I’m 10 days post-op with Dr. Garramone and here are some things I’ve thought about while recovering. This all comes from my experience, so it’ll always vary from person to person. I hope this helps someone. There will always be more to add to this, but here’s what I can think of right now:
Remember to relax your shoulders - Garramone wraps you up pretty securely and you’ll be a little hunched over. This makes you want to pull your shoulders up without realizing it, but it’s important to relax them.
Bendy Straws - I didn’t see these as necessary at first, but then I started getting my drinks more than halfway down and I’d realized I couldn’t fully lift the cup/bottle to finish anything. Straws will help so much.
If you drop things, don’t worry - I went down on my knees a lot to get what I needed. Just drop down on one or both knees and don’t use your arms. You’re going to be using your whole body to do simple activities.
Rest when you need to - I didn’t take naps, but I slept pretty solid through the night. Sometimes I’d get sleepy during the day and I’d lay down but not sleep. Remember that your body just went through major trauma and it’ll let you know when it needs sleep. Don’t worry about being “too lazy”, just do what you need to do.
You don’t have to take your Vicodin/Percocet - You can, but it isn’t an absolutely necessity for everyone. Some don’t need the meds, others go for refills (Garramone gives you 40 of whatever med). Just remember you MUST take your antibiotic.
Do what you can to feel clean - Not being able to shower really sucks and if you’re like me you’ll stop feeling like a person after days of lying around and getting gross. Wash what you can with washcloths, brush your teeth, clean your face and hands, put on deodorant/body spray, do whatever you need/want to feel your best.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help - I’m a stubborn person and had to remind myself that asking for help is okay. I got stuck in chairs, couldn’t reach things, got stuck in clothes… all because I wouldn’t ask for help. In the end you’ll be better off politely asking for assistance and recognizing that there are things you just can’t do yet.
Practice not using your arms before surgery - This helped me immensely. Practice going around your house and doing daily activities with the limited range of motion you’ll have post-op (basically lock your elbows to your sides). This will make you aware of how to alter your house to best suit you and it’ll also give you practice of how to, for instance, get off of your couch. I didn’t realize how hard doing that would be, since I was so used to using my arms to push-off. You’ll appreciate this work later on.
If you can, don’t eat a lot of junk food - This is both for health reasons and also because you’re already feeling down because of this intensive surgery, you don’t want to add aggravating foods to the mix. Leland explained to us that we should aim for a low sodium diet about a week before and then after surgery, since sodium will encourage your body to retain the swelling you’ll have.
It’s okay to not be ecstatic - Recognize that not everyone is extremely happy and excited after surgery. It seems like everyone talks about how ecstatic they are post-op, but for me I just felt this small warmth of happiness and relief. It wasn’t fireworks and that’s okay, my reaction was what I needed. Some people become depressed afterwards, which is alright too.
If you can, get Netflix or something similar - You’re going to be doing a lot of resting over the next few days. My travel companion and I didn’t have Netflix so we watched a lot of shows that happened to be on and weren’t really entertaining. I wasn’t up for really intense story lines, so having to watch Cheer Perfection or Jersey Shore ended up good for me because I could kind of zone out and laugh at how silly it was.
Aches and pains - My neck became very sore from having to be hunched up, so sometimes I’d put a warm wash cloths around it for a little while. This can help out.
Take short walks - Even walking in your hotel room/bedroom for a little while can help out in your healing. It helps get your circulation going and reduces swelling, plus it can work out a lot of the stiffness that’ll follow. Some peoples arms and legs swell up post-op and I hear walking can help dissipate this. When I wanted to stay in bed I’d periodically flex my arms and legs to help me feel like I was at least doing something. No idea if that helps, but it made me feel better. Walking also helped me manage the pain I had. Once or twice I’d woken up at 5 in the morning, unable to sleep because I was hurting too much. So instead I went outside a walked a few laps around the pool that was there. The first minute would be pretty intense and painful but very quickly after that it would make all of the pain go away. It really did help.
Change your clothes - I’ve been stuck in the same pair of shorts for nearly two weeks now because I have to have compression on my legs. Add that to being wrapped up in post-operative binders and I wasn’t happy. I could change my shirt and that was about it, so I did just that because it made me feel better.
Go to the bathroom, even if you don’t feel like you need to - Because once you’re settled in you won’t want to get back up. This is especially if you’re about to lay down for bed, because waking up at 3 AM with a full bladder and having it take you 10 minutes to get out of bed, shuffle to the bathroom, and slowly figure out how to Houdini out of the tightest shorts you’ve ever seen when you can’t move your arms is not fun.
titsay
blakekathryn
jbbartram-illu
areudirty
annaxmalina
kianamaiart
snowghoul
izzy806
baratheonpilled
