More P's For Your Consideration...

Pain, Posture, Perspiration, Purging and Poop


Yes, the Diva has had her first post-op bowel movement!  It feels like a monumental occasion for which one might hire a string quartet, or at least a bluegrass band.  In all seriousness, after any surgery, it is very important to make sure that the bowel is not sluggish once the anesthesia begins working its way out of the patient's system, because a sluggish bowel (or ileus) can cause a host of other complications.  At the hospital everyone was just asking if I had "passed gas" yet, because there was not enough in my intestinal tract to make anything more than air.  Since my bowel sounds were good, they agreed to release me.  That was Friday, and it has taken until today, Monday, for the "monumental movement" to occur.  (And it wasn't really all that monumental...it just felt that way.)  Mama would be so proud!  She was an extremely regular pooper.

I've been dealing with some pain from various sources since surgery, and that is also to be expected.  Back pain has been a stubborn issue because I've been unable to lie on my side when I sleep or rest, which is a major drag since I am a side sleeper.  So my back has been taking all the pressure, all the time.  The Hubs helped me get a shower last night, and as tiring as it was, having him clean my back with my favorite scented scrub felt fantastic!  And even though it tired me out, it made me feel a lot better over all, and I think the warm water did a lot to loosen my sore muscles.  Later last night, an ice pack felt really good jammed up against my sore back.  I may do that again tonight if I need it. Today I have napped and used a pillow to support myself on my sides and that has been really helpful.  I hope that this posture boost will allow me to get a decent night of sleep.

I have also noticed that my body temp seems to fluctuate pretty widely as I sleep because I am waking up sweating fairly often.  This may be due to a combination of factors:  purging the many IV bags of hospital chemicals from my system; the surge of hormones that we are told will occur once we have undergone the weight-loss operation; just my own age and tendency toward night sweats anyway.  I am 48 and I have been suffering night sweats on and off since I was 30.

My dreams since coming home have been unusually vivid, even for me, and their wildness may bring something to bear upon the sweating as well.  That, I figure, has GOT to be related to getting the chemicals out of my system, and as such, I hope it settles down a little over time.  Right now I just feel like a sore, sweaty, pajama-clad mess...but that will also pass.  Considering all that's been done to my body in the past week, I think I am getting along pretty well, Lord willing and knock wood!