Hi everyone.  So I had my surgery last Monday, the 14th.  Everything went great.  The doctor said the surgery went as expected, took a bit longer he said because I am male and sometimes it is harder becasue the stomach attaches to whatever is behind it (they told me but I forgot).  But other than that, I think I was in surgery 2hr 15min or 2hr 30mins.  I remember being wheeled into the operating room and a nurse giving me a "relaxing" medication and the next thing I knew I was in my room.  I was in discomfort but not really pain, but I was still on pain meds.  I tried going for a walk, but only made it about 400 feet then I started feeling light headed and dizzy so we turned around.  Sleeping was interesting, I'd fall asleep and wake up thinking that 3 or 4 hours felt great then look at the clock...I was only a sleep for 10 minutes.  So I got lots of disco naps that night.  Tuesday was good, again sore but overall good.  I walked quit a bit around the floor, unassisted.  Only asked for pain meds 2 times.  Don't get me wrong it was pretty uncomfortable turning and getting in and out of bed but only on the left side.  My left side still is tender but bareable, every day it gets better.

I went home on Wednesday, and after the 45 min drive home I decided to lay in bed for the rest of the day.  It felt good to be in my own bed.  I did take pain med before I went to bed just be safe, I wanted a good night sleep, I got it.

Thursday and Friday were lazy days at home.  I got out of bed and sat on the sofa and watched TV all day.  If found that drinking water slowly was harder than I thought it was going to be but I did the best I could.  I would go for very short walks outside.  Boy was that a reality slap in the face.  Before surgery I thought when I got home I'd for a mile or two walk.  I don't think I walked a full city block.  But it still felt good to get outside and walk.

Saturday, I think I overdid it a little but I was ok with it.  We decided to go shopping, so we spent a few hours at different stores.  I took pain meds before we left just to be safe.  Let's just say I got my 10,000 steps in on Saturday.  I was never in pain, discomfort a few times but never pain.  At one store we went to I did sit while my husband shopped.  My word of advice to new patients is to get outside and walk, either around your neighborhood, at a store or where ever.  It may seem hard but it sure does feel good.  Don't over do it though, listen to your body.  No sense hurting yourself in your recovery but moving around, I believe, helps in recovery.

Sunday we did a little more shopping but when we go home I took a nice 1hr 30min nap before we met friends for a movie.  Let me just say it sucks going to a movie and NOT eating popcorn.  But I survived.  Then we went out to eat after (remember I'm still on liquids), it was my idea to go out.  I ordered minestorne soup, figuring I would just eat the broth.  I had a couple of sips and determined it was too hard to avoid all the other stuff. LOL

Monday,  I made the 1hr and 40min (because of rain) drive to work.  No pain meds since Satuday morning.  So far so good, I'm probably ducking out an hour or two early but I made it most of the day.

The hardest thing since getting home for me has been drinking enough to not dehydrate.  Pretty sure I failed big time yesterday.  So please be sure to force yourself to drink if you have to.  I'm looking forward to Wednesday when I move to pureed food (never thought I'd hear myself say that).  I'm going to make chicken salad tomorrow night, I my mind I can already taste it.

Oh yeah, I started my vitamins on Sunday, not crazy about the after taste of them.  They a flavored and taste good at first but after a while the after taste...not so good.  But if that's what I have to put up with to stay healthy, count me in.

Sorry this is so long, I'm hoping that sharing my experience will help someone else understand what to expect.  I know everyone is different and some have harder times than me and some might have it eaiser.  But the unknown can be scary and I hope this helps.

Thanks for everyone's support.  I DO NOT regret the surgery at all.  I only told a few people ahead of time, but now that it is over all of my family and friends will find out.  I'll let you know if I get any surprising reactions