Surgery was done and now I’m back home

I got my Single Anastomosis Duodeno-Ileostomy with Sleeve gastrectomy on Monday. Everything went fine with the surgery. I made everyone aware that I had issues with pain meds (I require more because I metabolize them very quickly and they don’t last as long) and anesthesia (I wake up during my surgeries) so everyone seemed to understand. The surgery took a little over 5 hours. I was in ICU for 6 days as they tried to figure out some reasonable pain control for me. One of those days I spent screaming and crying for 12 out of the 24 hours that day. It was rough. The pain is pretty bad, still. I was sent home with the highest dose of meds. The pharmacy required me also to get Narcan in case of OD.

I’m still on oxygen due to the pain meds making my already shitty lungs sleepy so I’ll be on that for a few weeks too. I really didn’t think it would be as painful as it is, I thought it would be like having your gallbladder out. My belly is really big and bloated. I’m on a clear liquid diet and I can’t drink much at one time at all so it’s been difficult keeping my fluids up. Nights are really hard because I don’t have nurses coming in when my scheduled meds are ready to take and I’m having a really hard time getting comfortable. I’m doing everything I should be. It’s just a rough recovery. Way harder than I thought it would be. I’m excited to get all healed up and start my real journey.