Post-surgery update

My Dad just emailed me some questions. I figured they were worth answering for all four of you still reading this scattered, slap-dash blog.


When the surgeon scoped your interior, did he find other causes of your hernia?
He didn't see anything else wrong and assured us that this would fix it. Unfortunately though, the last two rounds of surgery were one layer up and so they couldn't see what was going on there. As in, they were below my stomach lining and those repairs were above it? Something like that. (I will clarify this with the surgeon when I go in for my follow up in a week and a half. This is my interpretation from what Jrex heard from him).

If so, was he able to repair them?
He did small incisions and was happy with the result and says this should be it.

Did the surgeon do anything differently from prior repairs?
No idea since he couldn't see the details of the prior repairs. His opening seems to be smaller and I'm recovering faster, so that's good.

Is the surgeon pleased with the results?
Yes. But I doubt any surgeon would admit to less! They tend to be over-confident and a little cocky.

How are you feeling?
By Sunday afternoon I was done with the Vicodin (narcotic pain med) and able to just use ibuprofen. Yesterday I got through the day with no naps or pain meds, so I'm feeling pretty good considering. Still sore. Still can't pick up Brex, but I can sit on a stool near him when he's playing and give him lots of hugs. We normally play fairly physical games (him leaning back in my arms, twirls, upside down, fake drops, etc) and I think he is missing that, but overall we're managing.

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A funny side note:
After my second hernia repair, when I was in the recovery room, they kept asking me if I wanted to wake up and I kept saying, "No" and continuing my blissful nap. This time, my surgery was in the afternoon. It meant that Jrex waited to hear what the surgeon had to say post-op and then headed back downtown to pick up Brex from daycare. Which meant a toddler in the waiting room. He kept telling me, "You can't do three hours in recovery this time!" It was rough to force myself out of happy sleep to wake up this time. In fact, I suspect I did it a little too fast cause the ride home was NOT fun (nausea).

A less funny side note:
A freaky thing that happened the post-op evening. We got home, I fell into bed and slept for four or five hours. I woke up because the mutt was whining to get into our room. Jrex had gone out to do some shopping or something, Mom K was home, but not sure what she was supposed to do about the dog. I shuffled out of bed to let the dog into our room. Then I shuffled into the bathroom to get my pain meds. By the time I got to the bathroom, my teeth were chattering and I started to shake. Thankfully, Jrex came in at that moment and helped me back into bed. I was under the covers but still shaking. He took my pulse for the normal 15 seconds. Then he repositioned his fingers and did it for a full minute. I knew that meant something was bothering him. "What's wrong?"

"Has your pulse ever been below 55?"

"No"

"Hmm...Let's get you hydrated and get you some food."

I asked the next day, when my pulse was back to 68 and I felt normal, what was going on. Apparently, my pulse had been 48-52 and irregular. It was likely an after effect of the surgery and not having much to eat or drink for 24-hours, but that was scary! Another time that it's nice to have a doctor for a husband. I certainly take advantage of him a lot.