Post Surgery Update

Today marks one week since my surgery, so it's time for another update.

I've been in constant moderate-to-severe pain for one week now, much more than I expected to have. So I asked the doctor about it and he said that I'd had four separate surgical procedures in one session on the table (i.e., straightening a deviated septum, radio-wave shrinkage of nasal turbinates, surgical removal of the uvula and most of the soft palate, and radio-wave shrinkage of excess tissue at the base of my tongue) -- each of those procedures, by itself, causes extreme pain. I got the full meal deal, so it's no fucking wonder I haven't bounced back the way I thought I would.

But today I finally have the nudging thought that I might eventually be able to rejoin the world of the living. I can swallow pills now (no more trying to choke down that nasty awful throat-burning nose-squirting oxy-codone-in-suspension semi-liquid syrup every three hours), and I'm starting to get the beginnings of an appetite back. I've been living -- if you can call it that -- on one piece of milk toast, one Slimfast shake, and two popsicles a day since last Wednesday. And I still can't talk out loud because of the pain. The pills manage to take the worst edges off, but the pain is still there.

On the positive side, I have lost over 10 pounds, but it is not a diet I would recommend.

I'm hoping to be back to my old self by Monday.