Over the hurdle - ThinnerTimes

Bigbaldbuddie · 07-15-2004, 07:38 AM

OK Here's a quick update. I was released on Thur the 8th. Friday I was fine but called Kelly as I had some red in my first bowel. She had me go to to my PCP for a stat cvc blood test.

There is a thing called a hermatracrit, this number represents the percentage of red blood cells to plasma in a sample of blood. For men the average is 35-50. I have a hereditary thing that put me on the low end of that scale. It's called Thalasima minor, not the major which is bad. This makes me look anemic and low on Iron if you didn't know about this prior to a blood test and you (Dr, or test analyzer) would be very concerned.

Any way when I was discharched Thur my H was 35. Fri on my blood test it was down to 29. then in the evening if I stood or sat up, I was SUPER light-headed, broke into a sweat, and it felt like the spins after a night of drinking. I was fine as soon as I lay down. After 1am that night it passed and n o probs when up or standing. Sat I noticed I was outputting less than 5% of my hydration intake, my belly seemed swolen and it was pulsating. I called the office and left aa message. Dr. C called back and said he was in Pomerado and come up for a few tests.

Well at that point Sat eve my H was down to 17. He had an ER DR. attend to me at first and expained to me I had had a leak, and needed a blood transfusion, and may need to go back to the OR. Well they did this test where they took some blood and nuked it for 20 min and then put it back in to see my blood flow on a scanner..after an hour laying still...no active leak

. They put two bags of blood in me Sat night, 1 on Sun, and kept me there til Monday afternoon just to be safe.

All is good and felling fine since 1am Sat.

Today I have a post-op with Kelly and all new Post-ops from last week and nutritional class this morn where I should get the ok for: soft foods, and driving.

I have almost no sensation in my incision now and no paid getiing in and out of bed. Coughing barely hurts now.

Thanks for all the well wishing and sorry for no posts but all my friends and fam have been taking my time up, yesterday My grandma wanted me driven to her house just so I can lay on her couch for a few hours, It was a hassle but ya can't say no to grandma.

Oh, I was weighed on Mon and I was 302.

Happy Journey!

brutherford · 07-15-2004, 10:27 AM

I'm so glad to hear that you're doing better, Gerry. All of that sounds like stressful, scary stuff. It's so good that you're feeling well, the pain is minimal, and now you're on your way to healing up just fine!

Welcome to your new life!

Christina · 07-15-2004, 01:50 PM

Gerry,

Well didn't you have a scary journey?? I am so glad that the Nuc Med Scan came out showing you didn't have a leak. That is always a plus right??? Welcome home this time for good.. and good luck on your post op meeting.. guess we won't be seeing you at the Gen. Support meeting today huh?? LOL

take care and rest for goodness sakes!

bridgetgirl · 07-15-2004, 02:01 PM

Whew! Glad your safe and sound and back on the forum. Good to see you here again.

CYNDIE · 07-15-2004, 04:19 PM

Glad To Here You Are Doing Better. Take Care And We Will See Less You You Soon.
Cyndie
12/17/04
265/181/130???

stakeda · 07-15-2004, 07:12 PM

Hello Gerry,

It was really nice meeting you today. It's good to know someone who had the surgery just a day before me.

I can't believe I lost 15 lbs in only one week! Eeek

Anyway, see you at the meetings.

pambragg · 07-16-2004, 12:56 AM

Hey Gerry. Wow, you did have a blip didn't you. It was really good meeting you finally. You & Adam were cracking me up at Kelly's nutrition class. My post op went good, lost 12.5 pounds since surgery last week. I'm happy with that. More would have been nice but I am realistic too. Is/has anyone else experienced this flipping INSOMNIA that I am having now? It's driving me crazy. This makes the fourth night in a row that I can't sleep. I'm talking serious stuff here. I have had a total of about 6-7 hours sleep in the last four days. I will drift off between 4 & 5 in the morning for an hour or two. I've never experienced something like this and it is really bugging. I forgot to ask Dr. C about it today. I just lay there and my mind is going like 90 miles an hour and I the dumbest stuff in running thru my head. I went to the support group in Poway last night and took my daughter-in-law. It was really interesting. There were a lot of 2-3 year post ops and listing to the stories was quite an eye opener. We have a lot of stuff coming our way down this path we have chosen. I personally am going to start seeing a councellor for some of the issues I have. Well, I am going to go back and wrestle with my pillow for another hour before I get up again and find something else to do that won't wake up the house.

Pam
Open 7/7/04
333/321.5/150

brutherford · 07-16-2004, 06:27 AM

I had it really bad after surgery. I think most of it was because I used to be a tummy sleeper and that changed after surgery (it still feels uncomfortable, almost 3 months later), but a lot of it had to do with my mind not shutting off. I have a REALLY hard time sleeping when it's light outside (as you can see, I'm up at the crack of dawn), so napping wasn't really an option for me. The insomnia contributed to me just feeling rundown overall, and that didn't change until I was almost 6 weeks out.

Right after surgery, I developed a sort of system where I would have 2-3 places in the house that would be set up for me to lay down. Instead of laying there for hours when I would wake up, I'd move to one of the other spots and usually be able to grab a few more hours. I pieced together 4-5 hours of sleep a night for close to a month before it starting becoming more regular.

Of all the sleep remedies that I tried in that time, the only thing that worked is exercise. It's hard to get motivated to exercise when you're so tired, but it's worth it when you can fall into bed exhausted and get a few uninterrupted hours. So, keep up the walking, and go to the gym as soon as you feel up to it - it will help your sleep and your weight loss.

Finally - seeing a therapist is an excellent idea. Surgery, rapid weight loss, different eating patterns, etc., are all major things that will cause ripple effects throughout your life. There's absolutely no shame in asking for help - getting clarity on your emotions and these changes will ensure that you have a better chance at long-term success.

Karen Wright · 07-16-2004, 10:07 PM

Wow Gerry!! So glad to see you are doing ok! Let the games begin!!!

It is awesome!