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It’s been one week since I had my open umbilical hernia surgery, and I am finally starting to feel better.
This past week was rough. I had surgery performed on Friday June 21st, and originally thought that I would be back to work by Monday. The surgeon had told me 3-5 days of recovery before I could go back to work (I sit at a desk all day) but I won’t be able to do any lifting for a while. So, being as ambitious as I am, I thought 3 days would be enough.
Boy, was I wrong!
By Sunday night I knew that I wouldn’t have been able to go into work on Monday. Moving around was very painful, and there was no way I could sit up in a chair for 8 hours without being medicated. So I texted my boss and told her that I would be out Monday.
Come Tuesday, I wanted to go to work. I had checked my emails the night before and saw that I would have a pile of work to do when I got back, and I hate being behind. But I definitely did not feel that I could drive, and the only way I felt okay sitting upright was when I was taking meds, and I did not want to be taking narcotics while I was working. So I took another day off, and my boss and coworker stopped by my apartment at lunch time to bring me some Tortilla soup and a “Get Well Soon” plant and balloon. This really made my day because even though I had a serious loss of appetite and felt like I could only eat soup, I was getting pretty tired of chicken broth. The Tortilla soup was a welcome change, and it felt nice to see my boss and coworker; I was getting a little stir-crazy just laying about my apartment with no one to talk to.
I also wanted to try to build up my strength, and decided to attempt to walk to my mailbox in the front of the complex. I strapped on my brace and started walking, but once I had reached the end of the sidewalk I was already tired and a bit dizzy (probably due to how little I had eaten). So I turned around and walked back.
Wednesday I felt better, but not good enough to sit up for more than an hour without meds. So I stayed home yet another day. The swelling in my belly had gone down a little. It was still difficult for me to eat very much, so I had to force feed myself. I literally had NO appetite whatsoever.
I was determined to be back to work by Thursday, so I continued to take my meds and wear my brace, and attempted to walk again. I was still in pain, but it was easier to walk on Wednesday than it was Tuesday. I took it slow, I walked to the sidewalk and back. Then some hours later I walked around my building. Then, a few hours later, I was able to walk all the way to the mailbox and back! (This is not a very far distance, but I was pretty proud of myself for being able to walk that far.) It was a pretty slow walk since I still was in pain and I was weak.
On Thursday, I was prepared to go to work. It was a bit difficult to drive, but I made it there without any problems. I was still in pain, but wearing my brace helped a bit. I was taking plain old Acetaminophen since I didn’t want to take Hydrocodone while working, but it didn’t help as much as the Hydrocodone, and I was in pain the whole day. It was bearable for a while, but I left halfway through the day because the acetaminophen wasn’t helping and I was in pain. I went home and lay down for the rest of the day, and resumed taking the hydrocodone until morning.
And today, Friday, a week from my surgery date, I’m finally feeling like I can move around a lot better. I woke up feeling sore, and it still hurts a lot to transfer from laying to standing, but I have been able to work the entire work day today with nothing more than a couple of Tylenol’s and my brace. I still don’t have an appetite, which might be from the hydrocodone, even though I haven’t taken any today.
I’m thinking that by Monday I will be feeling back to normal, and boy am I ready to feel normal again, and have no pain and a bigger appetite!
I feel like I’ve already lost some muscle mass. I have lost a few pounds this past week due to the reduced calorie intake. I am looking forward to the day I can step foot into the gym again!
