My Hospital Stay

The first room I got to stay at was on a corner with a nice view of the city of San Francisco. It almost seemed like I was in a luxury hotel suite, minus the incessant beeping of the IV machine and drain in my abdomen.  My husband ended up sleeping in the hospital room with me.The nurses got him a cot to sleep on. He'd occasionally leave to go back to the hotel to shower. He didn't tell me until almost 6 months later that he got pulled over by a police officer on his way back to the hotel one time. He said his wife was in the hospital and the policeman didn't write him up a ticket.

The day after surgery I had to do the barium swallow test (Upper GI). I was nervous but excited to be able to drink something for once. I was amazed at how thirsty I was. If I had the choice, I'd rather be hungry than thirsty. That night I'd even had crazy dreams about food and drinking. In my dream there was a fountain of diet cherry pepsi, a drink I'd once indulged in daily but had given up last Thanksgiving. I longed for something cold with ice as I got wheeled into the testing room.

I got wheeled down there by about 4 nurses.  The drink wasn't too bad, of course I was just so damn thirsty I probably would have drank anything with ice. They gave me a straw and I took it slow, afraid of my new, tiny stomach, even though I just wanted to chug the whole thing at once.

Finally when I got it down, they did the test. Standing up was the painful part. My back didn't want to cooperate, I was off of the morphine,  and I had to stand there a long time. I was in so much pain I was sweating and keeled over.

As it turned out, there was a problem with the test. The barium didn't show any leaks but it didn't go anywhere, either; it was just sitting there. My surgeon was in surgery, of course, so they sent me back to the room with still nothing to drink. I felt defeated and depressed. I just wanted something cold to drink. Hell, I'd even drink the barium drink again. I decided to take a nap. The nurses were telling me I failed the test and I might have a leak or obstruction. I was worried. Finally when the surgeon looked at it he saw it was esophageal spasms. They started me on ativan for it.

I had palpitations in the hospital as well. Every now and then I would have a high heart rate. I wasn't on my previous heart medications, only what they had given me in the hospital. They started my on Nifedipine, which was supposed to be easier on the stomach than the beta blocker and calcium channel blocker I usually take. But being the fragile flower I am, I ended up having an allergic reaction or bad side effect from it. My heart rate spiked even more and I had dizziness, shaking, and body rash. I kept telling nurses I was having a reaction. Finally they agreed and I went off of it and went back to how I was before.

I still had palpatations so I had to do a second Upper GI. This time the drink tasted like crap and made me nauseous. This time I was able to sit down. Everything looked good test-wise.

Later after I woke, I started walking some more. The nurses were happy and surprised. It may not seem like a lot but to me it was. Before surgery, I couldn't walk at all. This was my first NSV (non-scale victory)!

The night before when I had walked, I'd needed oxygen, but not this time. This time I didn't even sweat, which was a hell of a lot better than when I was a pre-op. I couldn't believe the changes I was already seeing! I loved this already!

They gave me a walker to use but I couldn't make it around on my own. I had breakthrough pain from my back so I had my husband follow behind with a wheelchair so if I had to sit down for a break, I could. I was determined to do the walking, even if I had to take breaks.

I wasn't allowed anything to drink or eat still, only water sponges. My mouth was as dry as a desert!

The next day they switched rooms and I started to get in a lot more pain. I even got pain when I walked. I was also really nauseous the whole time in the hospital. They ended up taking the catheter out as well. It didn't hurt as much as it had when I had had it out in the past but then again, I was on morphine this time.

They switched me off of the morphine and onto Lortab but I ended up throwing it up. I was then switched to Percocet.

Someone from the lab came into my room every morning bright and early, before the sun rose, to take some blood for labs. I still have nightmares about this to this day as there was one lady in particular that would beat the hell out of my arm to get blood. It hurt. She even was cussing to herself at one point because she couldn't find a vein. My IV was bumped but I was in so much pain already, there was nothing I could do but lay there and let it happen.

My potassium was low and I had to get a potassium IV because they couldn't give me the pill due to nausea. I guess it was entering my blood too fast so it made my veins burn. It was almost as painful as the surgery itself! I cried because I was in so much pain just from the IV.

When it was low again, there was a mention of another IV. I cried like a baby because I did not want to go on it. My emotions were all over the place. I just wanted to go home and eat normally. I was tired of being sick. I was having a hard time dealing with everything.

I ended up trying the pill. It stayed down.

The food was, well, hospital food. The first night I was supposed to be on clear liquids but I guess an accident happened because I received an amazing tomato soup. I loved it! After that, however, they said I couldn't have it because there was lactose in it. I was bummed but ready to try something new.

They tried to give me chicken broth but it smelled so disgusting. My sensitivity to smells were on overdrive! I even actually vomited one time just smelling it. And when I went for walks around meal time or clean up time, I had to plug my nose due to all the smells.

Then someone had the bright idea to give me ensure. I wasn't going to drink it but one of my nurses said it had potassium and so did the orange juice and maybe it would be enough to not have to have an IV. So, I drank the them. BAD IDEA! It is loaded with carbohydrates (58g for the ensure alone) and sugar, which irritates your new intestines as a freshly post-op DSer. So you can imagine what happened next.

I was in the bathroom that night and most of the rest of the day. I think I went 14 times at least. I would take a bite of food, and have to get up and use the restroom. They ended up taking a stool sample because they were worried why I was having so much diarrhea. But I knew it was from the food. I even would have to wake my husband up in the middle of the night to help me to the bathroom as I knew the nurses couldn't make it there in time. It was happening! At one point, I had a nurse who would cheer every time it happened. I guess it meant things were working right. I loved her enthusiasm.

Another time they brought me a tray of food and I couldn't eat anything from it. Eating now was a miserable experience.

The food was either too sweet, smelled disgusting, and made me nauseous. I started crying again. What had I gotten myself into? I wanted to get in my nutrients but couldn't.

I had some pureed eggs at one point. Before surgery, I loved eggs. Now it just didn't taste the same.

Mashed potatoes sat okay. I was just worried about the carbs and lack of protein.

Jello went down the easiest. Good thing was this also counted as liquids towards my daily amount. Not the best flavor in the world, but it did its job.

The wave of emotions finally hit me hard. No one was there with me besides my husband. I was away from my home and wasn't sure about these new changes. I just wanted to go home. I even missed my bird. I was crying so much a nurse came in thinking I was in pain but I assured her I wasn't. The pain was easy to deal with but everything else was really hard, especially the nausea and the site of food being disgusting. My own deodorant and food ads on television even made me nauseous.

I kind of went in head first with this surgery. I had done my research but 5 days wasn't long enough to prepare yourself emotionally. It was nothing like I was expected. My relationship would never be the same.

My surgeon said not to worry as they weren't going to release me until I was ready. He wanted to make sure I could get my fluids in on my own as well. I ended up being in there for 6 days.

I was glad to be released. I didn't get to go back home yet. I had to stay in town for another week and a half. I booked an ocean view room at a hotel in Pacifica. A bit of a drive but we made it.