Am I being a wimp??

Good morning my fellow OH members.  I'm 8 days out from having Lap Band surgery (last Tuesday, April 19th).  I took the whole week off to recover and called out of work this past Monday, April 25th.  I'm a social worker at a state-run agency where it is high paced and unfortunately, high stress.  I returned to work yesterday and by late morning, I physically wasn't feeling well.  Perhaps it was the way I was sitting in my chair most of the morning?  Maybe the mental stress from work & being pounded about "do this, do that....why isn't this done" got the best of me mentally and it ended up affecting me physically?  By the time 5pm came around, I felt nothing but discomfort, almost physical pain, when walking back to my car.  I just wanted to go home and lie down on the couch because I felt drained.  So......am I being a wimp for contemplating having my doctor put me out the rest of the week, or should I toughen up and just go to work?  How long did it take for you to return to work after surgery?  (I have 3 months worth of sick time, so that is not even a factor.....it's mainly me being a workaholic).

Also, speaking of discomfort.  Will I always feel the port?  It seems like whatever I do, I notice that it's there....bending down, sitting up, even laying in bed on my back is somewhat painful, literally, because of the discomfort I have in that area.  I experienced a back injury about 10 years ago & then fell and broke my ankle about 4-5 years ago and have resulting minor hip problems.  There are not too many positions that are comfortable for me to sleep, but laying on my back was one.  I cannot do that now because of the discomfort from feeling the port.  Is this normal? Will it ever go away?  (It is kinda freaking me out to constantly feel something inside me).  It's uncomfortable to sleep on my left side because that's where the port is, and my right side is the bad hip.  Ugh!!!!!!

And lastly, I'm not sure what to do or how much more I can take of the constant dry, fuzzy icky mouth feeling.  It sometimes actually feels as if I have hair in my mouth towards the upper back.  When I brush my teeth I also brush my tongue, roof of my mouth, etc.  I use a non-alchohol mouthwash, but that only gives me relief for about 5 minutes.  The dry icky feeling comes back.  Has anyone experienced this before and if so, what solution did you have?

 My brother in law had his bypass by your surgeon.  

The biggest thing you will see is that "Everyone is different"

And as tired as that statement seems, it is true.

It took me a solid week to go back to sleeping in my bed from the recliner.  I was tired for weeks.  I had spurts but I needed a TON of sleep.  I will be six months out next month.  I need less sleep then ever.

The port.  That was something I worried about too!  Heck I still can't really touch mine because it just makes me feel weird.  But Once the swelling goes down more you'll feel it less and less.  I'd say it was a good month before I could roll over in bed and not feel it.  

Of course you could be the odd person that something is wrong.  I certainly don't want you to think your being overly sensitive.  But only being 8 days out you probably shouldn't worry.  Especially since you have a great surgeon.

And drink more..and more..that dry mouth did eventually go away...

Good Luck!!

Thanks for your response Ami!  I do realize everyone is different but hearing your situation lets me know its not abnormal what I'm going through.  I'm going to call my doctor in a little while and have them put me out the rest of the week.  Heck, I have the time, and, the excuse! 

I do hope the dry mouth goes away.  It's such an icky feeling.  I try to drink as much water as possible but to be honest, I'm not getting that much in because of the bloating feeling.  I'm lucky if I drink one 8 oz bottle a day, and I know that's not good!  Prior to surgery, I could easily drink a gallon a day at work, but the bloating is just so uncomfortable that drinking water makes it worse. 

Honestly, it depends totally on the person.  I had my lap band put in on a Wednesday and I was back at work the following Tuesday.  I have a stressful sit down job.  But again, it's a total sit down job.  If I don't want to get up for a few hours, I don't have to.

I don't think you're being a wimp, no.  Do what's most comfortable for you. Last thing you need is to strain yourself and give yourself a hernia.

My God woman if you have 3 months sick time then take the time.  I hurried back because of finacial reasons of being off from work.  I would say if you feel like you described then you should take off.  Pushing yourself will only prolong your recovery. 

As far as the port goes...I can't really answer that.  I have the Realize Band so we have different ports.  I had no problems sleeping on the port side a couple days after surgery. 

Take some time off and let your body heal.  There is no reason for you to rush back.

I just called my doctor.  They are emailing a note putting me out the rest of the week.  Thank you to everyone for your support!

I haven't had the surgery yet, but just wanted to give you my support.  I do similar work as you.  I'm a service coordinator and everything is state or federal funding.  IT IS STRESSFUL!!!  You're job alone is a lot... plus now add a MAJOR surgery. 

Just the fact you are thinking of taking more time off...that should be your answer.  This is the time in your life you should not pu****  Take it easy, you have the time off... now take time to take care of yourself.. Not your job, not your caseload, your boss or your co-workers.  They'll figure it out there !!!!

Hang in there and keep us updated!!!! 

You're right.....now is the time to take care of myself.....the work will be there when I get back (it always is!)  It's always nice to have support from another person in the same field!

I am a RN and took 6 weeks off because I'm required to lift up to 50 pounds or catch a falling patient.  I also had a large hiatal hernia repaired.  I work 12 & 1/2 hour night shifts and it was rough when I went back even after 6 weeks.

Glad to see you are requesting more time off.  You need to heal. 

So how many ounces of fluid are you getting in a day?  Is your urine normal colored or is it dark?  A sign of dehydration can be what you are describing in your mouth.  I actually got a script for a Nystatin swish for thrush in my mouth. You might want to consider thrush and ask your Dr.   I'm wondering if a product like Biotene would help with the dry mouth?  I wish I would have had that available when I had surgery.

You have a lot of swelling around your port site and it will be tender for awhile.  The edema will go down and you will notice it less and less.  I'm a pear shape and now that I'm at goal, I can easily palpate it and I have to be careful at work not to lean into the wallaroos outside of the rooms when I chart.  I also have to be careful when lifting the CPM machines not to lean it against my belly when I lift it up.  Other than that, it hasn't been an issue at all.  I can be on either side sleeping or my stomach.  It will get better for you!  I slept in the recliner for a week after surgery.  I was just too sore to be in bed to sleep.

So hang in there, it will get better, I promise! 
Kristi

Hi Kristi!  Water....only drinking about 8 ounces a day.....I know, not much!  But the bloating is so uncomfortable that I just can't seem to get it down.  I have had about 2 protein shakes a day, so that's 16 ounces of skim milk.  And either in the morning or evening I have a small cup of hot tea, maybe 6 ounces of water.  Don't get me wrong....I love drinking water, it's just the bloating making it difficult for me to take as much in as I need to.

Oh, I also had a hiatal hernia repaired during the surgery.  I wonder if that could be the cause of the extra discomfort I may be feeling or is it just the trauma from surgery overall?