Had a big scare on Sunday...

Had to go into the ER on Sunday. I'd been having a sharp pain in my lower left quadrant of my abdomen. It was only positional, but extremely sharp when I would get into certain positions.

I called my surgeon and he said to get into the ER as they needed to make sure I didn't have an inclusion.  I didn't think I had an inclusion as I wasn't vomitting and have very normal bowel movements. It felt like I was ripping something on the inside.

My urine sample showed I was extremely dehydrated. I've been sipping and sipping, but apparently not enough. They immediately gave me two liters of liquids.

Then they did a CT with dye contrast and everything looked perfect as far as my surgery goes. They think what happened is either I pulled a suture from my abdomen or pulled an abdominal muscle.  Bottomline, there was nothing they could do. It just has to heal, but the good news was that my surgery looks great on the inside. Everything is connected, no leaks, no blockages.

This experience did scare the absolute **** out of me though...I was so worried that they were going to have to go back in.

Geez -- I'm sorry you had to go through such a scary experience, but I'm so glad it was something easily remedied.  I would have been scared to death, also.

Since my surgery is right around the corner, I was curious about something.  What is it that makes drinking water so difficult?  Almost every post-op seems to have trouble with this.  Does swallowing (and keeping it down) become hard?  Is it the amount of water? The timing?

In any case, I'll find out soon enough.  I was just wondering what to expect...

Take care of yourself and rest easy.

Funny you would ask.  At my 8 week f/u my surgeon ASKED me if I had that problem and why I thought it was an issue.  LOL.  He says it's the one thing he doesn't understand what is causing it.  I can still drink regular water but I prefer it flavored in some way.  Most I know don't or can't drink it "regular."  Haven't seen anything anywhere that explains it either........

Keri

Hi Joanne- well with what I know, it's the constant  feeling of fullness, sometimes combined with too much gas. You just have this feeling that you couldn't possibly put anything into your mouth, much less swallow it. I don't know how else to describe it.  Carla

So, this comes down to how everyone's surgeon and surgical experience is different. My surgeon has very strict rules about stopping all beverages a half hour before meal times and not starting them back up until a half hour after your last bite. So for me, it's a timing thing. I can drink enough..it takes ALL fricking day, but I can get in the 64oz. The requirement is 64oz of calorie free or almost calorie free with 4 cups of that being water. So I do one 20oz bottle of water and then the rest is crystal lite. I think what happened with me is I just was being lazy and not paying enough attention and got way behind the 8 ball. The nurse scared me enough that I won't do it again! LOL

For me, early on, it was the nausea.  Water just didn't sit well.  Still doesn't.  It makes me nauseous.  I drink lots of coffee, tea, and flavored water ~ like Crystal Light, etc.

Now, it's a timing issue.  Nothing to drink 30 minutes before a meal and nothing for 60 minutes after.  In between, I'm a chuggin'!!!

Our surgical program is very very strict.  No flavored beverages ever.  Nothing bu****er for ever.  Their theory is that flavor in your drink makes you hungry and makes you want to snack.  No caffiene at all either.  I am off of everything bu****er already.  The coffee was/is tough.  NO snacks.  3 meals.  Thats it!

Glad it was nothing serious.

 I'm glad you're ok.  Dehydration makes you feel real bad!  I'm a little worried about being able to get all that fluid in post op!  I'm a chugger now (that sounds dirty, doesn't it?) and I known I can't do that post op.  I've bought a bunch of those refillable drink containers in the hope that it will help to have those constantly around to help measure and keep track.  But it still concerns me.

Hope your recovery stays smooth from now on!!!