I expect this journal to be boring for a while

[redbird]

Being sick/recovering is boring. Reading about it is likely to be as well. I won't be upset if you'd rather read other things, and I will be using cut tags as seems appropriate, because none of us signed up for "all [absence of] gall bladder, all the time." These entries are at least in part for my later reference if needed.

Both my appetite and my breath are shallow. Thus far today, I've had a handful of dried fruit and an assortment of meds, plus some orange juice and water (50/50, so probably about 12 ounces of each) and a mug of tea. I think I'm going to be taking my tea black for a while; Assam with 2% milk tastes funny in a way that Assam with just sugar doesn't. Nonetheless, I have here a small glass of 2% milk, on the theory that I should get some protein.

After breakfast and a bit of online stuff, I lay down for a bit, with VNV Nation playing on the stereo in the living room. I don't know whether I slept any. The problem is that I'm not breathing very deeply even at best, and less so when lying down. Sitting, I periodically find myself wanting to cough and not able to do so; lying down, there's an undertone of fear there, of having trouble breathing again if I did cough. I got up after maybe 90 minutes because, while the process of getting into and out of bed is not a delight, I decided vertical was more appealing, or less bothersome, than horizontal. I have here a spirometer (which carries an automatic Principia Discordia reference in my mind, despite being functional), which is supposed to help me breathe more deeply. My lung capacity has never been great at the best of times; it's really not great now.

Fortunately, julian_tiger is being a good beast. Yes, he's pulled some stuff off the refrigerator and anywhere else he can reach and scattered it on the floor. But cattitude will deal with picking that up as needed. Julian has also been friendly but not aggressive. When, last night, I woke up and needed to go to the bathroom, the first step in the (probably somewhat modified) "log-rolling" to get myself out of bed was to gently move Julian from where he had curled between my legs. Right now, he's lying in a corner somewhere, which is also fine. I had been a little concerned, before coming home, that I was going to get him in aggressive play mode; either he's just not been so inclined, or he can tell a sick hobbit when he sees and smells one.

Comments

[zingerella.livejournal.com]

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

Being sick/recovering is boring.

Oh, yeah. If you're interested, I have links to Web sites and online games that make me happy.

[elynne.livejournal.com]

Awww, good beast. :) I don't know if you have the space or materials available, but might it help to make a - bed-ramp-thing, to prop up the upper half of your body while you sleep? I was able to do that with a futon several years ago, when I was ridiculously sick, and lying down completely horizontal made for very difficult breathing. I've tried it a few times since then; it's much more difficult to accomplish with a non-futon, but possible, given sufficient pillows and a good surface to wedge them against. ;)

I hope your recovery goes quickly and well!

In case it's useful/helpful

[webbob.livejournal.com]

Do you have any pain with the breathing issues? Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laparoscopic_surgery) notes, "Not all of the CO2 introduced into the abdominal cavity is removed through the incisions during surgery. Gas tends to rise, and when a pocket of CO2 rises in the abdomen, it pushes against the diaphragm (the muscle that separates the abdominal from the thoracic cavities and facilitates breathing)... In all cases, however, the pain is transient, as the body tissues will absorb the CO2 and eliminate it through respiration."

A 20-year-old article on using a gas drain to reduce postoperative pain from laparoscopic surgery (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2952161?dopt=Abstract) notes that pain is worst on the first day home, and I would suppose that any other effects from having been inflated would similarly reach a peak on the first day home.

If you're still having trouble breathing at the end of the day, or especially if it's still a problem tomorrow, please consider talking with an expert about it. Another one of those self-harming habits that runs in my family: my mother didn't call in about a problem which turned out to be due to botched cataract surgery for a month, ended up with permanent significant loss of vision in that eye. Don't be like us Webbers!

[maviscruet.livejournal.com]

Being sick/recovering is boring.

I agree with that. So bored of being ill at the moment.

[papersky.livejournal.com]

Milk's a terrible idea if you're having trouble breathing -- take it from an asthmatic.

What I'd suggest would be a small but delicious piece of chicken. Lots of places deliver barbecued chicken, and it's easy to pick at.

Get well soon!

[redbird]

At the moment, liquids are at least mildly appealing, and solids aren't. There's not much protein in orange juice or black tea (though I think I'll make another cup of the latter anyhow). There's some chicken in the fridge left over from last night. It was going to be breakfast. It may be a late lunch/tea if I can convince myself to eat some.

[aquaeri.livejournal.com]

Obviously, chicken soup is again the universal cure-all. Can anyone get you some? We have litre boxes of low-salt chicken stock in our supermarkets that make quite a good stop-gap, if anyone can go shopping for you. I nuke a mug full at a time. It's not a huge amount of protein, but it makes a difference.

[saoba.livejournal.com]

My reading has been somewhat scattershot, and I'd missed your adventures. I understand that a lot of recovery can be boring to the person doing it. Please know it's not boring to me to hear how you are recovering, because I like the idea that you are getting better and know it's an up and down process.

Take it slowly and keep in contact with your doctor's office. I'm glad the beast is being good. I was touched, when recovering from my broken ankle, at how the most rambunctious of our cats decided that what I needed was to have a cat lie where he could at least keep one paw on me most of the day.