surgery update

I got to the hospital two hours early, and it turned out the surgeon was running ahead of schedule. I wasn’t there fifteen minutes before they stole me away, put me in a hospital gown, and I was saying goodbye to my boyfriend and mom. All in all, better that way. Better than having two hours of anxiety first!

I woke up over five hours later. The surgery only took a half hour, but I had a really hard time with anesthesia again (I guess POTS isn’t why I had problems the first time). Two rounds of benadryl, and three rounds of anti nausea stuff and I was finally able to go home.

My instructions? No driving for a week, no stairs for a few days, no lifting anything for 6 weeks(!) (Holy crap, 6 WEEKS?!) That means no laundry, no exercise, no cooking, no cleaning, no nothing. I’m literally an invalid! The hardest part? Not being able to get into bed with my puppies or have them snuggle on the couch. (Today, I felt better so I thought I would try…and my dog stepped on my stomach. HOLY PAIN!)

Yesterday, I took my first shower. It was the most wonderful, and excruciating, experience. They waaaaaay underestimate the pain. I’m maxing out on pain killers and am not getting relief. The first two days, I couldn’t even get to the bathroom on my own. The reason it’s so painful? They inflate and stretch out your entire abdomen wall to get to the appendix better (think: you worked out your abs way too hard for days). They also make three cuts through your abdomen wall, and those are extremely painful too. (Maybe pictures to come, maybe not…I don’t want to gross anyone out lol)

Really, it shouldn’t be shocking. Think about how often you use your abs. Getting up, standing up straight, walking, balancing, rolling over, going up stairs, going down stairs, sitting, leaning over to wash your hands in the bathroom, turning a doorknob and opening a door, etc. It’s incredible what your abs do, and you don’t become aware of how you need them (and how often you use them) until you’re unable to! I can’t blow my nose, cough (which is tough because having the breathing tube down your throat makes your lungs make junk to repair themselves so you have to expectorate it) or sneeze.

Plus, your back/arms/shoulders hurt from compensating. I can’t use my abs to get up, So I have to rely on my arms/shoulders/back to push myself up.

Thankfully, ice packs and heat packs have made it tolerable now. If I try and swallow another pill, I’ll choke on it. I’m not a pill taker, and have already gagged on them from taking so many. (On a sidenote: My boyfriend has wanted me to get a heating pad for over 2 years because my cramps are so bad. Now, because of the severe abdomen pain, I need one…so he got a kick out of the fact that I finally have one lol)

I’ve just finally started to eat solid foods. This is really going to kill my weight gain. Last night, for the first time, I got more than two hours of sleep. Hopefully, that’s a sign of finally recovering!