Re: I want the skinny!(long)

[Guest guest]

Carole, I hope I can remember everything.... Here it goes!

My surgery was scheduled for 1pm, I checked in the hospital at 11 am. My

husband and my father were able to go into the pre op room with me. They took

some blood, asked me a ton of questions for the millionth time such as " Do

you smoke? " Is this your heaviest weight?, etc.... The surgery before me ran

a bit late, so finally Dr. Anthone came in and said he was going to go have a

quick bite, asked if I had any last minute questions, and said I was ready

for my epidural..... I said a tearful goodbye to my father and husband and

they rolled me into another room where I got my epidural. The head of

anesthesiologist was not there, and the guy who was to give me the epidural

would not do it without her... apparently there had been a mishap where he

was unable to get the needle in a short while before with another WLS

patient. I don't remember any names, but you could cut through the air with a

knife because of the tension. Finally she showed up and they gave me the

epidural, which was fairly painless. , Dr. Anthones RN was with me

holding my hand the entire time. They then rolled me into the ER, where I saw

Dr. Anthone once more, and the anesthesiologist said, " You will be going to

sleep for a while. " That's the last thing I remember before I woke up that

evening, I believe it was somewhere around 7:30 or 8pm. Surgery didn't

actually get under way until well after 4pm.

When I woke up the first thing I did was thank God for waking up. I vaguely

remember having the respirator in, it wasn't scary, and I was pretty out of

it. Someone asked me if I had sleep apnea and I said no, they asked me to

cough a little and then the respirator came out. Apparently I was having

trouble breathing a bit because they put me on an oxygen mask. I returned to

normal breathing within about 5 minutes, and asked if I could just have

oxygen through my nose, and they said that was fine. When I got to ICU my

hubby was not there, but I was too out of it to care. I later found out he

had to take my dad to the airport. He had to leave, and couldn't be there

because surgery ran so late. I remember him sneaking in to see me around 10pm

or so. He stayed for a while, and then headed back for the hotel. I was

pretty out of it anyway, so it didn't really matter to me whether he was

there or not.

The next morning I was up and sitting in a chair. I was very tired and sore,

but doing well enough to be moved out of ICU to a regular room. Everything

from here on is kind of a blur.... I was able to eat ice chips on the day

after surgery, and then had the leak test on day 3. Everything went well so

they removed the NG tube, and brought me food..... GROSSSSSS!!! I couldn't

even think about food without wanting to vomit. Ice chips were just fine with

me.... I was walking around the halls trying to get all my excersise in to

avoid those nasty blood clots, and when I wasn't walking I had the moon boots

on to massage my legs.... The epidural worked okay as far as the pain was

concerned, but I despised having the catheder in. It kept getting backed up,

and I felt like I had to pee but couldn't. I would actually sit in the

bathroom and pretend to pee, even though I couldn't. I think it actually

brought a little relief. Day 4 they finally took that blasted thing out,

along with my central line. By day 5 I was still pretty weak, and somewhat

sore. The nurses at USC were a godsend. I don't think I could do their job.

They bathed me, cleaned me, helped me go to the bathroom, etc... It was my

lovely monthly cycle also, so things got a little ugly! Anyway, day 5 they

came in told me I was supposed to go home and I begged them to let me stay

one more day. They finally agreed, and then the girl in the room next to me

came by to say she was leaving. (She had surgery the same day as I did) Then

that horrible man came in with the breathing treatment, which I HATED!!! So I

decided I'd had enough, and I didn't care how bad I felt, driving the 6 hours

home was better than having that blasted breathing treatment again! I doped

up on vicodin and away we went. We stopped 3 times so I could get up, walk

around, and go potty. One time we were in the middle of that long stretch on

highway 5 with nowhere to stop, and I actually relieved myself on the side of

the freeway. What a sight. I bet the people driving by thought I escaped from

a mental institution. I was in a bathrobe, with a big poofy ponytail that

hadn't been brushed in 5 days!

After I got home, recovery went very quickly. I needed help for a couple of

days, just getting off the couch, needing help in the shower, etc. Hubby was

a wonderful help. I ate tuna, jello, and chicken noodle soup. By day 11 I

went to a friends candle party, and the next day I decided to venture out on

my own and start driving, did a little grocery shopping, etc.... It tired me

out, but I couldn't stand one more day inside the house. By 3 weeks out I was

feeling much better, and by 4 weeks I was feeling great. The last 4 weeks

before I went back to work were like a vacation for me. I was lucky, I only

got sick twice in the first few weeks, and had very little nausea. I guess

that about wraps it up. I hope it wasnt't too long!

Kim

Dr. Anthone USC

surgery 4/18/01

BMI then = 69

BMI now = 54

-94 lbs FOREVER