7 day BLAH
I had my surgery a week ago and until today, I felt like a rock star. I was able to get in my liquids and protein, was walking, had energy and very little intense pain. I hadn't taken any pain meds at all since Thursday morning.
But in the middle of the night my incisions really started bothering me, and I was very uncomfortable. I took the Oxycodone this morning, which helped the pain... but all day I have just felt completely BLAH. Nothing I can put my finger on, exactly, but I feel just a touch nauseous, no energy, and really have to force myself to get in liquids. I have the slightest fever--99.5.
Do these highs and lows seem normal in the first few weeks, or should I be concerned that I'm taking a turn for the worse?
What you are describing seems pretty normal. Remember, you have had no nutrition to speak of since surgery, and the longer that goes on, the greater the toll it takes on your body. Your body is also trying to heal up from major internal surgery (the small lap incisions look minor, but the internal work is significant!) while you are feeding it almost nothing. That is very hard on your body, and the result is fatigue.
There is also kind of a wicked cycle when it comes to getting in fluids. If you don't get enough fluids, even mild dehydration can cause fatigue and mild nausea... which then makes you not want to drink anything... which then makes the dehydration worse.
Some people also find that when they start increasing their activity, not only do they easily get zapped of their energy (the almost no nutrition thing again) but the incisional pain can increase because they are using their abdominal muscle more or even just moving around more and pulling at the skin part of incisions (which then becomes tender).
Keep a close eye on your temperature and on your incisions. If your temperature goes up or if the slight temp increase continues and any of your incisions starts looking weird, call your surgeon right away.
Otherwise, be smart about how much activity you do and try to get in as many fluids as you can. SF Popsicles are a great way to get more fluids during the hot summer months.
Lora
14 years out; 190 pounds lost, 165 pound loss maintained
You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.
Everything you described could simply be due to the oxycodone. I had to take that after my knee replacement surgery and it made me feel awful!! I asked for and got a different med that didn't bother me so much. It also takes time for your body to heal and bounce back. You have just had major surgery and your body knows it, believe me! You will probably experience some ups and downs for several weeks or even months till you are fully healed and back to your self again.
"Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail"
