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Uncategorized
Overdoing it
After almost three weeks of inactivity, I finally resumed my exercise routine yesterday. I’d really planned on going out for walks while I was supposed to be taking it easy. Somehow, that didn’t happen and now the temperatures have soared into triple digits on the Fahrenheit scale. Inside our house is not that much better at the moment, with the humidity from the evaporative system being double and triple what is outside. Despite the failings of our cooling system, I went ahead and did a workout with the Gold’s gym program on the Wii.
There had been no specific instructions regarding resumption of exercise after surgery, aside from avoiding any activity that hurts and, of course, the limit on heavy lifting/work. I did make an assumption that I should avoid abdominal exercise until it’s okay to resume the heavy lifting. I started out with a couple of beginner level warm up routines that run for about six minutes each. I was surprised at how alien it felt to be exercising even though it’s just been a few weeks. When I restarted the exercise in November, I remember feeling how easy it had been to slip back into the intermediate exercises I’d abandoned months before. This time, my body felt really awkward and clumsy. I also found that I was struggling with basic movements that I’d done so well just weeks ago. The next routine was a longer, two part program but still at beginner level. I improved a bit on my movement this time and started to get my heart working a bit. It felt okay at this point so I decided I’d work on the beginner ducking routine which was another two-parter that ran for about fifteen minutes. This is where I started to flag and the ducking movement didn’t feel so great once I’d done it a few times. I’m sure part of the problem is I’d not used those muscles for a while but I also think it was too soon to be doing that kind of movement. I did finish the routine but I was only half-hearted in my effort by the the time the second half began and was very ready to be done with it when I did finish. This morning, unsurprisingly, my legs and bottom were really sore when I got out of bed.
I’m about to go back for more exercise today but will be avoiding the ducking routines or anything more difficult until I’m further along in my healing. Or at least until I can discuss this with the surgeon at my follow-up appointment next Thursday.
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2 weeks
Today marks the magical two week point after surgery where life supposedly returns to normal. While my surgery now seems like it was a long time ago, I don’t feel totally healed yet. I imagine that once I’m allowed to do heavy lifting/work  after six weeks I will feel like I am healed, at least from the outside.
I do feel as though I’m able to get back to most of my activities but I’m aware that some still tire me a bit more easily than I expect. Obviously the two weeks is a very general marker and each person’s experience will vary a bit. I ended up driving quite a bit yesterday to help out a friend who is currently without a working vehicle and I was tired by the time I returned home a couple hours or so later. Of course it might be just a matter of forgetting how tiring driving is too. :)
I’m thinking I might try starting back into exercise today. My appetite seems to be back and I’ve found I’m eating too much and too often right now. A couple days ago we had fish and chips from a local shop. I did order grilled instead of fried fish but then gorged on the chips. I also added a couple bites of an extra piece of fried fish, which I regretted almost immediately. Fortunately, I’ve not suffered any big digestive problems so far but I did feel pretty awful afterwards due to overeating. Anyway, getting back to regular exercise usually helps me manage my eating habits so it’s now one of my priorities.
The bills from surgery have started to trickle in. I’ve already received ones for pathology and fluoroscopy which should be mostly refunded by our government-funded Medicare service.  I expect a bill from the anesthetist and another one from the hospital for surgical supplies (TED stockings and DVT-preventing intermittent pneumatic leg compression sleeves). These surgical supplies are  the items that really bug me because we have the highest coverage of private health insurance available and yet, this isn’t covered.
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Getting out
I found I was a bit more tired yesterday than I realised. I ended up taking something akin to a nap in late morning but “woke up” feeling more tired than I’d been all day. Not exactly a good rest. I did eventually get out of the house on my own in the afternoon for a couple of hours when I went off to the library and then to the grocery store. Driving felt a bit alien and tired me out more than I would have expected, especially since I didn’t venture that far from home. Â I’d had visions of making dinner when I got home but was too tired. I’d also had to deal with an unexpectedly heavy grocery bag when I’m not supposed to be doing heavy work or lifting until six weeks. Fortunately I only had to get it into the shopping cart and then into the car. The Scientist brought that one inside for me and told me off for lifting it in the first place. The worst part of going out is that I had expectations of really enjoying myself but it was mostly disappointing. It was like I was dragging myself around, even at the library. In hindsight, I probably wouldn’t have spent so much time wandering around the library because I was on my feet the whole time I was there.
I again woke up too early this morning, thanks to my bladder, and it took a long while to get back to sleep again. There seems to be a pattern here…Anyway, I finally did get back to a pretty solid sleep for at least one and half hours. What a difference a proper sleep makes! Last night I was feeling quite hesitant about going out again today. But I was feeling well enough that I did go out and it went pretty well. I went to a local shopping center and wandered around a few of the shops then stopped at our local grocery store to get something for dinner. This time I wasn’t ready to crash when I got home and was able to handle cooking the dinner, which didn’t require too much effort. I’m still a bit tired but not exhausted like yesterday. While I still had little satisfaction from wandering through the shops, I did feel pretty good about being able to cook dinner, which was appreciated by all.
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Feeling better
Yesterday I woke up at 5am and was sure I’d need a nap by midday. That never happened although there was a period of time where I felt pretty sleepy. I got into bed and read a book, certain that I would relax into some sort of slumber. But I remained quite awake. The upshot is I don’t need endless amounts of sleep any more. Maybe my body is rebelling against too much sleep. I did begin to worry, though, that I would find it hard to get to sleep last night. Fortunately, I suddenly found myself ready to go to sleep, right at that moment. This was just after 10pm. I did manage to take care of a couple things but went to sleep within minutes of climbing into bed. This morning I woke around 6am and still felt tired but couldn’t sleep. Once my bladder kicked in, that was the end of sleep.
I’m pretty sure I’ve turned a corner in my recovery. I think I started feeling physically better a couple days ago but the “blues’ that struck me from Monday couldn’t quite be shaken. I don’t think I’m quite there yet but I think getting myself out of the house and doing normal things might shake the last of that. Yesterday I peeled back the dressing on the last incision and it seems to be healing fine although I can see that one leaving more of a scar than the others. I replaced the dressing and might take it off in a day or so when I feel more assured it won’t drive me batty due to the discomfort.
So the next part of this recovery process is likely to avoid overdoing things. I am feeling better but I’m not yet 100%.
Ironically, I’m suddenly feeling really sleepy again. Â Might just take my book back to bed and see if I can squeeze a bit more sleep in.
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Update
It’s now 7 .5 days since my surgery and I’m still recovering. Fortunately pain hasn’t been a problem at any point. I stopped taking the Tramadol on Saturday and was perfectly fine on just the Panadol. I’m not sure I even needed the Panadol, aside from the first day or so I was home. I did continue to take that until Sunday but not on as regular a schedule. I find it amazing to have had major abdominal surgery and have so little pain afterwards.
The worst thing so far has been the tiredness. Until yesterday, I had been needing two or more naps every day. I managed to get through yesterday without a nap but was past ready to crash when I finally got to bed after 11pm last night. Unfortunately my bladder woke me at 5 am  (as it has several times now) and I simply couldn’t get back to sleep. So I am almost certain to need a top-up today. I’m thinking seriously about taking a walk around the block this afternoon in hopes to getting some energy back. It’s a bit like when I’ve slacked off on exercise for way too long and just need to jolt my body out of the lethargy.
I think Monday was possibly the low point of my recovery. I think the post-surgery blues had set in and I was feeling close to tears much of the day, for no reason I could fathom. That feeling isn’t totally gone now but is much less intense than Monday. Â I did sleep a lot that but when I was awake I didn’t feel like doing much of anything. I eventually settled into finishing a book I’d started back in November then left sitting on the shelf for several weeks. It’s soon due back to the library so I guess that was productive. There were also other issues, mostly digestive, that made me feel like I’d had a bit of a setback at this point. The digestive problems didn’t continue yesterday so I’m hoping that was just a temporary obstacle in recovery.
Monday I finally braved removal of the dressings for three of the four incisions. I was expecting a bit of ugliness but none looked particularly noteworthy at all. The belly button incision is a bit more obvious if I look at it but due to its location, it’s the least visible. One just under my breastbone looks like a mere scratch although the skin feels a bit irregular. The other open looks like a bit more than a scratch and that is the one that has been uncomfortable since removing the dressing. Every time I moved, it felt like it was being pulled around and sometimes it felt like it was going to open. It’s location below my breast and near the lung area is more prone to be moved about that the other one so I’m sure this is normal. That has improved but it’s still distracting me. I haven’t removed the dressing for the fourth incision because the nurse said to wait until it looks “tatty’ and it doesn’t even though it’s been five days now. That’s where the drain was and I suspect it will be more bothersome than the one next to it has been.
I’m now looking forward to that magical two week mark where I supposedly will be mostly back to normal. I do have a ban on heavy lifting until six weeks but I don’t think that would be an issue anyway. I’m really glad this surgery is now available laparascopically and has such a reduced recovery time. I can’t imagine having several more weeks of this to look forward to.