It's Been A Week

You can take that a couple of ways.  It’s been a week since surgery….or….Man, it’s been a week!  It’s really more the former, I’m pleased to say.  Is it a slow recovery?  For the most part.  Has there been some discomfort?  Yes, some.

I’ve been able to move better each day.  I’m now able to get around without a crutch.  All my steps must be slow and deliberate.  Something that’s typically second nature now must be focused on.  That’s to be expected.  Now’s not the time to be careless.

My sore throat from the tube during surgery has finally subsided about a week afterwards.  I mentioned in a previous post my leg felt like it was shot with Novocaine.  Now it’s changed to a combination of burning and pins and needles.  Fun!  I’m surprised at how tired I’ve been.  However, surgery is an invasive procedure and it’s not something you can bounce back from overnight. 

One observation is around anesthesia and medication.  You must be properly sedated for the procedure, of course.  But there’s also antibiotics, pain medications, anti-inflammatories and more, in some cases.

I’ve found anesthesia stays in my system for a good 2-3 days after surgery.  This doesn’t come without side effects.  The same goes for narcotics.  Everyone’s threshold for pain differs.  However, I hate how washed out narcotics make me feel so, I try to stop using them as soon as possible, within reason.  I stopped the narcotics two days after surgery.  The anti-inflammatory has gone from once per day to “as needed”. 

An early side effect from the meds is everything slows down.  The anesthesia will require, a certain type of patience, or “pee-tience” let’s say.  For the first few days you could be standing (or sitting) for minutes before you go and then stop and then go and then stop.  This improves gradually.  There’s also an incentive to stop the narcotic sooner rather than later.  Did I mention everything slows down?  You may have to wait a few days there.  Your results may vary.

I’m now at the point where I’m tired of sitting still.  I’ve started some very basic workouts; pushups, seated light weight dumbbell shoulder press, dumbbell high pulls and some other strict upper body movements.  I’m being very careful but it’s something to make me feel like I’m doing more than nothing. 
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Stitches come out late next week.  Hoping to start physical therapy from there.