Week 5…The Doctor Did Not Warn Me About THIS

This past week has been one of the worst since the surgery.  The stent removal itself wasn’t bad. Or maybe it was, but I don’t remember because I was knocked out cold. But the after effects and the trauma to the ureter were pretty rough.  Between the discomfort, pain and at times, downright depression, I’ve not felt like writing anything. I started 3 separate posts but could only complete 1.  No motivation and total lack of concentration. Multiple posts on how much things sucked did not appeal to me.  So, I give you a basic rundown of how last week progressed.  

Monday:  Drive to surgery center at 5:30am. Prep at 6:00. Procedure at 7:00. Did not like the “gas mask.” Felt like there was not nearly enough oxygen flowing. Felt like I’d suffocate. But I was out by the third deep inhalation. I was awake and chatting up the nurses before 7:45.  I do not remember a whole lot about that. I do remember they were shocked at how fast I came out of it.  I remember the surgical nurse has a wife who is a social worker at the VA. NO CLUE how we got on that topic. I’m sure I initiated it, though.  I remember another nurse asking me about pain and I guess I said I was hurting because she gave me two Percocet.   I remember being hungry. I remember the nurse saying it would be best to stick to clear liquids for a few hours. I remember ignoring that advice. And I distinctly remember REGETING that I ignored it.  Honestly, not a whole lot more I even remember from the rest of that day.

Tuesday:  I spent the day in a fair amount of discomfort.  The trauma from having the stent REMOVED was far more intense than I anticipated. I was popping the pills every 4 hours trying to stay ahead of the pain.  Made it tolerable but did not erase the pain. It did allowed us to get out of the house for a short time and go check out Hometown Comic’s (our local comic book shop) new location, buy a new card game (Snake Oil) and then go grab a bite at Applebees.  I was moving very slowly and gingerly the whole time we were out. And by the time we got back home, I was ready for a nap.

Wednesday:  Exhausted. Extremely high anxiety day. Cried on and off. Took anti-anxiety meds...which I rarely do. Slept a LOT throughout the day after that.  Pain was minimal, which was good. Managed a blog post. But that was it.

Thursday:  Felt GREAT. Walked a mile and half in under 27 minutes.  No pain, no discomfort.  Excited because things were improving.  We drove up to get The Boy from school. Sure, he’s only been gone a week, but it was really nice to see him for a bit.

Friday: I twisted the wrong way, aggravated the still healing ureter and spent the rest of the day in as much pain as I had been in on Tuesday.  We had to drive down to Cincinnati and by the time we came home, I was in more pain than I’d been in since right after the surgery.   Again, I was taking a half to a full pain pill every 4 hours.  By 1:00am I was online looking up info to see if this was normal or if I should be calling my doctor’s answering service to see if I should head to the ER.  My urologist said NOTHING about having serious pain after the procedure. Just some “discomfort.”  Sure enough, a lot of people have gone through the same thing.  Found out I should have been taking NSAIDs…NOT Rx pain relievers.   Popped a couple of Ibuprofen and I was feeling SO much better within the hour.  (BTW, this was NOT caused by the walking from the previous day)

Saturday:  basically involved me taking Ibuprofen and resting and doing a bit of crying.

Sunday: Much better.  Spent time folding clothes and doing light housework. And doing a bit of pouting because the husband has been cleared for travel after spending nearly 3 months at home.  It’s been nice to have him around every day, but it’s also nice to know that his company is anxious to have him back on site. As much as we hate the travel, we do not take for granted how blessed we are that he has a good job.

Which brings us to this morning:  Feeling SO much better. Dishes done, laundry started. Feeling positive again.  Waiting for the daughter to come home and take me to the trail for another walk.  But, the house feels too quiet. I cherish the quiet. I really do. But I think it will take me a while to get used to it again.  

My Kingdom For a...POOP!

Last night was my first night home. Not too bad. I had my alarm set to take my pain meds as soon as they were due, that way I did not wake up FROM the pain.

 

The bad thing about this is that I am not clear headed. Hate feeling dizzy and out of sorts so often. I am a bit ditzy all the time as it is. But THIS is different. Not liking the lack of control. 

Currently taking:

800mg of Ibuprofen 3x a day for swelling. God help me if I forget to eat something before taking that. 

500mg of cephalexin 4x a day (antibiotics)

And Percocet 7.5-325 every 4 hours as needed. 

Really anxious to get off Percocet. I think I am getting vertigo from this. Earlier today I was weighing whether it would be better to deal with the pain or deal with the nausea.  Thankfully, now I have neither.

Due to the IV fluids they were pumping into me, I am swollen up like a balloon. I was expecting to have a swollen belly and even fingers and toes, but EVERYTHING is swollen. Sort of freaking me out a bit.  In fact, I have gained 17 pounds since the morning of surgery.  I think I will call Dr. Mac’s office tomorrow and see how long that should last or if they want me on a diuretic. 

SO puffy and swollen. But hey, the kid is cute!

Physically, doing better than I anticipated.  Of course I hurt and am moving very slowly. But judging by some of the recovery posts on a hysterectomy support site, (www.hystersisters.com) I am really lucky. My pain is manageable. 

 I AM extremely tired.  But it is very difficult to get comfortable.  Looking forward to being able to sleep without needing 10 pillows to prop me up.

Trying to walk around the first floor of the house every couple of hours.  And I just had the boy take me outside to walk up the sidewalk to the street. Felt so good that we walked down the driveway, said hello to the baby chicks and then back in through the kitchen door.  The husband complained that I was overdoing it. I promise I wasn’t. I think he just likes to mother hen ME for a change. 

Emotionally, so far so good.  Have not had extremes in mood swings. No crying jags or yelling.  I WAS feeling sorry for myself earlier today and getting cranky with the husband for a while. Then my sister in law came for a visit and I have felt better ever since. My BELLY hurts more, but I am ok with that since it was from laughing. 

Right now, the thing that probably has me the most down physically AND emotionally is that I am so bloated. Although I have been able to pass gas since the night of the surgery, my bowels are being damn lazy.  I AM eating, but not a lot. I am afraid to! 

Drinking plenty of water. Eating prunes and drinking small amounts of prune juice. Nothing going on down there other than gas. And the longer it takes, the more painful it will be. And…of course the more I worry about it, the longer this is probably going to take. Vicious cycle.  I just want to poop and be done with it.  

Update:
Still no pooping.  But I did take a longish nap and had very weird dreams! (including feeling like I needed to poop in my dream. Seriously??)  Drugged sleep is not restful sleep.