Hey Everyone! Greetings from the couch!
If you remember, last week or so I posted about my gallbladder issues. Well, my time finally came, and my gallbladder removal was scheduled for Friday, Feb 6th. I couldn’t eat anything after midnight on the 5th, which wasn’t a problem because I don’t really eat that late anyway. I took my time Thursday night showering, shaving my legs, taking off toenail polish, and getting good and lotion-ed up.
On Friday morning, I woke up about 7 to shower. I couldn’t wear deodorant, lotion, or makeup, so getting ready was a breeze! No breakfast for me either which was unfortunate because I was starving! My mom showed up about 7:45, and the three of us drove down to the medical center for my 9am arrival time.
They sure didn’t waste any time either! First thing, we checked in and paid another deposit for the surgery ($$$), and then I was whisked off by another nurse for height, weight, blood pressure, and urine sample. Let’s just say that my BP was extremely high. Cough*165*Cough. What can I say? I was extremely nervous and scared,but ready to have it all over.
Dono came back with me and helped me get changed into my gown and ugly surgery socks and we waited for the nurse to come in and start getting me hooked up to IVs. My room became a buzz of activity with more folks poking and prodding me, taking more BP, and asking me my name and date of birth every 5 seconds. An anesthesiologist came in and gave me an “Abdominal Tab” where essentially they gave me 3-4 shots in my abdomen which help them see where the nerves are. I guess this cuts down on recovery pain.
My mom then came back to say goodbye to me, and all I wanted to do was cry I was so scared and nervous. I guess the doctor’s sensed that because the next thing I knew, they rolled me into the surgery room and I fell asleep really fast. The last thing I remember was the nurses talking about another nurse’s bad hair day. Ha!
Post surgery, I woke up in recovery to see my mom and Dono sitting in my little room. It made me so happy to see them, but i was SO tired. and nauseous. and in pain. I sat there for a little bit before the nurse told me I could go home whenever I wanted. My mom helped me change into my pajamas and helped me walk around a few feet, which immediately made me nauseous. This is going to be TMI, but the vomit was straight vile. I had never thrown up that much vile before. EEK. Gross. I got in a wheelchair, and then Dono drove home. With my organs sloshing about I got sick in the car a few more times on the way home (and even now the thought of riding in a car makes me nauseous).
As soon as we got home, I wanted to see a picture of my gallstones. (Warning, gross pic ahead)
See that gold golf ball? That is one of my gallstones! Apparently there were a few of them that size, and then a bunch of little ones. EEK! No wonder I was in so much pain! If I knew they were this big all along, I probably would have been screaming for surgery much earlier! One thing that was interesting, was that the doctor told Dono that apparently I was having an attack going into surgery because when they pulled out the gallbladder, the stone was already blocking the duct. Yikes!
I feel like I look pretty good for just having surgery! Dono and my mom tucked me into bed as soon as we got home, but I really wasn’t tired at that point, and I was afraid if I took a nap, I’d be up all night. I did watch tv for a bit, ate some soup for dinner, and called it a night about 8pm.
Since Friday, recovery has been pretty slow. My mom left to go back to FL on Monday morning, and Dono stayed home from work then, but I’ve been by myself at home since Tuesday. I’m ready to get back on a normal schedule! Last night I had a mini breakdown because I’m so frustrated — frustrated that I can’t sleep on my side. That i can’t eat normal food. that I have to race to the bathroom so frequently. that dono has to sleep in another bed for a few days. That I can’t lift anything heavy, do laundry, or anything. I basically sit all day. It’s so boring! I have had some great friends gift me with amazon giftcards for books, beautiful flowers, and other nice things, which i’m so grateful for.
Tomorrow i have my follow up appointment where the doctor will take off my bandage. I’m quite nervous as stitches make me queasy, but hopefully it will all be ok!
Thanks everyone for keeping me in your prayers and sending positive thoughts!
Newlywed Greggs 