It's OVER!!!

Let's see...today is Monday. Had surgery on Friday morning at 7:30 am. Everything went very well and Dr. Watkins seemed to be very pleased. Apparently, I also had a hiatal hernia that he repaired while inserting and positioning the band. I was in recovery by 8:30, and leaving for home by 10:30 am. Home by 11:45 am. Amazing. The ride home wasn't even bad.

Friday I was very comfortable...no nausea (they did a wonderful job keeping that in control), only tenderness at the incisions but even then it was minor due to the numbing medication they used during the procedure. I was up and down every couple of hours since anesthesia makes me really drowsy. Dr. Watkins called around 5pm on friday to check up on me and hubby told him everything was good. I can't say enough good things about Dr. Watkins and University Pointe Surgical Hospital for their professionalism and care. What a great group of people. Hubby was impressed too. Very attentive, I met with everyone on the surgical team and post-op was a breeze. I don't know why I had anxiety over it. Even the needle in the hand wasn't bad.

Now - on to Saturday....oh Mother!!!! I have to tell you, for about 10-12 hours there I was absolutely miserable. One of the possible side effects of the surgery is gas pains and referred pain in the shoulder area. I got it in spades. Both shoulders, neck, upper chest. Wow. I told hubby it only hurts when I breathe and when I swallow. What a relief when I could actually fart! That took a few hours, but when it finally came I could rival any that my husband could dish out!

The hospital called Saturday night to check on me and by that time I felt much better, just the referred pain in the shoulders. I pretty much had a heating pad on my shoulders all weekend since the throbbing could really get bad. The loritab elixir didn't really do anything for the pain, so I switched to Motrin this morning and it's much better.

Sunday and today are better yet. Still shoulder pain, tenderness at the incisions as expected, but much better than Saturday. I came back to work today and just took my time getting ready to get the stiffness out. Not bad at all.

If it wasn't for the shoulder pain, I would say that the pain from the actual procedure is very minor. It's a little uncomfortable getting in and out of bed, but hey, I've got 5 slits in my abdomen, what do you expect?

I'm on liquids for another week until I progress to mushy/soft foods for 2 weeks. But in all honesty, you don't feel much like eating at this point. Although my stomach seems to be making all kinds of noises these days. It's amazing how you can gain 6 1/2 lbs in a single day from surgery. Hopefully, the swelling and the pains will subside in a few days and that will come off. I'm going to try and keep my caloric intake around 900-1000 calories this week and keep my protein up to heal properly and not gain anything while I'm recooperating. But I'm very pleased with the surgery and at this point and so glad the worst is over.