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September 21, 2007

My Journey With Endometriosis (Part 5): Recovery

I knew nothing of what happened to me in the operating room.

In the hours to come, however, I would begin to guess. I had a sore throat--this must be from being intubated so a machine could breathe for me. My neck muscles were sore--they must have had to manipulate the position of my head for intubation. Of course, I was slightly sore at my incision sites; when I felt a burning sensation coming on, I knew to take my pain medication. My groin muscles were sore, I'm assuming from some unlady-like position for performing the surgery. There was some personal soreness, I'm guessing, from being catheterized. My ribcage was sore, probably from forced breathing. Back and calf muscles, I discovered, were sore--I can only guess that this is a side effect from anesthesia.

I had heard that I would hurt as a result of the gas they would pump in to inflate my abdomen. I had only two 5 second incidents that gave me some insight into what people were talking about. Luckily, that kind of pain was not a problem for me. What I did observe on the first day was a tendency on my part to tighten my abdominal muscles. I used conscious control to relax them and attribute this to a side effect of anesthesia.

Everyday, I noticed a change in my pain and its location. I awoke the first morning after in the worst pain I had experienced yet. Some of my pain medication had worn off, but it was pressure from a full bladder that was the primary culprit--I was aware for the first time of feeling bloated from the gas. Tying my shoes caused a stitching pain at my navel and I noticed about three hours after this that I had some bleeding from this incision. The next morning, on the advice of my nurse, I started cleaning and treating the incision area with neosporin (an over the counter antibacterial). The third day after surgery, I was restless and walked to the park and back (about six blocks)--it was slow going.

I was feeling good enough by this past Monday to take a vacation. However, I could not tolerate any tight clothing at my waist due to the bruising at my navel so I drove the whole way with my pants unbuttoned. I can tell that I cannot lift anything yet, so my husband had to tote all of the bags. By today (10 days following surgery) I can walk normally, lay on my belly, and twist my torso to relieve back tension.

Of course, I have questions for my doctor. I have photographs the doctor gave to my husband and I want them explained for clarity beyond what I can discern. My follow-up visit with him will be Monday. I will back at work by then, though technically I should get his okay to resume work. I'm limiting my work days to three hours of billable massage each day. Again, my clients are great and all of them have told me to call and move their appointment if I don't feel up to working yet.

This week I have been blogging about my experience with endometriosis. I will be sharing information about what endometriosis is, its symptoms, treatment options and my personal experience with the disease.

tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health endometriosis

Posted by linda at September 21, 2007 10:46 AM