Hi All,
I am having BSSO and Lefort 1 next Tuesday. I feel fairly prepared to face what is coming, but I wondered if anyone, who has had this done, in say the last 2 years, and was not wired (as I won't be), can tell me more or less what exactly to expect upon waking up. Will I feel nauseated? Deyhydrated? Dizzy? Loopy? Disoriented? All of the above? Will they let me have water right away? How hard will it be to stand up and go use the bathroom? Will I feel any pain, or just discomfort?
I am traveling 8 hours by car and am hoping to be able to stomach the ride back after one night in the hospital. Does that sound likely to work?
Thanks!!
What to expect when I wake up from BSSO and Lefort 1
Moderator: bbsadmin
It's kind of hard to say, because it varies from one person to another. I was in a bit of pain, and really dizzy/weak. I couldn't sit up or get out of bed until the next day. I wasn't too disoriented. No nausea or sore throat, but dry mouth and I was not allowed to have water.
You will probably have a catheter but if you are lucky, it will be taken out before you are awake.
You will probably have a catheter but if you are lucky, it will be taken out before you are awake.
I just had mine done on the 6th. I wasn't wired, but will be banded this week I think.
As brendan said, throat definitely will hurt - in fact, I found my sore throat to be the worst part! From the awesome breathing tube they put in during surgery. It gets better within a few days though. Try both warm and cool liquids to see what soothes it better.
When I woke up, I wasn't nauseous right away, took an hour or two. They gave me anti-nausea meds, but despite that, I threw up blood three times throughout that day. After I got rid of the blood the nausea went away. Not everyone throws up anyway!
Yes you will probably feel pretty dehydrated, mostly because your mouth/throat have been really dried out. The oxygen mask will also dry your mouth really badly as well. Even if you can rinse your mouth with water it helps. I managed to start gargling some water and it really helped. Also, it cleans the disgusting gunk that will be coming out of your mouth for the next few days.
Also when you wake up, you will feel pretty out of it. When you are lying down you don't feel too dizzy, but once you have to sit up and stand up for the first time you get really spaced out - it took me almost 24hours to feel comfortable to walk to the bathroom, and even then you will be fairly unsteady. Just have someone nearby to catch you if you wipe out haha.
In terms of pain... wasn't so bad. Pain was mostly when swallowing. Face was very stiff. Swallowing very uncomfortable. I found that because my nose was so clogged with blood, whenever I swallowed I felt a kind of suctioning/clogging sensation and it felt like my throat kept closing -- but just stay calm, because you can breathe. When it first happened I panicked and the nurse checked my vitals and I was at 100% - so if you feel like you can't breathe, don't worry - you can!
As brendan said, throat definitely will hurt - in fact, I found my sore throat to be the worst part! From the awesome breathing tube they put in during surgery. It gets better within a few days though. Try both warm and cool liquids to see what soothes it better.
When I woke up, I wasn't nauseous right away, took an hour or two. They gave me anti-nausea meds, but despite that, I threw up blood three times throughout that day. After I got rid of the blood the nausea went away. Not everyone throws up anyway!
Yes you will probably feel pretty dehydrated, mostly because your mouth/throat have been really dried out. The oxygen mask will also dry your mouth really badly as well. Even if you can rinse your mouth with water it helps. I managed to start gargling some water and it really helped. Also, it cleans the disgusting gunk that will be coming out of your mouth for the next few days.
Also when you wake up, you will feel pretty out of it. When you are lying down you don't feel too dizzy, but once you have to sit up and stand up for the first time you get really spaced out - it took me almost 24hours to feel comfortable to walk to the bathroom, and even then you will be fairly unsteady. Just have someone nearby to catch you if you wipe out haha.
In terms of pain... wasn't so bad. Pain was mostly when swallowing. Face was very stiff. Swallowing very uncomfortable. I found that because my nose was so clogged with blood, whenever I swallowed I felt a kind of suctioning/clogging sensation and it felt like my throat kept closing -- but just stay calm, because you can breathe. When it first happened I panicked and the nurse checked my vitals and I was at 100% - so if you feel like you can't breathe, don't worry - you can!
I had a lefort 1 (with palate widening), BSSO, and genioplasty. I remember waking up and just saying, "Is it over?", "Is it over?"....to my boyfriend (now hubby). The weird thing about this surgery to me was the fact that nothing hurt. I was so numb in the early stages pain was not an issue. I did have a splint in my mouth to hold the palate widening. I had this for six weeks. That took some getting used to. The thing I remember about waking up is that they kept suctioning blood out of my mouth and nose and I had to have this half mask oygen mask to get the oxygen level of the blood back. I was lucky in that I was not sick to my stomach. I didn't look at myself until the next morning (I was in the hospital 2 days). My boyfriend was very kind not to tell me I looked horrible. However, I pulled my lips open with my hand and saw my nice new bite. I had an open bite corrected and I loved seeing my bite closed and being able to comfortably close my mouth. That made it all worthwhile. I hope you have super results. I'll never regret having done this surgery!
I also was super hungery but the broth, ice cream and jello they brought was just not working. My mouth was banded shut so ice cream and jello didn't even have a possiblity of working....what were they thinking!!! I also had a bad headache from a lack of caffiene. My boyfriend smuggled in a strawberry milkshake and some Starbuck's coffee about 12 hours after surgery. These were like gifts from heaven! My doctor didn't ban me from using straws, so I drank these items with a straw. Some doctors do not allow straws....
I wrote a long and drawn out detailed description of my experience in the "details" section of this website: http://www.thisisjustwrong.com if you're curious. There are also some notes written in real time from the recovery room. Allow me to warn that I didn't sugar coat anything though.
