I'm home! Part 1 ~ CLOSED ~ See Part 2

Wow, you sound like your doing okay.
I hope you continue your good progress.

Joy

Hello Michelle,

You are doing so well...what an inspiration to so many !

I have a big family and my baby sister, the youngest..is also Michele..spelled with one l !

her middle name is Rose...very pretty.

Have fun at your sons concert tonight...I love them and all the parents here agree that when they sing the traditional songs it is so enjoyable. How old is your son ? Mine is going to a votech and he is loving it. First year and it is flying by.

Take care....Anne 

Wow, you have your hands full.
I love going to watch the kindergarteners do plays. It's so cute!
I forgot about swelling. I'll need some sweat pants, too.

Joy

The concert was soo cute! Was quite a walk but was worth it.

Dr has me still taking prilosec until my preop appt on the 31st. Still no pain meds. The rumbling has settled down quite a bit. I had the hiccups today! Boy did those hurt! It's pretty uncomfortable to inhale and exhale deeply. I caved and had a tater tot. Of course I chewed it up to mush but it was still oh so good! And went down just fine. The bloating is starting to go down also. I have been burping alot. I can't imagine how I would feel if I couldn't.

Thanks Bill for the welcome! Seems to be alot of Michelles. I've had Zofran, Reglan, and Phenergan for nausea. Zofran seemed to work the best. Phenergan made me really tired. What kind of setbacks?

I see. I can still feel it trying to come up and after a few seconds of pressure, it goes away. Thanks for the warning! So I should wait at least 8 weeks before I get a cna job? It has alot of lifting and bending. I haven't quite found a comfortable position to pick my daughter up yet. I don't think I will for a few days. My swelling is starting to go down.

My gyno gave me the reglan when I was pregnant. That's what it's usually used for, emptying the stomach faster. She said if I didn't have anything in there, nothing would come up. I read it can be used as part of a gerd treatment also.

Michelle-
Definitely wait the 8 weeks before doing any CNA work. Everything needs inside needs to get some healing done first. I got hollered at by my first surgeon for filling the fish tank 2 days after having my gallbladder removed.
I agree with Alcie, stay away from that Reglan. Way too many nasty side effects possible with that stuff. They had me try it when they were stumped as to why I was having swallowing problems last fall. Basically they couldn;t figure it out so they said here try this.

Take care,
Bill

I see they used staples on the outside. Did they say how they did the inside? I had the Dermabond glue on the outside for my redo and the first time I just had inside stitches with streri strips on the outside. There sure is a big difference in what they use from surgeon t surgeon. I had staples when I had lung surgery and I think I like the Dermabond the best. Didn't have any dressings and could shower right away and take sort baths if I needed to. Just had to pat it dry.
I love chocolate malto meal! As long as you stay away from regular bread and tough meats you should be fine. Just chew everything to a pulp! Watch out for things that can pile up at the wrap. If tat starts to happen don;t panic, just takes some drinks of water or what ever you have and it will get it by. Here's the nasty part. If it won't go by your body will make you get rid of it in reverse. It's really not bad to do and isn't like vomiting from your stomach. It just kinda comes up, reminds me of how a baby spits up.
My wife got yelled at for the same ting when our son was born. She was at home by herself because I was in the Persian Gulf. She didn;t have a choice either. You are right, what did they expect you to do?
You will have a lot of strange sensations from everything being cut loose and repositioned. It take a while for it to reattach.
Well I should get some sleep, we are traveling 2 hours in the morning for a softball tourney. It's been 2 months since we played and I am antsy to get back at it. This should give me my fix until March!

Take care,
Bill

So you feel a tightness in your stomach? Okay, so I should expect that feeling and not freak out about it. ;))

Last night, I started puting together my bag for the trip and a smaller bag for the hospital. I sorted out the medication I'd be taking and put it in old labeled perscription bottles. Whew! what a chore! I'm taking only my perscriptions, no supplements, with me.
Today I'm going to be running around getting the last of my things for the trip, delivering my friend's gift, dyeing my hair, and cleaning up things around the house. I found it's best to keep busy at this time.

Bye,
Joy

Hi and best wishes Michelle

Listen (or rather read) Bill's posts.  Don't overdo.

I had only steristrips on outside - I'd actually asked about that beforehand and refused staples because I didn't want the extra holes.  They said strips only was the standard there.  Inside there were disolvable stitches, some of which pused their way out.  One was attached and hurt when I pulled gently, so my husband pulled it a little and clipped it with a small sharp sterilized scissor and it jumped back in.  The next one pulled out easily.  I did it myself.  That's all they would do at an ER!

Joy

Don't tell them about the meds.  They'll tell you you aren't allowed because they have everything you could need, which isn't necessarily true.  Several things I have needed in past hospitalizations I've had with me!   They usually don't have brands like Nexium and Crestor.  I just keep my mouth shut and take them.  Of course with the wrap you have to be careful not to try to swalow a pill until they tell you to!  For me that was 4 days.  I just chewed my Vicodin.  Bitter, but doable.  Yyou can open capsules and sprinkle on pudding or applesauce or even in a glass of milk.  They thought I could do with just Tylenol at home.  That's laugh!  I have fibro and arthritis and sciatica, etc.  Nothing OTC works for me.  Vicodin is only good until you build up a tolerance, so I take tramadol now, and Neurontin, and Clinoril, and I get spinal injections.  Last one allowed is next month, so I'll just have to suffer.

Don't take clothes.  You won't want to do laundry when you get home and you won't need any in the hospital.  The b-baring hospital outfit is just fine.  nobody cares!  Wear loose-fitting stuff and just wear the same stuff home.  You won't even be in your underwear long enough to count.  So a toothbrush and deodorant is about all you'll need.  They lost my bag of clothes while I was in the hospital, so don't put your purse in it and put a stick-on label on the bag with your name and phone number!

There's nothing wrong with taking a baby out of the carrier and not carrying that heavy thing.  We should invent a carrier with rollers like a suitcase!

Day 6
I don't have any weird sensations when swallowing in my throat. I've been having some reflux symptoms last night and today. Nausea and burning. My steri strips have almost come off already. I over did it last night and was really really sore by 7pm. I seem to get really full when I take a small drink even if I haven't eaten anything. Is this normal at day 6 or did I overdo it and wreck something?

Michelle-
You didn;t wreck any thing. But I did mention to take it easy....Remember I said things will still swell until around week 2 or 3 depending on how your body reacts. As this happens you will probably feel some reflux and you will feel full faster yet or not even get hungry some days. Don;t worry about that, just keep yourself hydrated. If drinking enough fluids is all you can do try some supplements if you feel you need to.
As far spaghetti goes...My last surgeon is Italian and said as soon as I felt like eating it go for it. The only rstrictions food wise I had was to stay away from meats like steak and soft bread for a few weeks. Other than that he said whatever I felt like eating I could, just chew it very well and stay with small portions.

Take care,
Bill