Week 1

First week at home.

I have been home now for just over a week and how am I doing? 

Positives.

I am almost off pain medication.  Since leaving the hospital they have had me on two strong narcotics that were kind of nice, yet had some nasty side effects.  So I am completely off one and only down to taking one of the Oxycodone at bed time.  I am trying to manage my discomfort with Extra Strength Tylenol.  My goal is to be off the pain meds tonight or tomorrow. 

Am I pushing to fast to get off them?  Maybe.  But I have a goal.  I want to be able to drive my car again, which I can’t to while on them.  I want to be able to poop freely without stool softeners or prune juice, which I need while on them. But the number one reason is that I want to enjoy a cocktail again.  Not that I need to have it, but I want some semblance of my life before the surgery to return.  Most likely will not be a beer or a long island, but I would like to sit on the deck once more and enjoy a nightcap.

I have slowed down the weight loss.  I am down another pound and a half, but since I dropped almost 8 pounds over the first couple of days, I will take that as a sign of slowing.  Now down 21.5 pounds since the day after my surgery.

Negatives.

I miss sleeping on my stomach or even on my side.  I sleep on my back, or I pay the price.  Your stomach has a flap that keeps the contents of your stomach from re-entering your esophagus.  When you sleep that is closed and all is well.  They removed mine with the stomach.  So if I lay down and for whatever reason my head slips below the level of the rest of my body, whatever is in there comes back to visit me.  If it makes it to your lungs, then you will spend 15 minutes or so in the bathroom in incredible pain.  It has happened to me twice this week.

I haven’t gone a day without my body rejecting something I ate.  It may be something that I ate just fine yesterday, but not today.  I wish I could go 24 hours without having something not coming back up.  I mean simple pleasures like popsicles.  I had them all the time in the hospital.  Yet since I have been home it has been hit or miss as whether or not they stay down.

I have called the help number at the Mayo clinic three times this week, looking for answers to help me get by.  The good news here is that they have not threatened to block my number yet.

I have spent three and a half hours in a local emergency room getting fluids because I was dehydrated.  I was also told that I am not eating enough and was showing signs of malnutrition.  Seriously did you read point one here, I am shoving all sorts of things into my mouth, yet the problem is that the food is not staying down.

I guess we can call it.  Transition week 1, Roger 0.  I will move on to week two.

so why would you care
to get out of this place
you and me and all our friends
such a happy human race
'cause we're tripping Billies

(Tripping Billies  Dave Mathews Band)