Tori0115

Debbie, thank you for the validation. I'm also off work for 6 weeks and I'm so glad too. It's good to know that you felt the exhaustion too. It makes sense with the "hibernation syndrome". I was so cold forever and just plain exhausted. No other word to describe it. But, honestly, over the last few days, I feel like I've turned the corner. I have more energy, I'm not nearly as cold and I feel like I'm living some again. I'm on the upswing!!! Jackie, the weight gain is very normal. I gained in the first week too. They flood you with IV fluids in the hospital and then your body goes in to a sort of shock and holds on to everything it has as a survival mode type thing. Then when you body realizes things are ok, it starts to let it go. As far as getting your fluids in, I took a water bottle to bed with me. I woke up already a lot because I was uncomfortable, so when I woke up, I would take a sip of water. It really helped get my fluids in. I constantly have some sort of beverage at my side. I'm even able to wait the time before and after meals to drink. Remember that your shakes count for fluid too. I will tell you that I use the app MyFitnessPal that keeps track of all my fluids, proteins, and everything. It has been such a helpful tool for me. Let me know if you need ANYTHING and I'd be happy to help! Stay strong, you made a very hard decision and you're through the hardest part. You can do this!!!!

Hi, I'm Tori a single mother of 3 children under the age of 10. My surgery date was March 11 2013 and everything went pretty smooth. I'm three weeks out of my surgery and I still have some pain on my left side where he said most of the manipulation was. I'm also dead tired. I pretty much feel like I can't get anything done and a 30 minute walk can literally floor me. I'm not sure why I'm so tired and why the pain is still there, but the doctor's office says that it's normal and I just need to give myself time to heal. My concern is that I won't be able to go back to work in 2.5 weeks when I'm supposed to if this is how I'm feeling now. Does anyone have any suggestions or support or similar stories that end well? Also, I'm getting in the required amount of protein every day and I get all of my fluids in too. Thanks for reading...Tori