As the song goes... "What a difference a day makes"...
(Initially, I was gonna post a picture here, simply because I find it so funny. Then, I slowed down to re-think it. Some people may be a little too squeamish to see without warning. I'll put it at the very bottom of the journal, adding a little space before it, so you can opt out. It just illustrates my day yesterday so perfectly.)
Yesterday was
definitely an unusual day.
As you may have read in my journal from yesterday, I went to the hospital to get post-op fluid drained. I had such a massive build-up, it was hurting, being uncomfortable, kept me from sleeping etc.
I posted some pictures in the journal yesterday, and here they are again, as a little reminder of what was going on:
Before the drain (same pictures as I posted yesterday):
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I was supposed to call the hospital and set up an appointment for Monday or Tuesday, but as it is a couple of hours of traveling by public transport (my option) and I didn't want to miss a chance to go, I decided to simply show up, prepared to wait my turn.
Well, I went. The moment I stepped off the train, my phone rang. It was the surgeon. She just wanted to tell me that she had booked me for
Tuesday at 11:00 AM. Not good. She asked if that was okay, and I politely and with a smile explained the situation, that I was actually gonna be at the hospital in less than five minutes.
Fortunately she took it with a smile, and told me to stop by and she'd see what she could do. I was very thankful, as she told me that she had two surgeries to do that day also. I told her I'd be as little in her way as possible, I just wanted to make sure thing were okay.
So, I go in, still prepared to wait, but I am actually beeing looked at in few minutes. This is at about 9:15 AM. Quick, super service from her. I couldn't thank her enough.
So she looks at it, and she can clearly see the issue. She has about 30 minutes to work with me, which should be enough to get it drained. She gets hold of a nurse to help squeezing my stomach, so they can push and drain from each side.
I was a little nervous going in, as they had tried draining last Friday, when I went for the checkup. They did this with a HUGE needle, but the fluids were simply too thick to be sucked out.
However, she spotted a little tiny bit of leakage (we're talking maybe a drop or two) under the bandaid that I have on the entire cut. It's at the very front, at the lowest part of the entire scar. This is the obvious place for the fluid to want to come out, according to Newton's law. The fluids will seek their way down.
So she pulls out a catheter, and says "I think this will fit in that hole with the leak". I just look at her in disbelief. The pipe is HUGE. That really terrified me. I just lean back and think "well I need this done, just be a man about it" to myself. She tells me that it might sting a little so I brace myself. Then nothing for quite a while. Suddenly, doc says "so, do you feel anything?". I'm baffled, so I asked her if she did it already. She tells me that she has the pipe almost five centimeters (two inches) into the stomach! I did not even know she had put it in! LOL! So anyways, she puts in some warm water, to kinda of loosen up the fluids in there, and then suddenly she goes "oh, now it's coming.", and ask the nurse to get a few extra pads to suck up the fluids. Then, after a second, she goes: "actually, you better bring the whole box!".
I couldn't help laughing. I didn't feel a thing. It didn't hurt whatsoever, but they were working me hard. They were squeezing my stomach all over the place to keep the fluids going, and they kept apologizing and telling me to let them know if it was too much. I just figured that it didn't hurt and this was the point to me going, just I just told them to go for it.
Well, it probably took about 15 minutes from I entered the room and until the fluids were moving. So we had 15 until doc had to leave. The fluids, however, had NO intentions of stopping. So she had to leave, she apologized, but hey - I don't want to be in the way of someone else's surgery. I fully understand. I'm the one in the way if anything. She left, but the nurse stayed and kept working me.
The nurse told me that she had
never seen so much fluid coming this fast.
After about 30 more minutes, the fluids were still coming, but not as crazy, though still in a VERY steady flow. Trouble was, that my doctor had borrowed the nurse from another doctor and that she was needed over there too.
So, very embarrased, she asked me if it would be okay that she stepped out for a minute, to see if he needed help.
All she was doing with me was squeezing my stomach and changing the little pads. I told her to just go, and if she could just put a stack of pads for me I could handle it on my own.
So she puts a stack and leaves. So I am there in the surgery room, alone, fluids (that look a LOT like blood) pouring out of me, and be changing pads. At the same time, I don't feel a thing, I am completely relaxed and comfortable, and actually enjoying the time.
I take a look down myself, and I see that I NEED to take a picture. So next time the nurse comes in, I get her to put my backpack on a chair next to me so I can reach my stuff. This is about an hour into the session, and there is not real sign of anything slowing down. The nurse is taking it all very well, and she keeps apologizing because she needs to be with her doctor. I tell her that it's perfectly all right and that I'll just call her if I need her. As long as I have enough pads.
At this point we have emptied a box. A box holds 50 pads. :)
So, I get my backpack and she leaves. I pull my phone out and take a few pictures. Then back to squeezing.
After a while this gets really boring, but I do see that the fluids are coming so much and so fast that I really don't need to squeeze more than once in a while to keep it going.
So, I am there alone, bored, hands free and I have my phone. FACEBOOK! LOL.
How many people get to be in a surgery room facebooking? :) I had a nice little conversation with my buddy ferlengheti - thanks for keeping me entertained!
The nurse kept coming back now and then to restock pads, and to give me juice to compensate for all the fluids that I was losing. My body would be drained if I didn't drink. She couldn't believe that it just kept coming.
The draining didn't really slow down until after
three full hours! It was a good thing that it stopped (well, almost stopped) when it did, as the doctors needed the room in about 15 minutes. So they basically needed to kick me out regardless.
She nurse put a TON of pads on me, to take what ever drain would be there on my way home. She had asked for me to see if I could find a ride home and NOT do public transport as I would feel weak because of the drain. I called the drummer in my "new" band(s), and he was up for the ride. Thanks, Jack!
I'm glad he came, because I was really weak getting up. As I was waiting for him I bought some orange juice and a sandwich to get some food. It was lunch time and I was soooo hungry. The food and the juice helped a lot.
Coming home, I went straight to the shower, as I felt that I had goo everywhere. I looked like blood bath, even if the nurse did her best to clean me up a bit. The seeping had continued on the way home and all the padding was soaked. So I took a shower, and too the new photos so you guys can see the difference. As you can see in the picture of the front, it is STILL seeping a little.
After the drain:
<iframe class="imgur-album" width="100%" height="550" frameborder="0" src="http://imgur.com/a/9PUy7/embed"></iframe>
There are still a couple of "pockets" of fluid on the backside, but they should slowly empty, and if nothing else then we'll deal with them soon. Those pockets are at the highest point of the scar, and the hole where the ooze come out is at the lowest, so with a little luck it'll come out over a few days. No biggie.
Also, I should mention that what looks like stretch marks are just markings from the girdle that I have been wearing all day. Nothing that will at all be permanent. :) Technically, I now have permission to NOT wear the girdle at night, but now I need it to keep the pads in place so I don't seep all over the place while sleeping.
Doc told me that I shouldn't need to worry about my skin stretching, that I should be flexible enough for it to pull back together if it DOES stretch, reminding me how nicely it looks (everything considered) after my massive weight loss. What I needed help with was really not a lot considering an 80 kg loss. I am to expect a little "loose belly" when I sit down, but this is what most 40 year olds have, so I am okay with that. I think over time, if I do exercise and do stay healthy, I will feed my body the right nutrition for it to stay healthy and slowly get tighter. We'll see. Looking at myself in the mirror this morning, I am MORE than happy with my results again.
On a side note, as I was looking for info on the fluids, I came by a LOT of before-and-after photos of people having post weight loss tummy tucks and belt lipectomys. I was so happy to realize that I didn't find anything looking better than what I have had done. A few about the same level of quality work, but nothing above and beyond. This made me really happy.
I could tell that I probably had a little too much excitement for one day. I was so tired, but not really keen on going to bed until the evening. I stayed up, also to let the seeping continue, and just took little grandpa-naps in my good chair.
I was hungry all evening, but managed to do good on my food. I ate normally, but also had a protein shake. The doctor told me to drink some shakes, as my blood percentage is still low. I look pale, especially after the drain, and iron tablets and protein drinks will help that. Of course, I will do this.
At 7 PM, I couldn't stay awake any longer, and went to bed. I slept until about 11 PM. I woke up because I was sweating like crazy, and I was sore all over. I guess working my stomach did have some effect on me after all. I felt (and still feel) like I have taken a severe beating! It's okay though. This, however, gave me so much discomfort that I had to get up and walk around a bit. I'm afraid that it will be like this for a few days, something I'll just have to deal with.
The rest of the night went like this. Sleep for an hour or so, get up a bit, go back to bed, etc.
At some point I got REALLY cold. I guess being low on fluids, and the blood issue does this. I was so cold that I got up to put on t-shirt, sweater and sweat pants. I even considered getting a coat!
This morning, I was still cold, until I had breakfast. Then, sitting here at the computer, wearing all the clothes AND a blanket to keep warm - suddenly I am BOILING inside. So not I got rid of blanket and sweater. Strange.
I am not as sore when I sit or stand as I am when I lie down. At least that's a good thing. I'm a little sleepy, because of the rough night, but that's okay. I'll push though it and I know I will probably just dose off at some point when my body says "enough is enough".
It seems like the seeping is happening more when I stand up than when I sit or lie down. I think I will try to spend some of my day standing for that very reason, too keep it flowing. It's gross, and I am kind of paranoid about it seeping through, but it needs to be done. I can actually feel the fluid moving around inside now and then - it's a REALLY strange feeling.
...
Wow. That's a LONG journal today. If you read all the way to this point, I gotta say I'm impressed. You deserve a gold star for dedication. :)
I am so happy that I went yesterday. I am so happy that we got this done, and I am going back Friday to get a checkup and see if we need to repeat. It will make my weekend so much better, I think. Going into the weekend knowing the status of things comforts me.
So, today I am thankful for:
- RELIEF!
- The outlook of further relief!
- Morning coffee!
- Getting to spend another day at home but with a little more positive outlook on things.
The photo I mentioned in the beginning is below. Again, some people might be a little too squeamish for it, but it's not THAT bad. Just didn't want to freak anyone out from the get-go of my journal. :)
Scroll down to see it, and have an awesome day! Life is good!
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