When I arrived home, I drank a lite yogurt smoothie and took the Vicodin prescribed by my doctor for Lifestyle Lift pain. Vicoden is a combination of hydrocodone and acetaminophen (the main ingredient in Tylenol). Very shortly afterwards I started feeling sick at my stomach. At the time, I thought I was just experiencing nausea because of the surgery. Someone on one the boards said that your body thinks it has been beat up and sometimes reacts accordingly. I threw up the entire yogurt, and I figured all the Vicodin too. I was really beginning to experience quite a bit of pain, so I took two extra-strength Tylenol.
In retrospect, that probably wasn’t a good idea. I had no idea how much of the Vicodin my body had assimilated and later saw that there were warnings on the bottle and on the doctor’s instructions not to take Tylenol with Vicodin because excessive acetaminophen can lead to liver damage or failure. Nothing bad happened, but I have read since then that people can and do die from this, so it wasn’t a good idea. I didn’t take anymore Vicodin until the second night. I thought I would try it one more time to see if it made me sick. I went to sleep about midnight and slept for about 4 hours that night, but woke up nauseous and threw up again. That led me to believe that my body just doesn’t tolerate Vicodin, and so I didn’t take anymore. The worst pain was the first and second nights, and I felt I could get by without prescription pain meds after that anyway. I did continue to have pain and discomfort from the Lifestyle Lift surgery, but it was controlled by the extra-strength Tylenol.
At first I could only open my mouth a little bit, so I could only drink yogurt smoothies. I had been advised through an Internet contact not to drink canned broth or soups because they contain so much salt. Salt makes your body retain water, so it’s a real enemy when you are trying to get rid of swelling. I used little plastic spoons to eat yogurt, mashed up banana, mashed potato, and drank lot of water through a bendy straw. Water is very healthful during surgery recovery and helps your body get rid of swelling, so you should drink as much as you can. By the third day, I was able to chew a little bit and had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I cut off the crust and ate very slowly, but it tasted wonderful.
Dr. Castellano called me the first and second evening to followup see if I was doing okay. I preferred this method of followup as I didn’t feel like getting in the car to travel to his office, particularly with the way I looked. He also gave me his personal cell number so I could call him if I had any serious issues. I thought that was very thoughtful.