Advice for Future Roux-en-Y Patients

Here's my first round of advice for those who are contemplating doing this surgery in the future:

In the hospital:

1. Gas-X strips (the ones that melt on the tongue). Take them to the hospital with you.
2. Walk as much as you can while still in the hospital. Do it 30 minutes after every dose of pain medicine - right when it kicks in. Walking prevents pain.
3. Get someone to stay with you in the hospital. If you wait for a nurse to help you walk, you won't walk enough. Don't be at the mercy of the call button.
4. Males - get the catheter out as soon as you can. Make whatever deals you have to make with the nurses or doctor or devil. Walking with the catheter really sucks. If you prove to them that you can get to the bathroom whenever you need to, they should agree.
5. Learn your pain meds and how long it takes for them to kick in and how fast they wear off. Try to be asleep when they wear off and plan activities for when they're fresh.
6. Sit up in a chair as much as you can. Heck, you can use the hospital bed to do no-effort sit-ups. The idea is to move things around in your abdomen to get the gas to settle out.
   

At home:

1. Continue walking as much as possible.
2. Find a nice recliner to sleep in, preferably one that rocks so you can use momentum to get out of it instead of your abs.
3. Figure out ways to avoid using your ab muscles.
4. You won't start passing solid waste until you start on pureed foods. Have Milk of Magnesia around in preparation for that day. Take it before you have to. Your pain meds cause constipation, and your ab muscles are NOT ready to push that hard.
5. Ever consider a bidet? Mine saved my life today. It beats a hot-water bottle.
6. Get off the pain meds as soon as you can.
7. Don't get impatient with your 'nurse'.