Hey, y'all. I want to start out thanking all of those who provided prayers, etc. over the last few days during my hyst/castle stay. All went fairly well. My TAH/BSO/Burch/appendectomy/tummy tuck was @ 6am Tuesday the 31st. I left for home Friday evening. So far so good.
My biggest complaint (besides pain, of course) is that I'm never comfortable. All day it's
Right now I'm sweating. I'm sure as soon as I get up I'll be shivering. lol If that's the worst, I guess I can deal. I can't take any HRT. Any suggestions?
Also, I've been TEDIOUS about gassiness. It's still a problem for me. I take a stool softener & gas-x chewable w/every meal and every night I drink a cup of "smooth move" tea. I'm very careful about how big/often my meals are & what I eat. I've had bm's but it's very hard for me to pass gas. The bubble gets stuck right behind my incision & hurts SO BAD. My anesthesia was general then I had a morphine pump. Since 24 hrs after surgery I've only had percocet. At first 2/4 hrs, then starting the last day @ the castle, 1/4hrs. Anything else I can do?
I'll post some great hints later, but right now, the most important ones are:
After surgery, the nurse will give you a little doo-dad for breathing exercises-USE IT when they say, how they say! 3 times while @ the castle I had a temp just under 101. Each time I did the breathing thing then coughed & it instantly dropped back down to 97-98.
Take advantage of the shower seats & hand-held showers @ the castle. I was sore everywhere from trying to heave myself out of bed. Granted, I'm a big girl (5'3", 260), but still. The seat helped me stay in the shower longer and work some of the soreness out w/the warm water.
Tell your nurse(s) to MAKE SURE you take your pain meds each time it comes time for them, even if he/she has to wake you up. The 2nd night, my nurse didn't do this. (See previous for med info)I took my meds @10pm. I could've had it again @2, but didn't wake up til 4am. I asked for them then, because I was hurting pretty bad. She forgot and I'm the type that if I'm in pain or my body's under any stress, I sleep. Finally, at 7AM(!) when my dr. came in I was in horrible pain. Needless to say, he was upset. I got my meds, but regressed w/healing a little because it took me almost all that day to catch up w/the pain. I was moved to a different floor that day. lol
This is the most important hints I can think of for now. Sorry it's so long, but thought while I was up to it I need to post it. Maybe it'll help someone. Also, I'm ready for some relief.
God bless,
Amanda
Newly crowned princess home from castle!!!
Great tips! Thanks! I hope you recover quickly. Take care of yourself.
s 
