G-tube surgery and respiratory support

[sweetcali]

L finally got down to 1L cannula at 100% so that she could come home. The only thing she needed was a g-tube. She had her g-tube surgery today and is now on 6L needing AT LEAST 50% oxygen just to maintain her sats. She has never needed that much oxygen (ever in her life) and hasn't needed this much support in over 3 months.

If your baby had surgery, how soon did they go back to what they were before surgery?

I'm terrified that we'll never see 1L again and that we screwed up be getting her a g-tube. I'm having flashbacks to when she was really sick. This is awful.

[motownthrowdown]

My daughter has had a total of four surgeries. Her first one was at about two months old. She was on room air on a nasal cannula before the surgery. She was intubated for the surgery, and stayed on that until she came out sedation, which took about four days (she only weighed like three and a half pounds). After that, they put her on the cpap for a couple days, and then the nasal cannula with supplemental O2 for a day or so. It took FOREVER.

Her surgeries since then have been much easier. She is still intubated for surgery, but they remove it after surgery and just bag her if she needs it while she wakes up. She's still conked out by sedation, but not on respiratory support.

During her first surgery, they did a post surgery debrief, and apparently she needed some insane amount of support (she was off the ventilator 5 minutes after she was born and never really needed it) and they said that was normal. It takes babies forever to come out of sedation, also normal. It takes forever for them to bounce back, also normal.

I hate that preemie and nicu parents have to make these kinds of decisions. You are doing a great job.

[sweetcali]

Thank you! I was sleep deprived, stressed out and filled with so much doubt! Your response really helped.

She's at 1L now so we'll see how that goes!

[motownthrowdown]

Jan 21, 2016 2:38:25 GMT -5 sweetcali said:

Thank you! I was sleep deprived, stressed out and filled with so much doubt! Your response really helped.

She's at 1L now so we'll see how that goes!

I was flipping out too. I'd only ever seen kids and adults come out of sedation, mostly on TV and stuff, so when she just kept sleeping for days, I was losing my mind. I had thought she would just kind of groggily open her eyes and that would be it, but she was totally out until she started to breathe over the ventilator and stop just riding it (which I found horrifying because she had only been on a vent for about 3 days before that, when she had her whole gbs/sepsis/meningitis fiasco). I was HOUNDING the doctors and they were like, chill, this is normal. I'm not worried.

[motownthrowdown]

sweetcali how's she doing now? Better, I hope?

[sweetcali]

She's doing fantastic! She's down to 1/2L! We are set to go home on Tuesday as long as they can get all the equipment to my house.

[motownthrowdown]

Jan 23, 2016 17:18:48 GMT -5 sweetcali said:

She's doing fantastic! She's down to 1/2L! We are set to go home on Tuesday as long as they can get all the equipment to my house.

Yeah!!! Go Baby L! So so so happy. Fingers crossed!

[motownthrowdown]

sweetcali did the equipment make it? Any new residents of your house?

[sahara78]

Just checking in on you, too. Hope all is well!