Thursday, December 23, 2010

Surgery Update--days 1 and 2

I seriously freaked out about this surgery for nothing.  See, when I had sinus surgery two years ago I had a nurse that was ready to kick me out as soon as I came out from under the general anesthetic.  The thing was, I was in horrible pain, still really confused, incredibly nauseous, and they had given me percoset for the pain after I got out of the OR.  It wasn't a happy combination and the whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth.  That said, this surgery has been a relative walk in the park in comparison.
I woke up with a sore throat, and stuff in my chest. I couldn't see well enough, or talk to find a nurse, so I just started waving my hand in the air--that did the job!  I coughed up some mucus (so gross) but that relieved the weezey feeling in my chest, and then I passed out again while listening to the little girl next to me watch Dora.  I couldn't focus my eyes and the nurse explained to me that was because of the general anesthetic wearing off.

The nurses were fantastic, kind and I got to talk to everyone before hand. I had my own personal nurse after I came to, and both my husband and my friend were allowed to sit with me, in my own quiet room. The nurse talked to me, explained to me what was going on etc. I remember asking her if her 'job was to talk to stoned people all day,' to which she laughed and said it was.  I also commented, after I stood up at how short she was, which I slightly regret, but I was under the impression that she was my height, not a good 8 inches shorter. I was stoned, and surprised.   I don't really remember the ride home, so maybe I slept then. Actually now that I think about it, all I remember is some traffic, and arriving home.  Bringing a pillow was an excellent idea.
Only one thing happened that annoyed me through this entire experience.  They wouldn't, weren't allowed actually to give me a small shot of lidocaine in my hand before inserting the IV.  They claimed I could wait until I got into the OR, and have them do it (which I will do next time!!), or suck it up and let them do it.  IF I were hydrated, it wouldn't have been too bad, but I have crappy veins on the best of days, and it was pretty damn painful. When she took it out though, it was the TAPE that hurt more than anything else. Other than that, I have no complaints.
My friend, MJ has her tonsils out at the same place, by the same doctor and said she was miserable about them trying to get her to eat a popsicle before she was allowed to go home.  I wanted that popsicle like I was dying in the desert and it was the only water for miles. After I started to eat it though, I remember that I HATE the sickeningly sweet taste of popsicles and asked for apple juice instead.  Has anyone else noticed that hospitals have the best ice EVER? It is easy to chew, melts quickly and tastes good.  We have crushed ice here, but it tastes a little dirty, even with a clean filter. It is really annoying.  Apple juice with hospital ice is the best tasting substance in the world.
The first day all I had was jello, and I was eating it every time I woke up (every 90 minute or less) to drink through the night.  I went through, I believe 4 IV bags, and a ton of water before I had to go to the bathroom and then all of the sudden I had to pee every 10 minutes.  I have some happy kidneys!  The jello boosted my fluid intake, and helped a lot.  The wetter I keep my throat,  the easier it is to swallow, even when my meds have worn off.
Today I started sucking on candy (like Werther's toffees) and ate some lipton's soup with noodles. That was delicious!  My throat seems to like warm and cold. I have some frozen peas pressed up against my neck, but I'm not sure they are doing anything except helping make my neck less sore.  I am having gatorade watered down, apple juice with ice and water.  I'd rather suck on ice than drink water though.
I can 'talk,' but it does sort of hurt. It would hurt a lot if I were to try right now while the medicine is pretty much worn off (7 minutes till my next dose).
I made a mistake this morning of going downstairs since I was nice and drugged up.  I somehow got the hiccups on my way down though and choked on water attempting to get rid of them.
Other than that...I'm good!  Let see if the pain gets a lot worse in the next couple of days. I don't have ear pain yet, but apparently that is next.
I blame all bad grammar on my drugged state, and not my inability to proofread my own work!

1 comment:

  1. so glad you came through it okay. when i had my gallbladder taken out, they gave me three bags of i.v. and when the pee started holy cow it wouldn't stop!

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