Surgery Day 5/9/2017

I arrived at the hospital at 6am. I was prepped and was wheeled into the operating room at about 8am. The staff was quite nice, but I’m not going to lie, I was a bit uncomfortable about not having underwear under the hospital gown. For some reason I focused on my dangling bits popping out during surgery. My concern didn’t last long. Anesthesia took over, and I awoke in the recovery room with no recollection of my dangling bits popping out or even the surgery.

I was completely disoriented, and I had a really dry mouth. And for some reason I was starving. It was a completely confusing feeling. My nurse came over and offered me water. I told her I was also hungry, and she looked at me like I was crazy.

I didn’t realize it until later, but my hunger pains turned out not to be hunger pains at all, but rather gas pains I was feeling from the procedure. This is completely normal and common. Apparently everyone gets them.

I left the recovery room at about 3pm and was wheeled up to a very nice hospital room. The staff was sensational, and since it was a bariatric center, they knew exactly what to expect with me.

So – I had surgery, I was on pain killers, and I had the worst chest pains from the gas; overall I felt like I got hit by a truck.

The nurses had me walking around the unit to alleviate some of the gas pains. I did not feel like walking. They were insistent .. so I walked. They were right, it helped (though here I am 3 days later and I still have gas pains – just not as bad).

Right after I arrived at my hospital room, I started my clear liquid diet. There was a tray with coffee, protein drink, diluted apple juice, chicken broth, Jell-o (sugar free) and Luigi’s Italian Ices (sugar free).

I don’t recall the name of the protein drink – only that it was undrinkable.

Luigi’s Italian Ices .. delicious .. BUT .. they only have two sugar free flavors, cherry and lemon. To add confusion, they also have cherry and lemon version with sugar, so you have to be careful if you’re buying them. Check out the flavors here: http://www.luigis.com/flavors.html

I stuck mostly the the Jell-o, the ices and the diluted apple juice. I was still dehydrated and they felt refreshing.

The staff was measuring my intake so I would have to put what I was eating/drinking into a 30cc cup (shot glass sized) – and after I finished the cup, I would put it into a container and take out another cup. Later, the cups were collected and counted.

I wouldn’t be truthful if I didn’t have a few moments where I felt like I’d made an awful mistake. I wasn’t feeling well, the gas in my body was painful, and I wondered if I could truly live up to this diet and nutrition.

Now a few days later, I can say that things are looking better. I’m still not feeling 100%, my body still hurts – but I’m OK. I’m looking forward to starting a new life with my family. I can’t wait to be more active with my children, to eat healthy with them and change my own unhealthy lifestyle.