More information than you probably wantsweetmusic_27August 31 2010, 03:15:32 UTC
This was my gallbladder ultrasound, if it makes you feel any better. Once I'd had my attack, there were no signs of another, and they scheduled me for surgery at their leisure, and it worked out fine. It was only about a month of waiting, but still. Nothing happened.
Plan for a week off. You remember me at Duckon last year? That was a little over a week after. I was fine, mind, but it took that long for me to be fine, after a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, or Lap-coley, as they say in the field. Apparently.
In my experience: The first day is fine. You're asleep. The second day is less fine, because ow. And the third day sucks. The fourth day you think, "Hey, I could probably do something!" and after about two hours, your body begins to give you a long lecture on why it didn't like being cut into and how you should have another pain pill and maybe some applesauce and not bug it anymore. The fifth day is about the same. And then, on the sixth day, you realize you would really like to see outside your bedroom and eat a standing rib roast and gosh what a lot of laundry and wow I need to go to the pharmacy and bank and have a nap without pills.
Things that it's good to have: -someone to look after the dogs and drive you from the hospital -some water and applesauce/saltines in your purse, because after your recovery-awkening-period they'll spend twenty minutes going back and forth to see if you're awake enough and able to not puke from the general anaesthetic and then they'll finally get you something to see if you can keep it down and et cetera, so it's great to just short-cut all that by going, "Oh, right, I'm eating and not barfing, right now, in front of you. No need to go get me jell-o." -a comfortable cold pack that won't poke you in the ribs with ice cubes or cover your blankets with condensate (CVS Peas are great) -a body pillow or two -premade, easy-to-chew meals that are wholly unexceptional in spice and pH level
Re: More information than you probably wanttollersSeptember 2 2010, 02:06:36 UTC
Yeah, I had definitely thought about needing someone to deal with the dogs (especially Drummer) for the first couple of days. I adore my Drummy boy, but he's a bit, well, exuberant and having him bounce off of my stomach immediately post-surgery would be a bad thing.
Good tip about the water/applesauce/cracker reserves... I'll keep that in mind! Sally is prepared to drive me home, so that part's covered. I need to get a new cold pack, so I'll definitely put that on the next CVS list.
Rice and grilled chicken strips kind of meals? I almost always have those on-hand, and could cook up the rice ahead of time (chicken strips are the pre-grilled frozen ones from Trader Joe's).
Thanks for the info! I'm hoping I won't have to use it immediately, as things have pretty much settled down now, so unless the ultrasound and my doctor indicate otherwise, I'm tempted to wait 'til it happens again before getting serious about surgery.
Plan for a week off. You remember me at Duckon last year? That was a little over a week after. I was fine, mind, but it took that long for me to be fine, after a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, or Lap-coley, as they say in the field. Apparently.
In my experience: The first day is fine. You're asleep. The second day is less fine, because ow. And the third day sucks. The fourth day you think, "Hey, I could probably do something!" and after about two hours, your body begins to give you a long lecture on why it didn't like being cut into and how you should have another pain pill and maybe some applesauce and not bug it anymore. The fifth day is about the same. And then, on the sixth day, you realize you would really like to see outside your bedroom and eat a standing rib roast and gosh what a lot of laundry and wow I need to go to the pharmacy and bank and have a nap without pills.
Things that it's good to have:
-someone to look after the dogs and drive you from the hospital
-some water and applesauce/saltines in your purse, because after your recovery-awkening-period they'll spend twenty minutes going back and forth to see if you're awake enough and able to not puke from the general anaesthetic and then they'll finally get you something to see if you can keep it down and et cetera, so it's great to just short-cut all that by going, "Oh, right, I'm eating and not barfing, right now, in front of you. No need to go get me jell-o."
-a comfortable cold pack that won't poke you in the ribs with ice cubes or cover your blankets with condensate (CVS Peas are great)
-a body pillow or two
-premade, easy-to-chew meals that are wholly unexceptional in spice and pH level
Reply
Good tip about the water/applesauce/cracker reserves... I'll keep that in mind! Sally is prepared to drive me home, so that part's covered. I need to get a new cold pack, so I'll definitely put that on the next CVS list.
Rice and grilled chicken strips kind of meals? I almost always have those on-hand, and could cook up the rice ahead of time (chicken strips are the pre-grilled frozen ones from Trader Joe's).
Thanks for the info! I'm hoping I won't have to use it immediately, as things have pretty much settled down now, so unless the ultrasound and my doctor indicate otherwise, I'm tempted to wait 'til it happens again before getting serious about surgery.
Reply
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