Today was the one-week mark for me since surgery. Have had a couple slight "relapses" the last couple days (probably just from trying to do too much, and not liking the metal taste one of the meds is giving me), but overall still doing amazingly good, considering I was on the table just a week ago. Thought I'd attach a pic of my scar (hope noone gets offended or grossed out). The pic is from today (exactly a week after surgery). I found it helpful/comforting as I was in the waiting stages to get an understanding of what to expect as far as the scar from others, so thought I'd share too.
As far as an update, again, I'm just amazed how smooth it's been. I may not be the norm, so certainly don't want anyone to get disappointed if they don't do quite as well. But I remember being comforted to hear all the success stories in here, so I think it's worth sharing. Hoping it will give hope to those in waiting that at least the best-case scenario is pretty darn good. And from what I hear, most are more towards the best case scenario end.
Anyway, here's my story. My hospital had wireless, so as soon as I felt up to it (about 20 hrs after surgery) I was on the laptop communicating with the outside world. I didn't expect to be on the laptop until about day 4 or 5 - so that part was way ahead of schedule compared to what I expected. I already posted the details of the first 36 hrs, including the worst part for me (breathing tube). But as soon as that tube was out (and really, even before) I was just amazed how little pain there really was involved (considering the magnitude of the procedure) and how good I felt overall.
The worst part for me the last few days in the hospital was all the needle-related stuff (I hate needles). The heperin shots every 8 hrs or so weren't fun. And I wasn't a big fan of the daily blood draws or the meds they'd put in the IVs daily. But most will be fine with all that stuff - I'm just a baby with needles. And really, it wasn't THAT bad I guess - it was more mental than anything. The breathing early on was tougher than I expected. They'd have me use an incentive spirometer (something you breath into - actually, you suck your breath in as deep as you can - to test your lung capacity) several times a day, and for the first couple days, I couldn't get it above 1000, so was getting discouraged, and started getting concerned I was getting fluid in my lungs. But by day 3 it started going up, and it still is (now up to 3000) and my lungs feel really good now.
The walking was pretty easy from the beginning (except while I had the bladder catheter in - my second-least-favorite part of the whole deal). The rehab folks had me on stairs, a treadmill and a bike all in the first few days. I'd get very winded the first few walks (had to stop halfway down the hall) but pretty soon, I was making laps around the floor pretty easily (going slow of course). The chest pain hasn't been bad at all from the beginning (I suppose the pain-killers have a lot to do with that, although I'm almost totally off them now and still not much pain).
So overall, unless you're afraid of needles like I am, there's really just not much to be afraid of, except that damn breathing tube
. Actually, that wasn't THAT bad either, just uncomfortable. But if you can relax and trust that you can get enough air through it, you'll be fine. I was afraid of when they pulled it out - thought it might hurt - but it didn't hurt much at all. Ok, that's about it, let me know if you have questions - be glad to share anything, while it's fresh in my mind.
As far as an update, again, I'm just amazed how smooth it's been. I may not be the norm, so certainly don't want anyone to get disappointed if they don't do quite as well. But I remember being comforted to hear all the success stories in here, so I think it's worth sharing. Hoping it will give hope to those in waiting that at least the best-case scenario is pretty darn good. And from what I hear, most are more towards the best case scenario end.
Anyway, here's my story. My hospital had wireless, so as soon as I felt up to it (about 20 hrs after surgery) I was on the laptop communicating with the outside world. I didn't expect to be on the laptop until about day 4 or 5 - so that part was way ahead of schedule compared to what I expected. I already posted the details of the first 36 hrs, including the worst part for me (breathing tube). But as soon as that tube was out (and really, even before) I was just amazed how little pain there really was involved (considering the magnitude of the procedure) and how good I felt overall.
The worst part for me the last few days in the hospital was all the needle-related stuff (I hate needles). The heperin shots every 8 hrs or so weren't fun. And I wasn't a big fan of the daily blood draws or the meds they'd put in the IVs daily. But most will be fine with all that stuff - I'm just a baby with needles. And really, it wasn't THAT bad I guess - it was more mental than anything. The breathing early on was tougher than I expected. They'd have me use an incentive spirometer (something you breath into - actually, you suck your breath in as deep as you can - to test your lung capacity) several times a day, and for the first couple days, I couldn't get it above 1000, so was getting discouraged, and started getting concerned I was getting fluid in my lungs. But by day 3 it started going up, and it still is (now up to 3000) and my lungs feel really good now.
The walking was pretty easy from the beginning (except while I had the bladder catheter in - my second-least-favorite part of the whole deal). The rehab folks had me on stairs, a treadmill and a bike all in the first few days. I'd get very winded the first few walks (had to stop halfway down the hall) but pretty soon, I was making laps around the floor pretty easily (going slow of course). The chest pain hasn't been bad at all from the beginning (I suppose the pain-killers have a lot to do with that, although I'm almost totally off them now and still not much pain).
So overall, unless you're afraid of needles like I am, there's really just not much to be afraid of, except that damn breathing tube
. Actually, that wasn't THAT bad either, just uncomfortable. But if you can relax and trust that you can get enough air through it, you'll be fine. I was afraid of when they pulled it out - thought it might hurt - but it didn't hurt much at all. Ok, that's about it, let me know if you have questions - be glad to share anything, while it's fresh in my mind.
