What do you remember most?

What do you all remember most about being in the hospital after surgery? What things were hard for you or easy for you to do?

I remember it like is was last Wednesday....oh wait it was.  LOL  It was hard for me to get up out of bed.  Walking around the unit was easy, once I was up.  Finding something to watch on TV was hard.  Drinking the liquid Lortab was nasty.  But sleeping was nice.  Leaving was nice too.:)

I remember that the WHOLE night after surgery I didn't sleep AT ALL.  Not sure why, but I have had insomnia since the surgery.  That night, I even tried using my PCA pump (didn't need it...just wanted to sleep) to make me sleep....but that didn't help either. Since I have been home,  I have tried liquid benedryl and unisom sleep melts....nothing. It could be the surgery or it could be the fact that I am a teacher and I no longer have to get up at 5 am so sleeping is less of a priority!  I have had MANY abdominal surgeries (this was my 7th) and I didn't have ANY of the usual gas pain, so that was good.  It was (and is) smooth sailing for me!

I remember it like it was last Wednesday too... but mine was almost 6 years ago... lol!  I remember all the nice people who came to visit and all the love and support I had.  I remember trying to get dressed to get out of the hospital and a male nurse came in to help me...  I decided not to be shy and just threw it off...  we ended up laughing very loud - my folks walked up about then and were wondering what was going on.. lol!  I also remember being told to wait and the night nurse would be in to help me to the bathroom... that took too long so I decided to go by myself ---> don't try that, it wasn't fun!!!  I hurt a bit but I was so happy that I was on my new journey that it was ok.  The hardest thing for me was after I got home and I couldn't get comfortable enough to sleep for 4 days and my Mom called my doc and demanded he give me something to make me sleep.. lol!  I was a bear.  All in all it wasn't that bad and I'd do it again in a heart beat!!!!! Good luck!!!!

I remember waking up in the recovery room and not liking my nurse (haven't liked her for years ... had nothing to do with this stay, just didn't like that SHE was the one I got.  lol).  And I remember nausea and pain, and feeling so hot I couldn't stand it.  I remember the trip to my room from there and getting up to go to the bathroom as soon as I got to my room.  I remember the PCA button and waking up to hit it and then drift off to sleep again.  I remember the cold hands of my director of nursing touching me and her sweet voice as she told me she was glad I was doing well, although I couldn't open my eyes to see her face because I was groggy.  I remember my family being there, although I didn't care because I was soooooo sleepy.  And I remember telling my husband to document all of it in pictures so I could post it into my OH profile!  lol

It was hard to get up out of bed, but I knew that I had to do it.  It was hard to wear those stupid compression hose, but I knew that I had to do it. 

I just got home yesterday so I still have very vivid memories.  Plus I was trying to remember everything so I could help my husband (who is having the same surgery in 3 weeks) know what to expect and be prepared.   I don't know if it will help at all, but I did tell him to work on some ab muscles before the surgery.  That was probably the worst for me, trying to get out of bed using only my arms.   I remember that once I was standing, I had to stand still for about 30 seconds to wait for the gravity pain to go away (what I mean by that is when gravity starts pulling down on your tummy, it doesn't feel so great).  But once I got walking, it was worth it.  I walked as much as I could until I felt like I couldn't walk anymore and then I went straight to the bathroom hoping to relieve some gas pain.  I also remember that my eyes were too blurry to read ANYTHING, which I found out on the day I was going home, that was because of the nausea patch Dr. Bauman subscribed.  Now that I am not on it, I can almost see again (but I had to adjust the font size on my computer). I remember that first sip of water as being heaven and over way too soon. After 24+ hours with no liquid at all, my mouth felt like a desert.  Definitely bring lip stuff, not medicated because it will burn your very very dry lips.

Had my surgery on a Tuesday and had to be at the hospital at 5:30a.m. for a 7:30 surgery.  They started a few minutes early and my family told me i was done within an hour.  By 3 pm i asked that they remove my catheter, which they did, and i was up walking around.   They did give me pain shots on the day of surgery and the following day and after that I refused any as didn't really have much pain.   First 2 days all i did was sleep and walk the halls when i wasn't doped up.  Told my family to stay away as i really wanted to be alone (and usually do when crabby).   I was discharged on Thursday and the hardest part was getting clothes on that didn't hit the incision sites so i wore a pair of baggy sweat pants for days (wash and wear).  I felt so good that by Friday, I was out shopping.  The doc told me to hit the malls and stores so i would get plenty of walking.  By day 11 i was feeling so good, I decided to do yard work whi*****luding trimming bushes with a lopper....BIG MISTAKE.   I had excruciating pain, clammy cold sweat and dry heaves after getting rid of everything else.   Make sure you listen to your doc and don't overdo it. Take care and good luck, Pam

I don't know which surgery you are having, but I had lapband, and what I remember most, was how soon it seemed after surgery they wheeled me down ( after 2 hours in recovery) to do the leak test.  The girl who wheeled me had no compassion as to my condition, and hit every bump at at LEAST 55 mph, lol. Boy, was that the ride of my life.  I figured if I survived that, I'm good to go! Nancy

What a great post. I am getting so much info reading these. I'm having surgery on 7/22 and I need all the info I can get! Great post. Debbie