5 Days After Surgery

Five days after surgery I hit the wall.  I woke up in pain (about a 7 or 8).  It was the most pain I had felt since surgery.  The IV had been removed and I was taking only pain pills every four hours.  They were not helping.  I also began running a fever.  As the day went on, things didn't improve.  My appetite had been good, but I just felt too lousy to eat.  I got up to use the bathroom and passed out cold. My Dad was standing right outside the door.  I was out like a light on the floor.  Nurses rushed in and got me to sit upright on the floor.  I passed out again.  They called in a big male nurse who basically picked my whole body up and put me back in bed.  My fever was up to 102 and my blood pressure was dropping.  They put my IV back and gave me morphine and fluids.  My fever broke about an hour later and the pain was down to a 3 or 4.

The exact cause of why I "crashed and burned" is unclear.  My surgeon believes it was a combination of things..... the Perfect Storm.  When I was in the bathroom I passed a fair amount of blood that had pooled in the pouch since surgery.  The sight of the blood was enough to make me black out.  In addition, I probably overdid it on Sunday.  I felt so good I was up and walking around most of the day.  I was without the IV for over 24 hours and I wasn't drinking enough fluids.  I will definitely be more aware of my fluid intake.