feeling kinda lost

Im 13 days post op. My follow up doc apt was last Wednesday.  Doc said everything was great.  I felt like I was doing so good. Getting most of my protein in and almost all my water in too. I was feeling pretty good. I was even off pain meds completely for several days. Then on Sunday morning I felt some pain. Its right in the area of where the doc pulled my drain tube. It caught me off guard. I even cried ... and I am not the crying kind of girl. I had been sipping water and crystal light consistantly but now with this pain its uncomfortable to drink. My sister, a nursing student who studied up on this surgery and all it entails,  says I probably just pushed myself to hard. I have little to no appetite.  Im not getting enough protein or water. Im scared that I am screwing this up. This surgery was a gift. Literally a gift. My lung doc said this surgery is the key to my survival. My insurance company denied the claim. My next door neighbor always asks how Im doing and when she asked about when Im getting the surgery and I told her I cant get it,  she paid for it in cash! I cant fail this. I just ... I cant. So here I am struggling and scared that Im screwing up. Any advice or support would be appreciated. Thanks. 

First off, what a neighbor!!  Truly an angel.  

It doesn't sound like you are screwing anything up.  You aren't very far out, and some pain is normal.  I had some very bad pain about 3 weeks out.  I saw my surgeon and was advised that it was internal healing of nerves.  If you are concerned, you should call your doctor.  Don't hesitate -- that what they are there for.  make sure you are drinking.  The protein will come if you work on it.

Thank you.

I was feeling so good, was even talking about going back to work early. Now, I dont think I can or should. I dont feel that the pain is so much that I should go see my doc again. I only really feel it when I get up and move around. My sister says Im doing to much. Im a single mom. If I dont do the dishes and the laundry and pick up here and there, well no one else will do it. I am concerned that when I sip on water it sloshes around and I can feel it and it doesnt feel good. Im hoping that you are right and my body is just healing. 

And yeah, my neighbor truly is an angel. I tell her everytime I see her. Ive only known her a year. She tells me that she believes its why she bought her house and moved here, just to do this for me and mu daughter.  

It sounds like you're going through a rough patch. At 13 days, you're still recovering from major surgery, so your body isn't quite back to where you were. You have little bitty incisions on the outside, but inside there was some pretty extensive work done, and that takes time. Twinges of pain here and there are pretty normal as everything works to get back to normal. If you're very concerned, call your surgeon's office and talk to them and see what they say. You're not screwing anything up as long as you keep working, slowly but surely, on following the plan from your doctor as far as your protein and fluids intake. You'll get there!

Relax. Breathe. Take it one day at a time. Think about your neighbor's gift and use it as motivation, sure, but don't let it make you so anxious that you freak out.

You can do this!

Thank you. You're totally right! 

As for the feeling like the water is sloshing around, one thing that they did not say prior to surgery was how much different drinking would feel.  I seldom, if ever, fel****er going down before, but now I am very aware of it.

You have had big changes, but you are not screwing anything up.  Just trust the process and you will get there.

Thanks! 

Hi Leslie, please know what you are feeling is totally normal!  I had a lot of pain and I took 6 weeks off from work. I did not "Bounce Back" like some people. I was exhausted, I could barely drink and forget getting protein in. I developed a few nasty side effects from the surgery (one was a BRUTAL YEAST INFECTION of all things, first time ever getting one of those thought I was going to die) and I struggled.  I did not feel "normal" or even get the hang of things until 3 months out. Seriously it was hard, but the good news is I did get it and now I am just shy of 6 months post op and I feel amazing, I drink a ton of water, get in all my protein, I exercise daily.  But if you had of asked me at 13 days post op would I feel this good at 6 months post op I would have yelled NO!  It was hard.  

So give yourself some love and make sure you are going easy on yourself.  Its major surgery and you need to take care and heal.  Drinking plain water did not come easy to me until a few months post op. I had to drink herbal tea, or watered down Apple juice at first.  Now I drin**** water all day long.  It will come trust me.  I wish you the best and feel free to come to OH for love & support. You can do this. Hope you feel better soon.

Daisy

Thank you very much! 

Go back and see your doctor. I developed an infection at the drain site. It was very painful and took weeks to get better( mostly because the nurse practitioner screwed up but that's a long story. Please let me know how your doing. Good luckI