Day of surgery I got up at 4am. We had to be at the hospital at 5:30 am. I worked up and brushed my teeth super super good. I knew I wouldn't be able to brush them for a while, and also wanted to make sure my mouth was super sterile. I also rinsed with the Peridex mouthwash really well. I took my shower in Hibiclens from head to toe. I was not allowed to use any of my own shampoo or body gel befor hand this time, only the Hibiclens. I cleaned twice just in case. I was really paranoid about risking any infections. I put on a pair of comfy, clean clothes, and waited until Phil and his Mom were ready. I know it's silly but I was worried about being late. I was worried if we didn't get in in time, they would postpone the surgery.
I got to the hospital and checked in with registration. I owed a little bit of money for a copay. Phil paid it and told me Happy Valentines. Just what I wanted! They sent me up to the outpatient floor where I waited. After about 15 minutes, a nurse called me and told me she would be getting me ready. It felt like I waited forever.
I went into a room and was asked to change into a gown. Phil helped me because it was kind of awkward. The gown had a heating system in it and also had almost like a second layer in it. I am guessing maybe to protect the skin from blood? I got gowned up and asked if I was able to keep my underwear at least on. That was a no :). Then they put compression stockings on me, and put the special pumps on to help with circulation and blood clots. The gown was connected to a pump that pumped in hot air. I liked it! I am not sure if there is a medical reason for it, but it was definitely comfy. I had a pregnancy test done. They asked for some urine (good thing I didn't go while I was waiting) and used a pregnancy test stick. I told the nurse I think being pregnant right now would be worst than the surgery. And what a way to find out!! But thankfully I was not pregnant, so they could proceed.
The nurse put some lidocaine to numb my hand and put in the IV. The vein blew and she had to do it a second time. Apparently I have tiny veins. About this time, it is starting to feel so real. I started to get a little teary eyed thinking about everything. I also felt like I had to use the restroom again. I asked if it was too late to go, and the nurse let me go. After that, the anesthesiologist came to evaluate me and question me. He asked what I had for breakfast and I said nothing. I asked if it was a trick question :). Then said no really I had bacon, eggs, sausage, a cheeseburger. He said he would make sure to give me extra medicine for nausea which I had requested and was really glad for. When I got my wisdom teeth out I vomited a lot and I did not want to risk it at all. It was too scary for me. Vomiting after surgery actually scared me more than the surgery itself.
After he left my Doctor came in with his resident. He told me the anesthesiologist was one of the best so that made me feel better. He introduced himself to Phil and his Mom and asked if we had any questions. He left, then it was time for me to go. It was 7:30 on the dot, which was my scheduled time that they rolled me out of the room. I got hugs and kisses. I was kind of nervous for them to touch me because of the whole infection thing, but the nurse said they would be sanitizing my face so it was okay.
They rolled me down a few halls and then I was in the surgery room. I saw the big lights up top, all the computers, and then I don't remember anything. With my last surgery, I remember them asking me to count down from 100 backwards. I don't even remember talking to anyone in the operating room.
I remember waking up in the recovery room and immediately asking what time it was. 12:30. They went and got Phil and he came and held my hand. The recovery nurse gave me meds and tried to make me comfortable. I really didn't feel that groggy or out of it, and definitely did not feel nausea so that was awesome!! Only one person could visit at a time, so Phil's Mom came next. Apparently I was a little bloody around the eyes and she got scared. The Dr. Told her they stitched my eyes closed for surgery. It didn't hurt at all and if she hadn't noticed, I probably wouldn't have noticed. I did not feel the catheter which was one thing I was worried about. The only bad thing was it took them FOUR hours to get me a room. So I had to wait in recovery around a bunch of other people with no privacy for four hours. That was frustrating but with the meds I was getting they made me sleepy, so I drifted in and out of sleep.
Phil reminded me while I was there, the guy next to me kept moving around and making his machine beep and making a lot of noises. I made the scissor symbol to Phil with my hands and told him to cut the cord because it was so annoying! It was pretty funny and made both of us smile. He said that's my beautiful wife, trying to off people because they are annoying :).
I finally got moved to my room and it was all by myself yay! I had my own bathroom in the room too. The attendant asked me if I wanted to get changed, and honestly, I did not feel like doing anything so I declined. I was given my morphine pump and a button they said I could press every 8 minutes when it lit green. I had a drain coming out of my chin to a little pouch to drain the blood from my face. I had a tube in my nose to my stomach that drained somewhere too. They must have moved my IV in my sleep because I still had one in my right hand, but they one with fluids was now in my left hand. The one in the right hand just was there to be there.
My instructions were on the wall. Thankfully, I didn't have to worry about the nausea control. I didn't feel any. I am on a clear liquid diet.
I was given a bunch of syringes and an ice pack for my face. I asked Phil to get me some of my Aquaphor lip balm because my lips felt so chapped. I read Vaseline wasn't good for your lips, and Aquaphor is what they use when you get a tattoo for healing. They have a lip balm version that has the consistency of Vaseline. It worked great. I was able to get dinner, and wasn't really sure was to order so the nurse ordered for me. I got 2 Gatorades, 2 chicken broths, 2 strawberry Italian ices, and one red jello. The cold Gatorade tasted so good in my mouth. It was so refreshing. I didn't really feel hungry, but once I started eating the broth, I could not get it in the syringe fast enough. I ate both of them at once. The strawberry ice I let thaw out and ate a little bit at a time as it was a little more difficult to eat with a spoon due to the numb lips. I did not even attempt the jello. I saw that as a potential disaster mess.
I made sure to get ice all the time. The first 3 days are essential to get the ice to help the swelling. I also think it helped having it on when I slept to make sure I did not sleep on my cheeks. I was scared of that because I am so used to being a side sleeper. And on medicines, it would be really easy to not even think of it and roll to my side.
I really didn't feel terrible. Between the morphine and ibuprofen, and they gave me a steroid, I didn't feel bad. A little weak. But honestly I didn't really feel anything different about my mouth. I guess I thought my teeth would really hurt or my jaw would feel really stretched or something. Honestly, I thought the surgery didn't get done. Or maybe he only did the upper or lower and not both. When I saw the resident that night, he confirmed they did both jaws. He said it was most likely the nerves being numb that I didn't feel much. He took a look at my bite and said it was perfect. I could not smile at all, but I was so happy. He took a look at the incisions and while it hurt for him to move my mouth around to see them, they all looked good. I had rubber bands- I believe just one one each side. Nothing in the front. I was to keep them in until my next appointment,
That night, my nose started bleeding. I remember at my pre-op appointment my Dr. Told me if it was anything other than a dark color, or speckles, I needed to get to the ER. So I panicked a little. I called the nurse and showed her how much blood was on my Kleenex, and told her I could feel the blood in my nose. It was a very wet feeling. She called the Dr. And explained to him, and he said it was normal and I would be okay. I am guessing it is because of the nose tube maybe there was a leak or it was rubbing. I don't care what the reason was, I was just glad it was okay.
I was supposed to get my catheter out at 11pm. The Nurse on that shift was very mean and rude. She said oh, you don't need it out until 5 am. Which would be convenient for her because that meant she wouldn't have to do it. So she did not take it out. I was also due for my meds and she did not bring them. I tried pressing my call button for 45 minutes and she never came. I could not get out of bed, I could not yell, I panicked. Finally at midnight, there was a new nurse who came on and came in to check on me. She was so nice and fixed everything for me. I asked the new nurse if the catheter needed to come out and she said yes. She took it out and it did not hurt at all. Yay! I found out from my attendant that the mean nurse was from a staffing agency. They get paid a lot to come help out when the hospital is busy, and think they are too good to do a lot of the things they are supposed to. They don't realize how busy the floor is and get easily stressed. After the midnight nurse helped me out, I was able to get some sleep and felt better.
As far as supplies for today, Kleenex, which the hospital provided. I needed a lot. Baby wipes, the hospital also provided, and I needed a lot. My mouth drooled a lot from the side and was kind of sticky so I needed it. Also when eating, the baby wipes helped to clean off any drips. I needed them every time I ate. I think regular napkins or Kleenex would have just stuck to me :). I got the extra sensitive baby wipe just to be on the safe side.
I didn't get to walk today at all. Since I had my catheter, I did not have to use the bathroom. And I was worn out. I tried to shake my legs a little bit to help with the clots. Thankfully I still had the pumps on.
I also did not talk. I have just been writing down everything for everyone. I brought a notebook which really helped for this. I would highly recommend bringing a notebook. When everyone was gone, I tried talking and you could not understand me. When you press your call button, the secretary calls in and asks what you need. They had to tell the secretary that I couldn't talk, and they just automatically sent someone in.
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