Re: My surgery story...Long!

[Guest guest]

Cheri,

Thanks for the detailed information concerning your surgery. It was

not boring at all. I enjoyed it. I am hoping to have surgery in May.

CSJ

> Hello all,

>

> First of all, please forgive me for taking so long to

> write. I'm now on the " other side " . I had the

> Duodenal Switch-lap assisted surgery with Dr. Warden

> in Ocean Springs, MS on 2/6. Now for the rest of the

> story....(& probably too much information--sorry it's

> so long).

>

> My surgery was set for Feb. 6th. On Feb. 1st, I found

> out that my work decided to " outsource " my department

> & a few others. This meant that we still worked at

> the same place & did the same job, but we were payed

> by different people. It also meant that all our

> benefits & short-term disability would change & it was

> effective immediately! Needless to say, this put a

> big kink in my plans. It was very upsetting & after

> working all night, I was on the phone all day between

> HR at work & the dr's ofc. I ended up having to come

> up with the money to pay for a month of Cobra coverage

> to cover my surgery. It was horrible, but with

> everything else I was about to embark on, I tried not

> to worry about what was happening at work. I was able

> to continue with my surgery & that was the important

> thing.

>

> I also found out that the Dr. I was originally

> scheduled to have surgery with injured his eye the

> week before & wasn't performing surgery. So his

> collegue was going to do it & I would have the same

> assisting surgeon.

>

> My friend & I left Sun. morning & drove to MS. Monday

> I met with the dr's & anesthesiologist (sp?). Tuesday

> I had to be at the hospital at 5 a.m. They took me

> straight back & started getting me ready. That all

> took time. The nurse couldn't get a vein for the

> relaxing juice so she had to wait for the

> anesthesiologist to come. After they got that

> started, I began to relax. I was doing ok until I got

> to the waiting area & was alone. I almost started to

> cry, but I didn't. They finally came & got me & took

> me to the surgery room. Just as they were literally

> wheeling me into the operating room someone said,

> " Wait! " The assisting Dr. had been called to an

> emergency & was on his way there. Then they said, " Go

> ahead, Dr. Warden said to continue. " So they wheeled

> me in. It turned out that there was no assisting dr.

> When they got me in there, they strapped my arms down

> & gave me some stuff that immediately put me to sleep.

> I had general anesthesia. They don't do epidurals.

> That's all I remember from there. The surgery took

> about 6 hrs & 15 mins.

>

> The only thing I remember in recovery is a faint

> memory of a man's blurry face right in my face asking

> me what my pain level was. At first I said 5 or 6.

> Then he asked again & I said 7 or 8. The next thing I

> remember is him saying, " So you're at a full blown

> ten? " I guess I was complaining of pain. My

> advice...go straight for the 10! Don't even fool with

> the other numbers! :-) That's what I told my sister.

> I drilled her on it. She said if she didn't remember

> anything else, she'd remember to say " ten " & she did!

> :-) (BTW, my sister had the surgery 3 weeks after me &

> is doing well).

>

> It took me awhile to come out of the anesthetics. I

> have very foggy memories of the first couple days. At

> about 10:30 that night, I finally woke up enough to

> want to get up & walk. I didn't WANT to, but I really

> needed to. I'd been lying in that bed all day long &

> I had to get up. So the nurse & CNA helped me walk a

> little ways & I went back to bed. That's all I

> remember about that night.

>

> By the next morning, my mouth was EXTREMEMLY dry. It

> was horrible. I could only suck on a wet towel until

> they got the results of my leak test. They came & got

> me & took me down to have the leak test which is

> basically an upper gi. That was a horrible

> experience! I was in a lot of pain & I had to somehow

> get up on that table & lie down. That wasn't easy,

> but the man was very patient with me. After that I

> went back to my room. It wasn't until around noon or

> so that I got ice chips.

>

> I wasn't prepared for the pain I felt in my abdomen

> area. My entire stomach area throbbed & ached

> constantly. My breathing was shallow & that worried

> me. I thought it was the morphine so I didn't use the

> pump much, but when the dr. came in he said it was the

> pain that kept me from breathing deeply & that I

> needed to use the pump, so I did. My other problem

> was my extremely dry mouth. Even with the ice chips,

> it was still dry & I couldn't get it moist. Then I

> couldn't breathe out of my nose & had to breathe out

> of my mouth, which only made it drier. That night I

> literally woke up every five minutes in need of water.

> It was horrible.

>

> By thurs., it was getting better. I was walking 3 or

> 4 times a day & walked a little farther each time. I

> had a shower & some visitors.

>

> Friday I started having diarrhea. Not everyone has

> it, but I was one of the lucky ones. My advice...take

> Depend Adult wipes. I had baby wipes, but they fell

> apart--the adult wipes didn't. Also take someone to

> wipe you! :-) The diarrhea stopped the next week when

> I started eating a little more solid foods (like

> eggs).

>

> I was planning on getting out of the hospital on Sat.

> cuz I was doing well. We had all our stuff packed

> too. But there was an on-call dr. who was not a

> bariatric surgeon & he wouldn't let me go. He didn't

> sound like he was going to let me go Sunday either.

> My friend & I were very upset, but there was nothing

> we could do but wait.

>

> Sunday my friend watched out the window all day. She

> could see the dr's coming & going from my room. That

> afternoon she thought she saw the dr. She told me to

> get up & sit in the wheelchair. I told her to go see

> if it was him. It was, so I got up & sat in the

> wheelchair. Before he came in, he told the nurse he

> wasn't going to let me go home. When he came in & he

> asked me how I was feeling. He didn't ask me that the

> day before so I was leary. I said, " Fine. " He said,

> " Do you want to go home? " I said, " Yes, I want to go

> home very much! " He said, " Okay, I'll release you. "

> I was shocked & happy!

>

> We left about 4:30 p.m. We drove about 5 hrs before

> stopping at a motel. The drive home was a lot harder

> than I expected. You wouldn't think it, but it was

> just really tiring. Take lots of pillows for the car

> & motel. I couldn't get comfortable so I didn't get

> much sleep that night. It was hard to find any food

> to eat at the mini-marts we stopped at. I got a jar

> of banana baby food & ate a little of that. The next

> day we traveled another 5 1/2 hours home. I didn't

> have anything to eat until I got home. That was

> really hard & I wouldn't suggest that to anyone. By

> the time we thought of something I could eat (eggs),

> everywhere we stopped had already stopped serving

> breakfast. My mom fixed me an egg as soon as I got

> home & that helped me. I had become very weak &

> emotional.

>

> My cousin stayed with me for two weeks & helped out a

> lot by helping me up in the beginning and cooking for

> me, doing laundry, dishes, housework, etc. She was a

> huge help. I couldn't have done it without her.

>

> It's been two months since then. On one hand it seems

> like just a few days & on the other hand it seems like

> a year ago. I've been very blessed with a good

> recovery. I can't complain. Many people have had it

> much worse off than I. It just takes time getting

> used to all the new feelings inside & everything. I

> also had my gallbladder & appendix removed so there

> was a lot of extra room in there that I wasn't used

> to.

>

> Tuesday was 8 weeks (& my birthday ;-)) & it was the

> first night I could lie on my side & actually SLEEP!

> So far it only works on my right side. I've slept on

> my back for two months. It's getting to be

> uncomfortable because I'm a side/stomach sleeper. I

> would try lying on my side, but I couldn't do it for

> more than a few minutes. It felt wierd or it would

> cause me to have gas pains or something. One time

> when I lied on my right side, it felt like everything

> just fell into the empty holes left from surgery. It

> felt really uncomfortable. I can go to sleep on my

> side now & I'm very happy about that.

>

> My BM's & gas are usually quite fragrant. I've tried

> the spray & even lit candles. I remembered I had an

> exhaust fan in the bathroom which I'd never had to use

> before, but now I use it all the time. It helps some.

> I just started using Devrom. It turns my poop

> greenish, but I think it might help the odors. I've

> also noticed my poop doesn't seem as loose with it.

> I've only taken it for a couple of days so I'm not

> sure how well it works yet. Whenever I have a lot of

> gas, I try to remember what I ate & see if it has to

> do with that. When I've avoided that food, it's

> gotten better. I don't have it TOO often, but it can

> be pretty lethal when I do. And if you get up, it

> follows you! :-) Going back to work made me nervous

> because it's not the type of gas you can hide. Let's

> just say I can clear a room real fast! LOL

>

> Tonight is only my second night back to work. I'm

> doing ok, although it's hard to get used to working 12

> hr. shifts at night again. I only made it 6 hrs. last

> night, but I'm doing better tonight.

>

> As far as advice for the hospital...take pillows for

> the car, Depend adult wipes, hard sugar-free candies

> for your dry mouth when you can't have much ice or

> water (my dr. suggested it). Sweet'n'Low has a good

> brand of sugar-free hard candy. I used my chapstick a

> lot, but the hospital has that too. Toothbrush &

> toothpaste, pre-paid phone card. That's all I can

> think of right now.

>

> Sorry it's so long. Hope I didn't bore too many of

> you. It's just that I haven't written in so long, I

> don't want to leave anything out (although I did).

>

> Hope everyone is doing well!

> Cheri

>

> Dr. Warden--Ocean Springs, MS

> 2/6/01

> Pre-op 428--5'11 "

> Post-op--??? (still waiting to find out but I think

> it's around 50 lbs, although my grandpa is going

> around telling everyone that it's 100, but it's not!)

>

>

>

> __________________________________________________

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Cheri,

Your detailed information about your surgery is exactly what I've been

looking for! Thank you so much. I am having DS with Dr. Kim in Ocean

Springs on Thursday.

I'll be sure to bring along the things you suggested.

Can you tell me what your incisions look like and exactly what lap-assited

means. Dr. Booth explained to me that they make the first small incision,

put in the camera check out your liver and decide from there whether or not

they will be able to continue laparoscopically. He said if not they would

then hand-assist. I think I got all that right. Do you know if Dr. Kim

assisted Dr. Warden on yours? I'm curious also about your amount of and

length of pain, especially if you were lap.

Thanks, hope that's not too many questions. I really appreciate the info and

wish you the best!

P.S. to Everyone: I talked to Judi in Ocean Springs earlier in the week and

she was getting better every day. Plan to talk to her later today and will

post about her again.

Joann in Mobile

Dr. Kim in Ocean Springs

April 12 9:00 a.m.

Scared to death and gratefully welcoming PRAYERS (don't know what the

swinging things are all about)