Post-Surgery Update
Sep. 30th, 2008 10:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
syzygy_dwSo, my surgery on Friday did happen as planned.
As I mentioned before, it was postponed on Thursday, because my surgeon had two complicated cases to work on-- one was a baby, and the other was a man who needed transfusions.
I got to the hospital at 7am, checked myself in, and changed into my oh-so-sexy hospital outfit (two backless gowns, hospital socks, and funky blue slippers). The nurses joked with me that I was becoming too familiar. Because I had been there the say before, there were tests and things I didn't have to bother with, which was nice.
They came to get me at about 7:45. I had to leave my glasses behind, and I walked with a bunch of other patients and an orderly to where the surgery was taking place. There were a few little kids with us, one of whom was NOT HAVING IT, THANKS. He or she (I couldn't see well enough to tell) freaked out before we got to the elevator and eventually had to be taken away in hysterics, poor thing. The other two kids were incredibly brave, especially since the other kid was obviously making them nervous.
I met with my surgeon and the anesthesiologist, who asked me if anyone in my family had ever had any problems with anesthetics. My mom almost died during the c-section for my brother, but since nobody thought to ask me that before the surgery day, I hadn't asked her which one. I called my mom, and she came up with the name right away, even after 30 years. (It turns out the medication that almost killed her was actually something they used to contract the uterus during c-sections, which was not an issue for me.)
After that, I was led into the OR, where the last thing I remember is having a needle inserted into my hand, and another pushed into my arm. I woke up some time later with my lips hurting and an incredible need to spit, and then realized that my nose was stuffed with gauze. I could feel it, but it didn't hurt or anything. I spent about an hour in the recovery room so they could see if I had any problem with the anesthetic.
I was brought back to the Day Surgery ward, and spent the next few hours drifting in and out of sleep. John was there at one point (He had come from work, since he was unable to reschedule on such short notice). Once while I was sleeping he went across the street to the mall where I work to tell my co-workers that I was out of surgery, everything was fine, etc. When I was feeling less sleepy, I was sent home, and told I had to come back Monday to have the gauze removed.
Having gauze in your nose is so uncomfortable, I can't even describe it. It wasn't painful, but there was a lot of pressure, and every time I swallowed, my ears hurt and there was this awful noise. At one point, I thought I had ruptured my eardrums, because the pain was so bad. I had to sleep sitting up, so I made a nest out of pillows and slept on the sofa, which has been pulled out into a bed. I have these tiny little green pills, which don't so much stop the pain as make me not care about it as much, and they knock me on my ass. I take Tylenol for the most part, though. My whole weekend was spent on the sofa, either sleeping or watching Jon and Kate plus 8.
I had the gauze removed yesterday, which was like giving birth through my nose. After having my nostrils plugged for three days, having that gauze removed made my nostrils feel HUGE. Then they started to bleed, which is supposed to be normal. I was given a list of instructions (No drinking or aspirin for a month, no bending over, no exertion, use this rinse, etc) and I spent the rest of the day bleeding into Kleenex. I almost used an entire box.
Today I feel a lot better. My nose hurts, and my head, too, but I can actually breathe! The swelling has gone down a lot, and my face looks familiar again. And I slept in my own bed last night, which was bliss. I just sneezed for the first time since the surgery, OMG OW, but at least there's no blood. And I have yet to master rinsing with the saline solution. I squirted myself in the eye.
As I mentioned before, it was postponed on Thursday, because my surgeon had two complicated cases to work on-- one was a baby, and the other was a man who needed transfusions.
I got to the hospital at 7am, checked myself in, and changed into my oh-so-sexy hospital outfit (two backless gowns, hospital socks, and funky blue slippers). The nurses joked with me that I was becoming too familiar. Because I had been there the say before, there were tests and things I didn't have to bother with, which was nice.
They came to get me at about 7:45. I had to leave my glasses behind, and I walked with a bunch of other patients and an orderly to where the surgery was taking place. There were a few little kids with us, one of whom was NOT HAVING IT, THANKS. He or she (I couldn't see well enough to tell) freaked out before we got to the elevator and eventually had to be taken away in hysterics, poor thing. The other two kids were incredibly brave, especially since the other kid was obviously making them nervous.
I met with my surgeon and the anesthesiologist, who asked me if anyone in my family had ever had any problems with anesthetics. My mom almost died during the c-section for my brother, but since nobody thought to ask me that before the surgery day, I hadn't asked her which one. I called my mom, and she came up with the name right away, even after 30 years. (It turns out the medication that almost killed her was actually something they used to contract the uterus during c-sections, which was not an issue for me.)
After that, I was led into the OR, where the last thing I remember is having a needle inserted into my hand, and another pushed into my arm. I woke up some time later with my lips hurting and an incredible need to spit, and then realized that my nose was stuffed with gauze. I could feel it, but it didn't hurt or anything. I spent about an hour in the recovery room so they could see if I had any problem with the anesthetic.
I was brought back to the Day Surgery ward, and spent the next few hours drifting in and out of sleep. John was there at one point (He had come from work, since he was unable to reschedule on such short notice). Once while I was sleeping he went across the street to the mall where I work to tell my co-workers that I was out of surgery, everything was fine, etc. When I was feeling less sleepy, I was sent home, and told I had to come back Monday to have the gauze removed.
Having gauze in your nose is so uncomfortable, I can't even describe it. It wasn't painful, but there was a lot of pressure, and every time I swallowed, my ears hurt and there was this awful noise. At one point, I thought I had ruptured my eardrums, because the pain was so bad. I had to sleep sitting up, so I made a nest out of pillows and slept on the sofa, which has been pulled out into a bed. I have these tiny little green pills, which don't so much stop the pain as make me not care about it as much, and they knock me on my ass. I take Tylenol for the most part, though. My whole weekend was spent on the sofa, either sleeping or watching Jon and Kate plus 8.
I had the gauze removed yesterday, which was like giving birth through my nose. After having my nostrils plugged for three days, having that gauze removed made my nostrils feel HUGE. Then they started to bleed, which is supposed to be normal. I was given a list of instructions (No drinking or aspirin for a month, no bending over, no exertion, use this rinse, etc) and I spent the rest of the day bleeding into Kleenex. I almost used an entire box.
Today I feel a lot better. My nose hurts, and my head, too, but I can actually breathe! The swelling has gone down a lot, and my face looks familiar again. And I slept in my own bed last night, which was bliss. I just sneezed for the first time since the surgery, OMG OW, but at least there's no blood. And I have yet to master rinsing with the saline solution. I squirted myself in the eye.
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no subject
Date: 2008-09-30 05:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-30 07:25 pm (UTC)(Strangely, I watched M*A*S*H today, and it was the nose job one, and Trapper John used the exact line you did!)
no subject
Date: 2008-09-30 10:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-30 05:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-30 06:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-30 07:28 pm (UTC)Thanks, Wikipedia!
no subject
Date: 2008-09-30 08:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-30 10:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-30 09:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-30 10:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-01 05:52 am (UTC)One thing I forgot to mention, though, is that my front teeth, my upper palate and the middle of my bottom lip are numb. My doctor and a bit of Google-fu tells me this is normal and should resolve itself soon, but it's weird. Especially the lip thing. It's not the whole lip, just a space about a centimeter or so wide right in the middle.
no subject
Date: 2008-10-01 12:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-01 01:14 pm (UTC)