I finally had my surgery. But bleeding caused follow up emergency surgery. So laparospic became open. I am in ICU for another few hours and feeling very bloated.
Sorry to hear it got switched on you, but glad it's behind you. You'll feel bloated for a while as the gas they use to inflate your insides needs to work it's way out. When you're up to it, walking will help work it out. Best wishes for an uneventful recovery.
Sorry for the switch, but I am glad that you had it removed! The bloating might also caused by the bowel movement. For me, once the "gas" came out, I feel way better :)
i knew the moment they founf my tumor that almost 12 CM enveloping my right kidney would have to be open. My urologist almost laughed when I asked about LAP. when i woke i had 46 staples and tried to stand 2 hours after waking up because they told me thats how to heal fastest and get the gas moving. upon making to my feet i promptly puked on my best friend who was helping me stand and decided to lay back down. It was several hours later before the gas started moving.
The gas wasnt the bad thing for me, its the constipation created by all the strong pain drugs that I was on for a while. That created a lot of discomfort that could have been handled better had i known what was causing it and how much better I would feel when we got that dealt with. I thought the pressure and pain was something on the inside related to surgery....I felt stupid later and its not the type of thing we like to talk about or complain about.
That was pretty much my experience. The funny part for me was when I came out of surgery the nurse expained that the morphine drip was available every 20 minutes to keep pain under control. Well i took that literally and every 20 minutes I was sure to give myself a couple of quick pumps. it was about 4 hours later that I was feeling no pain and I wondered if perhaps I should only use the morphine drip as necessary. I asked the nurse if if was ok just to take it as needed and of course she looked at me like I spoke another language since that was what she meant from the begining. The good part is I felt no pain the first few hours but the bad part was that the after affects of the morphine left me with terrible case of constipation and gas. A common story to be sure, but far more relavant when it is your story.
So sorry to hear that your surgery got changed to open. I am blown away that you are actually messaging us while in ICU!! You are going to be just fine! You are rocking this!
I'm amazed youre posting this soon after surgery! I had a similar experience. I didnt stop bleeding and the surgery lasted 10 hours or so. I loved that little morphine drip tho'. I always wanted more morphine 10 minutes before I was allowed it. Take it easy. The difficult bit is over. Dont feel you have to run a marathon before the sun goes down.
My blood pressure was down to 40 and I had 9 units of blood in emergency surgery and another 3 units since. They tolerate phones if you don' t overdo it. It is 1:55am now and I will be out of ICU some time in the morning. I'm told I am doing amazingly well considering the emergency. No food since Sunday but not at all hungry. Just the drip. It only really hurts when I cough. My pain button gives me 20 somethings of something every 5 minutes at most.
In term of laughing and coughing, make sure you have a pillow or cushion around you in the next few week. Use it to support the incision when you cough.
Waking up in the ICU, then waking up in some kind of 1/2 way house, then waking up on a standard ward. It was during this time I was visited by a bevy of beautiful hollywood actresses: tho' everyone else denies that that happened.
Oh dont laugh: that probably hurts as well.
Its your button. Dont let them take it away from you.
8 pm Friday night. Everything is out except one saline drip. I have been luck with pain. My main discomfort has been bloating. Some nice belching and farting has fixed it. Last night was the bad night when I watched the clock on the wall tick every second, feeling lousy the whole time due to gas.
But of course I got through that as all of you said I would.
Thank you to everyone. Your sharing of your experiences has been very valuable to me.
Glad to hear it's working out. As you're more active, moving and walking around, it will be even better.
BTW, so VERY glad to hear that -- if the miserable bleeding had to hit -- you had your complications when you still had a team of folks paying attention to you. Don't know how smart your horse is, but the wee dog-in-residence at my house hasn't yet learned how to dial 911. So if anything happens to me at home, I'm kinda on my own for a bit (Until someone notices I'm missing from something, which could take a heck of a while).
And WHY are hospital room clocks always such loud tickers? Do they have to pay extra for that? I'm sure they get a bulk discount, but still...
If Skippy the Bush Kangaroo could communicate exacty who it was who had fallen down which abandoned mine, I'm sure the horse could be a Great Communicator along the lines of Ronald Reagan.
The nephrectomy started at about 2pm. Apparently an artery leaked post op. I met the team during a minute of consciousness. They were having a very animated discussion... a ring of talking heads above me. I felt very bad at that point. Also sick and bloated, probably with blood. One of the surgeons said, more or less, 'no more talking. Theatre NOW!'
It makes md cry a little to think of it. I'm not sure why.
Anyway... I'll tell the rest of the story later. I just had a neck cannula removed so now ig is shower time!!!
Glad for you that it is moving toward the recovery part. Walking helps too. Still... not fun to have this discomfort.
And I am amazed at the number of abdominal surgeries I have had, that not one surgeon mentioned the gas and why they pump up your abodomen. Nor do they tell you afterwards how it will be quite bothersome, to put it lightly and what to do about it.
Hey Steve sorry things went bad for you, but I am glad you are doing better. I agree that gas sucks. I was so full of it you could feel it under my skin (subcutaneous emphysema).
I remember staring at the clock watching each second pass. Except the second hand would freeze a couple times a minute. Then go real fast to catch up. I thought I was going nuts.
Joined: Jun 2016
Sorry to hear it got switched
Sorry to hear it got switched on you, but glad it's behind you. You'll feel bloated for a while as the gas they use to inflate your insides needs to work it's way out. When you're up to it, walking will help work it out. Best wishes for an uneventful recovery.
Joined: Oct 2013
Oh NO!! So sorry to hear that
Oh NO!! So sorry to hear that.. well.. let's hope you are facing a smooth recovery now! Yes, watch for that gas pain. It does go away~
Gentle healing hugs,
Jan
Joined: Oct 2016
I appreciate your hugs.
Things are looking good. I wish they'd take the damned catheter. that will be bliss! :-)
Steve.
Joined: Sep 2016
Sorry for the switch, but I
Sorry for the switch, but I am glad that you had it removed! The bloating might also caused by the bowel movement. For me, once the "gas" came out, I feel way better :)
Joined: Jan 2010
Lets hope
Steve,
Now that we had a little bleep, lets hope for only good news going forward.
Icemantoo
Joined: Feb 2017
similar surgery on 10/5/16
i knew the moment they founf my tumor that almost 12 CM enveloping my right kidney would have to be open. My urologist almost laughed when I asked about LAP. when i woke i had 46 staples and tried to stand 2 hours after waking up because they told me thats how to heal fastest and get the gas moving. upon making to my feet i promptly puked on my best friend who was helping me stand and decided to lay back down. It was several hours later before the gas started moving.
The gas wasnt the bad thing for me, its the constipation created by all the strong pain drugs that I was on for a while. That created a lot of discomfort that could have been handled better had i known what was causing it and how much better I would feel when we got that dealt with. I thought the pressure and pain was something on the inside related to surgery....I felt stupid later and its not the type of thing we like to talk about or complain about.
Joined: Oct 2013
Regards the pain meds.
That was pretty much my experience. The funny part for me was when I came out of surgery the nurse expained that the morphine drip was available every 20 minutes to keep pain under control. Well i took that literally and every 20 minutes I was sure to give myself a couple of quick pumps. it was about 4 hours later that I was feeling no pain and I wondered if perhaps I should only use the morphine drip as necessary. I asked the nurse if if was ok just to take it as needed and of course she looked at me like I spoke another language since that was what she meant from the begining. The good part is I felt no pain the first few hours but the bad part was that the after affects of the morphine left me with terrible case of constipation and gas. A common story to be sure, but far more relavant when it is your story.
Joined: Oct 2013
So sorry to hear that your
So sorry to hear that your surgery got changed to open. I am blown away that you are actually messaging us while in ICU!! You are going to be just fine! You are rocking this!
Hoping the rest of the journey is smooth sailing!
Hugs
Jojo
Joined: Oct 2011
the only
important thing is that the tumor is removed, pain will go away, and life goes on. this is only a temporary glitch.
Joined: Dec 2014
Great to hear from you but...
I'm amazed youre posting this soon after surgery! I had a similar experience. I didnt stop bleeding and the surgery lasted 10 hours or so. I loved that little morphine drip tho'. I always wanted more morphine 10 minutes before I was allowed it. Take it easy. The difficult bit is over. Dont feel you have to run a marathon before the sun goes down.
Joined: Oct 2016
getting better
My blood pressure was down to 40 and I had 9 units of blood in emergency surgery and another 3 units since. They tolerate phones if you don' t overdo it. It is 1:55am now and I will be out of ICU some time in the morning. I'm told I am doing amazingly well considering the emergency. No food since Sunday but not at all hungry. Just the drip. It only really hurts when I cough. My pain button gives me 20 somethings of something every 5 minutes at most.
Steve.
Joined: Sep 2016
Wow, that's quite a bit of
Wow, that's quite a bit of bleeding.
In term of laughing and coughing, make sure you have a pillow or cushion around you in the next few week. Use it to support the incision when you cough.
Carmen
Joined: Dec 2014
I remember being confused
Waking up in the ICU, then waking up in some kind of 1/2 way house, then waking up on a standard ward. It was during this time I was visited by a bevy of beautiful hollywood actresses: tho' everyone else denies that that happened.
Oh dont laugh: that probably hurts as well.
Its your button. Dont let them take it away from you.
Joined: Oct 2016
feeling much better
8 pm Friday night. Everything is out except one saline drip. I have been luck with pain. My main discomfort has been bloating. Some nice belching and farting has fixed it. Last night was the bad night when I watched the clock on the wall tick every second, feeling lousy the whole time due to gas.
But of course I got through that as all of you said I would.
Thank you to everyone. Your sharing of your experiences has been very valuable to me.
Steve.
Joined: Jun 2016
Glad to ...
Glad to hear it's working out. As you're more active, moving and walking around, it will be even better.
BTW, so VERY glad to hear that -- if the miserable bleeding had to hit -- you had your complications when you still had a team of folks paying attention to you. Don't know how smart your horse is, but the wee dog-in-residence at my house hasn't yet learned how to dial 911. So if anything happens to me at home, I'm kinda on my own for a bit (Until someone notices I'm missing from something, which could take a heck of a while).
And WHY are hospital room clocks always such loud tickers? Do they have to pay extra for that? I'm sure they get a bulk discount, but still...
Jerzy
Joined: Dec 2014
Jerzy:You underestimate the powers of Antipodeans
If Skippy the Bush Kangaroo could communicate exacty who it was who had fallen down which abandoned mine, I'm sure the horse could be a Great Communicator along the lines of Ronald Reagan.
Joined: Jun 2016
The power of Antipodean communicators
Tchk tchk tchk! Tchk tchk tchk? Tchk tchk tchk.
Tchk --
Skippy, your friend ever true
Joined: Oct 2016
The team
The nephrectomy started at about 2pm. Apparently an artery leaked post op. I met the team during a minute of consciousness. They were having a very animated discussion... a ring of talking heads above me. I felt very bad at that point. Also sick and bloated, probably with blood. One of the surgeons said, more or less, 'no more talking. Theatre NOW!'
It makes md cry a little to think of it. I'm not sure why.
Anyway... I'll tell the rest of the story later. I just had a neck cannula removed so now ig is shower time!!!
Joined: Oct 2016
the horse
Is not mine. A friend I made while out walking.
Joined: Oct 2013
Glad for you that it is
Glad for you that it is moving toward the recovery part. Walking helps too. Still... not fun to have this discomfort.
And I am amazed at the number of abdominal surgeries I have had, that not one surgeon mentioned the gas and why they pump up your abodomen. Nor do they tell you afterwards how it will be quite bothersome, to put it lightly and what to do about it.
Feel better soon!
Hugs, Jan
Joined: Sep 2015
Wow!
Hey Steve sorry things went bad for you, but I am glad you are doing better. I agree that gas sucks. I was so full of it you could feel it under my skin (subcutaneous emphysema).
Joined: Oct 2016
I wondered if the bigger cut
I got (emergency laparotomy?) Might have allowed more of the original gas to escape.
The urologist who saw me today got very annoyed because that plastic breathing exerciser had been placed out of my reach.
And that reminds me...
Joined: Oct 2011
Steve
I remember staring at the clock watching each second pass. Except the second hand would freeze a couple times a minute. Then go real fast to catch up. I thought I was going nuts.
Joined: Oct 2016
did you ever find out?
Was it the clock or was it your brain ticking oddly?
Joined: Oct 2013
Steve... I DO feel for you! I
Steve... I DO feel for you! I do!
Glad you are able to connect with us. You did just go through a trauma, unexpected and now corrected.
Continued healing my dear~
hugs, Jan