My spine surgery journey: from preparation to recovery

[somerandomguy]

Sorry. Very negative.

I think you deserve to vent. I'm sorry this is tough. I'll be thinking plenty of ? thoughts for you.

 

[bellbird]

I think you deserve to vent. I'm sorry this is tough. I'll be thinking plenty of ? thoughts for you.

Thanks @somerandomguy

Okay, not sure hugs would be too wanted right now, so a one armed super super loose hug, Bellbird. That will totally be a tight hug when you feel any better. :)

Warmed my heart, thank you @Ronin . Sounds an excellent huggy plan.

--
Update time.
So the enema has been prescribed.
I've seen my pm nurse when she came by to do my obs.
She's one of my favourite nurses in the ortho ward, so that's a plus at least.
I also asked if she can use some lubricant for the enema, and she will.

We decided to wait until I was due for my next pain meds (which is about now), because my lower back is still aching from sitting on the toilet for so long the first time around. And it would not be a good idea to go through that again without some medicinal assistance.

But the downside is that my lack of appetite due to tummy-related nausea today means that I haven't eaten much at all, and so the drugged feelings of my pain meds is hitting me hard. Really not good. Really really not good. Enough with these triggers already.

I've got a comode (portable wheelchair toilet) set up in my room, as my nurse said this type of enema is the more uhh intense one.
Hoping it will work well.
Then dinner.
Then blanket fort out the rest of the day.

C'mon, body.
You can do this.

 

[blackemerald1]

If you don't feel like eating drink heaps of water instead. Soups, broths etc., You know the drill.

Hoping you go okay with this one.

I can see that this is such a dilemma. The pain needs to be dealt with but at the same time the meds that help with that are giving you a double wammy. Triggers and constipation. Sigh...

Sending you lots of love... hang in there Yes you can do this!!

 

[bellbird]

It didn't work :( :(
I am crying and shaking very badly and in a lot of pain.
I'm so scared.
I told my nurse that was unsuccessful. She suggested that we wait a while because it could still work.

She gave me a lemonade popsicle to try and sooth my tummy and help my blood sugar since I can't eat.

I don't know if I can do this.

 

[blackemerald1]

She suggested that we wait a while because it could still work.

Yes you need to give it some time. But if nothing happens let her know.

in a lot of pain.

Is this from the surgery or the distension? Let your nurse know about this too.

I don't know if I can do this.

Oh but yes you can!! This problem is frequently experienced post op. You know all of the reasons and really you tick all of those boxes. Some of them you cannot do anything about at the moment because it will compromise your surgery.

So, do everything else you can.

Anything (within reason) that is liquid is fine. You will be fine not having food for quite a few days if necessary (though obviously not an ideal). So keeping your blood sugar up is a good idea.

Stay calm.

Try asking for a heat pack for your tummy, raise your legs and rest it on your tummy in bed. It might help with the pain and it may help with peristalsis.

Wiggle your feet - keep moving as much as you can without complicating your condition.

Hang in there lovely bellbird.. this is a tough cookie to crack but you will.

If you are getting no relief and in a lot of pain (from the constipation) tell your nurse! Get the registrar back so you can be assessed. Don't be afraid to speak up.

Thinking of you :hug:

 

[Freida]

soooo -- -I skipped all those last entries cause, y'know, triggers! :laugh:
But I saw enough to see you were in pain? And that makes me sad
hopefully they will get it together and help you :hug:

 

[bellbird]

hopefully they will get it together and help you :hug:

Thank you :hug:

Is this from the surgery or the distension?

Both.. ish.
There is pain from distension there.
There is also pain in my lower back. Bad pain. Due to my spine being fresh from the surgery still, and not having been able to wear my brace/use my core to support it (due to abdo distension)

Yes you need to give it some time. But if nothing happens let her know.

Thanks.
I pressed my call button for her because I was starting to feel very overwhelmed. And I did not want that overwhelm to have the chance to consume me, especially with this trigger swirling around in my world right now.

She's sent a message to my team to ask what they would advise.
She said in terms of interventions that could be done tonight/while we wait, it's really only more enemas.
But I can't take anymore tonight.

So, do everything else you can.

You're right. I really needed to hear this. This sentence especially. Thank you.

keep moving as much as you can without complicating your condition.

Yes. Ok. So my nurse helped me to loosen my brace so it would fit over my belly.
It was very uncomfortable and not fitted well like that but worth a shot.
Went for a walk around the ward.
Back in bed and very sore.
Just buzzed for hopefully some more pain meds.

Think I dissociated a bit, because when I came back fully present, I could hear an emergency happening right outside my room (not involving me at all).
Alarms sounding, people shouting for oxygen.

Hang in there lovely bellbird..

If you are getting no relief and in a lot of pain (from the constipation) tell your nurse! Get the registrar back so you can be assessed. Don't be afraid to speak up.

Thinking of you :hug:

Ohh, b.
You have become such a bright light in my life of late.
Thank you from my heart for all of your support :hug:

 

[Deleted member 42984]

I'm sorry too that you're in so much pain! What I sometimes tell Little Ziter is that the pain will pass eventually and I'll be with him all the way through this. So I say the same to you. We're with you all the way through this :-)

 

[Wendell_R]

And I've done two decent walks today.
Sat up for both meals.
I'm doing everything right. And still nothing.

Oh, this must be so frustrating! We are there with you, even if our medical skills & knowledge aren't worth much. I'm sorry it's been a rough few days for you.

one armed super super loose hug

Yes--lots & lots of those!

 

[DharmaGirl]

My brace can't fit over my preggo belly, so I can't wear it currently.

Did they do a CT scan to see if you have a blockage? I wouldn't wish anything else on you but the bloat has me concerned. Not that that means anything.

We got as far as sitting up, twice, and both times my BP dropped, and I went into shock and almost fainted.

It's quite a lot you've been through, I would expect that to happen.

Which kind of amuses me looking back because it seems kind of bizarre to be introduced to a team like you are supposed to remember them, when you are so off your face.

Isn't that silly? I remember someone wheeling me out of OR, because the drugs that make you forget don't work so well on me, and the surgeon telling me he mistakenly cut the sack to my spinal cord. Why didn't he wait until I was lucid?

I'd been trying to drink this awful new laxative this morning

I'm familiar with that laxative, it moves mountains. Usually. I really, really hope that you poop and the bloating goes away. After my ankle surgery, I didn't poop for a week, but I wasn't bloated. I hope they figure that out.

And @blackemerald1 is correct, they could have sent cards, flowers, etc. I am sending you virtual ones, with some balloons. If your friend here knew where you were, and no, I'm not asking, you would have a room full of stuff. You deserve it! You are doing an excellent job with some complications, so if you want to rant, we're here to listen!

 

[bellbird]

Have read your messages above, and am very grateful for them.

Last night took an unexpected turn.

So I had my sleep meds, and from what I remember was able to have a little something to eat.
Then I needed to get up and go to the bathroom. I think I mobilised there myself, but I hadn't been on the toilet for long before I felt myself starting to black out.
Everything got very very blurry and I couldn't hear properly.

I called for help, and they got me onto a wheelchair and wheeled me back to my room so I could lie down, and put a cold flannel on my forehead.

I must have fallen asleep.
Next thing I remember was waking at 3am in excruciating pain.
The type of pain where you can't lie quietly.

I called for my nurse, and got a dose of morphine.
It did nothing.
Nurse got another dose charted.
Still nothing.
Nurse called for a doctor to have a look at me. We don't have any permanent doctors in the ortho ward, but they'll come if needed from elsewhere in the hospital.

By this point I was totally beside myself with pain.
My nurse sat beside my bed and held my hand. She let me squeeze as hard as I needed to. I'm pretty sure I was sobbing.

Eventually, the doc turned up.
It felt like an eternity, but I think she said the wait was only 5 min.

Guess who the doctor was?

Yeah.
I was pretty delirious with pain, so it kind of felt like a dream...
A whole hospital, and it was him.
Madness.

He had to put a new line in because o
I'd just had that last one removed yesterday.
He took a blood sample, and did some pressing of my belly.
It hurt like a bitch.
He has blue eyes.

The nurses gave me some morphine IV, and it reduced my pain.
So cute registrar did some more belly pressing, now that I had a little less pain and he could feel things without me trying to push his hands away as much.

But it brought my pain right up again, so I was given the rest of my morphine IV.

I started having flashbacks, as well.
I was able to let my nurse know. She reminded me where I was and that I was safe.
The pain was the trigger. All those times I lay in my abuser's bed in agony. Trying to stifle the pain because to show it = punishment. Punishment for resisting his morphine druggings.


An orderly then arrived and took me down for some emergency abdominal x-rays.


That's about where I'm at right now.
Back in my room.
Exhausted AF.
Probably got a couple hours sleep last night.
Buzzy with all this morphine, but unable to sleep.

But I got the abdo scans I was hoping for, and I got to see cute registrar.
Life, you are one strange ass creature.

 

[Deleted member 42984]

:-( I'm really sorry you have to go through all this. A trigger is definitely not what you need on top of all that physical pain. But I know you are a brave gal so you'll get through this as well. Maybe one day you'll look back on this and thinking "damn I was one badass mofo for pushing through all that" :-D

I just got slightly triggered by receiving NADA acupuncture (it's supposed to relieve stress, not enhance it!) so I know how triggers can lure up on you anywhere. Damn this illness sometimes!