I don't have a lot of experience with surgery, thank heavens, my only other surgery was on my hand - I broke it playing volleyball in 1995. They gave me a local anesthetic and some pain pills afterward. I didn't even have to have a cast because the screws inside my hand were holding the bones in place; I just had one of those Ace bandages wrapped around a splint. I only took 2 pain pills because I got sick after the second one.
That was my reference point when considering my Lap Band surgery. I figured I'd be up and going shortly afterward and that my body would be more-or-less what it was like beforehand. No one told me differently. These are some things they didn't tell me about life immediately after surgery.
1. Dry Throat. I woke up from the surgery and started talking. Probably not the best idea, but I didn't know better. My throat dried out instantly and it's never recovered. Seriously, to this day, if I talk more than three words in a row or do anything more active than walking to my bedroom, my throat dries out like an overcooked steak.* I carry water with me everywhere to combat dry throat, even to the grocery store!
2. Dry Skin. I never realized how much my shower poof helped my skin! At least, I've never had such dry skin as I did when I was only giving myself sponge baths or using the bar of soap at my mom's house when I was finally able to shower. My legs, stomach, arms, and everywhere else started to get flaky! Bleh! I used lotion, which helped, but now that I'm using a poof again, the dryness is disappearing. Being able to drink more water during the day has helped, too.
3. Loopiness. Pain medicine = drugged. I know that sounds like a "duh" statement, but since I don't really take a lot of pain medicine, I wasn't prepared for its affects. I had a hard time remembering some things, said things that didn't make sense, and sometimes couldn't make sense of what others were saying. I got dizzy easily and was constantly sleepy. I hated feeling that way, hence why I stopped taking it (that and it tasted like the devil).
4. Activity Level. I really felt I'd be up and going fine shortly after my surgery. I knew I was probably jumping the gun a little when I went to Dad's the day after, but I figured that by this week I'd be fairly normal. Nope. Yesterday, I exercised with a 20 minute walking tape, went grocery shopping, then went to a movie with Mom. By the time I made it home, I was in a lot of pain. Enough pain to make me consider taking pain medicine again. I didn't, of course. Bleh! I couldn't believe that such minimal activity could wipe me out this far removed from my surgery. How annoying!
5. Surgery tape. It's a pain. I have 5 incisions, 4 pretty small and 1 big (maybe an inch and a half long), and all 5 were covered with surgery tape. I was told to let the tape come off on its own, no helping it along, and that it should be off within a week to 10 days. Two of the small incisions lost their tape by New Years. The third was so close that I helped it along yesterday. The fourth small incision is really, really close but there are a couple stubborn spots. The big incision's tape sticks like it was put on yesterday. It's going to take a month for it to come off! It wouldn't bug me except the edges start collecting lint and turn dark, and I'm OCD enough that I can't stand less-than-pristine tape. Oh, and the tape smells funny and has since they put it on (not just because it's almost two weeks old).
Have I complained enough yet? Here's a positive one:
6. Eating less. Yes, yes, I had a band put around the top part of my stomach, but it hasn't been filled yet. My surgeon said that some people don't feel any sort of restriction with it on at this point, while others feel just a little restriction. I'm having a hard time wanting to eat anything more than about 1/4 cup of food. I know I need to work myself up to a 1/2 cup so my body is getting more nutrients, but it's hard. I'm enjoying solid food, but after a few bites, I'm ready to stop. I went to a New Years party with lots of yummy-looking food and wasn't even tempted! Amazing.
Weight Lost: 32 lbs, as of Thursday morning.
* I really wrote this post just so I could use this line. Teehee.
5 comments:
Ugh. I totally understand about the OCD with the "less-than-pristine" tape. I'm glad you are getting hydrated. I need to do that better, too.
#3 - sounds like me. I wonder if my loopiness is caused by one of my medications? Or do you think I'm just hard of hearing?!
#4 - tell us more about this walking tape. You've mentioned it before.
#5 - ugh to the tape thing. Have you tried cutting the exposed ends off?
#6 - that's great news. Congrats on loosing so much in less than a month. So exciting!
Missy, I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way about the tape!
Book, yes I cut the tape ends but the still get "dirty". Drives me nuts. The walking tape is Walk Away the Pounds by Leslie Sanson (or something like that). It's good for a quick indoor "walk". She has several different workouts.
I was really glad you came to the party. And I think I really am losing some sympathy pounds. Not 32 pounds or anything like that, but yes, I am losing a little. But yeah, work up to that 1/2 cup. I still enjoyed our little potlucks, so ... hopefully we can have a 1/2 cup potluck soon.
It sounds somewhat like a Cesarean Section. Yuck. I want to avoid that again if at all possible! Surgical tape is freaky to me. I'd much rather have stitches.
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