Post-op, Day 3
I’m counting Thursday, the same day as surgery, to be Day 1 of post-op as well. That makes today Day 3 of post-op.
I’ve been up for 16 hours. I’ve only had very fleeting catnaps that lasted a few minutes. So today was like a normal day – such a change from only being able to stay awake for six hours at a time yesterday. The lack of meds had a lot to do with it. I didn’t take any Vicodin til 3pm, when I finally couldn’t stand the pain anymore. The pain is mostly in my shoulders, now, as the carbon dioxide has officially migrated and has been giving me grief.
I’ve had bouts of abdominal pain as well.
The vicodin however seems to do more harm than good. I had a migraine for two days straight, and by not taking any vicodin today til 3pm, I confirmed it as the culprit.
Once I took the vicodin, the migraine returned. With the migraine is jaw clenching, which of course aggravates the problem. So, no more vicodin for me. My last dose was around 5:30pm this evening. I’ll wait for the migraine to go away and then if I need pain meds tomorrow, I’ll try the 600mg Ibuprofen I have on hand.
If that doesn’t help, I’ll call in a request for something else. I’d rather just be off the pain meds now. I’m healing fast. I can do this. I just need to keep hydrated and dammit I need to have a bowel movement. Stupid opiates.
I’ll be less cranky once the shoulder pain, migraine and constipation go away.
Oh, and tonight it’s back to sleeping in reclining position. I don’t want to wake up with a puffed out face again.
I did have some happy moments today though. My man helped me wash my hair in the sink, and I gave myself a peppermint soapy washclothing from the sink as well (still can’t get the incisions wet). First bath in three days! Felt so good.
And I had several friends stop by to check in on me and give me presents! They made me laugh til I hurt, literally, but it can’t be helped. They’re hilarious and I love ’em.