Question:
1 mo post op and I still feel out of it.

I'm over a month post op and I still feel like I'm just standing up after having the flu for a week or two. Dizzy, unclear, can't think straight. I'm eating a lot of protein and not having trouble keeping food down. Taking vitamins. I want to shake myself back to normal. My surgeons nurse assures me this is normal but I'm supposed to go back to work in a couple weeks. Anyone else experience this or have ideas? Help, I want the old me back.    — marz S. (posted on March 13, 2002)

March 13, 2002
HEY!! Let me say that two weeks ago I could have written that. I am now 7 weeks out (as of tomorrow) and I feel like I could go all day and never stop!! This massive energy JUST happened 3 days ago. I got a b-12 shot a week and a half ago and it just too a week to hit, I guess. I felt horrible, sluggy, tired, lethargic, everything. I feel WONDERFUL today. Just takes time to heal! :-) Best of luck!
   — Paula Prichard

March 13, 2002
I wish I had an answer...I am in the same boat. I am 3 weeks out and I feel so sluggish and guess what..I HAD to come back to work today. I am diabetic and I have noticed that my blood sugars come down really fast after I take my morning shots. I think that may be contributing to my dizziness. At least I hope so. I am wondering about getting a blood test to check my levels...but wonder if it is too soon my surgeon did not mention it to me and doesn't see me again until 4/10. I hope it gets better soon for me too.
   — SARose61

March 13, 2002
Marz, I know this is going to sound conflicting, but I would try to get in a little walking and THEN I would rest as much as possible. I remember post op, I craved rest. I think it's natural to feel this way for alot of us. You've just been thru major surgery and your body needs time to bounce back.
   — blank first name B.

March 13, 2002
I didn't feel like myself for 3 or 4 months. I felt out of sync, I was lethargic and felt totally drained. Looking back, I believe I had a bought of post op depression. I was told that this is a normal response and I did bounce back. Be patient....you will get through this.
   — margaret N.

March 13, 2002
At one month post op I still felt horrible. I was so upset because I expected to bounce back more quickly! I made my doctor do blood tests and everything came back normal. My doctor pointed out that it takes a month to 6 weeks to get all the drugs out of your body after surgery. I was complaining of dizzy spells and he said that it was the narcotics that I had post-op.<p>I honestly did start to feel like myself again abotu 6 weeks post op. I would have a good day followed by 2 bad ones for a while but soon started feeling better.<p>Your body is doing quite a lot of rebuilding around the scar sites. It takes a lot of energy to rebuild tissue especially when you aren't processing protein the same way.<p>If it would make you feel more at ease get your doctor to run a full set of labs to make sure your iron is still up and your mineral load is balanced. It may be that you need a B-12 shot already or more iron.<p>Give youself some time to heal and see if you don't feel better in the next week or so.<p>Good LUCK!!!!!
   — Barbi B.

March 13, 2002
My surgeon told me that if you were knocked out under general anesthesia and no surgery was performed, you would still need 6 weeks to fully recover from the anesthesia. Hang in there, it does get better!
   — Elizabeth C.