5 posts from March 2008

You'll find super glue in your pubic hair.

Mom showed up around 9:30 am.  My doctor had already been by and told me how the surgery had gone.  It was adenomyosis.  He said my ovaries and tubes were fine and were left in.  I was given the normal warnings about what I could and couldn't do (as I would find out later - they don't mention everything), and was told that I could have soft food once I was able to pass gas. I was also given the choice of staying one more day or going home late that afternoon.  Guess which one I chose.

Breakfast was chicken broth and a nasty fake orange jello substitute, which I ate as I was STARVING.  It was also at this time when they pulled me off the morphine-like drip and started me on vicodine.

After breakfast, my nurse hauled me out of bed, stripped me down and bathed me while I was standing naked in the bathroom holding on to my catheter bag.  The whole time she was complaining because no one had gotten me a new pad for my bed, or even walked me around.  I mentioned standing up, but that wasn't good enough for her.  And I'm not complaining either, I felt so much better after cleaning up and walking a lap around the hall.  I was bathed, coated in lotion, got to brush my teeth, and she changed the sheets on my bed.  Other than my stomach hurting like hell, I felt great.

Lunch was more chicken broth and strawberry jello.  I complained a bit about this, but they reminded me that I wasn't allowed soft food until I farted.  And yes, that hurts to do.  After lunch we started the pee trials.  They removed the catheter (mild discomfort my ass!!!!) and said that I'd have to pee three times into a measuring device and then after the third time have a scan to see if I was able to void enough for them not to have to put the catheter back in before sending me home.  I was drinking lots of water so I could finish up and get out... not realizing how much it would hurt to pee.

That's not the only thing that hurts.  It also hurts to laugh, open up the bottles with safety tops, clear your throat, my thighs hurt for some strange reason, sitting down hurts, trying to stand up hurts, shifting around on the bed hurts, or any movement at all hurts.  And right now my head hurts.

I'm still not sure how I feel about my husband taking a photo of me after I finally got out of the recovery room. I think I flipped him off before making the "V" for victory sign he asked for.  Monday is still foggy, although any thinking is fuzzy right now anyway.

Mom and my hubby-love waited for me in my room while I was stuck in the recovery room.  That's always fun because Steve is somewhat uncomfortable around my family, and he was already cranky because he had to have me to the hospital at 5:30am.  Once I was able to pay attention to what was going on around me--through the fog of the morphine substitute--I sent Steve home for a nap while my Mom stayed with me.  I hadn't really thought about how comforting it would be to have someone I trust sitting there while I floated around in the mist.

I tried to sleep, but it was difficult to do between the pain, the machines, and that damn catheter. The nurses were patient with me, which was nice.  Mom went home after rush hour traffic was over.  Dinner was a cup of beef broth that was so salty that I only managed to get down two spoonfuls before giving up.  The strawberry jello made me sick, so that was it for dinner.  They gave me three different types of medicine before they were able to get rid of the nausea, and it took a while because they had to get permission for each kind based on the meds they had given me before. 

Steve came back around 7 pm and sat with me while I tried to sleep.  He also brought me my iBook so I could enjoy the free wireless.  I enjoyed listening to him as he talked to his friends on the phone.  He had me talk to Helen for a little while, but it was difficult to concentrate on making sense. I dozed on and off while he was there.  I remember him asking the nurse about why I couldn't sleep longer than a few minutes at a time and she said that it was normal.  Before he left, Steve helped me stand up so I could move around for a few minutes.  My nurse Sara helped out, but I was too groggy to go more than a few steps anyway.

After hubby-love left, I was able to sleep for a few hours before I woke up in the middle of the night.  That was it for sleep for the rest of the day.

Between the bed shifting every five minutes, having wearing stockings that move up and down my legs to prevent blood clots, and a catheter that pulls when I try to get comfortable;  I'm having trouble getting any sleep.  Trying to type sucks too--mostly from the meds.

I was told, second-hand, that my surgery was routine and that there were no problems.  I vaguely remember my doctor visiting both before and after the surgery, but that's about it.  Recovery sucked.  The first thing I remembered was lots of pain, not being able to stop tensing my body, and uncontrollable shivering.  The had to give me a strong painkiller cocktail before the planned medications could start to work. The side effects of that was sleep apnea.  Every time I started to doze off, the alarms would go off because I'd stop breathing. I remember everything in recovery in two-minute increments and accompanied by alarms.  I was stuck in recovery for four long hours before I could go to my room and see my husband and mom.

It's taking me so long to type this that I think I'll take a break before posting any more.

From October to February, I've been trying to find out what was wrong with my reproductive system (bleeding for half of the month, excruciating cramps during the period, and lots of bloody clots).  By the end of December I learned that I had fibroid tumors, but that was supposedly not something to worry about unless I had symptoms.  As it was tolerable, I was willing to ignore it.  Before I changed doctors and insurance companies, my doctor told me that I also needed to have someone take a look as the walls of my uterus, as they were too thick.  I ignored that advice once I found out that I was cancer free, because that was all I was worried on at the time.