Paying my post-op experience forward, as reading others is the one thing I enjoyed most. - Although now looking back, it is the one thing that I had a higher expectation of... (based on better outcomes) and fell completely short of.

My pre-op day August 31, 2015 was like everyone else explained. I arrived 2 hours early to get my Heparin shot. It indeed burned like gasoline as someone had referenced. The usual prep of IV starting (ask that this placed in your non-dominant arm... and arm meaning arm, not hand.) Mine first got placed into my left hand, and the loop from the tubing stuck out over my knuckles, and every flush, every medication burned liked crazy, to the point of unbearable. Not to mention the loop was great at being bumped and caught on things. I had a 2 night stay, if it were an outpatient procedure, it probably would not have mattered much. I washed my abdomen from the chest down with Chlorhexadine wipes, removed all my clothing and talked to numerous staff and anesthesiologists. I was not nervous, based on the fact I felt prepared, have been in the medical field, and with research and friend/family support felt confident and at ease. My surgery lasted about 3 hours. I had a hiatal hernia repair done at the same time. One of the last things I remember them doing was rolling a blanket to place under my shoulders so my neck would tilt back. (Hence the crook I have in my neck, still today). I did not have to have a foley, and I did not have any drains.

Upon awakening from anesthesia, I felt nausea. I had asked to be pre-medicated with Zofran prior to being awoken. The staff assured me I had something and called the MD for some more. And I still had it... and they called for more... and I still had it and they called for a change... and again. I had 4 different nausea medications. I was wearing a scopolamine patch that was placed pre-operatively for nausea. We use this patch with hospice patients to dry up their secretions at end of life. This patch not only did not work for nausea, but gave me terrible dry cotton mouth. Horrible. When I got to my room, and still complained of nausea, as I was having very hard, hard, dry heaves, the MD finally prescribed Reglan. It worked for some time. Soon after the headache settled in and I felt very hot. The nurses along with my mom were placing washcloths on my forehead, neck and feet that had been soaked in ice water. - no joke and.... It felt good. The nurse explained I had 8 doses of Dilaudid while waking up, and they felt it was causing my headache, nausea and hot flashes. I had no temp. I had pain, but they didn't want to medicate me anymore. I got IV Tylenol. Whoooo!

So to recap... I am lying there... dry heaving-hard, cotton mouth, (can only have ice chips and water, which I wanted neither), pain in my stomach, migraine headache, crooked neck and burning hot-on fire !!!!! Not a great time folks. I am not sure what all went wrong, or what went right. I do know I suffered, and thought I was dying.

Kudos to you all that travel to Mexico and hop on a plane the next day to come home. God Bless you.

The rest of my day(s) were spent praying I'd get better, taking lots of naps, and trying to make a slow crawl to stay alive.

Today, for the most part I am pain free while sitting or standing... my pain comes from position changes. It is on my right side where the biggest incision 1" long, where my stomach was removed from. The other incisions barely bother me. My stomach which has been stapled and removed, does not bother me. I medicate myself with Oxycodone 5 mg every 4 hours. Staying on top of the pain, is better than waiting until I can't move. It eliminates the peaks and valleys... I have it, I am using it, and I don't care to be a super hero and man through the pain right now. I may or may not be a baby???

I am trying to keep fluids in me, but can not tolerate the smell of broth (I pre-homemade batches before surgery), and other smells and pictures (commercials on tv) trigger my nausea. I have to talk myself out of getting sick. I put some Gene-pro protein in a warm cup of tea this morning and have been sipping on it for over an hour. I can tolerate half of a sugar free popsicle and a few spoon fulls of Power-ade and jello. So, eh... not so bad? right? I may or may not have some homemade broth for sale... LOL Oh, and I have zero appetite. At this point I would happy to eat or drink a thing.

I remember reading that walking has helped a lot of people move gas and recover. I did walk, few time around the unit, around my room, etc... and didn't notice any drastic changes. Nurses did remind me to try and walk fully upright, it fully upright etc... because as the stomach heals, it will heal in that fashion and build up more scar tissue. So it is, feet flat on the floor, shoulders back, at attention! Sir -yes -sir!

I also have this pain that is midsternal. It starts just below my breast area, and feels like it is applying pressure in a rolling up fashion, of discomfort. Doctor says it may be from the hernia repair, and may be due to some swelling. It happens not only after sipping, but random times in between. I often find myself staring at my pill, or drink, banking up the courage to just take a sip. Fluids vs Pain. Fluids being more important at this point.

ok... sorry I was long winded. I am sure there are a thousand other things I forgot to say. Please don't read this and be scared, as that was not my intention. I am just giving an honest recap of my experience. I think far more people do better than what I have. But do know, horrible side effects do exists and we are all different. My mom was a much better nurse to me than the nurses there. I was thankful and blessed to have her by my side.

Best wishes to all. I look forward to writing my next post and updating you on how wonderful I am doing! Until then, take great care of yourselves! xo