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? 

I get a hangover from narcotics, so it could be that. Keep an eye on your temperature...you may want to ask your nurse if it's normal to run a low grade fever post op.

I agree your body may just now be catching up with severely low calorie and the stress of surgery.  But the temperature is definitely something to keep an eye on.  DO your incisions look ok?

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

Thanks everyone. I woke up feeling a whole lot better this morning. Energy is much higher and I'm not so queasy. Low grade fever is still there but my incisions look just fine. I guess there are just going to be good days and bad as I heal...

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.