Update for Sunday

I'll continue with the hospital experience either later today or tomorrow, so this is just a regular update on how things are going.  This way poor Laura gets off the hook for a bit too.

I slept really well last night with finally being in my own bed and I was even able to sleep on my right side for part of the night.  My rear end is still thanking me.  I'm not overdoing.  I putter a little around the house, but my energy is still sapped pretty quickly.  Hardest thing?  Not being able to vacuum!  Ya'll know how I am!

Not really having pain, other than my thumbs today are hurting.  Not a clue what that is about.  It's more about becoming comfortable with what is comfortable having just had surgery.  What I mean is that yesterday, I had all kinds of angst about getting into bed last night as well as about getting out of it this morning.  At the hospital, I had a rail to help me and the ability to raise the back of the bed.  As it turned out, neither thing was difficult at home but I think I just anticipated the possibility of pain.

What I am finding a little overwhelming is now trying to work out when to take the plethora of drugs I need to be taking.  I thought I had it all worked out pre-op, but when I came home with several others, it gets a little nuts.  I have my pain med which is oxycotin and as that causes (TMI) constipation, I have Colace to counteract that side effect.  I have Levaquin, an antibiotic which I need to take for five days.  I have Ursodiol, which I think is a gall bladder thing as well as Pepcid.  Then I have injections of Lovenox, which helps prevent blood clots, that need to be given twice a day for a month.  Then add to that the B12, the multivitamin, the calcium and the iron and I'm feeling a little tired just thinking about it.  I'm sure eventually, it will be easier and in a month 4 of these meds are going to go away. 

Food intake is a learning process.  I'm on all liquids for a week: soups, fat free sugar free pudding and popsicles, carnation instant breakfast, yogurt etc.  Next week I transiton to pureed and that will be another process as I'm on that one for three weeks while my new pouch heals.   Protein is really hard, but I'm working on it.  I added extra to my carnation drink last night to boost it a bit but I am nowhere near the amount of protein I should be having yet.

Of course, part of that is that I'm not really hungry.  I told the Brit in the hospital the other night as we sat watching television, "I've read this before and have told you this, but I didn't really understand it till now.  They don't do surgery on your head.  I'm sitting here watching these food commercials and I am not hungry and I don't even like Kentucky Fried Chicken all that much, but damn, it looks good." 

It's going to be a process.

I have blogs to catch up on and I'll get there eventually.  Also, those of you who were with me in the hospital and you know of something I forgot to blog in the experience, leave a comment or an email so I can add it to the next part of the hospital stay.  I was reminded of a few things last night that I had totally forgotten until they were mentioned.  It was all very fuzzy!