Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Full Report

So....I no longer have a gall bladder.
Will I be less galling?
Or less galled? I guess we'll see.
Heh.
The surgery was ... well I have no idea. One minute I was on the operating table, there was a mask plunked over my mouth and then I was waking up in the recovery room. They could have been saying horrible things the whole time but I was somewhere else. And I doubt they were because everyone was really fun and really kind. We got a slightly late start, the surgery was an hour and half. I'm not really sure how long my recovery room time was because I was drifting in and out. And then I was home and in my recliner.
In some ways it felt like fast food medicine. In and out. But I was much happier being home than I would have been in the hospital. I slept a lot and I slept better than I would have in the hospital. DeAnna checked on me every day and scrambled me eggs. It was a few days before I could even keep my eyes open long enough to watch a sitcom.
I got a little better every day and now I feel pretty good. I probably didn't need the last two pain pills I took and I have two left over. All my pain is movement and posture related. If I reach too high, or breath too deep, belly laugh, any thing that requires my midsection to move. Sitting up for any length of time wears me out. But I can sit up for longer times every day. I feel like everything is moving along nicely.
I had more trouble with nausea than pain. I ate scrambled eggs and a bagel, potato/leek soup and pear/apple sauce (both of which I'd made pre-surgery) yogurt and cantaloupe every day. There were a few days when the nausea was so bad at about 4 o'clock that I couldn't eat. The only thing worse than
eating was taking a pain pill on an empty stomach so I'd get two spoonfuls of something down but it was not fun.
Then one evening I was OK and I made polenta. It might be one of the meals I've ever had.
I eat really slowly now. Restaurant workers generally eat really fast. Brand new way of being.
I was actually hungry for the first time yesterday. DeAnna got me mac and cheese from Solstice and it was also incredibly good. I'm still a bit worried about food because of the nausea. I think it will be awhile before I know what I can eat but I'm not really that worried.
I also ate some M&Ms yesterday. 12. I counted. I was looking for the magic number that wouldn't hurt.
I don't have an appetite again today but I don't feel bad. Just not hungry.
I have one more doctor's appointment to check my sutures and that's it.
Interesting experience all in all.
But ... not particularly anxious to do it again any time soon.