| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| richfed |
Posted - January 16 2010 : 10:22:49 AM
I am about to have the very first INTERNAL surgery of my life ... laparoscopic surgery to repair a hiatal hernia - my stomach is protruding through a hernia in my diaphragm causing severe acid-reflux. I've been on Nexium for about 5 years for heartburn. Masks the symptoms, but a recent endoscopy revealed the root cause.
So, on Friday, Jan. 22, I go under the knife. My daughter, Sophia, had the same surgery back when she was in NICU, just before her release.
Anyway, anyone out there familiar with this procedure? Curious as to first-hand info on after-effects ... |
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| caitlin |
Posted - February 05 2010 : 10:40:11 AM
Well, I too am glad to hear you are doing much better!
Take care of yourself! |
| Fitzhugh Williams |
Posted - February 01 2010 : 08:43:27 AM
A few pepperoni pizzas should stretch the old stomach back into shape!  Glad you are doing well. |
| richfed |
Posted - January 31 2010 : 11:38:51 AM
You bet, Donna. My belly is itching like crazy right now. A pleasant itch.
Eating - beginning yesterday - has been an adventure. Besides repairing the tear in my diaphragm, they took the top of my stomach and wrapped it around my esophagus. That dually tighten my esophagus and downsizes my stomach. I have to eat more slowly, chew more carefully, and will fill up quicker. It has been a weird sensation. Learning to eat all over again.
Time and Patience. You've got it correct! |
| Donna |
Posted - January 30 2010 : 7:31:10 PM
Hi Rich,
I'm glad your surgery went well. I know it'll take a long time for your innards to feel right again. You have to
be patient. Isn't it great not having a big old scar?
Take care,
Donna |
| richfed |
Posted - January 30 2010 : 07:30:03 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Gadget Girl
Ditto what WW said - Where do I send the Krispy Kreme doughnuts when you are all healed up? What do you have 1....2 pounds to spare?
Actually, I was 184 lbs before I began my liquid diet the day before the surgery. Middle of this past week - not weighed myself since - I was down to 171!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Today, I begin to put it back on!  Want to lose weight ladies? Ensure and juice for 10 days! That's MY secret diet --- and, no charge for the formula!
|
| Gadget Girl |
Posted - January 29 2010 : 5:42:28 PM
So glad to hear all is well! Without heartburn you will wonder why they didn't do this sooner!
Let me know next time you have any medical procedures and *I* will come drive you home!!!!
Loved the recap! Love you too!
GG! |
| SgtMunro |
Posted - January 29 2010 : 4:02:39 PM
Glad to hear of your sucessful procedure Sachem, and I hope that you will be back to 110% in no time at all.
YMH&OS,
The Sarge |
| Wilderness Woman |
Posted - January 27 2010 : 4:10:44 PM
How great to hear from you, Rich! I saw your post on Facebook, so I knew you were still alive... at least at the time you posted.
I have to say that I haven't laughed so much in a while. That was really fun to read, even if it has not been fun to experience. I know how you feel, except for the tomahawk in the shoulders bit. Don't recall anything like that. Of course, I could talk about the bayonet to the gut I experienced twice and the wrought iron staples that prevented me from standing upright for a week, but that's another issue.
No, surgery is never fun, no matter how simple the procedure. I think that once you are completely healed and you feel far less heartburn, you will be glad you did it. In the meantime, get your rest, enjoy your Ensure, and regain your strength.
Keep us amused!  |
| Seamus |
Posted - January 27 2010 : 2:28:16 PM
Huzzah!! You lived through it....maybe you've been wondering if you really did, but MG is right: It shall pass and in a few days, you will have trouble remembering what it felt like!
I was confident all along, but do understand the jitters! |
| Kay |
Posted - January 27 2010 : 10:47:59 AM
Rich,
I'm glad to hear that you are up and moving some and you got through it all with flying colors! Magua wasn't successful in the end after all! And you also came out of it with your sense of humor intact- that always is the best medicine! Keep it up!
Kay |
| Monadnock Guide |
Posted - January 27 2010 : 10:41:45 AM
Great to hear Rich, - truth is I never had any doubt, really. Keep as active as you can, without over doing it, it will "speed things" up noticeably. ... Another 5-6 days you'll be feeling A LOT better.
.
Keep us updated, - a few more days and you'll be glad you had it. |
| richfed |
Posted - January 27 2010 : 08:21:58 AM
I think I am up to writing a recap of this experience.
The pre-op stuff was fine ... vitals, questions, shaving, more questions, being threatened with a catheter if I didn't get up to pee [my moon all ablaze out the back of my hospital gown as a I meandered down the hall], still more questions ... name, rank and serial number --- gave it I don't know how many times ... actually, just my name and birth date. Pretty much, my little moon walk is the last thing I clearly remember - I think - before waking up in recovery.
So, this whole thing happened ... six surgical incisions were made in my abdomen ... and I wasn't even invited to the party. Have I grown that boring? They would rather have me sleep than enjoy my company.
As I began to awake, I was in a mixed reality/dream sequence. I was at work. Full color, too! It was vivid and real, and I'm wondering, "how can they do this surgery if I'm at work?" "I can't be having surgery; I AM at work!" "Wait, the time couldn't have passed that quickly ..." Gradually, reality overtook the dream and I began to realize it was done. There seemed to be a lot of commotion going around me ... not sure what that was about or even if there was commotion, but it seemed that way ... and there was ... very sure of this ... great pain on the top of my shoulders ... I was shivering ... I thought I heard something about a tachometer, or something that seemed to infer irregular heartbeat.
"Mr. Federici, you are in recovery. You are fine. Everything went well."
Get outta town! Here I was with a tomahawk wedged between my shoulder blades, women and children screaming and running, blood, guts, Magua there impersonating a surgeon ... FINE????
"Easy for you to say!!"
Well, OK ... I guess I was ... the pain in my shoulders was from being blown up like a balloon with CO2 gas to open up my abdominal cavity. Off and on, my shoulders still hurt.
Just to show how screwed up my perceptions were, as they wheeled me to my room, I thought for sure I was being placed in an open ward ... maybe 7 beds ... I thought I saw that in my peripheral vision. All of a sudden, I was in this tiny little room ... barely enough space for me and my bed, the medical equipment, and a visitor's chair.
I "rested" there overnight ... well, found whatever rest I could between visits from the staff for vitals, pain injections, changing the IV fluids, etc. and ever increasingly frequent 14 foot, round-trip journeys to "empty my bladder." Seems that was the first real point of concern. Getting the urine to flow normally. By gosh, by 10 AM the next morning, I had that task mastered. Pee everywhere!!
Really, pain was tolerable [with medicinal assistance, of course] My shoulders hurt the most. Damn tomahawk. My gut felt more tightness than pain. I never got nauseous. That was expected, but never happened. They gave me something to prevent it in the IV, and I guess it worked. My party-favor bottle of anti-nausea pills remain unopened. They brought me a tray full of breakfast. I managed to eat a bowl of yogurt diluted with skim milk ... a couple of bites of cream or wheat -- that stuff seemed to want to lodge in scratches in my throat from being intubated. It made me want to cough and I was in no mood to cough ... or sneeze ... or laugh ... not ANYTHING that made my chest spasm. But, I did eat a little. So, I was peeing, able to eat/swallow, no nausea, pain manageable, vitals stable. I was outta there!
The 35 minute drive home from the hospital was rough, but I didn't really realize how rough until I got there. The pain was back and I felt about as bad as I had since I first opened my eyes. Again, the worst pain was the shoulder pain. But, eventually I settled in. I had some liquid vicodin-type stuff which I lived on every 4 hours, and really, I can literally say that I have felt better every day. I've not taken medicine since 10 PM last night ... 10 hours now, so that is good.
I eat Ensure, drink juice and water, a little applesauce to spice things up ... probably the healthiest diet I have had since Mom used to feed me. Medicine has made me a little irritable, moody ... but, I think that will pass as I don't need it so much now.
Saturday will be my big day ... I can eat soft and moistened cooked food ... like chopped steak with gravy ... I can't wait!!
I look at surgery in a whole new way now. If I had to do it over, I may have passed ... I guess it is really too early to tell now. If the heartburn is gone and I feel better, it will have been worth it. Never having undergone surgery before, the pain was much worse than I expected. Recovery has been quick, though.
I do believe they may have finally dislodged the tomahawk!
OK --- I am feeling tired from this strenuous activity of lightly pressing keys on a keyboard ... let me go munch on an Ensure! Thanks for all your good-tidings! |
| blackfootblood |
Posted - January 21 2010 : 2:29:55 PM
Best wishes for a speedy recovery!! Hope all goes well and I'm sure you're in good hands!! Take care! |
| Gadget Girl |
Posted - January 21 2010 : 1:08:16 PM
Ditto what WW said - Where do I send the Krispy Kreme doughnuts when you are all healed up? What do you have 1....2 pounds to spare?
Prayers and good thoughts for a safe and successful surgery tomorrow!
GG - here's Mohican Angel to watch over you!  |
| Wilderness Woman |
Posted - January 21 2010 : 12:13:40 PM
Judging from the photos I have seen of our Sachem, he doesn't need to lose any pounds!
Rich, all joking aside... you will be fine, and you will feel so much better when you are all healed. I'll be thinking of you tomorrow. Be sure to let us all know how you are as soon as you feel up to it.
|
| Kay |
Posted - January 21 2010 : 11:04:42 AM
My Dad had surgery for a hernia 10-15 years ago. I'm not sure how it was done though. Good luck and I'll be thinking and praying for you! All will be well! I liked Fitz's comment- good way to get the first laugh in my day! Be sure to keep us updated as you can!
Kay |
| Irishgirl |
Posted - January 21 2010 : 10:45:27 AM
Best of luck with your surgery tomorrow Rich. I am sure it will all turn out just fine. Look on the bright side, with all those liquids you will be sure to lose some lbs. |
| richfed |
Posted - January 21 2010 : 08:18:30 AM
Just drank my delicious bottle of magnesium citrate as a matter of fact ... just clear liquids today. Anesthesiology called me yesterday and ran over every minute detail of my medical history and upcoming procedure. I think I'm in good hands. Really, it ought to go pretty smoothly ... though reading about it makes it sound a bit worse. They take a part of my stomach and wrap it around the esophagus. Yee-haw! I need to be at St. Joe's Hospital at 11 tomorrow. There, I will enter La-La Land before a 1PM visit to the operating room. I will stay one night in Asheville and then be discharged. Liquid diet for a week ... then gradually I can begin to eat normally, though I am told I will probably feel full sooner than I do now, due to a smaller stomach. 3 weeks off from work is the best part!! 
Thanks for the well wishes and info, folks! |
| Monadnock Guide |
Posted - January 21 2010 : 08:00:41 AM
Gettin' kinda close now, - let us know how things turned out. |
| Wilderness Woman |
Posted - January 19 2010 : 4:32:52 PM
Wish I coulda had my 2 C-sections done that way! Would have saved a whole lot of discomfort, and a really ugly looking belly!
|
| Jayne |
Posted - January 18 2010 : 2:49:40 PM
Hi, Rich.
I've never had a hernia surgery, but I've had other lap surgery. It sure beats the old way of doing things! Often outpatient and quick recovery - and no being stuck in bed for days with a big incision.
Do report back to let us know how it goes!
Jayne
|
| caitlin |
Posted - January 18 2010 : 07:46:25 AM
I had a laparoscopic appendectomy - it was smooth sailing and fast recovery. At least you won't have to contend with acid reflux anymore! Good luck! |
| Stephanie |
Posted - January 17 2010 : 8:20:48 PM
I know someone who had laparoscopic knee surgery and she breezed through it. Here's hoping that your experience is similar and that you get the results you are hoping for! |
| BookwormMG |
Posted - January 17 2010 : 3:48:58 PM
I don't know about this particular surgery, Rich, but 20-some years ago my grandmother, then in her 80s, had laparoscopic gall bladder surgery. It went so smoothly that after she awoke from the anesthesia, she told my parents she didn't think she had had the operation because she didn't feel any discomfort. My parents checked with the nurses to confirm that the surgery had actually been performed, but it took some time to convince my grantmother. May you have an equally successful result! |
| Fitzhugh Williams |
Posted - January 17 2010 : 09:39:47 AM
You gotta look at the bright side. What every happens to you will be better than what happened to Monro! Just hope that your surgeon doesn't resemble Wes Studi. |
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