Post-Surgical Recovery - part 1

I was, as noted, in a regular hospital room and still on a lot of pain medication but I was coming around more often. I still had trouble breathing. I finally had the ability to inform the nurses and such that my breathing trouble was from feeling my lungs were crowded. At some point this was determined to be fluid built up, likely in my gastric system. I was perhaps not eliminating fluid fast enough despite the frequent emptying of my ostomy pouch which to me seemed perpetually full.

Late in the evening on the 4th day, I think, I began to heave and it was all fluid. I guess I had really backed up at that point. I wasn't taking in food, just drinking water, eating the occasional popsicle, and getting my nourishment from my IV. My vomiting got pretty fierce before everyone started postulating on what could be done. The solution was presented to me, an NG (nasogastric) tube. They'd run a tube into my nose and down through my esophagus into my stomach. The tube could then convey the fluid up and out into a container. I had heard of that before and at those times I thought what a horrid arrangement that seemed to be, terribly uncomfortable to install and 'wear'. However, at this time, as I could barely catch my breath and the contents of my digestive system were overflowing as vomit, I was game. I asked them to please proceed.

What a relief! Very soon I felt less and less like a water balloon. I could actually take deeper and deeper breaths. All of me was happier about more oxygen and less bloating. I was still eliminating a lot of fluid through my small intestine into the pouch too. So, draining in both directions created a remedy and more comfort very quickly. It made a huge difference in my alertness and in my entire sense of well-being.

I think maybe it was as soon as the next day, perhaps a full 24 hours, that the volume of fluid coming through the NG tube began to subside and it could be removed. That was quite a weird feeling and considerably uncomfortable but quick. I was certainly relieved to have the tube out of my nose; it had begun to irritate me. That was another sign of my recovery. I was regaining sensations, feeling more myself, although thankfully I was still receiving sufficient medications such that I was in no real pain. Any pains I had related more to maneuvering in the hospital bed or getting in and out of it as I started to empty my own pouch, having been instructed in the care and maintenance of it as soon as my thought processes were working again.

Time in the hospital was seriously warped. Although I had a great bank of windows and a nice view of the town from the 5th floor, the medications and a lot of napping made it hard for me to keep track of the days and even the hours. Everything seemed to be a schedule of techs taking vital stats and nurses appearing with regular medications. I had been off the morphine pump for a while and was now taking oral pain meds as well as a plethora of other pills based on the test results from regularly extracted samples of my blood.