8 Days After…Gastric Bypass Surgery

My surgery was March 12th at 7:30 am. I was very nervous and scared, and hadn’t slept at ALL the night before. Reality really hit me as soon as we walked into the hospital. I didn’t feel ready at all…but ready or not it was coming!

So, they checked my vitals and all that good stuff, I had to change into those icky hospital gown and the socks. If you know me well, you know I hate those stinking hospital socks!!! It took just two tries to get the first IV in. Yes, the first. I woke up with another in my other hand, and 8 puncture spots on my wrist wrapped in a thing of gauze. I later found out that this was used to give me blood pressure medicine during surgery.

After the surgery, I was in recovery for a long time. If it wasn’t for me asking for my mom, they wouldn’t of let her back for a couple more hours. My blood pressure kept getting higher and higher, because my pain was so bad. At one point it was 250/200! I woke up saying “It HURTS!” Which in answer they just gave me more morphine…which still wasn’t helping the pain.

So they put me on dilotted, which was just knocking me out, but I would wake up in a 10/10 pain still. So they put me on Oxycodone and Perkaset (spelling?) for now for every three hours. I have already been told by a couple friends to be very careful with Oxycodone. I should be off of it in ten days or so. I’m just glad my pain is tolerable now!

I ended up staying in the hospital until Tuesday March 17th. The pain specialists couldn’t get my pain under control. I don’t think I have ever been in so much pain. Each day has gotten a little bit better. I can get up with a little less soreness each morning, which is wonderful! I’m on the liquid diet right now, until next Wednesday. I go to my first follow up appointment Wednesday the 25th.

So far, besides the soreness and pain of the new stomach, I haven’t had anymore major pain. No nausea…yet. I’m still on the liquid diet so we’ll see if that changes when I start eating actual food. I am loving this feeling of not feeling hungry at all! It makes it challenging to get the protein in when you’re not hungry though. That goes back to eating to live, not living to eat!

All I can say is thank God for pudding, yogurt, and soup!My incisions are driving me crazy as they start healing. They’re extremely itchy!!!

This is going to be a journey full of major changes and challenges… Anyone care to join me?

Always,

Kaitlyn