I Feel Great!

Feb 02, 2012

So I'm often reading on these boards about how people have that 'buyer's remorse' thing for the first couple days/weeks after the surgery...I'm not having any of that.  I'm not in any pain.  I've been stretching the time for my pain meds out, just to see how long I can go without them, and how much pain I will be in if I don't take them, because I do want to wean myself off of them asap.

I haven't had to sleep in a chair, or sleep sitting up, or anything.  I lie in bed, get up unassisted, go up and down the stairs in my house.  I'm still on clear liquids right now, but it's not a problem.  Don't really want anything else right now.  I'll be going to full liquids tomorrow I think, and then pureed and soft foods a couple days after that.

I really think that the nausea that I was feeling was the result of the potassium that they were giving me via my IV.  One nurse kept telling me that since the potassium was going in through my arm, it wasn't possible that that is what was irritating my stomach and making me nauseous, but the icky stomach feeling that would come over me if I hadn't taken my pain meds or nausea medication in the hospital, was the EXACT same feeling that I would get if I took a potassium pill at home with no food before having had this surgery.

Now that I don't have any dealings with Potassium, I haven't had issues with nausea, which makes me very happy.  I did vomit slightly in the hospital once.  I thought that having just had surgery on my stomach that the pain for that would be excruciating...it wasn't.  Didn't feel like anything involved in the vomiting process had anything to do with my surgery.  It felt like the vomiting was coming from a completely different, painless area of my stomach.  I felt the same way about sneezing and coughing.  I've done both of those.  Neither has hurt.

When I left the hospital, I was told that my bowels were asleep...They're awake now.  I've had several bowel movements today.  Really just some runny stuff, kind of what comes out when you do the laxative bowel prep.  I think my brain somehow registered that my bowels were waking up before I became conscious of it.  I had been sleeping.  I got up, stood at the corner of my bed to do something, and the tiniest little pin width of liquid kind of ran down my leg.  I though for a second, 'did I just have a little pee drizzle down?'  Then, 'Am I bleeding somewhere?'  So, I rushed to the bathroom, did some wiping around, and realized that the bowels are awake...so that was kind of a nasty story, but hey, you are reading at your own risk.  All I've had inside of me for the past few days is clear liquid, so I promise you that it sounds more disgusting than it actually was. 

Again, I feel great.  I'm drinking here and there to keep myself hydrated.  I really don't have anything further to report.  I kep wondering, 'Is this real?  Did I really just have the surgery?'  If things keep going this way, I'm thinking that I'll be back at work on Monday :-)

0 Comments