The naso-gastric suction tube is out!
I was terrified, but Kim, my RN, did a great job of reassuring me and pulling it with skill and speed to minimize the gag reflex and pain. I am happy to say that my throat seems to remember how to swallow correctly without it! Hooray!
I still have a sore throat, but it's a 3/10 instead of a 6/10 in intensity.
Today's bowel X-Ray showed that attempting oral fluids should be safe, so the GI doc consulting said if my system could handle clear liquids without my abdomen becoming distended or painful again, and without vomiting, the tube should come out. If not, the tube would be our tool to decompress any new pressure.
Now that the n-g tube is gone (I won't miss it!), I'll have full liquids tonight, and advance my diet slowly, to catch early any obstruction that may develop. If nothing happens and I feel OK, I get to go home and follow up with my usual gastroenterologist, and discuss with him the possibilities of further investigation into how to treat the apparent scar tissue that could be responsible for this most recent, and other past partial and full obstructions -- some of which have resolved without hospital visits.
It seems there's a good chance I will need some sort of surgery, as the area affected is very near the site where I had surgery in 2004. This obstruction behaved more like a mechanical, or scar-tissue-like problem than an inflammatory problem, though both issues may have contributed. If my diet while in the hospital can't successfully progress to normal food without obstruction-like symptoms, surgery will be imminent, if I understand the physician correctly. (Keep in mind that sometimes I don't, especially when Morphine is in my system.) That would mean I'd have surgery before leaving the hospital.
Tonight, I'm just ecstatic to have the naso-gastric tube gone and to be hearing good news from the X-ray results. Tomorrow I'll deal with whatever the new day brings.
Thanks for reading. Take care of yourself.
Beth
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