Even though I've had other surgeries, they have all been out-patient procedures and recovery has been fairly simple & straightforward. This is different.
First, I am so grateful that an overnight hospital stay was required. I also am grateful that my husband & my sister conspired behind my back for her to stay with me overnight (I was insisting that I didn't need anyone). I vaguely remember waking up in recovery to excruciating pain. I was FREEZING--so much that my whole body was shaking. I remember feeling nauseated (they told me later that I vomited, but I don't remember that). Apparently, they gave me stuff because the next thing I remember is being wheeled into my hospital room where Darrell was waiting. This was around 4-5pm, I think.
I have very vague memories of the next few hours. Darrell says I kept falling asleep mid-sentence and that most of what I was saying didn't make much sense. I do remember that my nurses were really nice, though. The stay was fairly uneventful--I pushed the button to dispense pain meds as often as I could. I peed a lot. They kept asking if I'd had a bowel movement, and I kept telling them that I had not had solid food in 4 days and didn't really think that would be happening anytime soon. ;)
The next day, Doc S stopped by and told me that both procedures were textbook--everything went well and nothing out of the ordinary happened. He said that I could have "lunch" (i.e. chicken broth) after an upper GI and that if I tolerated lunch & dinner, I could be discharged. The upper GI, as with everything else, went according to plan. YIPEE!!!
So, a fairly boring hospital story. Being home has been different. After the band, all I remember is sleeping A LOT and having a ton of gas pain in my shoulder but not much anywhere else. This time, I don't have the gas issue and the pain is in the lower right quadrant of my abdomen (I'm assuming this is where my stomach is).
I find myself with a lot of energy in the mornings and have been quite active (too active, if you ask my husband). I've been emptying the dishwasher, making the bed, cleaning out & organizing cupboards and trying to walk as much as possible. This morning, we took a field trip to Lowes. My sister took me to Whole Foods yesterday. However, I generally crash HARD in the afternoons.
I haven't slept through the night, yet and always wind up waking around 3-4am for a dose of pain meds and then awake again around 6-7. Today, I slept until 9:30 before pain woke me up!!!--That's 5 1/2 hours--much improved. :)
Tomorrow I have my 1st post-op visit with the doc. Fingers crossed.
PS I'm still pretty doped up on Lortab, so please excuse the rambling & unfocused nature of this post.
