10 DAYS POST OP

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

I am now 10 days post op. Surgery was 22Sep and I think there were 9 of us.

I am kind of shy so I did not meet any of the other post ops, but as I

wandered the halls walking off the gas I saw a lot of " Dr. Rutledge " signs.

Hi to all of you and hope you are doing as well or better than I!

Anyway, I know how much I looked forward to reading about other post op's

experiences I thought I'd add my 2 cents. Its kind of long, sorry.

On Thursday my mother-in-law and I arrived in Durham. We found it a bit

difficult to navigate around the city because the road signs are posted at

the crossings so there is really no time to get ready for your turns. This

can be hazardous so it is better to be prepared to do a lot of turning

around. We became real proficient at this by the time we left town.

We stayed at the Hawthorne Suites in a 2 bedroom suite and found it to be

quite adequate. We were near a CVS, Food Lion and a really good Mexican

Restaurant which is where I had my " last supper " . I called the hospital to

find out my surgery time and was told " 130pm and don't eat anything after

midnight " . So I had a Haagan Daaz ice cream bar at 10pm and it was awesome!

On Friday morning we arrived at DRH at 715am and registered. We went

upstairs to get ready and found out the Dr R had two ORs so my surgery time

was actually 930am. Wow-that was great. Lots less time for thinking!

Before I knew it I was outside the OR and hooked up with my new friend, Mr.

IV , no problems there. Then into the OR-put me to sleep-wake me up.

I had trouble waking up because I really felt that I could not breath.

Someone kept asking me if I could breath OK and I shook my head no. Then

they said " you're fine, don't shake your head. " Well, if you did not want

to know why did you ask. I was so mad I started breathing hard and it

dawned on me that I was breathing OK. It just felt weird. Anyway, I was

then rolled to my room and there was my MIL. She said I looked great and

although she did not speak with Dr R a nurse had called her in the waiting

room to tell her that I was done and all went well. Dr R was so busy that

day that I don't think he talked to anybody.

Friday afternoon is a bit hazy for me. I remember the nurses telling me how

to use the pain pump. I was never in pain either, I think I hit the button

a total of 6 times and the last time was about 1am. I slept a lot (in

between the interuptions to take my temperature, pulse, meds, food, etc). I

know I started walking at about 5pm. I also remember my MIL calling the

nurse because during one of my walks I bled all over the halls. Gross. One

of my ports was bleeding-the nurse changed the dressing and said this was

normal, there was not a lot of blood really, it just looked like a lot. I

also remember getting some jello, broth, and juice at some point. I don't

think I ate more that 2 tablespoons total though I did keep the juice for

later.

I had nausea a little in the afternoon and then about 8pm (my MIL was gone

by this time) I threw up some vile brownish stuff. That was nasty. I never

had any nausea again and have not thrown up since then either (yet).

On Saturday morning you could hear Dr. R coming. He came in and sat down

for about 10 minutes and we talked about what to expect and then told me I

could leave the hospital. As soon as my MIL came in I got dressed and left.

No fanfare. Just get out so we have a room for someone who needs it!

Very cool.....

From the hospital we went straight to the hotel, but only to drop off my

stuff. We then went to an outlet mall that is near the airport. I am not

kidding. We opened up the place-10am day after surgery we are mall

crawling.

We went back to the hotel for lunch and then we went to a thrift shop. I

bought some great clothes that I won't be able to wear for awhile, but the

prices were right. I took a short nap that evening then we went to a movie.

On Sunday we went to church and then to the Arboretum. It was very humid,

(sorry Southerners) and I had to sit down a couple of times, but I really

thought the Arboretum was a good outing. My MIL is an avid gardener so she

got a big kick out of it. I just thought is was pretty and restful.

On Sunday afternoon we drove to Burlington just for the heck of it. We were

a bit bored. When we got back we went to Food Lion for some juice then back

to the hotel where we watched an old tear jerker. Please be warned the

Hawthorne Suites does not give you any tissues so bring your own or be

prepared to mop your face with TP.

Monday we went to another couple of thrift shops where I bought more clothes

that don't fit. Really beautiful stuff. Another movie Monday night, but

not a tear jerker. One a week is enough!

Tuesday morning we went to clinic, but we did not get there until about

1030am. Dr. R was doing his thing, going around the room with introductions

and questions. I was at the back and he asked how I was doing and I told

him I was good, just a little tired. He told me to increase my sodium and

then I weighed (lost 7 pounds) and he took out my staples. I asked if I

could go home because I really missed my family and he said to wait another

day. So, I went home anyway-sorry Dr. R. To you guys reading this-don't go

home early! Stay the full 7 days-see next paragragh.

Tuesday evening I got home to the dirtiest mess I ever saw...of course I had

to start cleaning. My husband wrecked my car while I was gone.

Wednesday-no problem, Thursday no problem ( I was even thinking about going

back to work because I wanted to get out of the house). Friday morning I

woke up with a pain in my left side right under my ribs. It felt like the

stitch you get in your side when you've run or exercised too hard. IT HURT!

Anyway, I was brave and did not call Dr. R until about 6pm when my husband

said-call or else!

Dr. R said that I probably just had an irritated nerve from a port site and

I should monitor my pulse and temp. He said I could go to the hospital and

have them check for a leak if it would make me feel better. If I had been

in Durham I think I would have went to the hospital on Friday morning-I

think I would have saved myself and my husband a lot of anxiety.

I had the pain on Saturday and on Sunday it started lessening and today it

is all but gone. My pulse and temperature never waivered and I never felt

sick at all.

I have been on the liquid diet since day 1 with saltines which really taste

" uncommonly good " . Today I had a pack of " nabs " , but I've only eaten 3. I

like V8, chicken broth, Gatorade (fruit punch-red tongue), and of course

water. I have not felt hungry once. Also, for the first time in years I

have slept all night without going to the bathroom for 3 nights straight. I

have developed a yeast infection (guess where) and so I am going to my PCP

later this afternoon for that.

I stopped taking OTC meds for headaches 1 month prior to surgery. I reduced

my caffeine intake to 1/2 to 1/3 by 1 week prior and then no caffeine by 1

week prior. I did gain weight before surgery because I was eating everything

that was not nailed down. I have always been an emotional eater and I think

at some point I will have to deal with this. I have had to deal with head

hunger while I was reading or watching TV. I have gone to the fridge

countless times only to remember I could not eat and then realized I was not

" really " hungry anyway.

I know I have a long way to go. I am back at work today and everything is

chaotic. Its nice to be missed, but sheesh!

I would be happy to be a contact for anyone, but I have to say that pre-ops

should really try to talk to people who are further out than me. My

contacts were 80% over 1 year and 1 was at about 3 months and the other was

at 4 months I think. If you are a pre-op I guess the best advice you will

ever get from any post-op is to educate yourself. Any WLS a serious,

drastic step and no WLS is 100% without complications.

Well, I am outta here since my lunch time is over. Good luck to all of you

pre and post ops.

Best Regards,

Donna Schanzenbacher

264/250/125

PS-first number is beginning weight, second is current, last is goal-wishful

thinking-probably should really be 150 or 160!

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[Guest guest]

Thank you soooooooo much for sharing your experience with us. I am learning

what to expect from everyone who posts. I can't wait to be on the other side.

I think it is a good idea to cut out caffeine before surgery. Thanks for the

tip. I am sorry that you had to experience the pain in your side. I hope all

is well now. Congratulations on your successful return!

Terri K

[Guest guest]

I have been reading about the Caffiene stuff! What is the deal? I

know we are not supposed to drink carbonated stuff after surgery but

I guess I didn't realize he couldn't have caffiene. Will someone

clarify this for me?

Thanks!

(Tired of Being Obese in Ohio)

> Thank you soooooooo much for sharing your experience with us. I am

learning

> what to expect from everyone who posts. I can't wait to be on the

other side.

> I think it is a good idea to cut out caffeine before surgery.

Thanks for the

> tip. I am sorry that you had to experience the pain in your side. I

hope all

> is well now. Congratulations on your successful return!

>

> Terri K

[Guest guest]

I was wondering the same thing. I love coffee but i can drink decaf...will

this be ok or no coffee at all???

At 12:15 AM 10/3/00 -0000, you wrote:

>I have been reading about the Caffiene stuff! What is the deal? I

>know we are not supposed to drink carbonated stuff after surgery but

>I guess I didn't realize he couldn't have caffiene. Will someone

>clarify this for me?

>Thanks!

>

>(Tired of Being Obese in Ohio)

>

>> Thank you soooooooo much for sharing your experience with us. I am

>learning

>> what to expect from everyone who posts. I can't wait to be on the

>other side.

>> I think it is a good idea to cut out caffeine before surgery.

>Thanks for the

>> tip. I am sorry that you had to experience the pain in your side. I

>hope all

>> is well now. Congratulations on your successful return!

>>

>> Terri K

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Dr. R recommends no coffee at all. It apparently can contribute to ulcers for

which we are at risk anyway following gastric bypass, and takes up space that is

needed for nutritious food. He told us this at a support group meeting in NC in

July. He also recommends no tea.

Flo in land who never did drink either anyway...but I sure do miss my Diet

Cokes!!

> ** Original Subject: RE: Re: 10 DAYS POST OP

> ** >

> ** Original Date: Mon, 02 Oct 2000 19:05:38 -0600

> ** Original Message follows...

>

> I was wondering the same thing. I love coffee but i can drink decaf...will

> this be ok or no coffee at all???

>

>

>

> At 12:15 AM 10/3/00 -0000, you wrote:

> >I have been reading about the Caffiene stuff! What is the deal? I

> >know we are not supposed to drink carbonated stuff after surgery but

> >I guess I didn't realize he couldn't have caffiene. Will someone

> >clarify this for me?

> >Thanks!

> >

> >(Tired of Being Obese in Ohio)

> >

> >> Thank you soooooooo much for sharing your experience with us. I am

> >learning

> >> what to expect from everyone who posts. I can't wait to be on the

> >other side.

> >> I think it is a good idea to cut out caffeine before surgery.

> >Thanks for the

> >> tip. I am sorry that you had to experience the pain in your side. I

> >hope all

> >> is well now. Congratulations on your successful return!

> >>

> >> Terri K

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

No wonder you were dizzy and had no energy. Only ingesting a can of

ginger ale a day would give me those symptoms.

I've never heard of anyone having their upper lip extended - are you

sure they didn't impact the upper jaw to do so?

Eat, eat, eat (or drink, drink, drink). You need it for proper

healing. Try adding some protein powder to those drinks.

> Hi All,

>

> Just to give you an update, I am 10 days post op and finally not

> feeling dizzy EVERY time I get up from the chair. I still spend

most

> of my day laying down in my recliner but, I can get up every once

in

> a while now. I am eating with a spoon, albeit a baby spoon, and

> drinking out of bottles (not cans - it was very funny when I tried

> doing that). This has given me just enough energy to get up. I

am

> eating things like jello, yogurt, mashed potatos and oatmeal.

This

> is great because up until Friday I was having nothing but 1 can of

> gingerale a day since the surgery...that is not much to live on

for

> over a week. I went to blow dry my hair on Friday because I was

sick

> and tired of having messed up hair and I was so weak that my arm

was

> shaking the entire time that I was drying my hair - but I got it

> done I have most of my feeling back in my face - I was

initially

> numb from my bottom eyelids down on my entire face. Now I am down

to

> some numbness on the left side of my cheek and nose, and my lower

lip

> and chin. My Doc said that it could take 6 months to a year for

the

> rest of the numbness to go away - or it could only take a few

weeks.

> He doesn't know for sure, but he said that it should all

eventually

> come back because there was no permenent nerve damage. I seem to

> have the drooling under control as of the past two days - yippee!

>

> Just to let you know, they moved my jaw forward 5mm on my left

side,

> and 6mm on my right side. They moved my chin forward 8mm. They

> extended my upper lip because it was too short, and they did the

> septoplasty. I was only in for 6.5 hours - my parents say it is

> probably because my mouth is so big that they probably that much

more

> room to work that normal They said that basically the first

thing

> that I said when coming out of surgery was " I can breath!! " I was

so

> happy about that after never being able to breath through my nose.

>

> Well, I need to go lay back down now, but I just wanted to give

> everyone an update and to say hey to everyone!

>

> Austria

[Guest guest]

Hey,

Thankfully I am able to eat with the baby spoon now, so although it is not much,

I can get at least SOME nutrition in me. I don't know what it was, but my

doctor told me and my mother not to worry about it, that my appetite would come

back when it wanted to. If by this coming Wednesday I was not eating/drinking

enough, I think he would have gotten concerned. But since I can get that baby

spoon in my mouth, it is coming along pretty well.

As for the upper lip extension...I hadn't heard of it either until the day of

the surgery when he told me he was going to do it. He basically cut inside the

upper lip and moved some of the fatty tissue to extend the lip (at least that is

my understanding). This was because I was showing too much gum when I smiled

and I couldn't close my lips when my mouth was at rest (at least without forcing

them together). There were two options...upper jaw surgery where they would

remove 3mm of bone to shorten my jaw, or this lip extension. I had been

resigned to doing nothing b/c my doctor had not even saying anything about the

lip extension. The upper jaw surgery would have made my face too short...I

already have a very round face, I didn't need it any rounder! He also used

this inscision to do my septoplasty so he did not have to make any cuts on my

face...yippee!!!

Thanks for the note.

Austria

fiddlesticks220002 <no_reply > wrote:

No wonder you were dizzy and had no energy. Only ingesting a can of

ginger ale a day would give me those symptoms.

I've never heard of anyone having their upper lip extended - are you

sure they didn't impact the upper jaw to do so?

Eat, eat, eat (or drink, drink, drink). You need it for proper

healing. Try adding some protein powder to those drinks.

> Hi All,

>

> Just to give you an update, I am 10 days post op and finally not

> feeling dizzy EVERY time I get up from the chair. I still spend

most

> of my day laying down in my recliner but, I can get up every once

in

> a while now. I am eating with a spoon, albeit a baby spoon, and

> drinking out of bottles (not cans - it was very funny when I tried

> doing that). This has given me just enough energy to get up. I

am

> eating things like jello, yogurt, mashed potatos and oatmeal.

This

> is great because up until Friday I was having nothing but 1 can of

> gingerale a day since the surgery...that is not much to live on

for

> over a week. I went to blow dry my hair on Friday because I was

sick

> and tired of having messed up hair and I was so weak that my arm

was

> shaking the entire time that I was drying my hair - but I got it

> done I have most of my feeling back in my face - I was

initially

> numb from my bottom eyelids down on my entire face. Now I am down

to

> some numbness on the left side of my cheek and nose, and my lower

lip

> and chin. My Doc said that it could take 6 months to a year for

the

> rest of the numbness to go away - or it could only take a few

weeks.

> He doesn't know for sure, but he said that it should all

eventually

> come back because there was no permenent nerve damage. I seem to

> have the drooling under control as of the past two days - yippee!

>

> Just to let you know, they moved my jaw forward 5mm on my left

side,

> and 6mm on my right side. They moved my chin forward 8mm. They

> extended my upper lip because it was too short, and they did the

> septoplasty. I was only in for 6.5 hours - my parents say it is

> probably because my mouth is so big that they probably that much

more

> room to work that normal They said that basically the first

thing

> that I said when coming out of surgery was " I can breath!! " I was

so

> happy about that after never being able to breath through my nose.

>

> Well, I need to go lay back down now, but I just wanted to give

> everyone an update and to say hey to everyone!

>

> Austria

[Guest guest]

hi Haley,

i'm 17 years old also and i am getting jaw surgery in december. i

come back from winter break 10 days after my surgery. how are you

feeling 10 days post- op? are you feeling ready to go back to

school? 'cause i can't really miss school after break. please let

me know all about whats happened up until now, so i know what to

expect. what kind of foods do you eat? have u lost weight? how do

you look? e-mail me @ snowboardgurl35@... thanks.

>

> Hi, my name is Hayley. I'm 17 years old from chicago and just had

upper

> jaw surgery. I was just wondering what I should be expecting from

here

> on out. Is it really better from now on?

> What sort of things did everyone do while recovering? How long did

it

> take one to get back to work or school? I guess I just wanted more

> detailed information.

> It seems like someojne should collect all these posts and make a

book.

> Thank you so very much!

> Hayley

>