Surgery went well

Glad it went well and that your surgeon is optimistic.  Once again, it sounds like we are on the same path.

As far as the gas pains go, for me, it took about a week before all of the stuff they pumped in dissipated.  Nights were definitely the worst, and a few nights I just got up and moved around until I found a comfortable position somewhere, sofa, chair, whatever, and just stayed there.  It will get better, but yeah, it is nasty.

I think that 7 pounds is mostly fluids that were pumped into you during and after surgery.  Saline, etc.  I was quite puffy after surgery, but after a few days things were pretty much back to normal.

Make yourself rest.  If you're like me, the minute you feel better, you want to do more.  I have made it part of my routine right now to take a couple of hours in the afternoon as quiet time.  I either doze or maybe read, and turn off all of the phones.  

I'm so happy you are home and recovering well.  Keep us posted!

Chris

I hope your clean slate status that surgery seem to  give will remain so always . NED is the forever goal I wish it so for you, hope you have a speedy uncomplicated recovery,You stay strong and remember say NO to depression that usually creeps in around now, reject it and go on with your life,it is a stinker that serves no purpose but to hinder everything good.

Nuff love Moli.

TeddyandBears_Mom said:

post surgery update - still documenting for newbies

So, this is the start of day 10. The healing process is interesting. Just when you feel good, you feel bad again. I have to say, the gas pains was the biggest challenge for me. It took 8 days to get the final stuff out of my system. I am now back to my weight prior to surgery. Actually, I'm half a pound under where I started.  Days 6, 8 and 9 were very heavy fatigue days for me. I had to force myself to walk and did little else.  I feel good this morning and I'm hoping for a higher level of energy most of the day. My sister continues to coach me on patience. She tells me week 3 will bring on much more consistency for feeling good.  She and my husband know me the best. And, they know that having limitations will wear on me faster than just about anything. OK, I admit it... self patience isn't at the top of my list of abilities.  (For those that didn't see my other post - my sister has had Thyroid, Uterine and Pancreatic cancer. She is my rock!)

I was finally able to sleep on my side last night. Sleeping on my back is at the bottom of my desired things to do! However, doing so was needed since it hurt to do otherwise. I guess all of that empty space in there needs to adjust.  Oh, and it is a lot easier to get up and down now. I don't feel that pulling sensation so much. And, the stomach muscle strength is better.  I still have some puffiness in my stomach area. But, way less now.

Overall, I would say the worst part of dealing with the cancer news is the first two weeks. I have seen other posts where our mentors have said the same thing. There is so much apprehension, shock, fear, waiting and then acceptance? Not sure that is the correct word for it. For me, it was coming to terms, positioning to fight for my life and accepting that I'm going to be messed with a lot for a while.  Today, I have a sense of peace and feel like I will be strong enough to go through whatever is needed to win.

Love to all,

Cindi

 

 

after the surgery to get really good, almost like before...

What is going to happen after the following treatments and in future noone knows,

so be brave and best wishes to all of us.

TeddyandBears_Mom said:

good input!

Hey Chris, so glad you posted! I have also had the gastrointestinal gas pains. Sharp pains. Way less today so far. I have learned to eat way smaller portions.  Seems to help.

Be careful dancing! But enjoy the heck out of it! Life is too short not to.

I was given a 6 week restriction list. No lifting over 10 pounds, limited physical exertion - they even listed things like don't vaccuum! No driving for 2-3 weeks.  Walking seems to be the most preferred from of movement on the list.  So, I suppose as long as you don't jump around like a crazy woman, you can stretch the definition into dancing! :-)

Cindi

and my doctor said no lifting over 8 lbs for the first week.  Um, I am still not going to lift anything heavy, and I'm using the boyfriend to schlep 50 lb. bags of horsefeed.  As far as other exercise, she said to use my own judgement.  Uh oh! I could drive when it felt comfortable and I was completely off the narcotic.  I was not very comfortable last week and decided to wait, but the last couple of days are fine in the car.  Nice to be independently mobile again.   Somebody else mentioned vacuuming being a no-no.  Hmmm...  suddenly I don't feel like I can do that.  I'm sure I can get someone to do that for me lol.

I did dance, and I don't feel bad at all.  And yes, there were "walk" steps involved. I am going to try to take it easy the rest of the day and see how I feel tomorrow.  Unfortunately, my refrigerator crapped out last night, so the first part of today was a mess cleaning out thawed stuff and trying to save cold stuff.  BF is coming over to clear out stuff and transfer to his refrigerator.  I will shop online and then go out tomorrow to look at some.  At least it didn't happen right after the surgery, though.  I would have been pissed if all my soup that I had made had been ruined.

TeddyandBears_Mom said:

Final post surgery - post

Hi All,

Day 13.  Starting out really well. More energy this morning. Yesterday was once again a heavy fatique day. I also had some new pains so decided to go ahead and document whatever else I have experienced as embarassing as they may be. What the heck, we discussed V size... can't get too much more personal now can it?! lol  I invite all of those ahead of me in this process to add your findings if you want. Again, my goal in this is to give the next lady a point of reference.

Here we go:

Still have sharp gas pains at times. Much less though.

Going to the bathroom is still not "normal" ... sharp pains before elimination and you don't dare help anything move out. Sit patiently and let nature do its' thing.

Yesterday brought on some sharp pains in my vagina. Not bad enough for pain meds, but certainly not fun.

Right leg was aching. And, from the groin to the upper thigh, I have a numbing sensation.

Finally able to sleep without a pillow between my legs. Or behind my legs depending on the position.

Sadly, my hot flashes and night sweats came back darn it! While I enjoyed the reprieve from them, I don't miss the chills that I had for the first 4 days post surgery.

I probably forgot something but will close with this.... I did not find this surgery to be horrible. I look forward to getting back to my normal strength and physical abilities. It is important to continue to remind oneself to rest and ask for help. I have been able to give in to the need to rest so far. I suspect that will become more challenging as I begin to feel better for longer periods of time. Cindi

 

 

 

Like you, my gas pains and bloating have continued to diminish.  The only other abdominal pains I have had are occasional twinges that are mild and transient.  My tummy skin in general does seem to be overly sensitive though that's getting better, too, but I have been wearing loose dresses and going commando as much as possible since surgery.  I wonder at what point I will be able to put my "normal" pants on, since when I do wear pants since surgery, they are of the drawstring type.  Though the swelling has gone done a bit (I almost have a flat stomach in the morning when I wake up!) I am still not close to my normal size.

Energy level is beginning to approach normal, but I am making myself rest in the afternoon even if I don't think I need to.  I did overdo on Saturday because I felt so good, and I paid the price on Sunday.  That won't happen again.

I had two bouts of minor constipation this past week, probably due to me not drinking enough, but that was resolved rather quickly, and I seem to be back to my old schedule.

Sleeping has improved to the point where I am waking up maybe once to pee and being able to sleep in later.  

And, I have begun to regain the weight that I lost with surgery.

Looking forward to getting back on my bike soon, maybe next week.