Happy Birthday Baby

When I told my husband the date of my surgery he asked me why I didn't wait till after my birthday so I could still celebrate.  Well the reason I wanted to go before July 1st is because, as any nurse who's worked in a teaching hospital knows, July 1 is when all the new interns show up.

While they are supervised, they do have a lot of opportunities to impact patient care, not always positively.  As it turned out, the house staff arrived early this year and two very nice first year residents (that's what they call interns now) were writing all my orders.  My discharge instructions included returning to the same insulin regimen as before the surgery.  There was no way that was going to work.  I'd be in insulin shock before it got dark my first night home. 

When I got home I checked my blood sugar which was 144 and called my endocrinologist.  She advised me not to take any insulin at all and call her in the morning with my fasting blood sugar.  In the morning my glucose level was 140.  So I am continuing not to take any insulin at all with instructions to call the doctor if my glucose goes up to 200.  So far, so good.  The glucose level has been steady every day.

The orders also instructed me to resume all my pre-op oral medications which included metformin, for the diabetes.  Since I knew I was not to swallow any pills larger than an M & M, I knew that this inch-long football-shaped tablet would be a problem.  My endocrinologist agreed that I should not take that either.


Heaven help the non-medical people who do not know when orders are wrong and should be questioned!

Anyway, back to my birthday.  True, I did not have a birthday cake (and I love cake with LOTS of butter-cream frosting) I did inform my family that they did still have to sing "Happy Birthday" and I would blow out a candle.  I still wanted my wish!  They were fine with that. 

I refuse to feel deprived.  Instead I feel like I have given myself an amazing present.  Rev up the DeLorean because I'm going back in time!  I am going back to the time when I could wear jeans comfortably (I'll tell you right now Mom Jeans are fine with me).  I am going back to the time when I could sit in an airline seat with the tray properly down.  I will be back to having seatbelts fit without an extender.  I will be able to "walk and not be weary or run and not faint"  Time travel is an amazing gift and I am not at all worried about messing up the "space-time continuum"!

Love,
Marlena of Mohegan

Disclaimer: This is not a subject for polite company. You have been warned.

Gas is not my friend.  As I mentioned in my previous blog the surgeon inflates the abdomen with air in order to have room to work.  I've been working on getting rid of this air for the last five days.  It has not been pretty. 

I felt so huge after the surgery.  On Wednesday evening after I had been home a while I went to sit in my car to check out the fantastic detailing job my kids arranged while I was in the hospital.  I could not fit behind the wheel of the car.  Now this was two days after surgery and I had been struggling to expel the excess. 

My family has been impressed with the deep sonorous sounds of my flatulence.  Imagine the trumpeting of a mastodon looking for a mate.  You get the idea. 

The belching has not been nearly so entertaining.  That has been rather more uncomfortable.  I seem to be able to get rid of it better when I go for a walk.  I have been taking Gas-X which gives some relief. 

Today I feel a lot better.  I'm about to go for a walk and I think I'll check to see if I can fit into my car yet. 

Best wishes,
Marlena of Mohegan

I'm home again

Its hard to believe how fast everything happened.  I had the surgery on Monday and I came home today, Wednesday.

I woke up on Monday with a urinary catheter which was nice because I didn't need to get out of bed to use the bathroom.  My output was pretty minimal so they loaded me up with lots of IV fluids.  They said I needed 5 liters of fluid.  The next day they weighed me and I was TEN POUNDS HEAVIER than before the surgery.  I said "wait a minute here.  I'm supposed to LOSE weight not gain".

My college chemistry professor liked to say "a pint's a pound the world around"  If you do the math five liters (about five quarts) is about ten pints of fluid and thus ten pounds.  When I got out of bed I felt inflated like the Michelin Man.  Part of that feeling was due to air which is used to inflate the abdomen so the surgeon has room to work.  Now I'm trying to get rid of all the excess air and soon (according to one of my friends that had the surgery) I will need to camp out in the bathroom for a while when all the fluid decides to come out.  So I will not be going to any parties for the next few days.  I won't be any fun to be around.

I do feel less bloated today than yesterday.  I've been enjoying clear liquids today and tomorrow I begin with the protein supplements and can have other sugar-free liquids, pudding and popsicles.  OOH!  I stay on that regimen for the next three weeks till I go back to see Dr. Choi.  After that I get to have pureed food.  MMMM.  I'll start chewing again around September.

Thanks to all who called, visited and sent messages.  I appreciate the support.  I'm sure there will be some rough days ahead but good results for the future.

Love,
Marlena

Less than 8 hours till I arrive at the hospital

I feel tired.  I had a long nap after church.  I just had a delicious dinner of raspberry jello and melon jello.  Why is it that when you can't eat anything that the commercials on tv show the most delicious food?  

My husband is really anxious.  The reason I know this is because he is running around doing laundry and other household chores.  When he is nervous he cleans.  I love him so much.  I wish I could help him relax though. 

I have to say that my husband truly loves me.  I knew early on that he was someone who would love me no matter what.  I love to relate the time when we were recently married and I was sick with the flu or something similar.  I was trying to sleep. You know how sometimes when you can't breathe through your nose and a little drool seeps out of the corner of your mouth.  This is not an attractive picture is it?  Well he came over to me and gently wiped the drool off my face.  That is really what love is.  I tried to tell my kids this.  If your spouse can still love you when you are drooling then you know that you have a keeper. 

I still haven't decided if I am going to bother trying to sleep tonight. 

Are they kidding?

I got a call from the surgery scheduler at the hospital on Friday letting me know what time to arrive at the ambulatory surgery center on Monday. 

5:45 am.  I asked if she was serious.  She was. 

I can't imagine working at that hour.  Oh, I've done night shifts but staying up has always been easier for me than waking up when it is dark outside.  So do the poor receptionists work from 5 am till 1 pm?  Do they have to wake up at 4 am? 

As for me, do I just stay up all night?  I probably won't sleep anyway.  Whenever I need to be somewhere early (outside of my usual job) I usually wake each hour to check the time.  I guess I'll just take an extra long Sunday afternoon nap in between all the clear liquid feasting I'll be doing. 

Four days left on the ticker.

I have been getting calls and messages from friends and family.  I am so thankful for all the support.  I have been on leave from work since April 1st.  I have not been away from the job that long since the last time I had a baby (and that baby is almost 22).  In a way a break from the stress of my job has been a good thing.  However, it does not take long to feel out of touch.  So it is nice to feel the love. 

In the meantime, since the hot, sticky summer weather has begun I feel no energy at all.  In spite of the Lasix my feet are swelling.  I am envious of people who are able to be active in this heat.  I am exhausted walking to my car.

By this time next year I will feel better. 

Stay cool,
Marlena of Mohegan