Post Op Questions...

Jimbob wrote:

I had panadols  post op & stayed down ok . Sip very slowly any fluid about a teaspoon at a time . Give yourself a few minutes after each teaspoon full otherwise it hurts & may comeback up . Patience is the key .

Well i had Sleeve op on 28th Jan & was released on 31st Jan 2014 .Everything was good at first & then after a day or so at home I was in the greatest pain of my life & was rushed in to Emergency to find the Sleeve had leaked & food was entered my body through the stomach . Never ever had pain like that & it bought tears to my eyes . 

Ive been to hell & back ending up in ICU & getting close to death at one stage when vital organs started to close down . I had bled so bad after op removing a Blood Clot next to sleeve the size of a large grapefruit .I also got a bad infection from food leaking through the sleeve . Infection was resistant to all antibiotics & carried an Antibiotic portable Baxter pump everywhere for long time .  After many procedures I am starting to feel better now & no longer have drains & drips connected to me . Its now April 2014 & I am going back to work . It will still take me a while to get up to normal strength but I am walking the dog regularly & every day feel that bit stronger . I started at 109.4kg & now at 87.1kg .Feeling positive but its been a hard road after spending so much time in hospital .When the going gets tough the tough get going . :)

So sorry to hear Jimbob. Can you please advise the surgeon? I'm starting to panic now as I'm also in WA. Thanks

I found, early on if I was burping I had eaten too much.  But I never burped before the op.  And after the first 2 or 3 weeks I don't burp anymore.

That was my experience with the burping.  Later on... it turned into the 'frothies' when I ignored the stop eating signs.

I had no idea, early on.  I just ate/drank when I was supposed to.  Now, i have a better idea.  I don't really get hungry, so much as run out of energy.  It's not uncomfortable - the shakes, the growls - all gone at this point.

Aah ok, that's encouraging then.

Come to think of it, I think I have over done it a bit yesterday with my intake, as I couldn't sleep last night from the gas pain.

This brings me to another question....

I am getting a bit confused as to how I should feel when am hungry and how I can differentiate between hunger pain or after op recovery pain. I am getting confused between the 2 and my stomach is not making any gurgling sounds to let me know it's empty.

When I eat I usually stop after I start burping which gives me an indication that I have reached the limit.

I just can't get used to the right signals for hunger.

Early on, it was every swallow of anything for me!  Now, it's only if I over do it.  Even by a bite.

Yeah but the thing is that am not over doing it all at the moment and my food choices are exactly as per the diet book suggestions.

It even happens after I drink that little bit of diet cordial.

That wasn't on the possible side affects list when I discussed it with my surgeon  

It'll help me ride my bike faster that's for sure....

I would toot from both ends early post op.  It got better.  I still burp a lot if I overdo it.  It's a good incentive not to over do it....especially in public, which is usually when my food choices suck anyway.

Hi Guys,

8 days post op and everything is fine but am just curious about one bit...

Anything I eat or drink since I started my fluid diet and now puree diet turns into gas almost immediately after consumption and I start to pass wind.

Now, this is fine now that I am on 3 weeks leave post op recovering at home, but is this expected to continue moving forward? I reckon it'll be a massive embracement

Just feel like am a balloon about to fly off

Suze I don't have a specific answer but I do think my body has settled down a lot in the last three weeks. I was getting hiccup like spasms that were uncomfortable but they've stopped. I wouldn't say I am back to normal nut some of it may just be the adjustment process. Having said that talking to the doc the best idea :)

Hope you get that sorted Kat, does sound like low blood pressure. Best to check with GP. 

I have a question please? 
How do I manage this belching and reflux discomfort? 
It's like a brick inside my oesophagus, well that's where I think I can feel it.  I don't have any burning.  
I used to get this at least once a day before surgery, usually at night before I went to sleep, I would sit on the edge of the bed and belch, it would seem to come from nowhere, for a minute or two.
Now it is constant.  I can fart, and do BMs,though it is just still liquid really, and the nurses told me that this is not the gas from the surgery, that needs to go out the bottom exit. I have just woken up now and yep, burping like crazy, feels best when I stand up straight, but the lumpy feeling never quite goes away.  
Seeing GP today, but any reassurance would be appreciated. Ta!

Kat are you on any blood pressure medication at all? Could be that you have lost enough weight that you don't need them or need a lesser dosage?

Okay, I need some help. I'm 4 weeks post op and after bending down, say light gardening, and standing back up I nearly faint and this happens constantly. Secondly, I have no energy. I'm thinking I may be low on something. I'm trying to drink plenty. Opinions please.

Just wondering if anyone has any info on and can recommend an unflavored protein powder.

Are they really unflavored or can you still taste them a little? Do they full dissolve or do they make soups thick? can you use them in clear broths too?

Sorry for all the questions.

I had a lot of soup with unflavored protein powder added in while I was doing liquids. I found tomato soup good😊

My question is? on the liquid diet - how do you get the required protein - 60gms in in a day.

I,m a week out and wondering how important it is at this phase to get   Protein in the diet. I'm doing plenty of clear fluids but finding it hard to get more than one opti fast in as I can't bear the sweet taste of any protein drinks.

I.m lactose intolerant so have to be careful with milk - soy is ok.

Hi there - I'm about to start day 3 post-op. I was told by my sports physiologist that you had to make sure not to do crunches with your stomach with your sleeve, not to slouch and to try to sit up straight, especially in the early days as it can strain the sleeve. So re getting in and out of bed, I have been quite conscious of using the hospital bed to sit me up as much as possible and then roll out on my side, as oppose to my usual just get up and go. I'm being discharged today so I think that will be a challenge getting out of a normal bed, especially if you don't have help from someone. So you may need a table or crutch or some other support to help you out of the bed so that you don't strain your stomach muscles too much. Hope that helps!

Thanks, that helped. I woke up this morning and felt a lot better. Still can feel a bit stuck still. Never again. 😏

Walk around ohtobethinish, that can help too.

Hi.
I am 4 weeks post op.
Tonight I foolishly got a bit too hungry and started picking at last night's roast chicken, like I would have in the old days. 
Now I have a lot of pain/discomfort. Silly me.
If you can't vomit it up, I guess you have to ride it out and learn from it. So annoyed with myself.
Sorry rant over.

Thanks so much for your reply NMW.  Reading that has made me feel a bit better.  Doc just came by, looking like I'm in for another night😩

Yes I had that pain, whenever I sipped too much. The amount I could sip without pain started out very small and has gradulally built up, I don't really feel that pain now unless I forget and take a huge sip. I'm 9weeks post op and I spent two nights in hospital, I had the drip until the morning I left and I nearly had to stay another night too. just keep sipping small amounts constantly, I used one of the empty medicine cups they brought the pills in and constantly filled and sipped that every 15mins to keep me on track.

Also some of the pain and tightness could be from where they retracted your liver if you have an incision near your sternum. Mine was definitely sore for a few weeks after.

Hang in there😊 take the pain relief when offered and ask them about anything that is bothering you because they see lots of people go through this. All the best, you'll be a lot more comfy in no time, it feels like ages when it's happening👍

Hello everyone. Not sure if this has been asked and answered before, but...  I'm day 2 post op and still in hospital.  Originally I was supposed to be going home today, but not so sure now...waiting on the doctor....

I feel pretty good considering, but have a fairly constant soreness/tightness situated around my sternum. It's bareable, but when I take even the tiniest of sips -literally just barely wetting the tongue, the pain of it going down is intense!!  It feels like the fluid only gets so far down, then hits a restriction and then painfully passes through this restriction.  

I am wondering if anyone else has experience this?  I have the minimiser ring, and am paranoid that this may be the cause and it won't go away.  Hope I'm wrong!

Because I'm in such pain and unable to take in much fluid I'm still on a drip.  If I can't get my fluids up on my own I'll have to stay an extra night...

On the bright side, I've not had any nausea or the dreaded shoulder tip pain.

I'm really hoping what I'm experiencing is fairly common so I can stop stressing over it and move on.  Strangely, on my first night (I had a fairly late surgery) I was able to drink quite easily.  I had a young nurse on duty and I think (from the quiet chatter around me) that she allowed me to have too much???

BTW. I've had Panadol via IV drip, endone tabs yesterday and buscopan both intravenously and tablets.

Cheers in advance

Em

You are in pain straight after surgery, but will be given pain relief. I was discharged after 2 days and was certainly mobile and pain free by then (although no exercise or any vigorous activity for some weeks  after). You feel pretty bad the first week and chronically tired until the end of the second week. I was conscious of the restriction in my stomach straight away. It is a good feeling! It is the restriction you want to have. I found that the fluid diet for 2 weeks afterwards to be a bit boring, but you are eating normal food (but small portions and slowly) within 4 weeks. I lost 10kg immediately before surgery and another 10 in the 4 weeks afterwards, so people did notice, but they notice more now that I have lost another 10 since (total of 32 off). The rate of loss and where it first comes off varies from person to person.

today I am 10 days post op. I was on a Fentanyl PCA for 2 days and IV Panadol during that time. Then went to only soluble Panadol. That is all I have needed since as I have have very minimal pain. Anything stronger would play havoc with your bowels. I did buy some buscopan for spasms and had for a few days. So luckily pain for me wasn't a problem.

I'm having no problems lying on either side to sleep and find all positions comfortable.

For anyone still interested in the question, I was sleeved last week (in Canberra) and was on PCA for three days post op,,and IV panadol. I was sent home on four hourly liquid panadol and endone, though I usually only take that at night. The surgery pain is not too bad but like others have noted, the oesophageal spasms are horrendous. The panadol and endone definitely help that! I find sleeping on my side with a pillow between my legs is the most comfortable. Stabilises my hips and torso.