Sophia W.
Waking up from surgery...
Jul 10, 2014
was a trip, let me tell ya! Because of famial reasons, I rarely drink, never done drugs. So I am very careful when I do because I have a pretty low tolerance to medication. The anesthsia knocked me on my butt, I was so darn loopy! My husband and I had planned for him to bring our boys (age 3 1/2 and 14 months) for a quick visit since I had to stay overnight and couldn't see them. I vaguely remember them. My Dad came to see me to, or so I was told, didn't remember that at all. My best friend was there until visiting hours were over, holding my hand while I slept. I do remember that. It took over 3 hours for me to be able to keep my eyes open for any length of time.
Apparently, there was some minor complications and the surgery was closer to 2 hours. I can't imagine how worried my husband was. Dr. Chock met with my husband later and told him that the surgery went ok but she discovered I had a hernia and that had to be repaired first, and that was why it took longer than normal.
They don't want you to be still for long, that first walk to the bathroom was brutal! Sat down to pee and nothing. The nurse turned on the faucet water, nothing. I felt bad because I thought I felt the urge to go but it was like I couldn't relay the message to my girly parts! The nurse was cool, said it happened to everyone and said she had an idea. She came back with a kidney-shaped small hospital bed-pan thing, filled it with warm water and handed it to me while sitting on the toilet. She said to put my fingertips in it, play with the water, whatever, until I went. She left and I did that. Still took a few minutes but finally, I peed. And dang if it didn't feel like the best pee ever! LOL Finished up, nurse was walking me to my room, or so I thought but she says 'oh no, its time to walk'. Of course I looked at her like she suddenly grew 3 heads. But we walked, only 1 lap around the nurses station but I did feel better. Tired, I went to sit back down. Thank goodness I brought my laptop, watched a little bit of the movie but since I had to pee again, my rest was short-lived. Peed, walked more, did 2 laps. Rest, pee, walk. That was my night. I slept a little. By 8am, the center was popping with activity. I was released to go home. I had my prescriptions for liquid pain medications, under the tongue dissolvable anti-nauseua medication. First day/night home was ok. My husband, bless him, slept on the couch for fear of hitting me in our bed. I slept upright for the first couple of days because I couldn't handle much more than that. The thing that no one told me about was the gas bubbles. GOOD GOD THAT WAS PAIN! I ended up refilling my prescription of liquid pain medication because the pain got a lot worse before it got better. Day 4 post-op was the worst. The gas bubbles felt like someone was stabbing my shoulder, it was incredible. Heating pad on my tummy helped a little. Day 5 I cried more than I've cried in a long time. I was in so much pain, I was feeling very regretful, wondering what the Hell did I do, wishing I didn't. Day 6, it was amazing, I woke up feeling good. My husband took me and our kids to the park. Played with them while I took tiny steps around. For the first 3 days post-op, you're on a clear liquid diet (broth, jello, water). I found the broth I had bought prior to surgery too salty so I just sipped my water. I remember the first time I had jello, like 6 days post-op, it was so good! 1 week post-op dr appt, I was excited, couldn't wait to find out how much I had lost. (It is estimated that people lose 30-40lbs that first month). I was told that I had lost 10lbs, and that I was dehydrated. And was reminded how important it was to drink water. There was lots of times I wanted to drink water, but when you are forced to only drink a cap-ful at a time, its hard. Gone are the days where I could guzzle a big glass of ice cold water.