own machine to the hospital with

you.

I was

> drowsy for the first couple of hours in the regular room and I

would

have

> paniced at the thought of going to sleep and having the airway

collapse if I

> had not had the old trusty machine. Keep in mind I have slept with

it for

> about 10 years EVERY NIGHT. It is not my friend...just my constant

> companion and I am looking forward to being able to donate it to

someone

> else just as soon as some pounds have disappeared.

>

> Things have gone so well that I almost feel guilty. I felt like I

had to

> share a positive experience with pre-ops just to help them remember

that

> sometimes things do go exceptionally well post surgery. I realize

I

could

> " seize up " and depart this world in the next minute, but so far

(knock on

> wood) things look fine from my perspective.

>

> I drained our ornamental pond in the backyard today and got down on

my hands

> and knees and picked up leaves, caterpillars (was not tempted to

eat

any of

> them) , etc. for about two hours. That's about the most vigorous

activity I

> can claim so far and it was something I really wanted to do. I

have

felt a

> little tired since surgery but then I felt a little tired all the

time prior

> to surgery (and I mean all the time) . I actually made it through

the day

> Saturday without a nap which had become an almost daily routine

prior to

> surgery.

>

> Interestingly the muscle spasms that I normally have daily in upper

back and

> shoulder have not occurred at all since surgery even though I have

> discontinued the daily muscle relaxants. It's hard to think that

surgery

> can be credited with that improvement...maybe it's just that I got

> completely relaxed and without tension from the anesthesia and the

demerol.

>

> I hope I don't blow up anybody's e-mail with this epistle...that

would be

> almost as bad as blowing out our new stomach pouch. I've just had

all these

> pent up words since Wednesday that needed a place to go...please

let

me know

> if there is anything I can share with any of you that will make

your

journey

> to a healthier life easier.

>

> I only saw Dr. Rutledge for a few minutes prior to departing the

hospital

> Thursday but it was enough time to thank him and to ask him a few

questions

> about post hospital procedures relative to the ton of medications I

used to

> take daily for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. What I

didn't

> know at the time was he probably was really preoccupied trying to

deal with

> 's crisis situation. Anyhow, I hadn't expected him to adopt

me or

> move in with us and I only hope he can maintain his health and

continue to

> bless as many people as possible with this procedure.