People of Reddit who have had surgery, what was it like?

They wheeled me, injected something in my arm, I said - whoa, is that meant to burn?, the guy who poked me said - yeah, that's normal, then blackness...

I wake up and look around, check the time on the wall clock, then ask the nurse who is standing beside my bed for a drink. She gave me a cup of water. They roll me to my room. After 5 minutes, I wanted an Iced Coffee. I dressed myself then walked to the nurses station and asked if I could get an Iced Coffee. They said sure, and took my IV out, then I wandered down two flights of stairs, out the front door, across the carpark, down the road, and into a building. There was a security guard sitting in a booth, so I asked him for an Iced Coffee. He didn't have any. I walked outside and realised a few things - I was cold, I had no shoes on, and the 8 inch cut in my side was hurting a bit. I wandered back to the hospital, up the stairs, and then back to the nurses station. I asked where should I vomit. They suggested the patio. I went out and vomited in a pot plant, then staggered to my room...after buying a coke from the kiosk. I then drank my drink and spent the next 2 hours vomitting and blacking out.

Then I went out for a smoke and another coke. Then I spent the next 2 hours vomitting and blacking out. Around midnight, I decided I would go and jump off the roof if the pain wasn't settling by 1 am. At around 5 to 1, a nurse stopped by and I mentioned the pain - she told me my doctor hadn't left any instructions for pain relief, but they could give me something to help me sleep. So then I mostly slept til around 8 when my doctor turned up. He blamed the vomitting on the cigarette and fizzy drinks, but relented on the pain killers and got me a shot of morphine or similar. The next few hours were fun - I found Spongebob Squarepants on TV and, having never seen it before, found it to be the greatest thing in the universe. I walked out that night and went to another doctor who was a little surprised at the lack of pain management offered by the hospital doctor - the new doc gave me some tramodol and codeine for the next few weeks and I healed with no further issues.

Now, you only asked about surgery, but I told the rest as a warning - don't smoke too soon after waking up; don't wander around under the influence of the sedatives; make sure to discuss pain management with your doctor prior to the surgery - if you are unsatisfied, get another doctor's opinion or assistance. And Spongebob is awesome to watch on opiates.

/r/AskReddit Thread