Shave his Belly with a Rusty Razor.

When I weighed in today after coming home from the hospital. I  was 5 lbs heaver then when I went in...  They removed 90% of one of my organs, I consumed nothing for 36 hours, and I put on weight... That's so unfair!  I realize the swollen tissues are holding on to extra water and as the swelling subside the water weight will flush out and I'll get a more accurate weigh in... but still.

After dropping the boys off with my Sis and Dad down at my parents place, Mom my wife and I headed off to hospital - we got there about 20 minutes before they asked us to show up, but they got me checked right in and I lumped summed my estimated out-of-pocket expenses after insurance. Was about $685. I'll still have to pay the anesthesiologist separately, and owe for the psychiatric evaluation yet. All of my follow up appointments will have a co-pay too... but all told it's a lot better than paying out-of-pocket for the entire procedure!

I'm told I was in the surgery room about an hour, about 30 minutes of that was actual surgery, the other half was involving putting me under and waking me up. Then I was in a recovery room for another 45 minutes or so, then they moved me to a patient room. My wife stayed with me most of the day, and Mom, Dad, Sis and my Nephews and sons were all there at some point... but the painkillers they had me on meant I kept dozing off.  I'm glad they were there, but feel guilty I didn't interact with them a little more, or let them know they were appreciated.

I still have my phlegm-producing cough, now with abdominal wounds, that sucks quite a lot. In the hospital it got to the point where if I thought a cough was coming, I'd try to fight it off and press my little self-dose pain button so that once I did go, I'd feel it less.

They shaved my belly prior to surgery.  I kept thinking of that verse from "What Do You Do With a Drunken Sailor?"  It's already stubbly now.  It's going to itch as it grows back in. grumble.

Also, my stretchmarks were pulled taught, and opened up, and some new one formed, etc... which felt weird to see since I'm down nearly 50 lbs from 2 weeks ago and THEN get new stretchmarks, but oh well.

The first nurse to take my blood for labs mentioned something about having a perfect record so far, until missing my vein. She had to get the more experienced nurse in to do it.  2nd nurse had no trouble at all "Well look at that gusher! you may be my new favorite patient!"

With the exception of some acute moments like coughing or bending too far, my soreness has been much less than things I had done to myself in the past - like recovering from the ab workouts during the first week of swim season each year, or even some of the ab days in Karate class.

This was my first experience with a catheter. 3 or 4 people mentioned that with a catheter in you always feel like you need to pee... I didn't really experience that. When it came to removing it the nurse warned be that getting all that tape off of my hairy inner thigh would be the worst part... then RIIIP. and to her amazement I didn't really flinch at that.  Then she used a syringe to remove the fluid from the balloon in the catheter that held it in place, and reminded me to breath while she pulled it out.  The reminder did no good, and she lied about the tape being the worst part. My brain refused to allow breathing to happen for the second and half that tube was being pulled out of me at 5am today... and since then peeing has be uncomfortable. This has made me so very glad I never contracted Chlamydia.

Removing the catheter was probably the least pleasant moment of the hospital stay, and a close second was when they removed the drain tube from my side. Having that rubbery hose slide out through a hole in your body that didn't exist the day before is an unsettling, discomfortable experience.

Much of the discomfort I'm having in my belly has to do with gas.  Belching has become a new pastime.

After the wifey took me home, she left again to fill my prescriptions. Turns out the Pharmacy where I work did not have nearly enough Hydrocodone Bitartrate and Acetaminophen oral solution to fill that script, we had them call the other 3 pharmacies we run in this market, and still a no go.  There is a grocery store that our insurance will give us a break on, though if we need to use their pharm, and one of their locations had enough on hand... Seems like it was an odd amount to perscirbe though, I got one full bottle that the pharmacy usually divides into smaller bottles for patients, and 25ml more in a separate bottle.  Ironically it's labeled "Take with food."

I'm on an all clear-liquid diet today and tomorrow. I really didn't feel up to eating anything today anyway, so that's been fine.

I assume it must be somehow related, but after I was at home for several hours this morning, I got the first nosebleed I've had in many years. As a matter of fact, I cannot recall having a nose bleed that could not be contributed to being hit in the face.  It subsided after about 2 minutes or so, but it was odd.

Bending over to change my 2 year old's diaper tonight sent a sharp pain through one of the incision sites. It prompted me to take a dose of my pain meds.  In addition to those, I have a blood thinner I inject into my bellyfat daily for a week. Nausea tablets that one dissolves under their tongue, and an daily stomach acid controller - an Rx version of Prilosec, they say.

I think the Hydrocodone is trying to put me to sleep... or maybe it just late and I didn't get much sleep with them checking my vitals every 2 hrs last night... either way, I'm going to hit the hay.