Post Surgery and the accompanying pain

Well I am now 4 days out of surgery. The experience overall hasn't been terrible, but could certainly be better if there were no pain. But you know what they say, no pain no umm...loss? So I ended up with a total of 6 laproscopy sites plus the one drain. Erin came to retrieve my sorry butt from the hospital and stayed with me until about 5:00pm yesterday. I have showered twice and the dressing on the Jackson-Pratt drain has been changed 3 times. Erin did it once, the nurse did it once, then Jessica changed it after she took over last night. I am having a bit of leakage around the drain site, but that is fairly normal so I've been told.

The worst part is the incisions where the actual surgery took place. The incisions themselves are glued together, not stitched. They are all in the same general area, nothing is terribly out of place.

So anyway. The doctors weighed me right before I went in for the surgery itself and I was at 230lbs. Which is about 13 to 14 lbs lighter than at my pre-op visit. Yay me!!!

My Aunt Sally and my grandma came up the day of the surgery and stayed until the evening. I was on a morphine drip so I can't even begin to tell you what went on. I liked the morphine. I slept like a log. The only thing I didn't like about it was the mild itching that it caused on my face. I had two IV's, one in each hand. The one in my left hand infiltrated so when they decided to take it out (since it was causing my hand to burn like mad) all the liquids that they had been trying to get into me began seeping back out the IV hole. The IV in the right hand though was so thoroughly taped down that it was actually cutting off circulation to my hand. At first they said that IV wouldn't come out until just before I was released. It came out sooner because the muscle around the IV got so hard that I could push on it and there was no give at all. So they took it out immediately.

I've found that taking a shower helped to loosen up the glue enough to permit me some more movement. I tried everything I could think of to sleep that night. I tried sleeping with my air travel pillow sitting up in bed, sitting in my reclining office chair. There weren't any positions I didn't think I had neglected. Finally, I chose to use a pillow for my head and one behind my knees. This seems to work the best. Getting out of bed is a really problem though. I can't do it without help and I hate that because I don't want to have to wake my friends up to help me get out of bed half a dozen times per night.

Last night was Jessica's turn. It all went pretty well. My biggest problem was that I must have been up to go to the bathroom 4 maybe 5 times. What a pain! Jessica was up and at it in enough time to go to work.

Roxicet really helps with the pain but doesn't completely knock me for loopier. It just makes me really really sleepy. I'm sitting here falling asleep now. I'm going to start weaning myself off of roxicet and onto Tylenol. Anyway, I have begun feeling changes in my face.

Anywhoo, I think it might just be time for a nice long nap. I can't keep awake so there just comes a time when it is stupid to continue fighting your body. More later.
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So I just took a little cat nap and I'm feeling better now. But I think that I'm going to end this posting for now in favor of some delicious broth! I'm actually hungry for the first time since the surgery. Nonetheless, 60ml of broth and I'll be done with food for a while.