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- Hernia Operation -

[Context]

I'm 23 years old, and have had an Ingrual Hernia for a few years. I don't know how I got it.
I went to the Royal Adelaide Hosptial to have the operation, and don't have private health insurance.

[Start of the full story]

Well Dad dropped me off at the hospital at 7am yesterday, I talked to a Doctor for a little bit, then got into some gowns. I was glad I brought along my dressing gown as theirs is rather revealing at the back.

They shaved the hair off the area, and then I waited for about an hour before being taken to the operating room. The operating room had a nice warm heated bag thing, which sounded new because the doctors and nurses talked about it.

I asked some questions about what they were using, and then they put a needle thing into my hand with a saline drip, in which they injected some anesthetic. I was amazed at how little it hurt. They use a pretty small needle compared to the one they use when I'm donating plasma/platelets.

I remember it went a little blurry and that was it. I woke up an hour or 2 later with an oxygen gas mask on, lying on a bed next to some other people who were also recovering from their operations, and there were some nurses walking around. I didn't really feel any pain, was just very tired and kept waking up for a minute or 2 then going back to sleep.

I think like 2 or 3 hours later I finally woke up enough to move, and as I got up out of bed I puked*. Then I went back to bed for a little more as they gave me some stuff to stop my stomach churning before I got up again, made it to the toilet and made it to the couch, before having something to drink and was sick again. I then kept falling in and out of sleep for a while.

After another hour or 2 of waking up briefly I heard that Dad was coming soon, so I went to get changed, only to be sick again. I felt better after that and finished getting changed, went back to the chair, and slept some more until Dad came.

When he came they put me in a wheelchair to take me down to the car, but I was sick again.

This time they had to put another needle thing into me (I'd accidentally removed the old one) to give me some REALLY good stuff. Which worked pretty well and I felt better after that.

Waited about 15mins before they then had a sit down with Dad, Tania and I about what I can and can't do, and gave me some tablets to take over the next couple of days.

The uber strong stuff was the Oxycodon tablets, and the fairly good stuff being Panadine Forte.

I finally went home, got to bed, only to have a drink of water and was sick yet again.

Drinking water and moving around was making me sick. I couldn't even eat the Maxalon tablets.

Eventually I got better, and would sleep for about 3 hours, go to the toilet and sleep for another 3 hours, until it was about 10am the next day.

Walking hurts, talking hurts, laughing hurts, and until this morning I would get very sleepy if I stayed awake too long.

I've got 3 incisions in my stomach, and a rather sore lower stomach.

But I don't have a Hernia anymore, and have general health has improved 80% compared to yesterday, and everyone says I've got some colour back in my face as I looked pretty white yesterday.
Most of the colour is because I can now eat.

I started eating some small soft lollies this morning, and then around lunch time had a small bowl of yoghurt and some fruit cake. My stomach gurgled, belched, squeaked and made all sorts of noises for about half an hour afterwards. It was it's first substantial amount of food for 36 hours, and all the chundering before had cleared it's contents for nearly 24 hours. Poor thing.

But I'm feeling a lot better now, and while there's some general pain where the stitches are and the mesh they put over the hernia spot, I'm capable of walking around and lifting things about 1Kg without any major hassle.

I'm now just worried I'll over do something and open up the Hernia again. Although this one doesn't seem to be affected by lifting things as much as going to the toilet, or coughing.

* I was probably the only person there that day that was sick, and it was a side effect of the narcotic analgesic. Other side effects can include drowsiness, constipation, a physical dependence on the drug, and also hallucinations, confusion, and unusually slow breathing.