Feeling kinda useless

[bookjp]

Hardest part of this recovery is trying to follow doctors orders.He said not to lift over ten lbs. That means I can't carry out the garbage,carry in the groceries Hell I'm going to make a turkey tomorrow and I can't even carry up the electric roaster from the basement.I'm not use to having people do things like that for me.My wife has all ready done enough.At the hospital from 8:00am to 9:00pm for ten straight days.Can't get out and walk the last 2 days rain and cold.So I'm stuck in the house walking laps in the living room.See my surgeon in 3 weeks called and tried to get of amiodarone tablets but he wants me to keep taking it so tomorrow i'm cutting the dose in half and take only 100mg.I THINK ALL THESE DRUGS I'M ON ARE MAKING ME LETHARGIC.iT SEEMS THAT All I DO IS GO FOR MY WALK if the weatther o.k.Then sit on thr recliner and watch a movie.Hopfully in three weeks when I see my surgeon I can get off have the mediaction I'm on and he'll lift my weight restriction to 30 lbs. Jim

 

[Lionheart]

Jim,
You sound like me a couple of months ago. I couldn't wait to get back to being able to do stuff. I had to have milk poured out of the 1 gallon jug and into a small jar for me to pour from. What a pain that was. Well, don't worry, you will be back to normal in a few weeks or months and then can join in the hustle and bustle of normal life. Take it easy for now and don't rush it. If you cause damage to something while you are healing it will only set you back even more.
Take care,
John

 

[aussiemember]

Jim,

Just wanted to say that I totally sympathise and understand. I'm 2 and a half weeks out from surgery and I am SO sick of having to get my husband and daughter to do everything. My husband is great but I had to remind him three times today that the bin needed putting out and I hate sounding like a nag!! I also find myself forgetting and going to pick things up or shift things and only usually remembering just in time to stop myself. I agree with you - it's hard to feel useless!!!!

 

[Marguerite53]

Oh, come on. Do you want some cheese with that whine??

This is what recovery is... you need to give yourself time to mentally process that your body has been through an enormous event and really, really, really, really needs to be babied for awhile. Don't make the mistake of being impatient. Everyone understands and WANTS to take care of you. When will this ever happen again??? Take advantage of it!! Catch up on all the movies! Go to ESPN and listen to hours and hours of sports banter. Read some books, read some comics, play some cards. Sleep, sleep, sleep. Walk circles in the house if the weather's bad. Get someone to take you to a mall and walk around (but be sure they stay there with you within cell phone rescue... you won't have much resilience for awhile and don't want to strand yourself)

Be patient. No one said this was all going to be a cake walk. Learn how to accept help. It's good for you! Learn!

Hang in there and keep up the good work of your successful recovery.

Marguerite

 

[TakeStock]

I had the same restrictions with my PICC line in the month of January when I was getting endo treatment. I didn't mind that too much because it gave me an excuse to be lazy. I now have a 5lb limit post-OHS surgery and it's much harder to deal witth the limits because having to rely on someone when you're a little sick is just not the same as when you're very weak and feel helpless. Feeling helpless leads to depression very quickly, so you have a stronger urge to do things even though you can't and shouldn't try. It's tough and it's important that your spouse be careful to not let you question your self-worth by doing things like rolling their eyes when you ask for small favors every 5 mins.

 

[Bridgette]

Jim, you have done well to get this far - and you are NOT whining, what you're feeling is totally natural.
Keep up the good work, pace yourself, and you'll be fine. Good luck!

Bridgette

 

[Ross]

Jim I hope your not cutting the Amio without the Docs knowledge. You could send yourself into afib and then end up on more of it.

 

[palmaceae]

Jim, it will get better, soon you will be able to do more things. I am 3 1/2 weeks post op and I am able to do more things on my own now, just takes time. The main thing is to not over do it, and certainly do not try to lift things, I hurt myself a little yesterday by lifting something I should not have, and today I am pretty sore. Just take it easy and enjoy the pampering, you have been through a lot.
God Bless,

 

[Tbone]

Relax, put a movie on & become a critic. This is just normal stuff you have to do. Juszt give it time, and DO NOT OVERDO IT. We do not want you going backwards.

 

[Woodbutcher]

Putting your feet up and watching movies dosn't sound too bad to me !?
Just hang in there, I know it can be boring at times, and frustrating, but in a while when you get to a point where you can look back, this time will feel like no time at all...

 

[BigOwl]

They restrict us for a reason--so we don't slide back into ill-health just when we've got a chance to get a lot better.

Time to read, write, nap, watch films, start a blog, sit in the back yard and watch birds, learn to knit, write letters, get back in touch, nap some more, let folks do for us because it makes them feel good.

I'm talkin' through my hat here because I myself am a control freak and find it very difficult to let anybody do anything for me. But I've vowed that this time it'll be different, and I'll do all of the above.

Glad to know you're getting impatient, though. That's a good sign.

 

[Bina]

Jim, you are NORMAL.....we all feel somewhat useless directly after surgery.
My hubby would come into my room only to find me crying. And I am NOT the crying type.
All I could tell him was that I was fed up "being a useless piece of sh-t"....that was the postop depression talking.
Hang in there, Jim, the first several weeks are really a drag and we do get better.

 

[WayneGM]

I thought the recovery was worse than the surgery itself....I'm generally the impatient type so I hard to learn to have a lot of patience. Unfortunately, recovery takes time and there's little you can do about it. Rush it, and it tends to set you back not take you forward. As I look back, I wish I had taken the time to take advantage of the down time better....watch those movies I hadn't gotten around to, catch-up on my reading, experiment with my camera, or build that Harley model somebody gave me for Christmas years ago that is still in the box on the shelf.

 

[lilteach3234]

Jim,

I have been feeling the same way. I am 4 weeks post op and it seems like I gotten worse than better (my mental attitude anyway). I told my husband yesterday that I am ready to hang it up. My home has gone to the animals and I don't care. We went to the doc yesterday and hubby had to beg me to get out and go in and have a sandwich at a little deli. I just wanted to get it to go and go home.

I visited the cardio rehab center and just seeing all the machines made me want to cry. I can't even imagine stepping up on to the treadmill.

Is it normal to go through these phases?

Maybe we just go through these phases. I am finding that if I get this way, I just get on here and talk to others who have been there. Sometimes it is hard for family to understand and we don't want to burden them anymore.

We will get throught this Jim.....let's just all count on one another. God has given us all second chances, so we need to do what we can to make ourselves better!

 

[ALCapshaw2]

The 10 lb limit is NO FUN,

BUT,

neither is spending the Rest of your Life

with a MISALIGNED STERNUM

or Worse Yet, a Sternum that Did NOT Heal together.

Picture that everytime you want to 'cheat a little'
so you feel a little more 'productive'.

It takes 6 WEEKS for your Sternum to heal to 80%
and a full 12 WEEKS for it to be 100%.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[KAJ]

Jim,

Patience is a big virtue especially after OHS. You will be glad for it later. Like most men and many women, we pride are ourselves on being independent. My surgery was performed out of state. I had to swallow my pride when I had to be wheel chaired through airport security and up to the plane to go home.
Your body has been through much trauma and deserves a good rest.

Don't overdo it when you feel yourself improving.

Like my wife, your wife sounds like a real jewel. You can spoil her rotten after you recover .


Karl

 

[bookjp]

Thanks for all the words of encouragement.It's just really weird ever since the second day after surgery there has been no pain to speak of only when I cough.I quit the pain medication the thrid day after surgery and started sleeping on my stomach the thrid week after surgery.I really feel if I can get off most of the medications I'm on I would feel 100% better.Oh well the Masters is coming on this weekend witch will give me something to watch all weekend.I have my putter out practicing on the carpet.Might help my putting this golf season.Thanks again!!!!!

 

[Ross]

Thanks for all the words of encouragement.It's just really weird ever since the second day after surgery there has been no pain to speak of only when I cough.I quit the pain medication the thrid day after surgery and started sleeping on my stomach the thrid week after surgery.I really feel if I can get off most of the medications I'm on I would feel 100% better.Oh well the Masters is coming on this weekend witch will give me something to watch all weekend.I have my putter out practicing on the carpet.Might help my putting this golf season.Thanks again!!!!!

Just don't rush it. Your body could revolt on you in a major way. That's one thing that is funny about recovery. Some days you feel like superman and then maybe even try to be superman, then next, your spending 4 days recovering from being stupid. It's up and down like a teeter totter for a good while.

 

[abbanabba]

Just don't rush it. Your body could revolt on you in a major way. That's one thing that is funny about recovery. Some days you feel like superman and then maybe even try to be superman, then next, your spending 4 days recovering from being stupid. It's up and down like a teeter totter for a good while.

Absolutely correct! I too was immensely frustrated by the weight limitation and as I started feeling better and "testing the waters" I would certainly feel it the next day. I tried to be sensible and not do too much, but I was still eager to do something and very quickly learnt those limitations are there for a reason

It seems to take forever when you're in the moment and dying to get back to normal, but after about 6 -8 weeks, things get so much easier and all of a sudden that time seems to have gone nowhere.

Hang in there... you'll be back to taking out the garbage before you know it (and wondering why you were so keen to do so! ).


A : )

 

[Glenda]

Jim I had to laugh, especially about the turkey roaster. I remember the first time I got a gallon of milk out of the refrigerator! It was even hard for me to open the refrigerator door! Then another thing to load the washing machine. And then there was driving, my goodness I couldn't even turn around to look behind me. What a mess I was. It wasn't long though until I was back on our big tractor brush hogging our field. I felt I had finally graudated. By the way I love to brush hog. I know I'm weird! ! The only thing I had to be really careful turning the corners. I had to turn them really wide. The old tractor didn't have power stering like our new John Deere does. Hang in there, it does get better I promise.