Thursday, February 6, 2003 was surgery day. I was very calm before surgery. I knew what was going to happen, and I was ok with it.
I remember waking up in the recovery room in lots of pain. I forced myself to wake up so I could leave recovery. My husband and mom met me in the hallway.
I don't remember much more of surgery day, excpect that I had an IV main line into my jugular in my neck, and I was put on oxygen.
The nurses were friendly. I spent most nights awake and sitting propped up in a chair. The bed became a prison for me. I kept forgetting I had a button to push for pain, and they were giving me medicine for anxiety and nausea through my IV which helped a great deal.
Sunday, 3 days after surgery, I was disconnected from all my tubes, showered and sent home.
Tuesday, Day 4, I was hurting so bad I was sure there was something wrong. We drove a hour and a half to the doctor to get checked out. Everything was fine. I was reminded to take my anxiety medication.
Each day - though it was microscopic - I seemed a little better. On Monday, Day 11, my incision started leaking badly. We drove another hour and a half back to the doctor. They had to open a small hole in my incision. It was about 6 inches deep. We had to let the fluid drain out.
Starting about Thursday or Friday, Day 14 or 15, I started to become very sick to my stomach and I couldn't eat anything. I became very weak, and would have fainting spells while trying to shower. That was scary.
Day 18 I had to call my doctor again to tell them how weak and nauseated I was feeling. They wanted me to come in again. I was too sick to drive a hour and a half, so I went to the emergency room here in town. I was dehydrated! After all the water I was drinking, I found out it wasn't enough. They did some blood work which came back ok - but they thought I had a UTI, so they prescribed antibiotics. They also gave me 2 bags of fluid by IV. I really freaked out there. I hated being confined to the bed, so I finally decided to try to sleep through it all. It worked pretty well. My blood pressure was low in the hospital, and I could tell it was still a problem at home because I still felt like passing out. I did eat a regular amount of food (about 2 TBSP) that night for the first time in days.
I also have problems with Restless Legs at night, even though I take my medication. I can't wait to sleep normally, eat "normally" and have ENERGY!
As of day 17, before they pumped fluid in me, I went from 291 pounds to 257 pounds. 34 pounds lost. The weight loss right now isn't that important to me. I just want to get better. Everyone tells me: everyday will get better. I've also been told that I'm climbing a mountain, and all mountains have tops!
This has turned out to be much more of a nightmare that I bargained for. My husband is completely overwhelmed trying to take care of both me and our son, plus still working. Our son has been sick. I can't hold my baby!
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