First five days

Since I'm several days post op now, I need to catch up the blogs so I'll do a long post but try to re-cap each day. Hope it's not too long/boring :)


Wednesday, July 24th (day 1)
The docs visited me in the morning and removed the compression bandage completely, which was awesome since it made me feel like I was suffocating. I was only allowed to get out of bed that morning once they removed the catheter and the leg compression stocking things. Due to the fact that I hadn't really been moving, had been so nauseas, couldn't get anything down,etc. the docs said that I was not being released but they would move me to a regular room for another night. Thank goodness. I felt like a train wreck. They did say the swelling in my lower lip was looking better though and my bite was good, still biting into the splint so no elastics needed to guide things yet.

It did take a while to get moved, we had to wait for a room to open up on the med/surg ward. The staff was all super nice. They did their  best to try and help my pain. I was refusing the stronger stuff and was basically getting iv Motrin type stuff. They were giving meds for swelling, nausea and pain. I had tried some oral pain meds too, but they wouldn't go down either and they tasted horrible and gagged me.  I would rather have the pain than throw up again! But due to more old blood in my stomach I threw up again-so nasty, but that was the last time. Thank goodness. I was able to sleep a little better that night and was getting up to use the bathroom, etc since I was still hooked up to the iv.

I tried to get fluids down, some tea, melted sherbet, etc but nothing really worked or tasted very good.  I have noticed that my taste buds are on high alert right now and things taste stronger.

Thursday, July 25th (day 2)
The docs visited me again in the morning and said everything looked on track, I was doing better, they had a few early afternoon surgical cases and would check me after that, but the plan was for me to be discharged after the afternoon visit.  They wanted me to walk the halls for some exercise and to see what else I could take in fluid-wise, so they capped the iv but didn't take it out yet.  I walked down to the nurse's station twice, was able to get down  some tea and plain water and ice chips. The docs came back around 3 and started the discharge process.  They knew I had a long drive home (about 2 hours) so they got me going fairly quickly, we just had to wait for the prescriptions to be ready, one more dose of pain meds, then they removed the iv, then I was transported to the door. I was awake (I think)  for most of the very long drive home.  Once I hit the door, I burst into tears. I was happy to be home. I slept a little better in the recliner. Lots of pillows, cozy blanket, ice packs, etc. 

Friday, July 26th/Saturday, July 27th (days 3 &4)
I was able to sleep a few hours at a time.  I finally was able to shower also, that makes such a difference.  The swelling is going down day by day and the fluid intake is going up as the swelling improves.  I mostly laid around all day. I did fall asleep late on the couch and woke up at 10, but then couldn't sleep again until about 4 am. That sucked. Then I took a nap after lunch on Saturday and then was up until around 11:00pm.
We also called the doc on Saturday to ask a few questions about cleaning my teeth, and why my tongue was still so swollen and sore. Everything is going normally-nothing out of the ordinary and I go for my follow up on Tuesday, July 30th, so they will double check everything then. At least the phone call reassured me on what I could or  couldn't do to clean my mouth. There was so much dried blood in there-so disgusting, but he said I could brush as much as I was able to.  I wouldn't hurt anything. So I brushed and rinsed for the longest time and got the grossest blood clots and gunk out-sorry if that's TMI! But my mouth felt and tasted so much better and I have been using the rinse 3 times a day.

Sunday, July 28th (day 5)
Since I went to bed around 11, I woke up around 3:30 and actually tried swallowing some ibuprofen. It worked!!  I couldn't feel it go down though, so I had to check my mouth with a little flash light to make sure it wasn't hiding in there. I'm sure I would have tasted the nasty medicine though. But I was so happy that I was able to swallow it whole without drinking it all ground up and mixed in my drinks!! So, when I woke up around 6, I showered again and drank some juice, then around 9, I swallowed another dose of pain meds-it's a prescription I had for knee pain, but it's a stronger anti-inflammatory and I only have to take once every 12 hours so that's really helpful.
It's time for me to take it now, actually. I took a 1 1/2 hour nap today, but didn't want to mess up my sleep tonight, so I set the timer on my phone. I got up and had more soup for dinner. I had my mom make a cheesy potato soup (blended and strained) and had about 1/2 a mug full. The liquids fill you up fast, but they don't last long. I also had some other smoothies and shakes and trying to get a much water as possible. I am still drooling an outrageous amount and wish that would stop, but I feel I am getting better control of my lower lip and am able to close my mouth better,so the drooling should stop soon too.  The swelling has gone down dramatically, my face is a lovely greenish-yellow from bruising though, but my lips are looking much more normal and not all peeling and inflamed like just two days ago. It really is amazing how fast your body tries to get back to normal. I need to take another picture for my records, at least I have the "after surgery" ones on my phone, so maybe I can figure out how to post them. I really am terrible at this technology stuff ;)

Well, sorry for such a long update, but this is the first I felt up to trying to get it all down. I wanted as much detail to look back on later. I do not know how people feel up to blogging right away, but I am glad they do, I wish I felt that good. I am getting there. I will blame being older on this rough time I am having. It seems all the younger patients bounce back much better. I am glad for them and a little jealous, I guess! Lol!

I will try to update daily for a while, I go on Tuesday for my one week follow up. Not really looking forward to the long ride, but I guess I've come a long way since I came home on Thursday, so another couple of days should make even more of a difference. I just hope the drooling stops by then:)


I just took my pain pill and when I swallowed, water came out my nose! Does that happen to anyone else?? It feels so weird. I remember when I was a kid and had my tonsils and adenoids removed, the same thing happened a few times, then I guess I figured out how to drink properly! Until next time...