Another Surgery Update

I had another post planned today, but after having my post op appointment on Thursday, I thought I would update you all. I was going to post this in my Friday Favorites and Happenings post, but my appointment went pretty long. And then I had to pick up new prescriptions.

Anyways, I had my post op with my doctor's PA. He assisted in my surgery, so I felt that it was fine having it with him. He asked me how I was doing after surgery. I told him about the nausea and how long it lasted (way too long), the pain, the bleeding from one incision, the call to their office for further instructions on my wound and nausea, the difficulty sleeping, the muscle spasms in my stomach and the extreme tenderness on the hernia.

Well it turns out that I had three hernias. We never did an ultrasound or scan as it was very apparent that I had a hernia and DR (diastasis recti). When they opened me up, I had a very large hernia (the one we knew about) and two smaller ones. So it went from being a pretty straight forward surgery to more complicated. They sutured all three of them up and then went to work repairing my DR. He said they stitched me from my sternum to almost my c-section scar, but not quite all the way. 

He said the pain at the big hernia is common because they did so much work to it. He said that my muscles are very inflamed which is normal, so they are "bunched up or rolled on top of each other right now". That is causing a lot of the pain and spasms. A spasm is the natural way for the body to combat the inflammation and pain. I also had some adhesions on my muscles.

He looked at my incisions and said they are healing nicely and he could see where the one that was bleeding had rescabbed over. I have no redness, hotness or pain at the incisions. BUT he said my abdomen is very swollen. More swollen than he would like to see.

It means that I need to slow down. I need to rest more. I can't lift things. I should break up my daily walks (that I have been taking since Sunday) either into two shorter walks, go slower on my walk, or rest a lot after my walk. He also told me to ice my abdomen for 10 to 15 minutes on, one hour off, and repeat as much as I can through the day. And if on Sunday (yesterday), if my swelling has gone down a lot, then I can do heat for 5 minutes, ice for 5 minutes, repeat once and then do the same in the evening.

He also told me that since I am fit, the surgery went well and didn't take long, but fit people tend to overdo it, and tear the work the doctor's have done because they are too anxious to get back into the gym or overdoing it. So he made it very clear to me that I need to rest. I can't lift more than 10 lbs for 3 weeks (post surgery) and 15 lbs from week 3 to 6. And I can't do anything other than walking. After 6 weeks, I can do the elliptical, run and bike. And I should watch myself that if it is uncomfortable, stop and try again a few days to a week later. And after 8 weeks, I can lift more than 15 pounds. And even then, I need to watch myself. He will give me some core exercises that I can start after the 8 weeks are up.

Sleep was another question that I asked him. I told him at night, I get the spasms and have a hard time sleeping. I asked how much longer do I need to sleep at a 30 to 45 degree angle? He said until my body feels comfortable. Meaning that I can lay down without pain, I can get myself up without pain and the spasms stop. So he said to go by my body. I can take some pillows away and see how it goes, if it works, great, if not, try again a few days later. Basically it all comes down to my body and how it is healing. Right now, it is slow go and I need to rest.

I go back to see him on the 18th as he didn't feel comfortable waiting a month with how swollen and uncomfortable I was. He gave me new prescriptions for the muscle spasms and the pain and sent me on my way.  

Here is a photo update as of Friday February 5th.