Heather S.
Surgery and Post-Op, Day 4
Jun 07, 2015
Yay! Post-Op and home! I was released from the hospital yesterday and got home about 3:30pm...but lets start at the beginning.
Surgery was Thursday 6/4/15 at 11:30 am. I got to the hospital about 9:30, got checked in and was brought back to a small room and instructed to go to the bathroom and then take everything off and put on a gown. After making sure my behind was covered I had to wait for about 30 minutes before a nurse came back to weigh me (419! Guess the 2-week liquid diet worked, down 20 lbs!) and then put in my iv. After that the anesthesiologist came in and told me what he was going to do, that I'd be receiving general anesthesia and I signed paperwork that showed he gave me that info. So. Much. Paperwork! lol I was given something in my IV to make me loopy and I was rolled out and down the hall to the operating room. I remember seeing quite a few people and they were all busy working on me, putting massaging things on my legs to help circulation, a cap on my head to cover my hair, and then nothing.
I woke up in recovery about 2 hours later completely drowsy and slightly confused. It took quite awhile before I was thinking right, but I wasn't in any pain. I stayed in recovery for about 45 minutes until they were sure I was stable and coming out of the anesthesia then I was rolled into my room...I was lucky and got a room to myself, room 203. That first day was a blur of vitals and blood sugar being taken, pain medicine being given, and sleep. I was given dilantin in my IV and it would make me super sleepy. I would stay awake for maybe an hour then be back to sleep. I was NPO at this time (nothing by mouth) and was given a mint flavored mouth spray for my dry mouth and throat. It helped a bit. My throat was so sore and I had a cough from being intubated. My stomach was sore but not nearly a much as I thought it would be.
That night I was finally awake enough to get up and walk some in my room. All I can say about that is gravity is a bit*h! Standing up was hard enough, and once my stomach and incision spots were hanging it HURT! But after standing and shuffling around a bit, I got used to the pull and it became tolerable. I was able to walk back and forth in my room about 15 times before getting back in bed. It wasn't until I was back in bed for about 10 minutes that my stomach started hurting even more. Time for more pain medicine and bed.
The next day (Friday) I got the catheter out and was able to sit up in a recliner they had. I put on my own clothes and was able to wash up with disposable wash cloths they had. It felt great! I walked around my hospital floor with the IV pole in tow and stayed awake all day. I also had my swallow test about 11:00 am. They took me back to radiology and the table tilted up right so I didn't have to try and step up and hop on it, I just stepped on it, leaned back and it laid me down. Pretty neat. I had to swallow this stuff that was thick and tasted HORRIBLE, and then got to watch as it went down my esophagus and into my new 'banana' shaped stomach, then into my small intestines. No leaks, so as soon as I was back to my room and my surgeon got the results and gave the ok, I was able to start drinking room temperature clear liquids. I started with water, and was only able to drink 1-2 oz each hour. I've never been so aware of my stomach. Every sip hit my stomach like a rock, no matter how small. I felt slightly nauseous but not bad. I was hoping to go home that night, but my blood sugars kept dropping every time they took them so they wanted to watch that another night. I was disappointed, I wanted to go home and my daughter missed me. Around 11 pm my blood sugar was down to 84 (which is lower than it's been for a LONG time) and I was feeling shaky and sick and confused I was hurting and didn't know what I wanted. They gave me an ounce of regular jello to bring my sugars up just enough to be ok. It worked, and I eventually fell asleep.
Saturday I slept as late I could, since it was the second night of nurses waking me up every 4-6 hours for vitals, blood sugars, more IV liquids or Tylenol. I was hurting even more (I was told days 2 and 3 were the worst for pain...) and they switched me from IV pain meds to pills. Not crushed, whole. They were small pills, but still felt like a rock being dropped into my stomach every time I'd take them. But they told me I'd have to get used to it if I was going to go home. I was given room temperature jello and broth for both breakfast and lunch. It wasn't very good at all, and I still couldn't drink more than 2 oz an hour without feeling very uncomfortable. I got to go home at 3:30 though, and was able to relax a bit.
Today is day 4. I still hurt, walking is painful due to gravity, but I think it's a bit better. Maybe. I hold my stomach when I walk to try and keep the pain down. Today I started drinking protein shakes, which seem to go down ok, but the most I can drink is 2-3 oz an hour, and thats pushing it. My 11 ounce premier protein shake took me about 5 hours to finish. I hope I'm able to drink a bit more or faster soon, because I other wise I don't know how I'll be getting all the water and protein my doctor wants me to have in a day in. I'm supposed to be drinking at least 60 grams of protein (2 shakes) a day plus lots of water. It's 8:30 pm and I've managed 1 shake and about 8 oz of water. 
I'm hopeful that each day the pain will get less and less and I'll be able to drink more and more. It's a big adjustment. I'm pretty much spending all day sipping on something. But I don't regret it. It WILL be worth it!
