Many people with Gastroparesis are fine with pain killers, but for some reason I can't take any painkillers without getting an upset stomach.
Suggestions:
- always take pain killers with a nausea med like Ondansetron
- use liquid medications whenever possible
If you have POTS, it's a huge help to be receiving saline through an IV.
Suggestions:
- Ask your Anesthesiologist to order 1 L of saline over 1 hour BEFORE the surgery
- make sure they continue to give you a slow infusion of saline IV after surgery
Many people haven't heard of POTS, and gastroparesis also isn't always well known.
Suggestions:
- If you're groggy or don't have a lot of time to explain things, just tell people "I faint and throw up REALLY easily". They can then go check your chart to learn more. I didn't have to say, "my blood vessels don't constrict properly and my blood pressure doesn't adjust like it should, due to my autonomia nervous system not functioning properly...". Saying "I faint" about covers it just the same.
- It's difficult to advocate for yourself when you're really drugged up. As I was very groggy, I repeated to myself that all I needed to remember was to say, "I faint and throw up easily." Trying to remember anything else was stressful.
I can't remember how long it took me to go from lying down to sitting up, but I think it was around an hour. Take your time! When I was finally able to sit up all the way, I was able to walk to the bathroom and car on my own. If I'd tried to walk too quickly I don't think I'd have been as successful.
I was really dizzy when I woke up. My eyes were very blurry and everything was moving slightly. As long as I kept my eyes closed I didn't get too nauseous. Also, make sure they give you nausea meds like Ondansetron BEFORE you wake up.
There is a risk that some of your stomach contents could come up and go into your lungs. Therefore the anesthesiologist gave me a medication that would tighten my esophagus during surgery to prevent things from travelling up.
Allergy bracelet doesn't have to just be allergies. I'm not allergic to Maxeran (Metoproclomide) but the side effects of it make me feel awful. I did NOT want to be experiencing those side effects when waking up from surgery. So the nurse wrote Maxeran on my allergy bracelet. She also wrote "No Oral Meds". It doesn't just have to be allergies. I'm not sure if all hospitals use the same red allergy bracelets. I've also seen yellow bracelets that say FALL RISK which might be helpful in reminding people you can't sit up too fast or you faint. It took me probably over an hour before I could go from lying down to sitting without feeling like I was going to pass out. They just kept raising the bed really slowly.