My DS surgery on 6/1 went well. My biggest issues in the immediate post op were nausea and pain but both were treated quickly and effectively. Wednesday morning I was taken to radiology and swallowed a couple ounces of contrast for a leak test...I passed the test so go to start Clear Liquids. After the leak test I did have quite a bit of diarrhea which wasn’t pleasant. I spent 2 nights in hospital and came home Thursday afternoon. I was allowed to advance my diet from clear liquids to “high Protein full liquids” yesterday...never knew Protein Shakes or unsweetened applesauce could taste so wonderful! Lol! But again, I developed lots of diarrhea all day yesterday. Very frustrating! Better today since I realized I may be having lactose intolerance issues so I started taking Lactaid today and it does seem to be helping. Fortunately the pain is getting better each day because the stuff they gave me for home is pretty useless: a compounded mixture of gabapentin and Tylenol. Each 5ml dose contains 200 mg of gabapentin and 32 mg of Tylenol. Gabapentin is usually given for nerve pain/neuropathy. Preop I daily took 2000 mg Tylenol daily for my arthritis. Pharmacy charged $50 for the compounded medicine...rip-off and I will tell the Drs office my opinion of their pain management program next week. I know there is an opioid crisis in this country HOWEVER let’s be real folks, 80% of my stomach was just removed snd my guts rearranged...gabapentin 200 mg and 32mg of Tylenol does NOT cut it. Once I could take PO they gave me Tylenol 3 in the hospital which was very effective and actually helped me both move around better and get more rest when I slept. Fortunately the pain is lessening every day. I have to have all my meds as either crushed, liquid or chewable for the first 6 weeks. Yuck! Some of the ones I need to crush are tiny so I’m going to ask if I can swallow them whole since they are way smaller than a tic tac. Mixing with a small spoonful of applesauce or pudding does help though. Wearing the abdominal binder is helpful and when I’m sitting up watching TV I find hugging a heating pad is helpful.
