time to start using this...

Jan 16, 2009

i haven't posted anything here yet...i kind of was thinking, who is going to care to read it? but now that i've had surgery, i really really want to read posts by others, especially people i've been in touch with. i also think it will be useful for me to look back and remember what i've gone through, and the road it took to get to where i will be in the future.

in the same vein, today i had my best friend take pictures of my incisions, and my big bloated stomach! i want to remember that. when/if i get urges to eat too much, later on, or do things i shouldn't, i want to have thos pictures to look back as a stark reminder of what i went through, and how i WILL get better and i WON'T give in to stupid temporary urges. that this road i've started on is going to lead to a better place and how no temporary pleasure i may think i'll get from 'breaking the rules' is going to be worth losing my way.

i'm also going to post a good deal of an email i just sent to a friend, as i think it's a good summary of what has gone on with me the past several days, since surgery:

I had my surgery on Tuesday, 1/13. I got to leave the hospital last night. I had no surgical complications, just some recovery issues. My blood oxygen saturation level was staying really low, so they were concerned about that. The anesthesia wore off mostly, but it still was depressing my respiratory system so I wasn't breathing well. I also somehow got extremely dehydrated - they said I was "bone dry" during surgery, and so they were pushing fluids and potassium like crazy. I ended up so swelled up from the tons of fluids they gave me through the IV that my medical bracelet thing was super tight and they ended up not being able to even find veins to take blood after the first day, so there was a lot of "blind sticks", as they called them. and resulting bruising. they did the best they could, though...i trust in that.

No fun!

I also turned out to be horribly allergic to both Morphine and Dilottid (I don't know if that's how you spell it), which gave me the most intensely itchy full body rash. They had to take me off IV pain meds so that wasn't fun. The itchiness was worse, but I had no idea how much the IV pain meds were helping until I didn't have them anymore!

I'm doing okay, now. No nausea or anything yet. I started some of my protein shake today, and I'm doing chicken broth, fruit punch crystal light (my favorite so I hope I don't get sick of it!) and sugar free dark chocolate pudding thinned down with some fat free milk.

I haven't taken any diabetes meds since surgery. My blood sugar hasn't been over 140. I hope it stays that way.

My arms have been EXTREMELY sore, and I'm guessing it's from the air bubbles they said that you can get in your shoulders...but that's getting better, too.

It's funny...the pain sometimes is so much less than I would have thought, and then sometimes I'll twist a bit or something and it will hurt so bad suddenly. I've been walking a lot though, and I am sure it helps.

i hope it gets a little better each day. i did have some thoughts of 'what in the hell did i just do?' after the surgery, and every so often i've wondered if it will keep getting better. then i snap out of it and know i'll be fine, and i'll be GREAT.

i know i can do this. i KNOW i can.

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