Post-op Day 1: Grateful for IV pain meds

First, while in the hospital at St Medica I had a blanket support that is placed over your midsection to keep the covers from touching you (the penis is wrapped and sticks straight out usually with the stent protruding a bit further – and this is very sensitive).

The first couple of days back in the apartment I wish I’d had one of these or something similar. There was a lap tray in the apartment but it wasn’t tall enough to do me any good.

Here’s a sort of time line from just before surgery yesterday. I took notes on my phone so I wouldn’t forget things. I won’t go into so much detail as the days pass. I think guys will want to have a more detailed idea of what to expect especially in the first 48 hours.

NOTE: People have varying levels of pain tolerance and heal differently. My experience is mine – yours may or may not be the similar.

27 October 2010 ~ Surgery Day
I left off yesterday at about 11am…

1100
Vesna gave me the anti-embolism injection in my upper arm

1230
Changed from street clothes to hospital gown and compression stockings

1330
“Pre-medication” injection in the buttocks (to help one “relax”). Miro said this would be done about 15 minutes prior to going to the operating theater.

1355
Vesna looked in but I was still wide awake. She smiled and closed the door.

Foggy Memories
Vesna pushing my bed through the hallways.
Gradimir (Dr. Korac, the anesthesiologist) asking if I could walk. I said of course, and he and someone else held my arms while I shuffled to the operating table. There was a big guy standing nearby and Gradimir joked about him being there if they needed more help. I felt very drunk and made a joke about having a worse time with tequila. I sat on the operating table and that’s my last memory.
What must have been hours later, I remember being in pain and trying to tell the people I could hear (but not see) around me. I was struggling to come out of the anesthesia and I vaguely remember trying to clear my throat and uneven breathing. I was soon out of it again.
Drifting in an out.
I remember receiving something for pain some time later and back in my room. I remember a nurse saying good night and waving to me from the door as she left. I waved in return though I could neither see her face nor remember who she was.
Foggy memory of a woman injecting something into one of my ports. I asked what it was. She smiled and told me it was for pain; that I had asked for it a few minutes before. I smiled and said, “I think I was drunk,” and drifted away again.

~ Based on the time Miro telephoned my mother and my fiance, surgery must have been over between 1830 and 1900 ~

2207
Groggy.
Inside of mouth on left side completely numb. I remember thinking that whatever it was they used as a local anesthetic, the dentists in America need it. I’ve never had a local last so long.
Still groggy and sleepy. Have to close one eye to type on my phone and still make a lot of errors. Back to sleep.

2257
Grogginess lifting but I’m sleepy.
The nurse comes in to check my IV or something. I think this must be Miro’s nurse from the children’s hospital (he always has her with us the first night). I ask her name. She tells me and when my eyebrows go up and I shake my head with a smile she laughs. I asked her to say it again, slower, and she does. “Ah, ok.” She asks if I know it and I say, “Drageetza,” rolling the r. She smiles and says yes. So I repeat it 2 or 3 times and she smiles. Then I reach for my phone to type it in phonetically (as it is here) so I won’t forget and she laughs.

2304
Drageetza started antibiotics through one IV port and changed the (saline?) bag to the other port. I asked for pain medicine. The pain was becoming a bit sharp again. It wasn’t unbearable but I didn’t want it to become so. I’d rather stay ahead of it for the first couple of days.

2317
She pushed pain meds into the port then gave me a glass of water. I had to gently rinse my mouth a couple of times first (in case of dried blood from where they took the tissue for my urethra) then I drank a bit of water. Good!

In and out of sleep through the night. Every couple of hours sterile water was flushed into the stent in my penis. It doesn’t hurt but it’s an odd sensation to feel cool water moving through.

My temperature and blood pressure are also checked periodically, and they empty the urine bag that’s connected to the suprapubic catheter.

28 October 2010 ~ The day after surgery
0442
Drageetza just flushed the stent again and refilled my water glass. Because the nurses are in and out so much they usually leave a light on. I wish I’d brought something to cover my eyes. I asked her to get my black t-shirt out of the cabinet and I used it to cover my eyes (and my ears) to help me sleep.

0706
There is a heavy cloth that is folded three times over and lays across the bed beneath me (on top of the sheet that covers the mattress). Drageetza and another nurse just changed that cloth which meant I had to raise myself up off of it. Sort of balancing on heels and shoulders, as well as I could manage.

I haven’t been terribly thirsty and I’ve only had 2 glasses of water since last night. I wonder if it’s because I’m sleeping so much or because they’re really keeping me hydrated through the IV.

The inside of my left cheek feels weird when I explore it with my tongue. Of course it feels as if they took almost the whole thing, lol.

My stomach just growled again. It did a few hours ago too but I’m not really hungry.

0828
Gradimir just stopped in (Dr. Korac, the anesthesiologist). I really like this guy; he’s quick to smile and has a great sense of humor.
He asked whether I’d had breakfast and checked the bandages. He said everything went fine. He gestured toward my bottle of water and said the more I drank the less they’d have to hydrate me through the IV. An hour or so ago I’d asked Drageetza to get my bottle out of the cabinet and fill it with water. It has a sport top and is easier to drink from while lying down. I told Gradimir I would drink more, he said good.

I told him I was beginning to feel some sharper pains again. It’s been a little over 9 hours since I last had pain meds. He said they would give me some more then I could start using the pain meds I brought from home (hydrocodone). He also told me I could get up and move around but to keep my legs apart, “you have strong thighs” lol. The doesn’t want me to put any pressure on my testicles. I think I’ll wait for the pain meds to kick in before I try anything!

0845
Just got breakfast – a cup of yoghurt and a large croissant with sesame seeds on it. Very good! You drink the yoghurt; it’s thick and tastes a little like buttermilk. I like it a lot. The croissant is more dense than those in the states and is good too.

0911
I don’t know if they forgot to give me pain meds or Gradimir forgot to tell them but I just took a hydrocodone and a anti-nausea pill (just to be safe).

1250
Just woke from a nap. Some time ago I woke to a needle in my arm. Vesna was giving me a shot for pain. Oops. I guess Gradimir did tell them. I should have buzzed and asked about it when it took so long.

A few minutes ago the blond nurse came in (I don’t think she knows any English but she’s friendly). She took my temp and BP and removed the fluid line from my IV.

I still haven’t had any unbearable pain. It’s gotten a little sharp a couple of times but it hasn’t been bad. I want my laptop from the cabinet and I consider getting up to get it. Nah, maybe not.

1330
Vesna just asked if I’m hungry (a little) and got my laptop for me (yay). Then she pushed a fat syringe of antibiotics into one of my ports. Now my arm is warm from my knuckles to my shoulder. Weird. A little later they brought my lunch. It was good. Chicken, salad, french fries, a roll, and soup.

1358
Vesna, the blond, and a guy came in. They looked at my dressings and chatted amongst themselves. Vesna told me I could sit up on the edge of the bed but they would help me with that in a bit. She and the guy also told me I cold move my legs around (I told them I have been). I think they want me to move them even more.

1630 Walking
The guy and a female nurse came in and wanted me to get up and walk a bit. Man, that was awkward. And a bit painful. They lowered the bed and helped me to get up. I swung one foot off the bed and pretty quickly went from “maybe I’ll sit on the edge of the bed” to “oh, hell, that hurts, I think I’ll stand up instead.” Rather than “walk” I kept my feet very wide and tried to keep my thighs as far apart as I could so it was more like a painful penguin waddle.
The up side is that I went into the bathroom and brushed my teeth and washed my face.
Getting back into the bed was awkward but not as bad as getting out of it. The female nurse had left but the guy was still there. I sort of leaned and “landed” on my left side, keeping my legs as far apart as possible, then rolled to my back. MAN did I have a sharp pain in the area of my left testicle (everything is wrapped up tight down there). I tried to position myself as best I could on the bed but that pain wouldn’t stop. I made plenty of faces and noises but the guy finally left. What was he going to do?
Part of the problem with getting up and then back into the bed is my left hand. The ports are in just at the wrist and I can only bend it so far. I really can’t use that hand much to prop or push. This also makes moving around much on the bed tricky.

1700
Eight hours since my last pain pill – good timing for me to take another one. After 30 or 40 minutes the pain was pretty much gone.

I’ll tell you, I am not looking forward to dressing change tomorrow. I’m not looking forward to walking again either. Not at all. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not crying about it or dreading it every waking moment, lol, but I’ll be glad when, say, the next 3 weeks is over.

1940
Dinner. A huge roll, cheeses, ham, and another cup of yoghurt. I love that stuff.

2240
I’m wrapping up this blog post. I have twinges now and then but nothing painful. The nurse on for tonight came in about 15 minutes ago to start an antibiotic drip and flush my stent. I asked her to lower the head of the bed so she gave me the remote for adjusting the bed myself. Great! I wish I’d known about that before.

Alright, time to get some sleep. The first day is over.

2010

10/28

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