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1 week after surgery

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dragonfly4lisa

Member
Well, its been one week since gastric bypass, and I have to say i feel great! I still dont need my pain meds, and I noticed it doesent hurt when I burp anymore. I go for my follow up apt. on the 10th. I am so glad I did this!I have lost 8 lbs since being home from the hospital. Ill be glad when I no longer have to crush my meds though. This really has been a great move towards my health, and I have no regrets!
 
dragonfly4Lisa hi happy to hear you are doing so well with your surgery. I get to have mine 2 weeks from today, the anxiety and questions just keep comming to my mind and also the fact that i'll be able the wear the size jeans I want to wear and not the size or style I used to wear, yeahhhhhhhhhhhhh and be a healthier person 4-ever
how many days did you have to stay in hospital? are you still on liquids?
I was told I might have to stay up to 10 days sure hope not, I am having open bypass and my herniated stomach repaired and all those hernia's repaired for hopefully the last time. our dr said for us to do 1400 calorie diet up til surgery time. some pounds have come off 20 so far and want to loose more before surgery date, he said it would make surgery go easier on me.
congratulations on your weight loss I know you must feel great for your new healthy beginnings have already started showing results, happy for you. keep us update on how your doing.
Donna
 
Mine hasn't beenset yet, My mind is going athousand miles and hour. I was told 3 days hospital stay. But open may requre 5 to 7 days.
 
Donna-I had the biggest grin on my face when I read the part about wearing jeans. I have a LOT of old jeans in various sizes that I stashed when I could no longer fit into them. About 5 or 6 weeks ago I tried most of them on. Some were baggy in spots and too tight in other spots and some were either way too big or still too small. I'm thinking they will never fit the way they used to anymore *LOL* I'm going to splurge and buy a couple of new pairs but they are going to have to be the ones with the slightly stretchy material so they give a little in the areas that gravity is now in charge of *LOL*

Congratulations on your 20 pound weight loss, I knew you could do it!!! Keep up the great work :) :) :)
 
Pat what an accompplishment. I cant wait to go clothes shopping in the regular women's size racks, not the plus sized!!!
 
My gastric bypass is scheduled for October 22. I still don't know, though, how many incisions will be made or how long the incisions will be. Can anyone tell me? I'm also concerned about getting blood or seepage on my clothing on the way home from the hospital or after I get home. Is that usually a problem? How about the tube? Does seepage occur with it? I stopped smoking today and am going to begin weaning myself off of caffienated coffee the next time I do my grocery shopping. I'm bipolar with an anxiety order that's been under control for several years. Is the surgery a drastic enough change that the combination of the change in eating, becoming a non-smoker and giving up caffeine pose a problem? I was so looking forward to the surgery, but now that it's been approved, I'm scared to death. Does everyone go thru these emotions?
 
Barbara-The emotional rollercoaster you are experiencing is perfectly normal. There are dozens and dozens of posts in this forum regarding this. If your surgery is done laproscopically you will have 5 small incisions that will be 1/2 inch or less. I had a small amount of seepage from the incision where trhe drain tube was but it was contained to the gauze bandage that was covering it. I don't smoke anymore so I don't know if quitting for surgery will have a big impact but it will probably be the most difficult thing to have to stop doing. Wean off the caffeine gradually or you will end up with headaches. Try making half caf for 2 days then cut your caffeine down by 25% each day for the next 4 days until you are drinking only decaf. If you are going to be on a liquid diet before surgery it will be a little rough but it is doable and you have to follow it or your surgery will probably be delayed. You can do this, just think of how much better you will feel when you lose weight :) :) :)
 
What's the purpose of the drain tube? My surgeon has a home health care person come to the house each day to "redress" it, but I don't know what that means. Do you know? How long is the tube left in your body?
 
Barbara
I had a drain tube in while in the hospital. It was checked by the nurse and "drained" periodically. Mine was removed before I was discharged from the hospital. I had to just be careful and watch the incision where it came from, but it healed quickly. They didn't put anything on the incision when It was removed, so it was an open incision. I was only in the hospital one night, so it was removed the day after surgery for me. It drains the liquid, blood from the surgery site, it's there for a purpose. I have read here that some patients stay in the hospital longer and that some go home with the drain, and others don't. It all depends on your surgeon. And that is who you should ask if you have any questions. She will tell you what she requires and why she needs a nurse to help you.
 
My surgeon requires that I stay in the hospital 2-3 days. Then I have to keep the drain tube in until my first office visit a week after surgery or a week after discharge. I'm not which which it will be. The surgeon has a person from home health care come to my house once a day to drain the tube and check to make sure it's okay. Are you allowed to take a shower while the drain tube's still in your body and while the incisions are still healing? I can't imagine going 2 days without a shower; a week or more without one would be torture. I'd be figuring out some way to shower.

I notice that your surgery took place toward the end of July, so it's been close to two months since your surgery. How's your energy level? Would you feel up to making a 2-day drive to somewhere? It'll be two months after surgery when Christmas gets here. I really want to be able to go to WV to see the grandchildren and my extended family. Christmas will be really bad without seeing them. We always have somewhere around 35-40 people between Christmas eve and Christmas day. It's really festive.
 
Pat - If you'll look on the internet under oldnavygap, you find that they have some real comfortable jeans that have an elastic waistband. The jeans look just like "regular" jeans, too, , but they have some stretch. Also, it would be easy to alter them as you lose weight. I usually don't like jeans, because they always feel like I'm being smothered. These, though, I love.
 
Hi barbara. I had my surgery 8/28-mine was done laparascopically, and there were 5 or 6 small incisions on my belly. The incisions are all less than 1 inch long. Most were covered with steri strips (which are a kind of tape to support skin during healing) when i went home. Because of prior surgery, i went home with a drain, and i did have a bandage over that site. There was minimum drainage. I was unable to shower until the drain was out. You are smart to quit smoking before surgery- you will need to be able to do deep breathing and coughing exercises postoperatively. Just keep in touch with your dietician and surgeon's office for guidance.you will do great i am sure! :)
 
Barbara- i had my surgery 8/28 nad went home with a drain. It was out in about a week. The purpose of the tube is to prevent excess fluid from gathering at the surgical site. You will have a gauze bandage around the drain tube. The visiting nurse will come by to empty the drainage bag and to change the dressing at the tube site. The length of time you will have one will be determined by your doctor.
 
Yuk!!! I spoke with my surgeon's nurse this morning. She told me I'd have 2 drainage tubes that would be removed a week after the surgery. I have no idea what the second tube is for. It's weird how different surgeons do different things. At least she told me I'd be able to shower on the second day after surgery - the day I should be released from the hospital. Thanks for your info.
 
Marge, that's my dream too. I had my srugery one week before you, and I lost about 40 pounds so far, but am much bigger than you :D
 
Barbara J. said:
Pat - If you'll look on the internet under oldnavygap, you find that they have some real comfortable jeans that have an elastic waistband. The jeans look just like "regular" jeans, too, , but they have some stretch. Also, it would be easy to alter them as you lose weight. I usually don't like jeans, because they always feel like I'm being smothered. These, though, I love.
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Thanks Barbara, I'll check it out. I usually don't wear jeans because I find them restricting but it wouldn't hurt to try one pair. I used to live in jeans and back in the day I remember having to lay on the bed or floor on my back in order to zip them *LOL* How did we ever survive those days???
 
Marge211 where did you have your surgery done? Norwood hospital or Boston? What did you have done, RNY, belt or sleeve?
 
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