Some post-op advice from a highly nauseous person

[KayBe]

Hi everybody!

I had my surgery on Tuesday and was supposed to be home yesterday, but due to being horribly ill, I was not able to leave until today. If anyone saw my first post asking advice from those who have a tendency to get ill from anaesthesia, I did everything possible to avoid being sick, but unfortunately, nothing worked.
I spent more than 24 hours retching and dry heaving without actually vomiting. Eventually, at around 3am this morning, my husband started building a log to figure out what was triggering my nausea. Well, it turns out that Zofran (the main anti-nausea the hospital likes to give to people) is actually known to cause nausea in some people (lucky me!) and you especially shouldn't take it if you have any liver damage. My mom and husband both did some googling to find that out. I have a mutated gene in my liver which doesn't allow me to metabolize what my body perceives as a poison, and so every time I'd get a dose of Zofran (and it was a LOT), I'd feel better for about an hour and then start feeling even worse. Not even the nurses knew that this was an issue linked to Zofran, so if anyone is being fed this stuff and still feels terrible, ask to switch to something else.

I eventually got my brain working hard enough to remember that suppositories work like a charm for me, and the nurses got me something and since then, I've felt MUCH better. The only pain meds I've had is Tylenol, because of my sensitivity to narcotics, I worry that anything strong will make me sick again. Between the suppositories and the Tylenol, I feel about a thousand times better today, and now the only time I'm retching is when I get a really painful gas bubble.

Wishing everyone with an upcoming surgery the best of luck. I can honestly say that, nausea aside, I feel really good and am not experiencing much pain at all. You'll do great!

[shawnv1]

I'm glad you're doing better!! I haven't had the surgery yet, but I truly hate being nauseated. Man, that's one of my fears. To always be nauseated would be terrible.

[ndronet]

Nausea can come in all forms. Glad you got yours figured out! Most of mine came from sinus issues because of all that sinus drainage into that tiny stomach! For the first few weeks after surgery I was on a regiment of sinus meds to control the drainage. Now anytime we go though major pressure changes - which in Texas is a lot until we roll into the heat of summer - I have to prep up for it.