Surgery Aftermath and Visitors.

Aug 16, 2010

Today was a long day for me.  I had an appointment with my GP today.  I needed to figure which prescriptions I could have and which I didn't need anymore.  I like my GP Dr. Bibi and she works with me well, listens to me and treats me like a human bean (yeah I know being) but she is so damned late all the time.  My appointment was 1:20, she finally called me to a room at 2pm (and this is record, I mean record time) I then sat in that room for another 45 minutes.  Ah well. 

I actually walked about 6 long blocks today.  Regina blocks.  They are long!!!  So by the time I stopped at the bank, picked up my prescriptions I didn't get home until nearly 4:30.  By the time I got home I thought I was going to pass out and my stomach was starting to hurt pretty bad.  I think I may have overdone and sure in the silly hope that I don't pay for this tomorrow.  This by the way has put me behind the 8 ball with my protein shakes today.   I am 2 behind.  I didn't get up until 10am.  My fluid goals are right up there.

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Day two in the hospital.  I still haven't had anything by mouth and had been subsisting on the IV alone.  Guess what not even a smidge of hunger.  None Nada.

Okay I just lost about 45 minutes of typing.  It froze and I had to log off.  Shit, Shit, Shit.  Now I have to try and remember what the heck I said.

I had to wait for an xray to see if the seals on my surgery sites were true and not leaking.  I also got that freaking catheter out.  I hate catheters. 

They gave me a hat to pee in. .  Actually they put one of those sleeves that you put in the toilet to collect your pee.  Once I was peeing on my own I couldn't figure out why the heck I was peeing so much.  I hadn't had anything to drink since midnight on the 8 (9th?).  It had never occurred to me that waste from your blood was excreted through your urinary system.

I've typed this damned thing 3 times each time getting more and more pissed that I have to rethink the g.d. thing to try and remember what I said and where the hell I was going with it.  It all started going wonky when I tried to sign in for the damned chat with the bariatric buddies.  Made my computer go f***ed up.  Never did get to chat.

Anyways on Tuesday was when I finally got to have my first drink.  I was allowed a whopping 30mls (2 tablespoons)of water per hour.  That wasn't until 8pm Tuesday night.  So I hadn't had a anything by mouth from midnight Monday until 8pm Tuesday night.

My water, as I said, was 30mls per hour.  I was only up for about 2 hours  after they introduced the water so I only had about 90mls all day.

Wednesday was the change day.  My old buddy and soulmate the pain pump big adeiu today.  I was kinda sad but I felt pretty good and had been walking around for the past couple of days.  My pain was still around a 5 or 6 but I learning to live with it so it wasn't as big deal.  I know it only has to make sense to me.  My water  was increased to 90mls per hour.  I had no trouble getting that in. 

The one thing about this hospital stay that really bugged me was inconsistency.  One nurse would come in and say that something would happen then it wouldn't.  Or like I was told that I would get only 90mls of water until Thursday and then on Wednesday supper a tray with SF jello and herbal tea show up.  Do I eat it do I leave it?  I ask 2 nurses they both say they'll check and they just never come back.  I wish Scott was there through the whole thing.  He took great care of me.

One of the other things that happened is about 6 people asked me if I had allergies.   I told each and everyone of them I was lactose intolerant.  So when I got to have shakes on Thursday what happens they come mixed with 2%

milk.  So I tell 2 different nurses that I'm lactose intolerant and these shakes are made with 2% milk.  I ended up drinking 2 of the shakes because I wanted to stay on track.  Finally my nutritionist showed up and I told her about the 2% milk and she made a single call to the kitchen and they sent me a batch of shakes made with soy.  It took her one phone call and less than 3 minutes to change this but the nurses couldn't have bothered.  I should have shit in their stupid hat. 

One the things that made me laugh is that so many people were interested as to whether I had "passed gas" or pooped.  I know this shows that your bowels are working after their shortening and relocating but damn.  That was ridiculous I was so glad to finally say I passed gas on and pooped Thursday night.  Everyone else seemed delighted as well.

Okay, so now before I leave I have to talk to a hospital pharmcist to explain that I can no longer have nsaids or extended release drugs and no drugs that can't be cut up to the size of a tic tac.  So I'm waiting patiently on Friday my bags are packed from 9am on.  I want to go home.  I ask the residents, the nurses and having learned my lesson's well I bugged them crazy.  Finally at quarter to 12 the pharmacist shows up and say she didn't know I was waiting for her until 15 minutes before when someone finally called her to tell her to come down..  Of course it only was resolved when Scott came back on shift and I went to him he had the pharmacist to me within 15 minutes of me going to him.

I'm trying to think of any other things that happened but I guess that will come.  I've been writing this all day it seems including 3 rewrites.

So I packed my bags and left the hospital.

The first visit was from my sister in law.  She brought me some puzzle books and a nice light fluffy magazine.  I actually didn't touch the puzzle book until late the last night.  I just couldn't concentrate long enough.

The second visit was someone I don't really care for and I was surprised that she came.  I think it was just curiosity rather than concern for me.  Yeah i really don't like her.  I'm just glad that I was not so far gone (drugwise) my edit button not been shut off.  That edit button has saved me quite a bit in the past.  It has been know to get stuck a time or two.  She brought me a carnation bowl.  It was cute.  I was gracious (I think). 

The third visitor was a woman who had gone through the surgery last October.  She had had a multitude of complications through her whole surgery.  She went from a size 28 to a size 9 but her life was destroyed by the surgery because she didn't get her health.  She was the one who I thought had bailed on me on Monday.  It turns out that she was actuallly in the hospital battling a mystery pain and had only been let out that on Tuesday.  I really appreciate having her in as part of my journey.  It can be very weird for people to put out nothing but sunshine and flowers.  Very real life changing things can and do happen.  Some of these things can be bad.

I think I'll just cover all the visitors in random order now because I can't remember the order in which they came.

One pack of visitors, 3 of my co-workers, came in a big clump.   Just before they came in I was battling with pain and serious nausea.  It was bad timing because I had to squash everything I was feeling...mash on my happy face and be the gracious host. Especially since one was my boss.  It was a surprise to see the lone male in our department come too.  He actually left within about 20 minutes.  The other 2 stayed awhile longer until I actually had to ask them to leave so I could get something for the nausea that was threatening to spew watered foam all over the big kahuna.  I didn't think I could hide it anymore.

There were 2 more people from the support group.  I really value these visitors because all of them had been through the same journey as me but all walked very different paths and while a similar experience they could each write a series of very different books with very different results.  

Another woman from the support group who has made this journey on a paralell path.  We both started the program at the same time.  She actually had her surgery on June 28th.  I feel a sense of kinship with her.  Hopefully I will be as sucessfull as she has been .  She was a bit upset because she had not lost weight for the first week since she had her surgery.  I think she has lost almost 70lbs including her pre-surgery weight loss.  

Lets see.  My brother showed up twice.  Plus he came to pick me up to go home on....Friday the 13th.  My foster mom, and my buddy Sue B. one of my very favorite people on earth.  I know I don't mean quite the same to her but that's okay.  My life is better for knowing her.  Obviously she doesn't know about this blog!!!

Now that I think about the visitors I know that the second day was still too soon for so many visitors.  I was still feeling pain and nausea. 

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