Recovery

Not gonna lie...recovering has been a bit rough. Easy compared to some I am sure, but considering this is my first real surgery, its taken its toll on me.

Pain has not been a big issue around the surgical site. Pain in my right shoulder has been abysmal! Sunday I woke up thinking I slept on my arm funny then was reminded that shoulder pain is to be expected from being pumped full of CO2 for surgery. By Sunday night I was in tears and Peter had to run to the store to get me a heating pad. It was horrific! I was taking pain meds solely for the purpose of helping my shoulder. Monday I called the doctor and asked if there was anything I could do and they told me time. The CO2 has to be reabsorbed back into your body, through muscle mass (of which I am lacking). So they said it could take a few days. Well here it is 5 days later and though I can move my arm, it is not without help from the left arm. From the elbow up my arm is practically dead. I can move with some pain but only if I push it around with the other arm. Otherwise is just sits there. Almost like it lost the connection, very strange.

Now that a week has passed and I have gotten my uvula to shrink (well I didn't but mother nature decided to give me a break) I am able to cough without fear of throwing up. Only now I cough incessantly! Quite annoying I tell you. I will pop up from full sleep to a major coughing fit that lasts for 15 minutes or more. These fits are happening at least 6-7 times a day. They never result in anything coming up (mucus or food lol) but leave me totally winded and exhausted. And the coughing is killing my arm as well. I am a mess! On top of that for the first time in my life I CAN NOT sleep in my regular sleeping position. Usually I have 2 pillows and it elevates me enough. Now I have a big pillow from the sofa propping me up so I am elevated from the lower back up. Its comfortable for a bit, like a recliner, but after 8 days I just want to sleep on my side again!

Other than those issues I seem to be healing well. I am exhausted, and frustrated that I can't do much thanks to my arm. Though even with the arm working, there really isn't much I can do. Laundry is too much stretching, food shopping is heavy, I can't drive yet because of still being on pain pills, cooking is fine but I need to be creative with what we have because I can't get to the store. Luckily we are going shopping this weekend and I can stock up for the next couple of weeks.

I see the surgeon the end of next week and she will let me know if they found anything funky in my discarded organs. I wonder when the reality of what I did will sink in? It hasn't hit me that I TRULY CAN NEVER have babies of my own, EVER. Even after I was asked how far along I was (yes someone thought I was pregnant thanks to a slight bloat and asked me how far along I was in my pregnancy), it didn't really phase me much. Maybe in a few months, once my body realizes it can't produce children anymore...