Hi all. Just checking in post surgery. I am back at the hotel now, drinking liquids and broths. I have my amazing husband to care for me. :) I would not have been able to do this without him. They discharged me at about 1:00pm today. My body still has not adjusted to a time zone yet, and I just woke up from a 3 hour nap.
They took me into surgery at about 2:00pm yesterday afternoon. I was back in my room by 5:00pm pm after spending about an hour or so in recovery. The actual procedure only takes 30 minutes they said with the placing of the band a mere 5 minutes. I have 5 small incisions on my tummy now. I washed them today and applied antibiotic cream. I will have to do this every day for a week. I was not allowed liquids again until this morning, so it was nearly 30-32 hours without water. It would have been a lot rougher if I had not known to expect that. Luckily I did, so I just tried not to think about it. The water this morning was manna from heaven.
TMI AHEAD!
I have some gas pain. I constantly feel the need to pass gas through both ends, yet I can not seem to make myself burp. I also really feel the need to poop but just am too scared to try. I've heard horror stories of those who wish they had taken a stool softener and I heard people say it wasn't necessary. I did have some solid food the afternoon before my surgery (salad) with the approval of my surgeon, so I am worried about that.
Also, I am afraid to get out of bed by myself though I can get in. Right now, I am having my husband help pull me up when I wish to walk around or sit up instead of lie down. He has been a great help. Without him, this would have all been so scary.
Now I can not wait to get home and see my baby girl. I have missed her so much. We will be celebrating her first birthday this month! I am not looking forward to the flight, though. We were like sardines on the Chicago connection to San Diego. I'm not sure how I'll manage with my slight pain, so I'm going to see if Southwest will allow me to preboard and perhaps get a seat with more stretching room.
BTW, for those of you who read a post I wrote a while back about my plane seat and were wondering, I fit in my seat just fine. It was a little tight and I got the seatbelt to buckle with no room to spare, but luckily I was beside my husband the whole time so I did not have to squish up to a stranger. I ended up buying a seat belt extension for use on Southwest plans just in case, and now I no longer need it. So here's to hoping Southwest in San Diego is feeling sympathetic tomorrow and allows us to preboard...
Thank you for all your well wishes. I wish I could respond to them all individually, but I really can not bear to sit still for long on here right now. :) Hope you all are well!!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
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Ashley, don't worry about the pooping. You've had a baby - the first post-op poop is NOTHING like the pain and terror of the first post-baby poop. You'll be fine, just don't wait too long before you go. And definitely stick with the stool softeners. There's no down side to taking them, as long as you're not taking a laxative.
ReplyDeleteHave a safe flight back home and keep up those fluids!
Thanks, Kristin. Mission accomplished! Lol. and you are absolutely right-- it was nothing compared to post-baby poop. Haha!
ReplyDeleteSafe trip home. Take your pain killers when you get on the plane and you should do fine. To get yourself up from bed, roll on your side and push yourself to sit with your one arm. Sit for a minute if you get dizzy and then you should not need to be pulled up. Happy pooping! (BTW, I am a nurse and our first question every morning to a patient was "have you had a poop yet!")
ReplyDeleteI am able to pull myself up and out of bed now so that is good. :) And the gas is mostly gone--but Gas X Strips are my new religion! haha
ReplyDeleteGlad you are doing well! You will feel better each day.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you're doing well. Have a good flight home.
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