Hello -

I am having surgery July 2nd. I was supposed to have surgery June 5th, but ended up with my first (and hopefully LAST) pneumonia! I am a mom of three girls (ages 11, 9, and 5) and a husband that works offshore. He will be home for my surgery, I have help with the kiddos, I stay one night then go home - then he heads back to work a week and a half later.....

I need input from mom's about pain level and energy level.....what are realistic expectations?

Was it bad when you first woke up and got better every day? Am I going to be too exhausted to cook and take care of my kiddos a week and a half out?

Just trying to plan for help as needed -

Thanks so much!

Shannon

See below in blue.

Hello -

I am having surgery July 2nd. I was supposed to have surgery June 5th, but ended up with my first (and hopefully LAST) pneumonia! I am a mom of three girls (ages 11, 9, and 5) and a husband that works offshore. He will be home for my surgery, I have help with the kiddos, I stay one night then go home - then he heads back to work a week and a half later.....

I need input from mom's about pain level and energy level.....what are realistic expectations?

Was it bad when you first woke up and got better every day? Pain for me got worse as I healed. Immediately after getting out of the hospital I felt fine (ok, no I didn't b/c I was having an allergic reaction, but minus that and I felt fine). The next day I went out shopping for the entire day, and the next day I went out for half the day, and was thinking woohoo, I got this! And then then that pesy left side pain hit, and the residual energy started to wane. I felt geranlly OK for the first week and went downhill after that. Right around the start of week 2 my energy went down the toilet and I seriously could not even take a shower without having to sit down and rest... just lifting my arms to wash my hair or bending down to wash my feet would completely drain me. That lasted for the better part of weeks 2 - 4. It was near the end of week 4 before I started to feel normal, and wasn't quite there until weeks 5 - 6. This absence of energy from 2 - 4 weeks is fairly common... common enough that I expected it to happen. Am I going to be too exhausted to cook and take care of my kiddos a week and a half out? Umm... my magic 8 ball would say "Chances are yes" Take care of - depends on how sedate they are. I only have 1 and could not have kept up with her very well during weeks 2 - 3, AND she's in daycare, so we're only talking mornings & evenings here. No way I could have done a full day.

Just trying to plan for help as needed -

Thanks so much!

Shannon

Everyone is so different with this. I had very little pain - just felt sore like I did a thousand crunches. I was tired, but not to the point that I couldn't take care of my kids. By a week and a half I felt good. I was back to work at 2 weeks. I think you will be fine. Just have the 11 & 9 year old help out with the 5 year old and you should be fine.

Good luck!

I had a lot of shoulder pain, not incision pain. It lasted weeks, and while I would lay down for a while from time to time, it didn't stop me completely.

While I can't weigh in on taking care of the kids as my stepdaughter is older (can your 11 year old help you?), I can say that I was totally NOT interested in cooking for my family. I had made (and frozen) all sorts of food for my liquid stage but what I should have done was cooked and frozen some meals for my family. I didn't expect to lose all interest in even preparing food, but it happened.

I think you are a wise woman for putting so much thought into this ahead of time. I am sure you will do great.

I can honestly say I felt great post surgery. The day of surgery I was exhausted. So sleepy. The second day was much more awake and ready and able to start fluids. Hospital stay was 2 days. The day I came home I felt great. Nobody even could tell I had surgery. But i took it easy. I didn't want to be like oh I feel great lets clean the whole house. No. I took advantage of my week and half off work and rested. But I felt great. Everyone helps differently. Don't take the feeling good too far. U NEED TO REST. Or else it will catch up to you. My opinion. Good luck !!!

*everyone heals

The pain for me was not that bad. I was sore getting in and out of bed to go to the bathroom but I just had someone put an arm out so I could pull myself up. I didn't need my pain meds. I did take them for less than 24 hours in the hospital. Not very often though (morphine pump). I just pushed it a couple times because I was afraid it was going to hurt when I got out of bed. I never took the paid meds that were prescribed.

The worse part was that I was extremely tired! I took naps everyday for a couple of days. I am now 2 weeks out and have felt great, besides wanting to eat. Also, I hated the drainage tube. Once that was out, I was 100% better.

I could have went back to work at a week out if I had needed to. I, fortunately, am getting a full paycheck for a month so I am taking it!

My experience with waking up was hellish. I had the worse nausea of my entire life and it was very intense for the first 48 hours. I literally told my husband that if the nausea didn't subside I wanted to die and thought what the hell have I done?? I was on a scopolamine patch and had phenergan and Zofran administered every 2 hours once I woke up in rotating dosages. You may have the smelliest diarrhea you have ever had and in turn that may add to your nausea. It did mine. I also become lactose intolerant immediately after surgery..so be prepared for screaming diarrhea if you are! BUT ..at the 72 hour marker, the nausea got better and I turned a corner, and I am still lactose intolerant but not to the severe point I was. I went back to work within a week and developed a hematoma, so if you can..ask for help at least 3-4 weeks out from surgery. I have a pretty high pain tolerance, so for me it was bearable until I had the hematoma..that was intense..so I didn't stop hurting until I was 8 weeks out. Now with all that said, everyone's personally journey is different. I hear of people not having a lick of problems after surgery. My journey had a few setbacks. Would I do it again with what I know and have experienced now?? You bet! I was sleeved 4/3 and I am now no longer prediabetic, my cholesterol is normal and my blood pressure is decreasing. My back, ankles, knees and joints have thanked me for my 54# weight loss andy daughter notices that I can do more things with her! Hubby notices too! Good luck on your journey! I'll dust you off a place on the loser's bench!

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate the feedback! My doctor uses 4 incisions and no drain tube. I will stay one night and do the leak test the next day before I go home. I have good support - and am a little bummed I didn't get my original surgery date! I am a teacher and start back to work August 20th - wanted to be at 100% by then!!!

Looking forward to continued support here and sharing my story.....

Thanks again!!

Okay... I will share my experience and I hope it helps you. I was sleeved on a Monday and by that Friday I was feeling ok and even went shopping for a bit. That weekend and following week, I was tired like Wheetsin. I had to rest in my bed from taking a shower and had a hard time even washing my hair, I was so exhausted. I did go back to work Monday, one week after surgery. I took it easy and was tired but okay. The following weeks got better for me. My sister just had her surgery and she did not have this happen. She felt okay from the first week and shopped and busied around the house, etc. She did not get the exhaustion that I got.

Bottom line is... it depends on how demanding your kids are and if you have time to rest in between taking care of them. A crock pot might come in very handy! Your 11 year old might be able to take some of the things for the 5 year old and do them for you. I am sure you can make it and doing it in the summer will be better I am sure. Just my advice.. I think you can handle it.

I felt pretty good post op, except for some pain immediately after waking up from surgery. However, they did properly medicated me and my stay in the hosp was no problem. Can any one tell me if they experienced dizzyness, sensitivity to light around there 3rd week post op.

I had my surgery last Thursday. I had reaction to anesthesia which caused me to throw up 2 times. Dry heaves are awful. I only took pain med the one time after that. If not for that I am not sure I would have even been sore. Now, one of hardest things for you will be not lifting anything over 10 lbs. that is gallon of milk. I will just say the fact I did not have to prepare meals the last few days was a relief. You need to focus on yourself during this week so please get some help if you can. It is a major change for your body. I have been walking everyday and following drs orders. Good luck.

You may be tired to cook meals all day everyday, i was t really to consistently cook until about 3 weeks post op. I would suggest stocking up on things that your kids can help themselves to, cereal, sandwiches. I know it's not the healthiest options, but keep in mind it is only temporary. At a week and a half out you may find yourself able to cook one meal a day, but more than that will be tough.

Ya, I'd get some help with meals for a couple weeks after you're home if I were you. One less thing to worry about. That was a HUGE blessing to me. You're not exactly an invalid, but you do need to take it easy for at least 2 weeks. Don't do laundry or fuss with the house. Get help. Just stoop down and ask for it.

I had a lot of pain from the hernia repair. It was a doozy, and I knew it would be. It had been causing me trouble for a few years, so I was glad to get it fixed. I was on pain meds for 2 solid weeks because of it. That probably actually allowed me to function a little better. I get along really well with Vicodin. No heavy lifting for a while. I think you'll be fine after a week and a half, but you do need to enlist a couple of close friends (or your children!) to help with the day to day enslavements;)

That said....it's true, everyone reacts differently to this surgery, but for the most part, you should be fine by then.

I just thought I would throw in my opinion being I have 3 kids the same age as yours, but my youngest is 7 not 5. I got my surgery April 30th. I was feeling great but very tiered. I had days where I was a little tired then days where I was exhausted. My husband took 2 weeks of work off and thank goodness because I needed it My mommy advice to you is prepare for the worst because more then likely it won't be that bad. Just remember to not put expectations on yourself. Let me give u an example.... I am a neat freak. I am 8 weeks out today. I am just now feeling strong and energized enough to clean my house as good as before my surgery. Before all my energy went to kids and their activities. Now I can keep up with all of it again:) Good luck and we are here for you if you need anything.

I was tired as in needed a nap for the first 3 weeks. Also had back pain on and off. I also felt like I swallowed an ice cube and it was stuck but that went away around week 4-6 ( I don't remember) Just remember when you have energy and feel good don't over do it as you will pay for it the next day.