It was a week yesterday since I had the tummy tuck. I must say, it has been quite an ordeal. I knew it would not be the most comfortable thing in the world, but I never expected that much pain. The first day I was still in a bit of an anastesia haze. It hurt, but I was still pretty out of it so I was able to sleep most of that day. Percocet every 4 hours helped with that.
The second day I really felt the pain. I couldn't get up or down on my own, I couldn't cough or laugh without agony. It was honestly the most painful thing that I have ever experienced. Yes, I had two sets of twins but that came with an epidural each time. No epidural with a tummy tuck. It was strange having drains come out of me. I pretty much avoided having the kids see me at all. I came out of the room when they napped and went back to bed when they were awake. I had to sleep sitting up with pneumatic compression stockings on my legs to prevent blood clots. James also had to give me shots of Lovenox, a blood thinner. As an engineer he really does well giving shots. Maybe he should consider a profession change.
It was day 4 before I even attempted to shower. I took of the abdominal binder and felt like I was going to rip open. I didn't think to bring my phone in the bathroom with me so I attempted to call for help. Yelling, that is anther thing that you don't realize requires abdominal muscles to get much volume on. I finally got James' attention and he helped me back into my binder.
On day 6, still no shower, I went in for my post-op exam and had the drains out. Quite possibly the strangest feeling ever. These plastic tubes that are about 6-8 inches long are snaked up into your abdomen to drain excess fluid. They are yanked out through a hole in your skin. Seriously, they just pull them out in the office. I could feel the tubes drag out from underneath my skin. It felt like worms wriggling around inside me. Not something I want to have to do again, but not painful.
Day 7, I went on a short walk around the neighborhood looking like the hunchback of Notre Dame because I still can't fully stand up. I also finally got a shower! Still couldn't shave but a step in the right direction.
Finally, day 8, I did a 20 minute walk around the neighborhood a little more upright than yesterday. I go back to work on Tuesday for a half day. At first I didn't think I would be ready, but I seem to be getting better much quicker now. Who knows, maybe today I will shave...maybe.
So, that is the story so far. I still can't cough or laugh without pain. It's a huge production for me to get up off the couch or out of bed (especially out of bed). I still can't lift the little babies for another week and won't be able to lift the big boys for 6-8 weeks, so we still have a long way to go. It has been tough. So far I don't regret doing it and if I had it to do over knowing what I know now I would still do it. Now whether or not James would go through this again is a different story :)
No comments:
Post a Comment