Two Week Update

It has been just over 2 weeks since my last surgery.
I am recovering well overall.
Rj and I both caught a cold that has been going around, but mine only hit me for 3 days. They were brutal days, but it was over quickly.
My incision scars are already diminished. I am healing well. So well, in fact, that at night I often forget that I am still recovering... so I'll get up too quickly or shift to an awkward position and feel an internal tug from my incisions telling me to slow down.

There were a few things about surgery that I always seem to forget:

1. Nosebleeds are normal. The oxygen tube that goes into your nostrils dries out your nose and often causes nosebleeds.
2. Going to the washroom hurts the scars. It hurts to push. So don't eat things that tend to plug people up - it's just a bad and painful idea.
3. Gas in the intestines can present as shoulder and chest pain. And I mean intense shoulder pain.
4. You are now missing a chunk of your body - your innards are going to be sore and functioning oddly for a bit. It is normal for things to be a little weird - just watch for intense pain or high fevers, dark blood, or vomiting.
5. Weakness is common. You just spent a few days not eating, and then several more days eating very little.
6. Eight weeks doesn't sound like a long time, but it is.
7. Showering becomes complicated - especially if you still have the steristrips on.
8. Dissolvable stitches only dissolve on the inside. So some parts of the stitching may stick out for a bit.

If you're like me, then you recover quickly.
I don't know if it's because I am so used to functioning with lots and lots of pain and nausea, or if my body just likes to recover quickly.
Either way, it means that I end up feeling like 'my normal' usually within the first week....
But I still have to wait the compulsory eight weeks in order to resume certain everyday activities.
This can be super frustrating. And boring. And can make it feel like cabin fever.

I have to remind myself every day that I am still recovering. Partly so that I don't push too hard. Partly so that I don't freak out if I tire far more easily than usual.

By far, this Cholecystectomy was the easiest surgery to go through and recover from. That's not to say that it's easy, but it has been easier than the Total Colectomy, Resection, and the Hysterectomy. Even the sweat glad removal surgery was tougher to recover from than expected.

So I am doing well, a little frustrated, a bit of cabin fever & boredom, with some early nosebleeds and bad nights after eating too much.
Pretty standard.
:)