Welcome to Day 2 after surgery! Each day you will start to feel a bit better. You can start drinking nourishing fluids from today. The intravenous fluid will be ceased, you've walking around on the ward and the shoulder tip pain should feel a bit better. Today is the usual day of discharge from hospital.
Things to consider before going home:
- Nourishing fluids: You can drink anything that can get through a straw,
without using a straw. A straw will draw air into your small stomach and inflate it so avoid using straws. Sipping from the small cups is a better idea. Remember some yoghurts are actually pretty thick and you won't be ready for this.
- Pain and Nausea Relief - your team will provide pain relief and anti-nausea medications to take home, this will usually include wafers under the tongue which can be used every four hours.
- Bowels
- If you have not opened your bowels by
day 5
after the operation - take
- Lactulose (20ml 3 times a day) and
- Movicol (2 sachets four times a day) until your bowels have opened
- If by day 7 you haven't opened your bowels - use a
Microlax enema. Each of these are available over the counter at your local pharmacy.
- Avoid taking a Senna-based medication as these can irritate your gut - so avoid Coloxyl/Senna
- Drinking: aim for
800-1200ml at least per day, including all fluids (1500mL ideal)
- Multivitamin: you have the option of the chewable BN multivitamin, or the capsule which can be opened up onto smoothies - generally tolerated from one week post-operatively
- Followup:
- Your surgeon will see you at 3 weeks, either via Telehealth or in rooms
- If you have issues during working hours - call our rooms on (08) 6478 7631.
- After hours, weekends or emergencies - visit your local after-hours GP or Emergency Department
- If you are uninsured - you are not covered if you present to a Private Hospital Emergency Department
- Driving: you can drive after 1 week as long as you can brake safely
- Exercise:
- Walking - from night 1
- Low intensity, steady state exercise - walking/jogging/cycling - a few days after surgery (no restriction)
- Weights, pilates, high intensity training - wait at least four weeks
- If you had a hiatus hernia repair - definitely don't lift weights for 4 weeks after surgery
Things to look out for:
- Constipation, nausea, aches/pains are normal
- If you develop a
fever,
severe abdominal pain or
unable to swallow - you must present to an Emergency Department - Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital manages WA's public bariatric surgical care.
