Sunday, November 26, 2017

Problems & Results at 6 Weeks Post-Op

As I sit here tonight, I am 6 weeks out of excess skin surgery. And I wanted to document a little bit about the experience, as it has not been easy.  I had originally planned to take a week and a half off work, as honestly after my weight loss surgery, I could have gone back after a couple of days. 

But as the day to return to work drew near, I knew I wasn't ready. I had no energy. And when I tried to do anything I would spike a fever, so I ended up taking another week off.  Which was not optimal because it meant I would burn through all the leave, I needed for our Thanksgiving trip to Wisconsin (which is how Adam ended up going to Wisconsin without me, and I spent Thanksgiving at a friend's house).

So I finally went back to work after that two weeks, and I still didn't feel much better. I could barely walk, and I started to have immense pain at the drain entry sites. I would be OK for the morning hours, but moving around at work, just about killed me by the end of the day.

Due to driving around at work, I could not take my pain medication, which certainly didn't help the situation.  I could compartmentalize my pain just enough to get through the work day, but I would really start to feel it on the drive home. And then when I got home, I literally could not do anything. Adam would have to wait on me hand and foot. I couldn't even take off my clothes or prepare my own dinner.

After surgery, I had two drains. When your drains are putting out less than 15cc a day, you can get rid of them. Most patients get rid of them after a couple of weeks. But my drains continued to put out 50-75cc a day for over a month, which is unusual. This was caused by me being too active at work and not being able to get enough rest. But there was nothing I could do about it.

Three weeks after surgery, one of my drains started to slip out on its own, which caused even worse pain for me, and I had to tape it to my skin.  And then that drain started to decompress on it's own.

Drain problems caused me two late night emergency calls to the surgeon's office, and not to mention many nights moaning in pain. 

My surgeon finally let me remove the problemed drain, but I still continued to have pain with the other drain. Now I'm here at week 6, and I do have less pain, but I still have 1 drain. My output has been continuously dropping daily. So I'm hopeful I can get rid of it tomorrow at my follow up appointment.

I so want to get back to my normal life. I miss being able to clean, and I miss being able to workout. I just want to feel like my old self again.

But in good news, I'm super happy with the results. Here is my before/after pictures at 6 days post op:


And here is a more recent shot:


So I guess when it is all said and done, I will barely remember all the pain, and I will just be happy with the results.

Love,
B



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1 comment:

  1. So sorry you've had a tough time post surgery, and so sorry you missed out on a trip with Adam. But I just have to say, WOW! You look amazing, and I hope that you feel amazing. What a reward for all your hard work. You are a rockstar!

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