Wow. I will start by saying that the last 12 hours were some of my worst ever.
My husband drove me to the hospital for 11am yesterday and the check-in process was smooth and easy. Once we got to Day Surgery, I was changed into a gown, booties and some massive gangster shorts almost immediately and had to pee in a cup, which I found out later was for a pregnancy test. After I was weighed (58.1 kg, interested in keeping an eye on this since I have only had a smoothie so far and I am not hungry) and my height measured, I said bye to Husband and settled into a recliner to get prepped.
They took my blood pressure, which was actually really low and freaked me out that I would faint as soon as it was time for any poking or prodding. A temperature monitor was stuck on my forehead. An OR nurse came and gave me a heparin (anti-clotting agent) in the abdomen and it stung pretty bad but wasn’t too big of a deal. Then an amazing med student working alongside the anesthesiologist screened me and decided we would wait until I was in the OR and laying down to put the IV in. My surgeon came to visit and confirm what was happening and tell me a few things about recovery. No lifting heavy things, doing heavy house work or twisting motions, no swimming (FML) or running for 6 weeks, firm. But I asked about increasing walking speed, walking up hills, etc and she said that is fine, and can start run-walk intervals at 6 weeks and build by feel.
What happened yesterday was, IUD removal, total hysterectomy (uterus and cervix) and bilateral salpingectomy (fallopian tubes). I told my surgeon to promise me there was no way the ovaries could get taken by accident and she assured me that would not happen haha.
Once I went to the OR, I felt nervous but okay, it was really bright and chilly in there and it was an all-girl crew and they were all super nice to me. Getting the IV sucked, my usual Arnold Schwarzenegger veins were not great as I was starving to death and very dehydrated, but they got it into my left hand on the 2nd try and then it was time to go to sleep.
I have never had general anesthetic before so it was so wild opening my eyes and being told that I was waking up from surgery! I definitely bit my lip hard at some point because it was sore and swollen and my throat was a bit scratchy from the airway that had been in. Grogginess was high and my lower back and hips were so, so sore. I kept nodding off and apparently holding my breath, leading to O2 to dip too low, so I had to stay in the recovery room longer than they thought but it wasn’t that long. Maybe two hours?
Husband arrived to pick me up and I was pretty fucked up and very overwhelmed so I started to cry a lot and didn’t love the wheelchair ride, but the drive to the hotel wasn’t too bad and getting into the bed with the catheter (or “golden purse” as my favourite nurse says it’s called) wasn’t too bad. But my back was excruciatingly achey and it felt like my ovaries had a blow torch on each and worse period cramps times 100. About 20 minutes after we had settled in, the first nurse from Hospital at Home came. He had me on a saline IV all night and a low dose (1mg) hydromorphone every 4 hours for pain. I would doze for about 10 minutes after a dose but the pain from the carbon dioxide gas that they inflate you with was too much and I just kept getting up and not sleeping all night. It truly fucking sucked to be honest.
Finally by 6am some of my puppy poses and one leg up on the bed at a time for modified wind-relieving pose allowed the passing of a bit of the gas and the beginning of an urge for a bowel movement. Funny how when I’m talking about running I say poomergency but in this case I’m being all medical. LOL. That was a bad night.
A new Hospital at Home nurse came this morning and she removed the catheter (not painful in any way) and disconnected the IV. She also tried to take blood for a CBC but my veins were’t cooperating so the next nurse will do that. She left me a “sombrero” to pee in that measures the volume and unless you can void about 250ml and not retain too much in the bladder (they ultrasound to check) then they have to put the catheter back in! But, don’t want to brag, but I just peed 400ml so I think I might be in the clear.
I did a short walk down the hall to the elevator and back and if felt good to move. I was side stepping and walking forward and backwards last night but with all the riggin I couldn’t really go anywhere. The very gentle yoga poses and simply getting out of the bed often was all I could do to feel a tiny bit better, it fucking sucked. But as of right now I just feel a bit bloated and like I have period cramps and an achey back. There is also carbon dioxide gas trapped around my diaphragm and I can hear it when I’m doing deep-diaphragmatic breaths and it’s making my right shoulder hurt a bit but apparently that’s normal referral pain from pressure on the phrenic nerve..
Time for bladder ultrasound and another short walk. I feel like it can only go up from here, fingers crossed. PS, get yourself a spouse like mine. Wow.
Jamie
JammieKomadina 