Can't Find an Answer

I am one week out of TT and hernia repair.  Things are going well.  Except. . . I have nausea thinking, smelling, watching commericals about food, and eating.  Have switched to protein shakes, and protein ice cream for most of my meals but eat at least one "real" meal.  I know that I wil need to take a pill in order to keep it down.  Is this common?
Also, I have a terrible backache.  I put pillows under my legs while I am sitting.  Tried a heating pad.  I still take pain meds at night because I have trouble sleeping but then supplement with tyenol the rest of the day to help manage the back pain.  I go for my post-op on Wednesday but hope you can provide me ideas for making it till then.
I am new at this site but have gone back through months of messages still unable to find info regarding these issues.
Thanks everyone for the invaluable information you have shared on this site.  I was prepared for the surgery and even had a nice list of questions for the surgeon beforehand thanks to you.

Hope someone has suggestions for me.

For the nausea, try eating some things with ginger - ginger ale, crystallized ginger, ginger snaps, etc.  My hubby found ginger mints - they don't have mint but they look like Altoids mints - they're marked under Newman's Own.  Ginger really helped me with nausea.

As for the Tylenol, if you are taking something like Percocet at night and using Tylenol during the day, you have to be very careful of how much Tylenol you take.  Too much acetaminophen can damage your liver.  My sister (RN for over 30 years) gave me the run down on how much acetaminophen is safe, but Percocet also has acetaminophen in it as well and you have to take that into consideration as well.

Double check with your doctor for what you have to pay attention to between the pain meds and the Tylenol.  If you're not exceeding the dosage of of Tylenol that's recommended on the box, chances are you're okay.  Your doctor can give you the answer of the phone.

As for the discomfort - I feel your pain on that one.  It's hard to find just the right position and once you do, eventually that position will start hurting after awhile too. 

This close to surgery if you have any concerns you should call your surgeon.  As to the nausea, it could be your pain meds.  If I take any of the vicodin like family of drugs it may help the pain but I get terribly sick.  It will make me nauseous, jittery, and itchy.  Instead I take dilaudid.  It helps with the pain and does not make be sick, jittery, or give me a rash. 

Red

Thank you for your response.  I only take three tylenol during the day and then take hydrocodone at night.  Hopefully things will get better soon.  I feel good but am extremely tired and take lots of naps. Do you thin**** would be better than heat?  I think someone mentioned using ice.
Thanks again.

Ice not heat! Heat draws the blood to the area it is applied.

I had a horrible back ache for 3 weeks (it is from walking hunched over I think and laying around so much)

Also take those pain meds, that is why you have them!

Take your pain meds for your back.  Call your doctor about that and your nausea.  This is not the time to tuff it out.  Good luck, Loris

Your surgeon needs to be involved.  Complaints referable to the GI tract (that incudes back pain) need to be explained.

My concern (especially with hernia repair) is always to make sure the bowels are working OK and that we don't have any twists or kinks right after surgery from the muscle tightening or repair. 

Sure, the nausea may be from pain meds, anesthesia, etc., etc.  And the back pain from laying funny and imbalance from the muscle repair.  Probably those are the reasons.

But run all this by your doc...