Surgery was July 21, so Im 4 days post op

Jul 25, 2009

On July 20 my family and I travelled to SLC Utah for my surgery scheduled at 12;45 July 21.  I did my pre-op liquid diet very wel...except...the day before surgery...my nerves kicked in and I was craving some comfort food...chocolate...so I had my hubby stop at the mini market and I bought the biggest 3 musketeers I could find.  I chewed it until it was chocolate froth and then I spit it out.  lol...  I entered the hospital doors about 12:15.  They had me do all the admitting stuff.  Sign all kinds of paperwork...one form in particular that I found very amusing was one that sais...now dont hold me to the word for word  deal but..it said something to the effect of...THIS HOSPITAL IS NOT YOUR SERVANT..YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OWN CARE...YOU ARE EXPECTED TO DO THIS THAT AND THE OTHER...in other words...the hospital staff was merely there to take vitals, deliver meals/meds and monitor patients condition.  I found it a little offensive but I signed it.  Next they had me go to a mini doctor room.  They had me gown up..my family and I were all there in the same room...my nerves were bad so I kept having fake urges to use the bathroom.  Next they gave me the IV and after that stuff gets R E A L fuzzy.  I remember the anesthesiologist coming in sitting on the edge of my bed...and the next thing I knew I was being awoken by nursing staff...I do think they OVER anestetized me because Ive had surgeries before and Ive never felt that out of it before when I awoke out of anesthesia.  Altogether, it took 2 days for those drugs to get outa my systems.  So after surgery I slept alot.  I was surprised they actually broght be dinner... beef broth and jello.  I ate a bite of jello and a few sips of broth.  I think the broth did me in...at 1 am I awoke with H O R R I B L E nausea and stomach pain but I never vomited.  I never did see the doctor...I thought he would talk to me before sugery....nope.  The nursing staff didnt have any orders on file for me to have any pain or nausea meds and it took them a couple hours to get ahold of my doc so I sufferred til about 4 am...after I got the meds (dilaudid and compozine) that got me back to sleep it took about an hour for the meds to kick in.  I woke up at about 6 am feeling so F R E A K I N  G R E A T!!!  I got up, I walked the halls,My doc happened to be on the phone at the nurses' station as I was walking the halls, I gave him a wave,  I was chatting with the hospital staff...they were all blown away because of the condition I was in just hours before.  BUT, then, about at about 1030 am...i started feeling the nausea and abdominal pain again.  I thought my doc would stop in to see me but he did not.  I was sick that way for another 14 hours.  I started feeling better about 1 am...the hospital staff are constantly waking you up every hour for a heparin shot, vitals, checking IV bags, etc.  So the next morning about 5 am I started feelin human again.  The nurses kept asking me if I wanted nausea meds/pain meds and I said no...I refused them all.  You see...after I regained control of my brain, I realized I dont do well on narcotic drugs that are used post surgery...drugs like morphine, vicodine...so remember everyone...KNOW YOUR OWN BODY REGARDLESS OF WHAT ANYONE TELLS YOU OR WHAT YOU READ...I already knew from previous surgeries, dental procedures etc...that vicodin (a narcotic drug) makes me very ill.  And dilaudid is one of the pain drugs they had me on (a pump where you can push your own pain med button every 10 minutes if needed).  I forced myself to stay in an upright position in the recliner...and drink lots of water to get the drugs outa me.  After a few hours I was feeling sooooo much better.  I never did sleep well because the recliner and the bed in the hospital are just horrible...I think they do that on purpose so that everyone wants to get home sooner...lol.  Anyways...the next day I expected to be released because I had improved so much...I kept waiting to see Dr. Cottam...noon came around so I began asking...is he going to come in and release me? (because posted release time was 11 am)   No one knew.   The nurse later told me that Dr. Cottam got called into 2 emergency surgeries and would be in to see me when he was done.  Around 1:30 I called Dr. Cottams office just to double check that he actually WAS in surgery ...and he was.  Around 2:30 Dr. Cottam came into my room, said I hear your rattling your cage to get outa here...I said yep...he turned around and walked back outa my room.  (THAT WAS ALL I SAW OF MY DOC)  Later the discharge nurse asked did Dr. Cottam give you any discharge instructions...I said NO...Did Dr. Cottam tell you when he wanted you to follow up with him?  I said NO...Did Dr. Cottam tell you the diet you were to follow upon discharge...I said NO...did Dr. Cottam give you any pain/nausea med rxs for home..I said NO...So the nurse left to get those answers and about 45 minutes later I was outa there.  I had to stay in town overnight just in case of any complications I would be close to Dr. C.  I left for home the next morning.  Since Ive returned home, Ive merely been sore like I was punched in the stomach a few times...but I havent needed any nausea med...no pain meds etc.  Ive been taking it slow...it was great to get back to my own bed...ahhhhhhhh!
 

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