wise advice needed...

hi all, i had surgery friday morning for my melanoma in my vulva and am trying to manage the PAIN! can only sit in one chair or lie on the bed. soft chairs/couches aren't good because i can't control the way the skin lies inside. i'm on oxycontin every 12 hours and dilaudid for the breakthru pain (about every 6 hours). i'm not high at all which goes to show how bad the pain would be without anything. i'll take off next week, too, if i can't function without pain meds. so - advice needed... i am drinking alot of water - 5 or more bottles of water (so over 100 oz water) i'm having my protein but i'm not hungry so i have some combination of: swiss cheese (9 grams protein/slice) and/or garelick moon over milk fatfree milk (10 grams/8 oz) so sometimes i don't eat but i have 60 grams of protein thru milk plus water. i think i have alot of water weight. since thursday, i've gained 7 or 8 pounds. i am taking the opiates, which are constipating (i finally went to the bathroom yesterday, twice, after not going in 5 days!) plus i was prescribed stool softeners 3 x's'day. so i think it's jus****er weight. what do you think? susan

Susan, I'm sure it is water weight gain. A procedure like that is SURE to throw your body out of whack. Plus, think about all the trauma your body is going through from the pain alone. Big ((( HUGS ))) to you. I'm so sorry you are going through this. You will be in my thoughts and prayers. Leslie

thank you leslie! also - i was getting it together to write you about your back pain. i had horrific back pain the 2 weeks before surgery and was scared to be on the table and confined to bed and injuring it more. plus now, even on the opiates, i can feel the pain. mine is from a 'range-of-motion' problem in my lower back, to the right of my spine. this means that i stretched it too much over what it normally does. the pain radiates down into my hip, and thru my leg sometimes. i get this every few years. in the past, i've found that physical therapy with people specifically geared towards working with athletes really works. there are lots of physical therapists and their techniques aren't all the same. this time i didn't have time presurgery for that so i went to the chiropractor twice a week, for 2 weeks, before surgery. he 'adjusted' me - meaning that i am in balance. what they had in common, that worked so well, was ultrasound treatments and electrical stimulation treatments. these get deep into the muscle for relaxing the muscle. i agree that out bodies are out of whack because they are redistributing our weight and our backs, knees, ankles, etc are taking the brunt. hope that helps and thanks for your good wishes and sound words! susan

Oh sweetie, you are having a tough time! I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers for a quick recovery. I am POSITIVE your weight "gain" is due to fluids and it will pass eventually (literally and figuratively!). Since you know you are not overeating (not even close!) maybe you should give yourself a break from the scale so you don't aggravate yourself unnecessarily. Just concentrate on healing and feeling better!!! Hugs atcha (gentle ones!) Sandy

thanks, sandy - very very sweet of you! i am mostly thinking it's pretty funny - not eating and gaining this much weight. i was just checking in on it to make sure i'm not missing something! thank you! susan

Hi Susan, I've been hoping that everything went well for you with this. The recovery may not be fun but at least the bad guy is OUT! yay! (I felt a sense of relief when Troy's melanoma was OUT, I'm sure you can relate!) As far as the weight gain goes, you know it's not real gain, and actually, you will probably come out of this with a nice jacked up weight loss! I hope you feel better soon and the pain subsides and you can just get some rest. I can tell you that last week I gained 5 lbs at one point on my home scale just due to my period and water retention. So definitely don't stress over it, it's not a fat gain Hugs to you~ Love, Sue