Yesterday I went to see my surgeon. The visit lasted over an hour and a half. Quite long! However, it was extremely educational. What I learned was the surgery is going to be a piece of cake.... excuse the food reference...but post-op will not be so easy.
Again, I go in for surgery on Monday, January 18th. On Tuesday and Wednesday I will still be in the hospital. I will not be allowed to drink or eat anything, which makes sense. My stomach is getting cut and my intestines are being moved...I found out that I WILL have to have a catheter put in at night though. Ummm..ouch. No me gusta. I didn't even know about that. How did I miss that in all of the blogs and talking to everyone? Oh because no one tells you the bad stuff!
So, Thursday I am supposed to go home, but only AFTER I have sipped down some water in a medicine cup to make sure I can keep it down. If I can’t handle the water, I can’t go home.
Oh, I almost forgot, while I'm in the hospital I need to use a special tube to make sure that I take deep breaths. I don't know much about this process but be assured; as I learn more at my pre-op testing appointment on Monday, January 11th I will fill you in. I'm telling you, this ride becomes more and more interesting.
When I do get to go home, I'm going to be on clear liquids at least until the weekend. Staying hydrated is going to be the most important thing I can do. Apparently that is going to be really tough. Many people end up re-hospitalized because they don't drink enough water post-op. So...that's what I'm going to focus on. Who cares if I'm hungry as long as I drink my water? Right?
These are mostly things that I should have expected but no one ever told me about. I don't know why I never thought about some of these things. They just never occurred to me. But all in all, the appointment went really well. They are impressed with my attitude, general knowledge of after care and my dedication to do this right.
On a different note, I'm testing out so many different foods; I thought I would share something else that I enjoyed. I found a sugar free pudding made by Jell-O that is Dulce de Leche. OMG! It's the best pudding I've ever eaten. I have to say that it's nice to have something that I thoroughly enjoy. Didn't expect that...nor did I expect that when I went to my Dr.'s appointment, the scale would be in the same place as it was in May of 09. I lucked out and didn't gain a single pound, despite my eating everything that I will not be able to have for years. Crazy!
And, the saga continues.
Stay tuned.
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3 comments:
Hi Linz! I'm so proud of you. One comment about the catheter - I had one before my c-section and didn't even feel it. I had it in for 48 hours and LOVED the fact that I never felt like I had to pee, it just went right into the bag. I swear you'll ask to come home from the hospital with one. HUGS!
Linz-
I wish you the best! What makes me really happy is that you are doing it for YOU and not for someone else to be happy. One thing I learned about it from a former coworker and a family friend that had the same thing done- make sure with the doctor's OK that you take a lot of vitamins- for some reason the protein in hair and fingernails tend to get weaker well after the surgery. I am joining a gym myself to get rid of the 35 pounds I've gained since school but more importantly to gain the energy I lost over the years.
Again Lindsay good luck I'll be cheering for you from the DelVal!!!!
Sueanne xoxoxoxoxo
Hope your surgery went well this morning. You can get through this! I know you can! Keep me posted please of how you are.
Susan N.
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