Moving right along....or not

Day 6 post-op.

I go in to see Dr. K this morning. Hopefully the drains will come out. With Eric's help, I managed to untangle myself from the tubes and bulbs and get into the shower. This time, it wasn't as shocking to see myself in the mirror. I think Eric was more shaken than I was. It is awkward to move-I'm afraid to make sudden movements for fear that I'll pull out a tube. 2 of the 3 drains are well below 50 ccs per 24 hours. The third is just at 50. We'll see what Dr. K does with it. I'm going to take 2 pain pills before I go. Yesterday, I managed to wean myself down to 5 for the whole day. That is pretty good. But I'm not going to take any chances this morning.

You never know what a new day will bring. Yesterday morning I had a huge problem with, well....constipation. I've debated whether or not to blog about it, since it is so personal. And even at that, I'm going to spare some of the more gory details. But I decided that if anyone comes across this blog and is facing surgery, I want them to be very aware of this problem so they can avoid it.

In the hospital, they gave me colace as a stool softener. I didn't blow it off completely, but for the first couple of days just took 1 pill. They said I could take 1-2. I figured that my high fiber diet would take care of any of "those" problems. On day 4 I had my first post-op BM, which was difficult, but I managed to do it. I figured all systems were go. Then yesterday, it just would not move. It was there, but didn't move. When my mom came, I asked her to take me to Discovery Lake so I could walk a bit on flat ground. I figured if my dog needs some walking to poop, maybe I did too? It hurt like crazy just to walk, but I made it.

We got back home and still...nothing. I spent about 2 hours trying. Crying. Begging God to help me. Now, I've had 2 unmedicated childbirths. I've pushed a baby out with her hand by her head. I've pushed out a baby that has a larger head than the baby that was supposedly too big to fit through my pelvis. This was just as bad. Seriously. But worse, because at the end, I didn't have a beautiful baby! But it was also ridiculous. I was wondering what I was going to do if I couldn't get it out. How embarrassing would it be to go to the emergency room for this? I almost passed out a couple of times. Once, I even thought I felt one of my stitches pop. I don't know how mom stood it in the next room. It must have torn her heart out. I was seriously suffering. Words don't really do justice to just how bad this was. Finally it passed. But man, I never want to do that again.

Take if from one who has been there. If you are facing surgery, and they put you on hydrocodone/acetaminophen, MAX OUT the stool softeners.

Things are better in that department today, thank the Lord.

The weather has been unseasonably cool. I for one, am thankful for it. Remember about a week and a half ago when I woke up sweating? I was worrying about the heat and the drains. I did not want to suffer in summer temperatures with drains and post-operative recovery. Well, God took care of the heat for me. I realize now how I wasted that energy worrying about the temperature. That was something that God has control over and made happen in my best interests. If you think about it, everything is like that. God has control over everything, even things we *think* we have control over. We only do because God gives us the strength and power to have some dominion over them. We worry and fret about so much. But in the end, God works all of these little details out in a way that works for us. We just have to trust in Him in all these things. God works everything for the good for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes. (Romans 8:28)

I'll post again later to update on the appointment with Dr. K. My prayer requests are pretty much the same as yesterday. Healing and harmony! Love to you all!