On surgery day, my Dad, husband, and I drove out to the medical suite while happily chatting. We met the anesthesiologist, I changed into a gown, and then we chatted some more. After what felt like hours, I started to get jumpy--I'm all for being polite to the medical personnel, but why the heck were we talking about Lord of the Rings when I just wanted to get the surgery over with? Turns out we were waiting for the surgeon. I went to cry in the bathroom for ten minutes, and came out to wait some more. I was terrified.
OK, the doc showed up, drew some lines on me, and took me to the surgery suite. Her prep materials assured me that the surgery suite was state-of-the-art despite being outside the hospital, and it looked high tech. Amazingly, the operating table was heated. Nice touch! Then I was out.
It was four hours later when I opened my eyes. I felt icky from the anesthesia and bound up in the middle, but there was no pain. After just an hour, they brought my husband in, sat me up, and shuttled my shaky body to a wheelchair. I was absolutely stunned that someone in my condition would be sent home. But there I was, being wheeled to the curb, asked to stand up (!), and strapped into the passenger side of our minivan. I was on the edge of nausea and my guts felt so tight! No one said a word all the way home.
Back in the house, I plopped in the recliner and kept a trash can nearby in case I hurled. I was so scared of throwing up because that could lengthen the recovery time. But they told me I had to eat at least four crackers before I could take the nausea meds (phenargen). I simply couldn't get one cracker down. Little did I know that delaying the phenargen was a blessing in disguise. I kept sipping water and eating ice chips, and I had to pee every hour. Oy, every hour my husband helped me go. We emptied my drains. Eww. I took the Darvocet and Ambien, and actually slept a little in the recliner. I'll post more on the meds and drains soon.
On day two, I started juice, jello, and soup. It still mostly hurt when I got up to walk (now every two hours). I became jumpy and anxious, I think because my blood sugar was pretty low. When I began to eat regular meals, the jittery feelings passed. I felt well enough to have my son and daughter come in to hold my hand, but mostly I wanted to stare out the window or sleep. I believe this was the point everyone goes through where you say, "Why, oh why did I do this to myself?" My hubby kept asking me if I wanted to move the recliner into the living room. No way! When I was that far out of it, I just needed the quiet. Note, on day 2, I started taking a Dulcolax stool softener before bed. Don't fear the stool softener! It gives you a gentle boost, and you're going to need it.
By day three, I noticed that my guts didn't hurt quite so much. It was the external incision that would start to feel sore as I approached the four-hours-past the last pain pill. But day 3 was actually my worst day. I felt a little nauseous, and popped my first phenargen. Within 10 minutes, the room was spinning violently. It just so happens that my body can't take that particular medication. I slept all day until I got that stuff out of my system. I'm so glad I didn't take it on day one! Please don't avoid taking nausea meds if your doctor prescribes them, but get your prescriptions a week ahead of time, and try each pill on a separate evening. You will be so glad you did, and you'll have time to get a different prescription if you have a bad reaction. By the way, on my horrible day 3, my in-laws decided to pop in and visit me. My father-in-law made jokes, my mother-in-law asked repeatedly if I needed anything, and I sat in the recliner wanting to die. They filed out of the bedroom pretty quickly!
In short, the first three days weren't pretty. But things progress quickly after that. By 9 days post-surgery, I was off the pain meds and driving myself. By 2 weeks, I was off all medicine. When it's your turn, just remember that the first few yucky days will pass and everything will work the way it used to.
