Post Op questions

[Guest guest]

Sorry, didn't mean to scare anyone. There are people on here that

have said the drain pulling didn't really bother them that much. I'm

a self admitted whimp! lol The good news is pulling the drains

dosn't last long. Bad news is that it feels like (at least to me)

that you getting your guts pulled out! But I lived...LOL

Cinda

05/19/03

371/334

> omg- the drain pulls sound awful. is it that bad?? why does it

hurt

> so much?? what does it feel like??

[Guest guest]

> >omg- the drain pulls sound awful. is it that bad?? why does it

hurt

> so much??

*****It hurts because the end of it is bar type thing that draws the

fluid to it. The one that is placed under the stomach hurts the

most because it is deeper. When it is pulled it moves the stomach

and comes flopping through the body. lol do you like my medical

terms?

what does it feel like??

******Mine felt like it was wrapped around my spinal cord and was

dragged through my body. lol Couldn't get a breath in or out for a

few seconds. But it is over with fast and you walk out of the

office feeling tons better. But remember...some people say it

didn't hurt at all...just felt weird.

>> also- im on anti depressants. will

> i be able to take them after surgery?? if i go more than one day,

i get really dizzy and...bitchy!!!!

*****Medicine questions are best answered by the Doctor...but...I

believe you will be able to take them...however as you lose weight

you may have to adjust the amounts you take.

>>more questions- i weight 255# right

> now. after losing the weight, does everyones skin sag? is it

possible

> to lose the weight and have your skin be ok??

******Anything is possible! Alot depends on your age, how long you

have been obese and how much your skin is stretched. Some of us

have more of a problem than others do. If your stomach has an apron

now (hanging belly) you will have an apron after losing weight, it

may not be as big but it won't recede 100%....don't expect to have

the skin of a teenager who has never been obese....even with plastic

surgery this is not possible.

>>is this caused by the fast weight loss?

****it is caused more by massive weightloss.

>> how noticeable is the hair loss?

****again this is so individule. Plus it depends on how thick your

hair is to start with. I lost tons of hair between 4 and 8 months

post-op....and I mean tons. I could tell, but you would never have

known...I had very thick hair to start with. Some folks lose none

to very little...some have worn a wig to get by for a while. It

just depends.

>and...........the heart problems- was that caused from the

surgery??

****No, not as a general rule. It is " possible " that during the

rapid weightloss your minerals can get out of whack and cause some

heart flutters or such. If you re-read Marta's post she had a

slight problem BEFORE ds. but not now that she suppliments. You

don't need to worry about DS causing heart problems.

Jo

[Guest guest]

> Vicki,

>

> I took vicodin before my drain pull. It felt like a snake was

crawling through my guts, unpleasant. Weird. Not exactly painful,

but it sure can be. Depends on the person.

Marta

==================================

Yep, depends on the person...I also took Vicodin before the drain

pulling...about 30 min. before...a double dose...and it hurt like my

spine was pulled through my body! And I don't consider myself a pain

wimp. I don't think the vicodin helps much with the " sudden " onset

pain. But the pain does not last long at all...the drain that is

not set as deep (for me it was the second one pulled) was more like

what Marta described above.

Vicki and all you pre-ops...don't let this scare you...it really

does not last long and you will walk out of the office feeling sooo

much better and for the first time like you really are going to heal

and return to a normal life. Those drains being pulled is like

passing a marker that the worse is behind you.

Jo

[Guest guest]

Yes Marta, he didn't put drains in after my actual DS surgery on

05/19 but he did put the JP drain and the T drain into my bile duct

during my second surgery on 05/28. And then I got them out yesterday.

I felt instant relief when the JP drain finally popped out. Funny

thing though was that I was lying on my back on the table and when

he finished pulling them out when went to the desk to write

something in my record and said " OK I want to see you in a month "

and I said " Uh, Doc I can't get up " LOL He had to help me up to a

sitting position one the table. Hopefully I'll be able to do that on

my own soon!

Cinda

05/19/03

> Cinda, your drains were in for a month, right? that is three

weeks longer than mine were in so it must have hurt alot worse for

you.

>

> marta

[Guest guest]

Well said Jo! I'm glad to have finally passed that marker! I'm even

going back to work next week 'cause I just feel sooo much better!

Cinda

05/19/03

371/334

> Vicki and all you pre-ops...don't let this scare you...it really

> does not last long and you will walk out of the office feeling

sooo

> much better and for the first time like you really are going to

heal

> and return to a normal life. Those drains being pulled is like

> passing a marker that the worse is behind you.

>

> Jo

[Guest guest]

hi everyone,

I am 5 days post op. My experience was really awful, and I have a high pain

tolerance. It is really interesting to me how some people have few symptoms and

others (like me) are quite severe. I could not manage the pain the first 3

days. I had 3 different pain killers called in for me, nothing seemed to touch

the pain. I really thought I was prepared for this as I had obsessively

researched this and worst case scenarios, etc.. I even had a pre op visit with

my surgeon JUST to ask questions, which he mostly dismissed and told me what I

was reading on the internet rarely happened, etc... This gave me a false sense

of hope, and ironically I seemed to have most of the horrible symptoms he

assured me I probably wouldnt. The ctoma ended up being bigger than he had

thought so maybe this was why? The core of it was 10 mm in middle ear and also

an additional 5 cm attached to the eardrum. I had the two hearing bones removed

but he was able to save the stapes. Here are my questions: What is the

likelihood the awful metallic taste and dry mouth will go away and when? I

can't stand it. And the VERY loud tinnitus. It is so loud I can barely

think/concentrate. I had tinnitus prior to surgery but it was quieter. Will

the tinnitus most likely go away and how long does that take? My jaw is swollen

and painful. How long before I can chew again? Did anyone have nausea and

vomiting 4-5 days AFTER surgery? I threw up all day yesterday, which I wasn't

expecting on day 4. Did any of you get thrush from the antibiotic? I've never

had it before but I do dr said probably from the antibiotic. Is the second op

any easier? I'm supposed to have op #2 to restore hearing/second look in 9

months. Which now I'm thinking I'd rather be deaf than go through this again.

Sorry so many questions, just hoping for some answers from people who've

actually gone through this. Thanks in advance

Janelle

[Guest guest]

Hi Janelle,

I certainly had difficulties with nausea after all three of my

operations, but it wound up only being dehydration. My ear doctor had

told me to drink plenty of fluids, but I was one of those folks that

rarely drank a glass or two of water per day. That to me was plenty and

when all was well ... I guess I could get away with it. My wife took me

to our general practitioner and he had me drink an 8 ounce glass of

water for each hour I was awake. He told me I'd be feeling better in

less than four hours and he was absolutely correct. I really wish

someone had given me a number ... if an MD tells me 8 ounces of water an

hour, then that's what I do. To be careful, you may wish to have them

specify how much you should be taking in. Some folks have fluid

restrictions for other reasons and it's always best to be safe.

I found the more I chewed (or more specifically tried to chew) the

better my jaw felt. I never had a whole lot of trouble with pain, but

everyone has a different experience based on what the doctor finds when

he/she starts to operate.

One nice thing ... they can use the same incision location for the

second surgery and what little pain I experienced was even less. My

third operation was on my other ear and oddly that one hurt a bit more -

I actually used the stronger pain medicine that my wife insisted on

filling each time.

I hope you feel better soon,

Matt

janelleschnulle wrote:

>

> hi everyone,

> I am 5 days post op. My experience was really awful, and I have a high

> pain tolerance. It is really interesting to me how some people have

> few symptoms and others (like me) are quite severe. I could not manage

> the pain the first 3 days. I had 3 different pain killers called in

> for me, nothing seemed to touch the pain. I really thought I was

> prepared for this as I had obsessively researched this and worst case

> scenarios, etc.. I even had a pre op visit with my surgeon JUST to ask

> questions, which he mostly dismissed and told me what I was reading on

> the internet rarely happened, etc... This gave me a false sense of

> hope, and ironically I seemed to have most of the horrible symptoms he

> assured me I probably wouldnt. The ctoma ended up being bigger than he

> had thought so maybe this was why? The core of it was 10 mm in middle

> ear and also an additional 5 cm attached to the eardrum. I had the two

> hearing bones removed but he was able to save the stapes. Here are my

> questions: What is the likelihood the awful metallic taste and dry

> mouth will go away and when? I can't stand it. And the VERY loud

> tinnitus. It is so loud I can barely think/concentrate. I had tinnitus

> prior to surgery but it was quieter. Will the tinnitus most likely go

> away and how long does that take? My jaw is swollen and painful. How

> long before I can chew again? Did anyone have nausea and vomiting 4-5

> days AFTER surgery? I threw up all day yesterday, which I wasn't

> expecting on day 4. Did any of you get thrush from the antibiotic?

> I've never had it before but I do dr said probably from the

> antibiotic. Is the second op any easier? I'm supposed to have op #2 to

> restore hearing/second look in 9 months. Which now I'm thinking I'd

> rather be deaf than go through this again. Sorry so many questions,

> just hoping for some answers from people who've actually gone through

> this. Thanks in advance

> Janelle

>

>

--

[Guest guest]

Hi Janelle,

I am sorry to hear you are having so many diffculties. I I wish I had some suggestions for all your questions. I had my third surgery on January 12, 2011. The previous surgeries were unevenful. Recovery this time was a nightmare to say the least. I had symptoms of nausea, bloating and lethargy for 8 weeks. My surgeon was stumped. I had numerous lab tests, CT scans, xrays, primary doctor and ER visits. My primary doctor was about to send me to a psychiatrist. I knew I wasn't crazy so I called my gastro doctor crying in pain. Thankfully he firgured out I was experiencing a gallbladder attack. Turns out I had 3 gallstones the size of golfballs in my gallbladder. I am not saying this is your issue but you may want to have your primary doctor consider that something else may be going on with your body.

As far as the metalic taste in your mouth we are all different. I found pepermints worked. Gum helped when I could chew again.

Good luck,

Kymberlei

[Guest guest]

Lots of painkillers can also explain vomiting on day four. I had that problem with percoset.

On Wed, Mar 30, 2011 at 5:52 PM, Kymberlei Putz <kymbergayle@...> wrote:

Hi Janelle,

I am sorry to hear you are having so many diffculties. I I wish I had some suggestions for all your questions. I had my third surgery on January 12, 2011. The previous surgeries were unevenful. Recovery this time was a nightmare to say the least. I had symptoms of nausea, bloating and lethargy for 8 weeks. My surgeon was stumped. I had numerous lab tests, CT scans, xrays, primary doctor and ER visits. My primary doctor was about to send me to a psychiatrist. I knew I wasn't crazy so I called my gastro doctor crying in pain. Thankfully he firgured out I was experiencing a gallbladder attack. Turns out I had 3 gallstones the size of golfballs in my gallbladder. I am not saying this is your issue but you may want to have your primary doctor consider that something else may be going on with your body.

As far as the metalic taste in your mouth we are all different. I found pepermints worked. Gum helped when I could chew again.

Good luck,

Kymberlei