Saturday, May 9, 2015

Post Surgical Blues Are A Thing

Yes. They hit today. I have some legitimate things contributing to this, but the BoneSmart site talks about this. People get the blues during post-op recovery. I had a little bout with them this afternoon.

Am I a good enough daughter or wife? I miss my Natasha. Death comes at you hard. (A good friend lost his wife yesterday after a brief, intense illness.) Some of these things flit through your mind now and again -- or they do mine. Usually, I can deal with it. It's a good time to briefly assess if I need to make any changes to make sure I'm living my life as best I can. It's usually not grounds for a melt down. Mr. L handled it well. (He has been surprisingly marvelous in ways that matter during all this.)

Doctor visit went well on Friday. The staples came out. I've decided to shift from prescription meds to Tylenol. I still have plenty of Hydrocodone if this turns out to be a bad idea, but I want to drive again, and I can't while I'm taking that. So far, so good. Prior to surgery, I was taking 4 Extra Strength Acetaminophen a day. For now, I'm taking 6. That's the max dose, so I'll want to back off that in a few weeks if not sooner.

I'm mostly walking with a cane. If more walking is likely to be required, I take crutches. Right before the surgery, I was using those electric carts most stores offer as a courtesy. I haven't felt the need so far, but I haven't done much shopping either. I should be discharged from home health therapy either on Monday or Wednesday, and I'm preparing to start outpatient physical therapy, which is likely to be much more intense, so I may need to switch back to stronger meds for a bit. We'll see how that goes.

Rest, ice, and elevation. I'm planning to try sleeping upstairs next week and just using the chair for daytime rest, icing, and elevation. If that doesn't work, Mr. L will set up a cot down here for me until I'm able to spend the night in the bed.

The week ahead:

  • Begin outpatient PT
  • Keep pain managed
  • Get Sneaky in for annual exam and shots and get Tarzan checked out
  • Begin transitioning going upstairs for bed at night

1 comment:

Wendy said...

I can't imagine you melting down, but I'm glad you recognized what it was. I'd never heard of post surgical blues.

Post a Comment