Two Decades Later
Just so y’all know…I didn’t have the strength to start writing any of this until Jan 8, 2026…two days post-op Prepping before surgery I did a ton of research and wanted to make sure I had everything I thought I may need post-surgery. I will list all of the things I did to prep. All of these things I list are what I felt would help me personally…your journey may be different. I decided to rent a lift chair as the thought of getting in and out of a bed terrified me. I have an extremely low pain tolerance and knew that I would want to limit the amount of bending forward (even with a caregiver). The chair I rented was the type that raises all the way forward to an almost standing position. It has two separate motors so that you are able to sit with your back forward and your feet up at the same time. The chair they had with the single motor only allowed for the back part of the chair to lay flat if your legs are elevated. The rental cost for the two-motor chair was $595 for 30 days. The rental was $400 and delivery/pickup $75 each plus taxes. Yes, I know this may be an unnecessary costs for some, but for me it was a non-negotiable. It is a cost I paid out of pocket. I also had to pay $293 for pre surgery lab work and $154 for eight prescriptions. I had the chair delivered the day before my surgery and set it up in my living room. I also took my two end tables and placed them next to my chair so that I can have things easily accessible. On one side table is my surge protector. It has my phone charger, ipad charger, and has several other available outlets in case I need to plug in anything else like my laptop. The table also has space for me to set other things on it when I’m not using them. The side table to my right has my water cup and Gatorade. Has plenty of room for other things as well. I did put together a basket before surgery that has my ipad, puzzle books, kindle, another book I want to read, adult body wipes. These were moved out of reach up til now since I havn’t been able to do much but sleep. More things I bought was a walker. I know some surgeons don’t like these but the walk from my car to my front door is long. The day of surgery was a blur and I don’t remember much. I do remember being extremely nauseous, weak and in pain and there is no way I would have made it to my front door without that walker. I have not used it since the first day. I also purchased a raised toilet seat. I do currently have a catheter in but it has to come out tomorrow before my first post op appt with Dr. Strock. I put all of my Rx in a box and put the medication schedule on the fridge so that my caregiver could easily see everything. I have all my post op appts written down in one location as well. I also bought something called Vapor Soothers. Strong medicines normally make me nauseous so I bought these with hope that the peppermint scent would help with that. They seem to have worked, especially that first day. They are just little plastic clips that you place on your nose. Other things I have for my comfort is a pillow to hold in front of my abdomen; I am just using a decorative lumbar pillow I had on my sofa. I also have a shower wand for showerheads and a wooden shower stool. These are items I already had on hand and I know they will be helpful when it is time for me to shower. I also am using my travel neck pillow and eye mask for sleeping. I snap the neck pillow behind my neck so that it supports my head when I am sleeping. I use my Bluetooth speaker to play thunderstorms sounds to help me sleep during these uncomfortable times. I am also taking double doses of aloe vera juice which is supposed to lubricate your bowels. I am definitely worried about having to strain due to this medicine. Beyond these things I had to stop taking all my vitamins 2 weeks beforehand and had to take five showers with Hibiclens starting the Sunday before my Tuesday surgery. I made sure to follow all instructions the Dr’s office gave as I did not want to be the reason I had any adverse reactions to anything. I don’t drink or smoke, so I didn’t have to worry about those things. I think another important thing is to make sure your caregiver can physically help you get up and down, is patient, and kind. The first couple of days they will be doing everything for you including making your food, getting drinks, meds, helping you walk, prepping your toothbrush so you can brush your teeth, emptying your catheter (if applicable), emptying and charting your drains, wiping your body down, pulling up your socks, helping you change and so much more. There will be things they do that you didn’t even realize you would need help with. Like reaching under the cabinet to grab your hairbrush, etc. because you can’t bend over. They need to be able to monitor and distribute your medications appropriately either by having a great memory or by writing down everything you take and when. I am grateful that my husband is an ER Nurse and has the patience of a Saint. I listen to everything he says without any pushback because he has more knowledge of dealing with patients and medications than I do. Tue, Jan 6, 2026 Surgery day I arrived at the Surgery Center at 10:45. I was nervous of course but ready as this has been a long time coming. The registrar (Maritza) had me come back and sign some papers. She was very nice and answered all my questions. I returned to the lobby and after a few minutes a nurse, Ms. Marcia, came to take me back to the pre-op area. I answered a few questions at a podium like stand and then she had me go to the bathroom to empty my bladder. She asked me a few more questions then had me change into a gown and put my clothes in the standard plastic hospital bag. I was then taken to the hospital bed where I would be until my surgery. She placed two warm blankets on me then placed my IV. She asked me where they usually place the IV and did it in that spot (which I am grateful for). Once my IV was placed she gave me some medicine Dr. Strock wanted me to have before surgery. One of them had me feeling kind of out of it…believe it was the gabapentin. They then went to get my husband, and he sat with me until it was my time. The nurse checked on me periodically and informed me that Dr. Strock was running behind as one of his surgeries was delayed. Not a big deal because at that point I had no concept of time as the medicine had me fighting sleepiness. The anesthesiologist (Lane) came to ask me the standard pre-op questions they ask, then a nurse name R.J. came and asked me the same questions. Again, no big deal because you can never be too thorough before surgery. Dr. Strock came in next to talk to us and mark up the surgery area (I forgot to take pics because I was struggling to stay awake at this point). He had a student with him which I didn’t mind as the young man seemed respectable. Dr. Strock sat down in the chair and talked to us about many things and answered all of our questions with no sense of hurry. This is one of the reasons I chose him. The first encounter with him seemed so genuine and he did not seem like he was in a rush. Very patient and listened to everything I had to say. He was also very upfront with risks and so forth which I also appreciated. The anesthesiologist came back in and said he was going to give me something to make me calm and that is all I remember. I did not leave the pre-op area awake. Whatever he gave me knocked me out. Next thing I know I was waking up in that same spot in pain. I remember a burning sensation like nothing I’ve ever felt before. The post op nurses Mileka and Harrision gave me some meds. I also remember asking about my catheter. It was supposed to stay in after surgery, but I guess the surgical team didn’t know and took it out. So the nurses put one in before I left the surgery center. I don’t remember feeling it because I was still out of it from the anesthesia and the meds they gave me after I woke up. (If your Dr. doesn’t mention a catheter, I would ask for one). I could not imagine going to the bathroom over and over these first three days. I have to say the hardest part of all of this up to now has been getting out of that hospital bed to the wheelchair. I wanted to scream, cry, punch kick and just flat our refuse but I internally sucked it up and did it. With the help of my husband and nurse Harrison they managed to get me in the chair and into the car with only one tear rolling down my cheek. We left the facility at 6:30 pm. I remember my husband having to make me eat something when we got home so that I could get the antibiotics and pain meds in my system. I had no appetite at all that first day. I’m pretty sure I slept for the rest of the day. Keep the grippy socks the hospital sends you home with. They make you feel more secure when you are taking those baby steps back and forth during your daily walks. Wed, Jan 7, 2026 Post Op Day 1 This day I had to start walking at least three times a day. That first walk after you wake up in the morning is the hardest. I highly recommend taking the first walk 30 minutes after you take your pain meds. After I did my morning walk, I had breakfast then slept. That was pretty much my whole day. Appetite wasn’t there but I ate because I didn’t want the antibiotics to be on an empty stomach. Thu, Jan 8, 2026 Post Op Day 2 Much of the same as yesterday, except I have an appetite now. I also get these instances where it feels hard to breathe, but it is because of the taping on the abdomen and it being so tight. Once I get up and walk my breathing feels better. Today I had enough energy to start documenting this journey. I will continue my walks and meds and sleep as my body is still super tired. You are supposed to walk further everyday, which my hubby makes sure I do, but it is definitely tiring. Oh, and you are also supposed to flex your feet up and down to promote circulation which helps prevent blood clots. I would say to definitely take it easy on your mind and know that it is ok to do nothing while your body heals. Tomorrow I will update after my first post op appt with Dr. Strock. Fri, Jan 9, 2026 Post Op Day 3 This morning was hard. The last pain meds I took was at 1 am. My husband got up and moving around 7:45 am. I was in a lot of pain this morning…emphasis on a lot! It is my own fault for not taking the pain meds my husband left next to my chair and for not waking him up to ask for other medicine…so take your pain meds regularly. I ate breakfast around 8 am and took all my meds about 20 minutes after that. I wanted to wait until the meds were working before I got up because that first movement in the morning is the hardest and most painful for me. Before I finish talking about me getting ready, I would like to say that you will be yawning and stretching different as well. No more of that extra wide morning yawn with your high reaching to the sky to stretch out those arms. You will need to yawn in short shallow breaths because breathing deep right now hurts. Your stretches will also need to be minimized to a controlled stretch or else it will hurt your abdomen. Ok back to me getting ready. After my husband got my hair things out of the cabinet for I was able to get my hair into some type of order. I have curly hair that can be unruly so I have to spray it to get it wet, then apply gel or mousse then brush into however I am wearing it that day. Today I chose a simple ponytail because I was tired y’all. Let me just say that this took 4 times a long as it normally does. Your body will be tired so give yourself some grace. If you have somewhere to go during this period (i.e. dr. appt) start getting ready an hour earlier than what you think you should. This is coming from someone that was in the military that can literally wake up and be dressed and out of the house in 10 minutes. I tested out the raised toilet seat. Since it has handles on it, I was able to lower myself on it without any extra assistance and did not have to use any core muscles so that made me feel better. My catheter will be coming out here in a few minutes and I have to say that I am not looking forward to actually getting up every time I have to pee. Ughhhhhh! I am also not looking forward to my first bm…hopefully the aloe vera juice works like it should and things will go smoothly. Just got back from my first post-op appt. I did use the walker to get from my apartment to the car. Not because I needed it to walk but I had to stop and rest several times. Your body will be tired. Kelly removed the tape and Dr. Strock looked over my incision. They said everything looked good. Kelly put on the binder over my tank top and gave us some tips on tightening it when it started to loosen throughout the day. They said I was walking good and that I can try to stand up more when I feel good about it and to not worry about the incision. I figure my body will tell me when it is time. Until then I will keep a heating pad on my lower back when sitting because walking while bent over has caused some deep soreness in my lower back area. I will spend the rest of the day resting and relaxing. Y’all tired of hearing from me yet? I hope not. Well…I forgot I still had to get up and walk one more time. The good thing is that I was able to get up with the assistance of my lift chair and my walker. I know this is only because I have already been moving around quite bit today. I know I will still need help in the middle of the night and especially first thing in the morning. Never thought I’d miss a catheter lmbo. Sat, Jan 10, 2026 4 Days Post Op It is currently 5:27 am but let me back up to my last night fiasco. So y’all know that the tape was removed and the binder was put on. It is placed over a tank top. Well, when I was home I could feel the tank top sticking to my incision. It hurt because every time the shirt moved in that area it pulled at the incision area. I was already uncomfortable because it was so tight. I asked my ER Nurse husband (he’s so smart lol) the reason it had to be so tight and once he explained it was because it is literally holding the incisions together so they can heal properly I was ok with it. What I wanted to do though, was place some gauze on the incision area underneath my tank top. So we decided to do just that. He got the gauze and undid my binder. When I say I immediately started looking at the floor because it felt like my incision had burst open and my guts had spilled out, when in reality my face was metaphorically on the floor in shock. I’m telling y’all this to say…keep the binder on! I could not wait to get that thing back on. I do recommend gauze between your incision and the shirt but I highly recommend getting this done in office so you don’t have to take the binder off until your next appt. Just trust me on this. Dr. Strock mentioned that I could remove the binder Sunday to take a quick shower….I will not! I know Kelly will be removing the binder on Monday during my 2nd post op appt and I do not think I can handle that feeling two days in a row. Now back to the present….well I woke up at 2:33 am to go to the bathroom. Let me just say this is an extremely humbling experience to have to wake someone else up out of their sleep to help you stand up. I can walk (mostly) on my own and lower myself down but the standing up part is still difficult. Also, when you stand gravity hits you. Your incision area feels heavy and starts to burn from the weight of your body mixed with gravity. So I did all that and took pain meds because the nighttime pain is different from the day time pain and let me tell you it hurts! I was able to sleep another two hours, which has been my standard since having the surgery. So here I am at 5;53am with another dose of pain meds in me but still can’t sleep. I’ve said it before and I will say it again. Take those pain meds….especially at night. For me, the pain seems to awaken fully when it gets dark. Like a gremlin after midnight when you give it water…just multiplying all over the place haha. Thank your caregiver a lot too. Let them know that you appreciate them. Even if they say you don’t have to thank them everytime do it anyway. I know I would not be able to take care of myself fully at this point and I know getting awaken in the middle of the night can be frustrating even for the most patient person so thank them! Updated on 12 Jan 2026: Today has been kind of a challenge. What I have realized in these past few days is that your body will feel different every single day so be gentle on yourself if one day is good or so so and the next day is hard. I think the doctor appt, the extra walking, and the new binder really did a number on me yesterday. Today I feel really sore and just really tired overall. Tbh I haven’t walked today except to go to the bathroom a couple of times. I will walk here soon though because I know I am supposed to. My husband went to get us some food and once I eat and take more pain meds I will walk. Also, I have been gassy since I had the surgery and burping a lot. Husband said that is normal after surgery…idk but just wanted to share that with y’all. Updated on 12 Jan 2026: So about last night. Finally felt the urge to have first bm since surgery. It was a traumatizing experience. Friday at the dr office Dr. Strock mentioned getting some enema/suppositories and I had every intention on doing so but we both completely forgot about it. So my husband drove across town to a 24hr CVS to get them at 11pm last night. All the while I am pacing because I can’t sit down because everything hurts and I can’t sit on the toilet because my body wants to strain to try to go. I was so nauseous. My husband gave me a Zofran and was waiving alcohol wipes under my nose to keep me from heaving. I must add here that he had to place the enema as I am not able to reach back there yet. After it was placed it took about 15 minutes before my body had any type of movement. I sat on the porcelain throne for 30 minutes before gravity took over. Your body will naturally want to push and strain but the pain from the incisions will remind you not to. During my initial attempt at going, before the enema, the drain tube on my right side was pulled a little (this will be important later). Anyway, after I went I was still nauseous and my stomach was so upset. I didn’t take any ore meds as I was afraid it would make me heave. I didn’t sleep well at all. After breakfast around 10am I had to take pain meds. I also decided to try to shower since the previous night and the bm. My husband helped to undress and I leaned on the wall while he started to wash me. Remember earlier when I mentioned my right drain was pulled a little….well it started to burn with a fury of fire from hell. I am not sure if it was water or soap and I really didn’t care. All I know is the pain was unbearable. I cried and tried to remember to breathe while trying to tell my husband what was wrong. He reminded me to breathe as I couldn’t cry hard because the heaving would hurt my abdomen. He didn’t even get to finish rinsing me off. He dried me off and did everything needed to get me dressed. He got me back to my lift chair, gave me more pain meds and I eventually fell asleep. I slept for about an hour then I just kind of sat around for a while. It is now 5:30pm and I did some walking in the house today. Just going to rest the remainder of the day as I start work in the morning at 6:30am. It’s just work emails but it still will take energy. Updated on 12 Jan 2026: It’s 7:10pm currently. I woke up at 6 am to start my work shift for 6:30. Responded to emails until 7:30am, then started getting ready for my 2nd post-op appt. One of my drains was taken off during my appt. Not really feeling like being super descriptive right now as I have been feeling nauseous for the past hour give or take. It just came outta nowhere. My husband gave me a Zofran and then a second one shortly afterwards due to the first one not working. I could not imagine heaving over a toilet right now. The amount of pain it would cause has me utterly terrified of being anything remotely to nauseous. SN: did y’all know that some Zofran are to be dissolved under the tongue then swallowed into your saliva? All my years of life no one ever told me this. Probably why I always say they never work for me. So thankful my husband is a nurse. He has been so patient, supportive, and just utterly kind throughout this whole process. Give that man a medal haha. Kelly wants me to send her a photo of my drain sheet in the morning and she will decide when my next appt will be based on this. Not much more to say here as my stomach is still queasy so I will just rest until work in the a.m. I have decided not to take more photos at this time as I still look the same as the day 3 post op photo minus a tad bit of swelling. Updated on 13 Jan 2026: It currently 8:40am. I am sitting in my chair working…just handling work emails. Yesterday my incision area felt different. Around mid-day I started feeling some tightness which caused me to have to lean more than I have been when walking. I just dealt with it. Then last night it started really bothering me on top of me feeling pretty nauseous. After getting my queasiness somewhat under control I was able to get some toast down so that I could take some pain meds. Around bedtime I started feeling these weird sensations and my incision area was super sensitive and I felt everything even over the binder. It took me a while to realize it may be the nerves that’s causing this sensation. It was quite uncomfortable. After talking to my husband he suggested I take a gabapentin, which allowed me to sleep. He also explained that when things heal they get tighter so its ok if I feel like I have to lean over more when walking. Last night was the first night since surgery day that I slept more than 3 hours straight. It was wonderful, however, I woke up in a lot of pain today. I was able to get up and fix oatmeal for myself (after spilling the first bowl of oats everywhere/smh). I have not taken a gabapentin today. I don’t feel like I need it currently and I have to monitor work emails and that pill makes me loopy and extremely sleepy. I am trying to follow my own advice about being easy on yourself especially mentally. Reminding myself that this journey requires me to be honest about how long it will actually take a body to heal from this surgery along with me keeping my mind strong. The mental struggle of wanting to cry from the “normal” healing process vs. the “you paid for this” and did this because you wanted it. I try hard not to be too “complainy” because you have to know that the healing process will suck before you go into a procedure like this. When I get the urge to complain I think about the fact that I am only halfway paying back my loan I took from my 401K to pay for this. It’s like an internal slap to my face and I say “suck it up” and sit down somewhere and just be haha. The saying “mind over matter…if you don’t mind it don’t matter” applies here. For a day or two (here and there) you may feel like you don’t need the pain meds…I would advise on not getting rid of them. I knew better. I knew I would need them again. I have never been the type of person to ever worry about getting addicted to any type of substances I just really really dislike taking anything that alters my state of mind but in this situation I allow myself grace because pain does not care about your mental preferences lol. I will continue to take the pain meds for as long as I feel like I need them. I am still only doing half a pill. 11:51 am Definitely feeling extra swollen today. Definitely an ice pack every hour kind of day. The swelling has me feeling like my abdomen is full of too much stuff. I feel like my healing process is going as normal though so no complaining here The body will do what it needs to do to heal. I am grateful that I have had no issues thus far with anything. Next post-op is tomorrow at 11:15 and my other drain should be coming out. This is the one that was irritated (completely my own fault). I am glad it is coming out because I have been so afraid of catching it on a door or cabinet handle or pulling it out when I am sleeping. Not that it would have been the end of the world if that happen but I like to minimize the extra pain at all costs. Lord knows I have been extra clumsy during this past week. 8:30pm It’s been an icy kinda day. Binder off…ice. Get up…binder. Sit down. Binder off…ice and repeat. This swelling definitely has me to where I am not able to keep the binder at the same tightness in which Kelly put it the first time she put it on. When it’s that tight right now I am instantly getting nauseous. I also am not able to move around without the binder on. Feels like there is a lot of pressure (a lot) from the inside pushing on the incision area. I can tell I am healing and I am happy about that…no complaints. Every time I take the binder off and can see a peek of the area above my belly button I get happy. I have had bad stretchmarks starting in that area since 2002. Dr. Strock really did a fantastic job. I have not one complaint with his work. Tried to take a nap today and was only to sleep for 30min. Sleeping right now is tricky. I can’t get my body temp regulated. One sec I am cold, the next I am hot. Also, I am going to sleep with “tolerable” pain and waking up like lawddddd somebody get these pill bottles open asap! While I am on that subject, whyyyy do they make the caps for the pain meds and muscle relaxers hard to open? I mean I get it but they do realize that the person needing them may not even be able to open them? Updated on 14 Jan 2026: Whew woke up this morning super swollen. I’m talking about I looked pregnant. This means I am healing…so again happy about the forward progress. One day at a time. Once I stood up and caught my breath I was able to eat breakfast. I then took the antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, and the pain meds. My husband told me a couple of days ago that this particular anti-inflammatory (nsaid) is like an ibuprofen on steroids (he was a pharmacy tech before he became a nurse) so I definitely listen to him when it comes to Rx meds. I can say that it in fact works. The additional swelling has gone down since I have awaken. I mean the other swelling is there but I am used to that. Had another post-op appt today and had second drain removed. Now I don’t have to worry about getting it caught on things. Toady my below and incision area is very sore. Just taking it easy today. Doing the ice, walking periodically and just taking things one day at a time. Dr stated everything looks as it should so not worried. I know things will heal in due time. 9pm It finally happened! I had to cough. I don’t mean just a single cough. I’m talking the kind of cough when you inhale food without chewing; you know…”food going down the wrong pipe” situation. I tried so hard to avoid it but to no avail. I held my abdomen as tight as I could without causing more pain and it really did nothing. The pain felt like a dragon unleashed hell fire bombs on my insides. Like Freddy Kruger himself was inside slicing and dicing and forgot to administer the anesthesia. And yes…it hurts afterwards…just in case you were wondering. I can feel burning still in places I wasn’t beforehand. That sucks. Not that I was thinking of not taking pain meds tonight but if I was this episode definitely would have changed my mind. I also did not get a picture today. Will try to get one tomorrow. The last thing I want to do is take this binder off and stand up unless I have too. Its enough that I have to take it off to “ice”. Me and this binder have become one haha. Laugh at your pain because you paid for it hehehe. Updated on 15 Jan 2026: 10am Happy to report that I woke up only feeling like I had a little more swelling than I have had yesterday. I have learned this is normal for me in the mornings. I woke up, ate breakfast, then took antibiotic and anti-inflammatory. When I stood up this morning, I didn’t feel like I needed to hold my abdomen area. All this is good but last night was a completely different story. The after affects of my coughing fit last night was long lasting. I did take more pain meds because I was so sore afterwards but still woke up about an hour later in so much pain. First time I have cried since getting out of the hospital bed on surgery day. It was like I was feeling the effects of the meds mentally, but my abdomen was not. My husband did give me a Zofran because I was so nauseous. I was also able to get down a few crackers and some water. I eventually fell back asleep but that was such a terrible experience. Currently I do not feel like I need pain meds. The pain is very much tolerable. Now later today will be my 2nd attempt at showering. Don’t judge because I have not showered since the morning of my surgery. I use adult body wipes every day but also remember that everyone’s experience is different. Like I have previously stated I have a low pain tolerance. I have known this most of my life. The 1st attempt at showering combined with horrible feeling without the binder on has me waiting until I am completely comfortable with trying again. I will also take another picture during that time as well. This healing journey is definitely like a roller coaster ride so get in, buckle up tight because you will be all over the place. Not related to last night but one thing I wished I would have started the day after surgery is MiraLax. I normally mix the capful with 4-6 oz of ginger ale and drink it with a meal. I have constipation issues on a good day, so I knew it was going to be an issue after surgery. Tbh I didn’t even think to start drinking it until yesterday, which is a huge fail on my part. You will definitely need some type of stool softeners and I hate using enema/suppositories unless absolutely necessary (like the other night). 7pm Today wasn’t too bad. Did some work emails from 630a-3p. I was able to make it through the day without too much pain. Around midday I started feeling burning sensations in abdomen. I wasn’t even doing anything but sitting down. Who knows what was causing that feeling. Your body is healing and we cannot see what is going on so unless it lingers forever and doesn’t go away or unless my husband cant explain it I don’t worry about it. I will tell you that my mind decided it wanted to go against what I knew was a bad idea…but I did it anyway. I’m sitting here minding my business and I get a thought…maybe if you take the binder off for a while you won’t have so much tightness. Now I knew better but sometimes the devil on your left shoulder gets the better of you. So I took the binder off. Instant regrets! My husband was moving about cleaning the house so I just sat in the recliner with my “dumb” face internally scolding myself. No you are not tight because of the binder. You are tight because well….that’s what you paid your money for. I said wth was I thinking. I had to go to the bathroom and didn’t have time to wait for husband to help get it back on. Regrets. So then he asks if I want to go ahead and shower while in bathroom. This will be my 2nd attempt at showering (don’t judge). Everyone goes at their own pace. It was a success. I will state some things here you should know. Day 9 you will still feel much pressure with gravity without the binder. I am not able to take deep breaths without the binder being on. Having a conversation without the binder is nearly impossible for me because I have to stop so many times to catch my breath. It is not fun. I am back in the recliner. Oh and I did have to do a 2nd enema today. I did take a dose of MiraLax this morning but this stuff is about as slow moving as a fully loaded Mack truck or prob because I don’t take enough of it during the day. Either way I really hate enemas. They make me feel nauseous and then Mr. had the audacity to heat up some fish in the microwave. Zofran loading…because why as my caregiver and husband can you not read my mind and know that nemo will only make me feel worse haha. Updated on 18 Jan 2026: Took my first shower alone today without hubby to help. I still cannot reach high as it pulls on the abdomen area. I had to squat down a bit when I was washing my hair. No big deal. I rested against the shower wall a couple of times when I felt tired. I also was able to cook dinner today. I had to sit down several times as I am still getting tired when moving about. It was a simple meal so did not take too long. I also had to have hubby lift a pot for me because I knew it would be too heavy. The past week or so I have been feeling really nauseous. This is a feeling that I absolutely hate. I mean I’d rather deal with day 1 post op pain than feel like that. I was able to eat oatmeal in the morning to take the antibiotic and anti-inflammatory and then try to eat crackers and toast the rest of the day (it was a real struggle). So Saturday morning I ended up sending Dr. Strock a text. This is something I really did not want to do as I do not like to bother professionals on their down time but nothing I was trying was working. I was even doing two doses of the nausea meds with no positive changes. He had me stop taking the antibiotic, refilled the Zofran and had me start taking a probiotic. With his suggestions I only ended up having to take one nausea pill this morning. Not sure what has been helping (lack of antibiotic or addition of probiotic) but I am so glad that I was able to speak with him. He called right back too. I was surprised but I shouldn’t have been. I say it again here that I am so happy that I chose him. I know over the course of his professional career that he has heard the same things over and over, yet he does not make you feel that you are annoying him with the same concerns or that you are just another number (patient). Still wearing the binder and am able to tolerate it more now. I am moving around easier as well. Can’t quite stand up all the way as things are very tight still but that is to be expected. Not rushing my healing journey as I want things to heal the way they should. Other than walking around here and there I have just been resting. Updated on 31 Jan 2026: Feeling much better. Abdomen area still very sore but that is to be expected. There are times when it is more sore in random areas but that’s also to be expected. Three nights ago (Thursday) was such a horrible experience for me. The itching and nerve “shocks” made me want to peel my skin off. I have been taking Claritin because I knew the itching would get worse before it went away completely. That night was very tough for me. I also had shock sensations but not painful feelings just uncomfortable sensations that caused more itching. I slept for a total of two hours that night and three hours two nights ago. My body also gets restless at night now. Since the constant pain has subsided my mind wants to go back to being in a physical position that I was in before the surgery but of course that is not possible. I am also still sleeping in the recliner as it is more comfortable than sleeping in the bed. We are working on our pillow situation/setup to find me comfortable positions though. The hardest things at this point in my recovery is not being able to sleep on my side and the mental plight of me wanted to be healed already. The inside of my abdomen still has a ways to go as far as healing is concerned. I also still get out of breath faster than usual when moving around.
