Chapter 64: Week One Post Op

I got home from my surgery around 9 pm the day of.. I was very grateful that I didn’t have to spend the night. I was tired and hungry by the time I got home. I had some tea and soft food- jello and pudding- because my throat hurt after being intubated during surgery. I was really glad that I had thought to get those ahead of time so we didn’t have to stop at the store on the way home. I would have loved to shower off the hospital germs, but I wasn’t allowed to shower for 24 hours.

Before I went to bed, I did the math for when I could take my pain pills. I was given Percocet and was told to take that every 4 hours and ibuprofen every 6 and to alternate them. I set alarms on my phone and labeled them, so that when I was waking up in the middle of the night I’d know which pill to take. I also kept a pad of paper with a pen near where I was sleeping so I could write down everything too.

So that leads me to sleep. For the first 5 nights post op, I slept on the recliner portion of our couch. I am a stomach sleeper and I was concerned that I’d roll over on something and hurt myself, so this seemed like the best idea. Also, since they drill into your core muscles to do the surgery, sitting up is a bit tricky. Our recliner is electric, so it basically did all the work for me. It was super helpful. I kept a tv tray next to my couch with my meds, water, cough drops, chapstick, lotion, and my incentive spirometer. Getting up every few hours to take my meds wasn’t my favorite, but it was really important to do. The key to a tolerable post op experience is to stay ahead of the pain. I slept through an alarm once and I didn’t make that mistake again. It also gave me the opportunity to switch out my ice packs. Another pro tip- get a few of them and make sure they’re the nice soft ones, not the crappy ones that the hospital sends you home with.

An incentive spirometer is a simple, plastic medical device that exercises your lungs. Your healthcare provider may recommend that you use an incentive spirometer after an illness, surgery or an injury to your chest or abdomen. An incentive spirometer helps prevent lung infections by expanding your lungs, strengthening your lungs, keeping your lungs inflated and clearing mucus and other secretions from your chest and lungs. You may have low oxygen levels after surgery or a serious illness, and an incentive spirometer helps you achieve a normal oxygen level. I had to do it about 10 times an hour while I was awake (but no need to wake up to do it). It was for sure annoying but it was doable. And also really important to do.

The first few days I felt like I was in a fog. I napped on and off and couldn’t really concentrate on anything for long. My appetite was pretty non existent and I had trouble using the bathroom (Thanks, Mirolax!). My surgeon called and said all of this plus the sore throat is normal, so that was nice and reassuring. Again, I want to mention and emphasize how kind and caring my surgeon was. I hope that all endo patients (and anyone with chronic illness) find a doctor like this. He’s so amazing and I am so grateful for him.

Another normal part of post op life is bleeding. It was never really heavier than a slow last day of you period and varied in color from bright red to brown. It was totally controllable with pads, Thinx or even panty liners on some days. One weird thing that happened was waking up from surgery, I found that they had just placed a pad in between my legs and sat it there. The first time I had excision surgery, I woke up in a diaper, which while not ideal, felt way more secure than just the random hospital pad hanging out with nothing to stick to. The toilet was also VERY red when I peed for the first time post op at the hospital, which can feel jarring but is normal. My first round of post op bleeding stopped after about 5 days, but my surgeon said to expect it for about 4 more weeks.

Now to the part everyone has asked about- the pain. This is also a bit TMI, so if you’re squeamish, now might be a good time to stop reading. It really wasn’t bad. It was way less painful than my average period (RIP to those jerks, forever!). I understand that I don’t get Percocet for periods, and I'm sure that had a lot to do with the pain levels I had. I was expecting my pain to be primarily abdominal because that’s where the 4 incisions were. I was wrong. Most of the pain was vaginal. This is because during a hysterectomy, they remove the uterus and cervix through the vagina. That obviously involves some stretching that a vagina is meant to do, but it’s not meant to do it comfortably. There were also internal stitches at the vaginal cuff where the cervix was, and those are much more extensive that what was on my tummy.

Overall, the first week or so was definitely sore but manageable. No regrets and I am so excited to never have another period again!