Just sat up in the chair for the first time. My blood pressure is running too low again so I am not able to walk yet, but slowly making progress here. The procedure went great yesterday and only took a total of 1.5 hours. It is now Day 3 of no food and Day 2 of no drinks so I'm hoping that once I am on food an liquids again my blood pressure will go back up to a normal range.
It's been pretty hectic here. As I know my mom mentioned, my grandmother had surgery at the same time as me yesterday, just a floor below my OR in the same hospital. She was discharged this morning and came up to see me and then passed out on my floor so she is now back in the ER and they are doing an EKG. Really hoping she is OK but since I am not able to leave my room I don't really know what is going on so I am getting pretty anxious. My mom also found out that she needs to have her ovaries removed in two weeks, so I am really hoping to be recovered by then so I can be her caretaker! Leaving it up to the men could be tragic! So, ironically, the biggest stressors in my life right now have to do with everyone else's health!
I was in the PACU for 12 hours yesterday and "apparently" I stopped breathing in my sleep, so my nurse was really angry with me for pressing my pain button too much and took it away from me! (I wasn't really aware I could OD on the pain meds since I was told in the recovery room that I could press it as much as I want). So i sat there for 4 hours without my pain button, crying from the severe pain while he just watched it all from afar and they wouldn't even let my family in! Will be putting in a complaint about that guy…
Other than that everything is going really well. I just met with the ostomy nurse to go over the usage of my new organ. She said it could 6 months- 1 year before I have total control which is a little disconcerting to hear. As soon as my bowels "wake up" I will be able to start on liquids and then a day later, foods, and then I can be discharged the following day. I am really hoping for a Monday discharge, but in light of all the problems I had last time with my bowels waking up and the blockages, they said they will be extra-precautious with me this time (as hungry as I am waiting an extra day to eat and avoiding the NG tube sounds just fine to me!). I also must say that having the Dilaudid go to my head is a good thing (last time the epidural kept it localized). I am sleeping A LOT which makes the time go faster and the hunger pains less intense. Although, the pain in my abdomen is a bit more severe because of the lack of epidural.
I actually wanted to also give an update about my experience getting my pouchagram on Tuesday for anyone that might be going through these procedures, but I am kind of super out of it so I'll explain that in my next post.
Oh and pretty please come to our show, Guitars for Guts, on August 14th! See earlier blog posts from June for more info on attending or making a quick donation for the cause! Thank you in advance for you support…it means the world to me and to others suffering from Crohn's and Colitis!
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