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Had my op this morning between the pain, nausea and lying in the one spot all day I think this is far from pleasant lol! Please tell me the first nights the worst and it gets better:(

It is. My first night I was i  agony and kept asking for pain killer, but after that it was a breeze.

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It gets better!

Between the time the surgical IV painkillers and the anesthesia wear off until the injected pain meds take over was the worst for me. I was counting hours until each shot at first, but the nurses at Brassard's were generous with the injections. They also gave us choices as to which pain killers to use, and some were better than others. If you are still hurting, ask your nurse if there are other options than what they are giving you. I found Dilaudid (hydromorphone) to be the very best for my pain, and Demerol the worst. You may need to try them all to be sure. There will be plenty of time to experiment, lol, you are gonna be sore for a while yet, hun, so hang in there, it is sooo worth the pain!!!

I hope you feel better soon and that your recovery is swift and uneventful!

Missy

Congratulations!

I can't speak for GCS but I've had 2 orthopedic surgeries and one abdominal (hernia repair) and for me the worst has always been coming out of general anesthesia. Once that's done and the nausea passes I'm pretty ok, best wishes

Quote from: SadieBlake on January 25, 2017, 02:59:18 PM
Congratulations!

I can't speak for GCS but I've had 2 orthopedic surgeries and one abdominal (hernia repair) and for me the worst has always been coming out of general anesthesia. Once that's done and the nausea passes I'm pretty ok, best wishes

Congratulations...

I have to agree with Sadie Blake, I have had plenty of operations and couple recently, that first 12 -24 hours out from the OP are the worst. Much of that depends on whether you keep on top of the pain or end up having to "chase" it. Much of that is down to the skill of your nurses, unless you are in a position to advocate for yourself. I am sure your next 24 will be better...how exciting for you!!

Hugs
Liz

I can attest that it definitely gets better.  Your body needs time to heal, and when it does you will start experiencing life in a whole new way...a better way...a happier way.  So yes, it will get better everyday :)

Yes there is agony and then, the next chapter in that book is the ecstasy, right?   All pain ends and yours will steadily become quieter and cooler till it's gone.  Try an old guided imagery trip I did with patients in the recovery room:

Allow yourself every opportunity to take a slow deep breath, imagine yourself in the safest and coziest place and allow all your muscles to gently relax as you slowly exhale through pursed lips.  Do it again five times while exhaling colors running from purple red to soft light blues and greens.  Allow yourself the feeling of a warm strong embrace and then to float above it all.  Let the time fly by.

You did it, you made it through, you are strong and you are healing.

Tessa, that advice is spot on.

I wish I had it for my (not transition related but in that neighborhood) surgeries. The first 6-12 hours, with an anesthetic hangover, were the worst. A shot of morphine helped. [emoji15]

I felt much better after 24 hours.

I'll definitely follow Tessa's advice next time rather than lie there thinking about it (a bad idea).


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Alexis,

Even through the unfortunate pain and welcome opioid delirium, I still remember the deep calm that was settling over my mind, not because Brassard had been smiling after my surgery, nor because he had said everything went great, but because I knew, even though heavy bandages and an ice pack were sitting on my pubis, I knew, I knew 'it' was gone!!!!  ;D

There were two very different aspects to my immediate post-op experience, first, in my mind, was the joy of coming to the end of that which needed to go, and secondly, the beginning of that which needed to BE...

Hang in there, girlfriend, the hardest part is over, every day going forward brings healing; physical, and emotional, and psychological...

Be proud of yourself, you took the leap, now you inherit the rewards...

Well done!!

((HUGS))

Missy

Thanks everyone feeling a bit better this morning, gods how long that'll last lol quick question did any of you feel "numb" down there?

Yes, I did feel numb down there, lol. Do they have an ice pack strapped onto your pubis? They did that at Brassard's to help the pain but mostly to help reduce swelling. I think the combination of ice and the fact that all the tissues and nerves are all scrambled up right after surgery makes it hard to really 'find' the sensations in that area. Believe me, you will feel plenty later, ha!

Glad you feel better!

Missy

Thanks for the reply! Just need a little reassuring every now and again lol

Here's some more reassuring, yep numb is expected immediately post op and feeling will return. Where are you for your SRS?

Thanks lol Nuffield health hospital in Brighton with Phillip Thomas!

It will only get better. The post GA can be the most miserable for those of us that react badly  to morphine.

Yep.. that numb sensation and dull pain but unable to pinpoint where exactly it comes from. Just felt like someone had kicked u really hard in the groin.

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I was lucky...following surgery and the two weeks at the recovery house, I didn't need any painkillers. Unlike my roomie who was in awful discomfort.

When I moved to the recovery house, I did ask for sleeping pills and ear plugs as my roommate snored something awful. If she had of been my spouse, I would have thrown a pillow at her.

Quote from: Nina_Ottawa on January 26, 2017, 10:45:35 AM
When I moved to the recovery house, I did ask for sleeping pills and ear plugs as my roommate snored something awful. If she had of been my spouse, I would have thrown a pillow at her.

Lol, I had asked for a single room, because at the time, I had awful insomnia, so I was always up most of the night and sleeping as much as I could during the day. When I was transferred to the recovery residence, the nurse took me to a double room, and said my roommate would arrive later that day. I sat on the bed, and looked at the empty bed next to me, and wondered if I could just make do..

Nah, I thought, and I called downstairs and told the nurse I wanted a single room like I had asked for when I scheduled my surgery date...

Sooo glad I did, she apologized, switched some things around, and I was napping away in my own room about an hour later. I would have been miserable otherwise, and not a good roomie at all, lol..

As it was, I was able to piece together enough naps between pain pill doses to actually feel pretty good most of the time. Otherwise, I might have slept through meals in the dining room, and that was not a good idea, I was sooo hungry all the time, ha!

Missy

It gets better. You would be amazed seeing how better it keeps getting day after day. Following surgery I had my eyes on the clock and was calling the nurse every 2 hours for the pain killer to be injected. I used to get relief immediately after and would fall asleep. But once the 2 hours passed, I would wake up and not be able to sleep until the next pain killer was injected. But every day that kept getting better.

I had a terrible time partly because of sigmoid + inversion and was not allowed water for 3 days (they were the most difficult days I have ever seen).

I hope you recover soon. It's been 2 days already, am sure, it must be better now.