Re: Digest Number 4381

[Guest guest]

I would like to know if any of you have gone through this alone? I have

family here, but just yesterday was talking to my Mom about this surgery and

she thinks I should just to go a nutritionist that my aunt went to and forget

the surgery. That ain't gonna happen unless I don't get insurance approval.

And I told my Mom I have decided to do this and it is all I am living for

right now. So, she said " who is going to take care of you? "

I know it might be good to have someone make liquids for you as soon as you

get home from the hospital, but can one do this on their own? Do I need to

have someone drive me from the hospital after surgery? I would be coming

from Cleveland and I guess have to stay in a hotel for a few days? But could

I drive? Or am I going to be like an invalid for awhile who needs help?

Also I live upstairs no elevator - my mom said I might not be able to go up

and down steps??

Also - how much work must one take off to do this?

Please answer :-) Carole

[Guest guest]

Carole-

I wasn't alone.. but my hubby's helping meant he drove me if I needed

to drive, picked up scripts when I was sick, & analyzed every bite I

put in my mouth at first.. My MOM could have done that much, lol.

Seriously.. yes, someone must drive you home. You will (hopefully) be

on good pain meds, and therefore too drunk to drive safely. Stairs

should be no problem.. It took us 10 hours to drive home, my pain

script was ineffectual, & my first act was to slowly go upstairs &

take a shower. Stairs aren't fun.. but you think of them as part of

the exercise you'll have to do anyway. Once home, it would have been

nice to have someone to bring me popcicles & blend protein drinks for

me, but my hubby worked.. and when he got home, the last thing he

wanted to do was cook or help around the house.. I think he slept as

much as I did the first 3 weeks. You won't be a total invalid, but for

around 10 days you won't want to do much except sleep.. and probly

take your pain meds. If you gather the neccessities for postop life

(vitamins, calcium, huge insulated glass so you don't have to get up

for more water, tush wipes, crystal lite, creamy soups, etc..) you

should be fine alone.. I ended up taking 7 weeks off.. but I got a

virus at 1 & 3 weeks out, so it took me longer to recover than most

folks seem to. I am not the norm, however.. just like my friend Lori

isn't either- she was out of the hospital very quickly, back to work

part time at like 2 weeks, no nausea, no diarrhea, etc... She's not

the norm either.. its somewhere in between. But if this surgery is

what you really want.. its worth the effort.

Hope this helped-

Hugs,

Liane

> I would like to know if any of you have gone through this alone?

I have

> family here, but just yesterday was talking to my Mom about this

surgery and

> she thinks I should just to go a nutritionist that my aunt went to

and forget

> the surgery. That ain't gonna happen unless I don't get insurance

approval.

> And I told my Mom I have decided to do this and it is all I am

living for

> right now. So, she said " who is going to take care of you? "

> I know it might be good to have someone make liquids for you as soon

as you

> get home from the hospital, but can one do this on their own? Do I

need to

> have someone drive me from the hospital after surgery? I would be

coming

> from Cleveland and I guess have to stay in a hotel for a few days?

But could

> I drive? Or am I going to be like an invalid for awhile who needs

help?

> Also I live upstairs no elevator - my mom said I might not be able

to go up

> and down steps??

> Also - how much work must one take off to do this?

> Please answer :-) Carole

[Guest guest]

> > I would like to know if any of you have gone through this

alone?

> I have

> > family here, . . . So, she said " who is going to take care of

you? "

Carole

Carole;

I went through this entirely alone and one thing I have discovered is

that no matter

how much you plan in advance, one can never anticipate how difficult

it is to cope by

oneself.

I belong also, to the list OSSG_FacingItAlone.

On that group I had plenty of reassurance from people who felt that

they might as

well have been facing it alone. These were people who really did not

have a clue as to

what it is like REALLY being alone.

I had people telling me they had an adult child check in on them once

a day; that is

not alone! I had folks tell me to get a neighbor to check in on me;

that is not alone!

Being alone means having no one to pick up the garbage to empty it

when it falls all

over the place, no one to stand at the kitchen sink and wash dishes

when all the

spoons have been dirtied; no one to lift the corners of the mattress

up to remake the

bed when the sheets come off.

These are dumb little things that happen. These are things that

normally do not

require assistance, but do after surgery.

It took me two weeks to find the meds I must take on a daily basis

and get them

delivered, in a liquid form I can tolerate.

I tried for 2 weeks to get home nursing care. That kept on falling

through and I

needed someone to come in and help me shower. I went 2 weeks without

a shower but

did not have the energy or the stability of equilibrium to handle

this alone.

I posted a pretty expressive note on the 'Facing It Alone' list. I

suggest anyone

planning to face this alone read it to get an idea of the 'hidden'

problems we face.

One CANNOT overestimate the challenges of facing surgery entirely

alone. It also is

emotionally draining. My emotional resources and energy got depleted

and I couldn't

even get the support I sought from the support list for my individual

surgeon! That's

really alarming.

Please write to me privately if you have any other questions.

In advising, I would say, please be hyper-cognizant of the fact that

you will face

challenges that any other kind of patient will not.

Thank God, I have been doing so well medically. I pray you have a

similar experience

in having no medical complications.

gobo

Lap DGB/Dr.

July 9, 2001

[Guest guest]

I would like to know if any of you have gone through this alone? I have family here, but just yesterday was talking to my Mom about this surgery and she thinks I should just to go a nutritionist that my aunt went to and forget the surgery. That ain't gonna happen unless I don't get insurance approval.

And I told my Mom I have decided to do this and it is all I am living for right now. So, she said "who is going to take care of you?"

I know it might be good to have someone make liquids for you as soon as you get home from the hospital, but can one do this on their own? Do I need to have someone drive me from the hospital after surgery? I would be coming from Cleveland and I guess have to stay in a hotel for a few days? But could I drive? Or am I going to be like an invalid for awhile who needs help?

Also I live upstairs no elevator - my mom said I might not be able to go up and down steps??

Also - how much work must one take off to do this?

Please answer :-) Carole

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Carole,

I was able to do my post surgery stuff alone. I did have a problem with driving within the first week after surgery. I put my foot on the brake and had this sharp intense pain in my abdomen. The shock of the pain almost made me stop holding the brake and I would have run into the other car. I did not drive after that for another week. I knew I had to go to the grocery store so I hadn't taken any pain meds for a few hours.

I was glad to be at home alone and I had almost everything organized.