I'm home

Feb 27, 2010

I am 3 days post-op and got home yesterday. Let me fill you in about everything that happened. I got to the hospital on Thursday morning at 8am (I am glad we left 2 hours beforehand because it snowed during the night and the roads were slick). I had to wait in the surgical waiting area for a little bit before going back to pre-op. All of my strength started to leave me. I was back there by myself and my pre-op nurse wasn't exactly warm and fuzzy. Anyway, I went to the bathroom before putting on my gown and was able to pray for God's strength and reassurance that I was not going to die today. The Scripture from Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." That gave me the strength to leave the bathroom and put on the very short, but very large surgical gown (with no underwear - that was freaking me out, don't ask me why). Soon after my nurse game over and she was very nice and reassuring. She did, however, stink at starting an IV. She stuck me twice and then called someone else over who had to stick me twice before getting the IV going. Then they called my family in and we sat there kind of nervous and uncomfortable for awhile until the anesthesiologist came to talk to me and asked if I would like something to relax me. Trust me, the answer to this question is always, YES! So glad I did because whatever mellowness I was feeling went right out the window as soon as they started wheeling me down the hall and into the OR. It was like being in an alien film. I got myself on the operating table and the nurses introduced themselves right before they became strapping my arms down to boards with big old belts. Before I could begin to freak the anesthesiologist was back and having me breathe in a lot of oxygen. When we gave me the general anesthetic I suddenly tasted something metallic and funny.......
.....When I woke up I was in recovery and crying with the pain. It was so intense that I was sure that they ended up having to do open instead of laproscopically. The nurse then gave me several shots of dilaudid. I wanted to pass back out, but every time I started to the alarm on the pulsox started going off and they would make me start taking deep breaths. I didn't want to until she said that she couldn't give me more medicine unless I breathed deep enough. I found the will after that. HA! Once I was a little more coherent. I asked her if they did the surgery open or lap and she reassured me that it was lap. She gave me several bites of ice chips and boy did they taste amazing! Soon after I was being taken to my room.....
      The rest of the day I chilled out and watched TV between the multitude of room visits from nurse and nurse's aid. I got up to walk the fist day and made it to the corner of the hallway (about 10-15 feet from the bed). I ended up walking 3 times the first day and made it one whole lap around the floor by the end of the day. Day two my cathetur came out and I instantly wanted to go to the bathroom. That hurt quit a bit to get up and down (mostly the up) and it often pulled the tape away from my skin on my J tube dressing so blood would end up everywhere. The pulseox came off soon came off since I was dong so well with the spirometer and had coughed up plegm several times (OUCH!). Then Friday afternoon my Mom noticed a bunch of swelling around the IV site (thank goodness she's a nurse!). Evidently the IV became included and the IV liquids were going right into the tissue instead of the vein. The nurse came in, looked at it, and said that she was going to take it out and call the surgeon, but she thought that if I worked really hard on getting my liquids in, then the doctor would let me keep it out. So my the end of the second day I was free as a bird (except the scuds which they said I could take off once in awhile since I was doing so great on walking). I was feeling very proud of myself and pleased that I didn't have much swelling and no nausea at all. Until.....the gas hit....
       When they say that gas pain is the worst, it truly is. I won't even pretend that mine was bad compared to some people's. There are at least two different types of feelings. There is the high abdominal gas which you can work up into a burb and that helps. Then there is mid-abdomen gas which bubbles and disappates into nowhere, like random bubbles. Then there is lower bowel gas. That was problematic for me because I could not pass it. I walked and walked and walked (I did 5 laps around the floor at one time trying to get it to pass). What I wouldn't give for one great big fart (gross, I know, but that's how I felt). It got so bad that it was making me nauseous. Finally, I just went to sleep.
      Sleep in the hospital was odd. You would think on the heavy dialudid you would pass right out. Not me, I would pass out for about 5 minutes into a deep sleep and then would pop right back up. The longest I slept at one time was 3 hours between midnight and 3am. On the second day when I was moved to loratab I definitely felt sleepier. I finally gave in around 6 and slept for several hours while my hubby went to his sister's for supper. I chatted with her when she got back and talked to my friend on the phone when she called, but I could feel my eyes rolling back in my head. I then instantly went to sleep around 10pm and slept (waking up every couple of hours when the nurses's aid came in) until 7am. Then I got up to go to the bathroom and walk the hall because the gas was back. When I finished my first lap, the surgeon was going into my room. He discharged me and gave final instructions. The nurse came in around 10 and took out the tube (YEA!) and gave discharge instructions. And then we were ready to go!
         Then I got to come home. The first thing I wanted to do was shower, but after a 90 minute drive I was exhausted. I laid down for a little bit before hitting the shower. My husband took one with me because he wanted to make sure I didn't fall over and because, honestly, he needed one too! I was able to take the bandages off my small incisions. I don't know if it the sight of the incisions and staples or the heat of the shower, but I got really nauseated. I had to get out and vomit. However, "vomit" didn't produce anything. I was gagging and burping which actually made me feel better once it was over, but boy was it painful at the tube site during it. It totally freaked my husband out. My mom came over and took off the bandage over where the tube had been (it wasn't painful at all like I was prepared for) and changed the dressing. I tried to get some protein in and I did manage to finish most of the cup, but my sense of smell and taste buds are very sensitive. I put it in a cup with a lid so I couldn't smell it, but it tasted awfully sweet (I had put in a tiny bit of Splenda). I also think it must have been a little foamy because that made me feel very nauseous as well. I had to do the "vomit" thing again, though not producing anything. I have found that peppermint tea is my favorite thing right now and makes everything feel lovely. It takes care of gas and nausea. Unfortunately, I am going to have to go try to get some protein in now....Wish me luck!

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