First day post-op

[SciFiGuy 18]

So, I'm curious about some of the more minor complications people have experienced. I'm lying in my hospital bed now, and they're holding off on starting my phase I diet because they think they might need to do a contrast swallow test later-- everything looks fine, except that my pulse and blood pressure have been elevated since the surgery and they can't figure out why. It's not high enough to indicate internal bleeding, and a CT scan didn't show any pulmonary embolisms, and my pain is actually pretty mild now. (It was a 9/10 when I first came out of anesthesia, but by the late evening it was more like a 3-4, and I barely used my morphine pump over night)

Did anyone else encounter this, and what happened?

[Elode 8,093]

Our bodies react in crazy ways...I didn't have any Bp issues but my Blood sugar sky rocketed! I've NEVER had any blood sugar issues. They had to give me insulin every 4 hours then right before I went home It dropped and I had to drink OJ. Hopefully your body will just settle down. Yuck swallow test!!! I hate that nasty barium sulfate drink!! But You gotta do it and it's nice to know you don't have any leakage! Hang in there!

[mfm116 55]

My blood sugar was a bit off while in the hospital. They weren't really worried about it though as your body is trying to make major adjustments right after surgery. I had to do a swallow test as well before they let me have anything so I feel your pain on that one! Hope everything works out. Keep us posted!

[ELI.p.m 44]

My potassium levels went down right after surgery, they had to give me some through the iv to bring it back to normal. Your body is confused and trying to adjust you should go back to normal in a few days

[SciFiGuy 18]

Well, they think my high pulse was from dehydration, so I've been getting a lot of IV fluids today. They did the contrast test, and it showed no leaks, so they moved me on to phase I. But I've been having some trouble keeping down the low calorie Gatorade-- at first, I drank one ounce every ten minutes, and the first for ounces were fine, but the fifth ounce came back up (I guess my stomach is 4oz now!). Yep hours later, they moved me from IV morphine to oral painkillers, and after taking my two pills with an ounce of the Gatorade, I felt okay, if a little queasy, but fifteen minutes later I took a sip of Gatorade that was less than a quarter of an ounce, and threw up so much more than I had drunk--it was a lot of bile. So now I'm back on IV Fluid, and I just took a mouthful of Water that seems to be staying down without a problem. The resident is on the way to talk about what to do about the pain pill.

[pinkbunies 359]

My blood pressure remained high until they took out the tube. Once the tube came out, I was amazed at how quickly I was able to heal.

My blood pressure tested today at 170/68 I think that is a good number.

That tube hurts soooo much. I could barely sit up with it in me.

[ELI.p.m 44]

What is this tube everyone talks about ..? I didn't wake up with any tube.hmmmm just the iv

[BitterSweet* 835]

@Eli.pm, the tube everyone is referring to is called a jackson pratt drain (JP drain), it is placed before a patient is stitched up to collect bloody drainage from a surgical area.

It's usually left in place 2-3 days and is removed when the drainage amount decreases, and when there's a change in color; from bloody to serosanguinous (light pink /reddish) output. Not all surgeons use JP drains.

To the OP, I'm glad they figured out what was wrong. I hope the rest of your recovery is smooth. Good luck!

[dashofsunshine 876]

I had a lot of low and high pulse issues after surgery. I kept having "spells" where I would get really nauseous and my HR would drop down to 30 - it would pass within seconds. The second day I had 9 spells in one day. They did an EKG and an echo and found nothing but a strong, healthy heart. Third day I woke up and realized they had left my nausea patch behind my ear (it is meant to be taken off within 24 hours - mine was left on for 3 days). I insisted the nurse take it off and boom - never had another spell. They were talking about putting a pacemaker in me before they removed the patch (I'm 26) so I'm pretty relieved to have found the problem. My pulse got high (like 130) every time I even stood up from the bed. They didn't seem too worried about the high pulse, though - they sent me home and as my body has healed, my pulse normalized. I think the high pulse is just due to trauma. My blood pressure was excellent every time they took it. Good luck friend!!!

[Aranks 94]

Prior to me going into surgery my blood pressure was 103/68. After surgery with me being attempting to be a tough guy and holding off on meds, the pain was making my BP I think at one point it was like 150/90 something. They said not to worry about it because more meds the gave me it basically dropped to 120-130 over 70-80 for whenever I wasn't in pain. It was mandated to have a swallow test prior to be released. I was nervous about my BP but they told me I just had a major procedure and my body is a little confused and that I should relax.

Hope everything is well!

[GenaW828 117]

my botom blood preasure was a little higher when i was in pain but now it has went to normal. I didn't have a drain just a catheter..which came out this morning. I hope the rest of your recovery goes well.

[SciFiGuy 18]

So I got to go home today! I was keeping down Water and pain pills, so they moved me on to phase II, and that went fine too. Wound pain is being well managed, although I have a lot of gas pain and I'm having trouble with the bathroom. Haven't thrown up any more, and now I'm working on making sure I drink enough Water, since I don't have the IV fluids helping me out anymore. My pulse and blood pressure did stabilize, still higher than normal, but good enough that it could be chalked up to trauma of surgery and not any complications.

Another thing I thought was interesting is how hard they make it to sleep in the hospital. Between monitor alarms (mine and the others in the room) and blood pressure/temperature checks and drawing blood, I don't think I slept more than 45 minutes at a time. When I got home today I had some water, waited my 15 minutes, had some yogurt, and passed out for two and a half hours.

For other people who needed laxative/stool softener: how gross is colace?! Yuck.

[tfarr 270]

I had the leak test also. The drink they give you is the worst tasting thing you could possibly drink. I forget he name,but it's not the same as my barium swallow. I'd drink that over this any day .

Everyone is different. It may just be your body reacting to the surgery. It is major surgery. I hope and pray your blood pressure regulates. Stay strong