Another Surgery Update

I had another post planned today, but after having my post op appointment on Thursday, I thought I would update you all. I was going to post this in my Friday Favorites and Happenings post, but my appointment went pretty long. And then I had to pick up new prescriptions.

Anyways, I had my post op with my doctor's PA. He assisted in my surgery, so I felt that it was fine having it with him. He asked me how I was doing after surgery. I told him about the nausea and how long it lasted (way too long), the pain, the bleeding from one incision, the call to their office for further instructions on my wound and nausea, the difficulty sleeping, the muscle spasms in my stomach and the extreme tenderness on the hernia.

Well it turns out that I had three hernias. We never did an ultrasound or scan as it was very apparent that I had a hernia and DR (diastasis recti). When they opened me up, I had a very large hernia (the one we knew about) and two smaller ones. So it went from being a pretty straight forward surgery to more complicated. They sutured all three of them up and then went to work repairing my DR. He said they stitched me from my sternum to almost my c-section scar, but not quite all the way. 

He said the pain at the big hernia is common because they did so much work to it. He said that my muscles are very inflamed which is normal, so they are "bunched up or rolled on top of each other right now". That is causing a lot of the pain and spasms. A spasm is the natural way for the body to combat the inflammation and pain. I also had some adhesions on my muscles.

He looked at my incisions and said they are healing nicely and he could see where the one that was bleeding had rescabbed over. I have no redness, hotness or pain at the incisions. BUT he said my abdomen is very swollen. More swollen than he would like to see.

It means that I need to slow down. I need to rest more. I can't lift things. I should break up my daily walks (that I have been taking since Sunday) either into two shorter walks, go slower on my walk, or rest a lot after my walk. He also told me to ice my abdomen for 10 to 15 minutes on, one hour off, and repeat as much as I can through the day. And if on Sunday (yesterday), if my swelling has gone down a lot, then I can do heat for 5 minutes, ice for 5 minutes, repeat once and then do the same in the evening.

He also told me that since I am fit, the surgery went well and didn't take long, but fit people tend to overdo it, and tear the work the doctor's have done because they are too anxious to get back into the gym or overdoing it. So he made it very clear to me that I need to rest. I can't lift more than 10 lbs for 3 weeks (post surgery) and 15 lbs from week 3 to 6. And I can't do anything other than walking. After 6 weeks, I can do the elliptical, run and bike. And I should watch myself that if it is uncomfortable, stop and try again a few days to a week later. And after 8 weeks, I can lift more than 15 pounds. And even then, I need to watch myself. He will give me some core exercises that I can start after the 8 weeks are up.

Sleep was another question that I asked him. I told him at night, I get the spasms and have a hard time sleeping. I asked how much longer do I need to sleep at a 30 to 45 degree angle? He said until my body feels comfortable. Meaning that I can lay down without pain, I can get myself up without pain and the spasms stop. So he said to go by my body. I can take some pillows away and see how it goes, if it works, great, if not, try again a few days later. Basically it all comes down to my body and how it is healing. Right now, it is slow go and I need to rest.

I go back to see him on the 18th as he didn't feel comfortable waiting a month with how swollen and uncomfortable I was. He gave me new prescriptions for the muscle spasms and the pain and sent me on my way.  

Here is a photo update as of Friday February 5th.

Diastasis Recti and Umbilical Hernia Repair Surgery

Oh gosh, where do I even begin with this surgery update? I gave you all a little update yesterday, but I wanted to talk more in depth on how the recovery for this surgery has been.

But let's back track to the day of surgery. I can't even begin to express how nervous and anxious I was. I didn't sleep much the days leading up to surgery and Monday morning I was up at 4:30 ish, but didn't get out of bed til 7. I just scrolled Instagram and let me nerves ramp up. Ha.

I showered, blow dried my hair and then took some before photos.

You can see the bulge where my hernia was. On this photo, it is to the top right of my belly button and leading down into my belly button.

I took it from the front view also, so you can see how my belly button was bulging out due to the hernia.

My parents took me to the hospital, but only one of them was allowed to come back with me. My dad said everyone always wants their moms and my mom hadn't been there for a surgery yet, so she was to go back with me. My dad saw a friend at the hospital and did some reading while waiting for my mom. 

I am thankful for my mom being there to chat with, talk about my sister's baby shower and to keep my mind off the upcoming surgery. Plus when she met my surgeon, she knew him from her work and seeing his name on paperwork all the time. He is such a kind man. And my anesthesiologist was so funny.

Now this is probably different for each hospital, but I had to wipe down my body with 6 warm towelettes that had a cleaning solution on them. Then I put on my gown and socks. Then I had to brush my teeth with this solution and then use it as a mouth wash. Then I had to put iodine swabs up my nose (twice). Then I got my IV. Oh and I wore my mask the whole time other than the teeth brushing and nose swabbing.

At 11:20ish, I said my goodbyes to my mom and then I was wheeled to the operating room. Once inside, I moved from one bed to the operating table. They took my mask off, got me situated, gave me something to calm me down and I was out.

My surgery lasted 1 hour and 17 minutes according to the notes I received. But I was in there for an hour and a half including prep.

Now this is where it gets sucky. I had a hard time coming out of anesthesia. I warned my doctor about it and they took extra precautions for nausea and sleepiness, but this was one of the worst times for me. Last time, they got my mixture right and it was easy. Not so much this time. I spent an additional 30 minutes in recovery before going to the secondary room. And I spent an additional 30 minutes in there too. We just couldn't get my nausea under control nor the pain. But the one thing that changed and helped was these essential oil pods that were used for nausea. They have lavender, peppermint, ginger, and spearmint in them. I still have some of these and they are amazing.

When I had to transfer from the recovery bed to the recovery chair, I thought I was going to pass out from the pain. I had to wrap my arms around my nurses neck and move. It was awful. And I kept almost throwing up which isn't what you want after abdominal surgery.

After a long while, I was able to start getting dressed with my moms help. Then I was ready to leave. They gave me a pillow to keep pressed against my stomach for the pain and pressure. 

In 2016 when I had this surgery, I didn't experience this much pain and nausea. I think the combination of the extra sutures inside me (I was stitched from my sternum to my c-section scar) and being older, it was tougher.

My parents drove me home and Rory met us at the house. I kept thinking I was going to throw up, but it never came. Thank goodness. Once I got a protein drink in me and took a pain med, I was feeling so much better. 

The rest of the evening was spent trying to eat something, controlling the pain and nausea and sleeping. It was a rough night and I spent most of it watching Friends and Sex and the City.

But each day has gotten better. I had some major nausea for the first 3 days after surgery. But those packets above helped a ton. Plus drinking protein drinks and eating protein bars.

Even though I was allowed to shower the day after surgery, I didn't have the strength to do it. I did that Wednesday. And I have showered every day since then. Here are some photos from Wednesday post shower.

Three small incisions and some major swelling going on.

You can see that they pulled my belly button back in. And those marks on my stomach were from the binder that I started wearing on day 2.

On Friday, I was told to take off the bandages. I did this before taking a shower and the bottom one was bleeding a lot. You can see in the previous photos that the bottom incision had blood on the gauze, but once the bandages were off, I think it took part of the scab with it. I couldn't get the bleeding to stop until after the shower and applying pressure to the wound. I had to put on another gauze and tape combo per the nurse. Yes, I had to call my doctor's office just in case I needed to be seen since it was a Friday and headed into the weekend.

I can't believe I am showing you these photos, but I want others to have a true account of this surgery as I looked for posts like this pre surgery. And yes, my belly is still very swollen and will be for weeks.

So here we are a week and a day out from surgery and this is what it looks like now.

So I wasn't allowed to drive for the first 5 days post surgery. I didn't drive until I was a week out. I can't lift more than 10 lbs (basically a gallon of milk) for 4 weeks. I was told to try to go on small walks until I was 4 weeks post surgery. Then I could start the elliptical and long walks. At 6 weeks, I can start running and the stair stepper, but no weights until at least 8 weeks. Now all this could change and be extended tomorrow when I go to my post-op appointment. 

The area where my hernia was is very tender. I can't even touch it without pain. So I am hoping it is just my nerves reconnecting and healing. But it is something I am asking my doctor about. Oh and sneezing, laughing and coughing are awful. They engage your abs and hurt so much. Rory had me laughing at something funny I said Monday night and I paid for it dearly on Tuesday. I could barely move all day. BUT I did get my short walk in that day.

I plan to do another update maybe a month or so out just to see the progress.

Have you had any major abdominal surgeries?