Staples removed day 2 - anyone else??

I had a TAH/BSO and cervex removed last Wed, May 1. I never needed the morphine drip and was walking and sitting up crossed legged by Thurs, May 2. Only slept at night- watched TV and read during the day. On Friday, my 16 staples were removed and replaced with steri-strips. My DR feels that the incision will heal faster and safer the less time the staples are in. I came home Friday after less than 48 hours in the castle. I go up and down the stairs with no problems and have not needed the Motrin and Vicodin that the DR prescribed. I sleep on my stomach now and am getting almost 8 straight hours a night. I feel WONDERFUL!!! I found that having two beers when I got home on Friday got my bowels moving by Friday PM and I have had no problems since. I get lots of rest, plenty of walking and mega water. I am alone during the days as I am a single mom. Now the question - Am I just extremely blessed, or is the sh** going to hit the fan in a week or two???

Judy

PS I had both of my children Natural without an epidural or any pain medication. I have also had a couple of D&C's without any medication. My pain tolerance is very high.

Hi Judy,

I thought I had a high tolerance for pain but you've got me beat for sure!

You're closing in on week one which for me, was the worst week. I slept a lot, taking at least two naps each day. I used the morphine drip for 24 hours and only took one dose of percaset after the drip was removed and three doses of motrin just as a precaution. I never filled my prescriptions when I got home but I did take extra-strength Tylenol twice a day for the first couple of days, again as a precaution I was climbing stairs slowly and I'm still not sleeping on my stomach as I just wanted to wait until my six-week post-op - I'm afraid to cause damage. My night sleeping is inconsistent - I might go three of four nights with solid sleep and then have three or four with interrupted sleep. And some pretty strange dreams, too.

Two beers on the day you went home sounds great! What about gas??? I had bad gas pains for the first couple of days and still get it once in a while now. Get this... I learned I am allergic to hops a couple of weeks before my visit to the castle, so that ended my relationship with Michelob .

Well, it was fun reading your post. I think you are very lucky! I could feel the energy coming through your words! If only you could bottle the formula! You'd be a very wealthy woman!!!

Oh yes, and my staples were replaced with steri-strips when I was discharged (3 days post-op).

All the best for a continued easy recovery!

Judy - I also had my surgery on a Wed. and the staples removed on Friday. I expressed my concern to the nurse taking them out and she said that skin heals very quickly. The internal stitches would be the ones that would take a long time to heal. My incision is doing GREAT, although occasionally it still itches & is numb in places.

As far as tolerance for pain -- my 3rd child was 11 lbs. 9 oz. -- natural!! That's probably the start of my decline ending in a hyst! (Note: DH had a vasectomy right after that. I was afraid a next child might be 15 lbs!)

Best of luck to you on your recovery. Just remember that even tho' you may not feel the pain, you still need to be careful. If you feel that you can do something, please stop and give it a 2nd thought. The big steps you are feeling now in your recovery will give way to teeny, tiny baby steps later on. Make it a little easier on yourself in the long run by being good today.

s

Hi, Judy -

Yep, I was pretty much like you (though I couldn't think of lying on my stomach - fortunately I sleep on my back, and you're using even less pain med than I did). Surgery Monday, walking around Tuesday afternoon, released and staples removed (replaced with steristrips) Wednesday am. Took percoset for a few days, then weaned off it. Had a bit more bowel problems, but that's probably cause as soon as I stopped the percoset I started iron.

You're doing all the right things - keep doing them. Sounds as though, like me, you are just having an easy recovery! Don't argue with it :-).

Hope it continues!!

Cheers,

Hi, my recovery in the early days sounds like yours. I had my surgery on a Tuesday and staples removed Friday morning before my departure. Surgi strips were removed the next Friday by my Doctor as I had an infection (vaginally) and had to go see him.
As far as as pain, I was on Torodol in the hospital and came home with Motrin. I stopped taking the Motirn by the 3rd day home. I found once in awhile during the 2nd week I would take 2 Advil before retiring at night as I was achy but not in intense pain. I have stairs as well and went up and down a couple of times a day the first week.
The thrid week I was hit with crying jags and realized I was wicked tired..so I rested a lot during my third week and by the fourth week I felt really good. I am starting my 8th week now. I am back to gardening and back to work. I did notice yesterday I had a general achyness in my lower abdomen..I think I may have overdone it with gardening on Sunday.
All in all I feel really good and feel pretty much back to "normal".
I didn't experience the swelly belly too bad either...( I find that to be a huge blessing!!)
Take care all

It's great you are feeling good. Don't knock it just know that you were blessed and enjoy . Like you I had my staples out the second day I was up walking, sitting etc. They took my staples out on the third day and replaced them with liquid skin adhesive which I have never heard of but it worked like a charm because theyare self disolving and I did not have to worry about changing the dressing etc. I also feel a little guilty for not going back to work because I feel fine (just a ache here and there and my tummy feels as though I did too many sit ups) but the pain is bearable. My hubby keeps telling me too to enjoy the blessing of not having complications and to take care of myself. I am taking his advice.

Take Care

__________
Lisa, TAH, 4/23, Multiple Fibroids

The surgical resident wanted to remove them on day 3. The doc said he was going to take them out when I saw him in his office the following week so I told her that and she was fine. I would have been nervous having them out sooner, but I'm a slower healer - everyone is different

Glad you posted, Judy. This was kind of my question, too, on another thread. I'm wondering if I'm just really blessed, or if there's something I don't know about regarding recovery, or what.

I had my surgery last Wednesday. 14 staples came out yesterday, and my doctor gave me the go-ahead to go back to work next Monday (the 13th). That seems to be freaking some people out (including my supervisors), but I'm not sure why I would need to lie around for 3 or 4 or 5 weeks when I feel fine now. At work I just sit at a desk all day and answer phones. Shoot, I've felt the "need" for a nap in the afternoon even before I had surgery, so it's pretty hard to justify needing it now. My doctor didn't seem to think I was some sort of "miracle" case; she was just glad I was doing well, but seemed to feel this was a typical, normal recovery.

By the way, for the record, I'm 38 and morbidly obese, and I was a couch potato before all this, so it's not like I was in some sort of great shape due to aerobics (HA!) or something like that. Actually, I find I'm moving more now, just because everyone is telling me not to. Who would've thought something as simple as telling me not to do laundry or exercise would actually get me to do it? Child psychology. Well, I'm not really exercising. But for me, walking in place in the pool for 5 minutes is exercise.

Hi, Karen -

I am rather surprised at your doctor sending you back to work less than 2 weeks after a TAH, no matter HOW good you feel.

This is from someone who has had a very easy recovey all in all. I rarely took naps, and was up wandering around a lot, making meals, etc - I definitely didn't lie around all day. At 5 weeks, I was having another surgery.

I was doing SOME work at home on the computer within a few weeks, but that is different than sitting all day long in one position on an office chair. I couldn't even sit in my normal office chair that I always use for 3 or 4 weeks - I had a plastic chair with a pillow to support my back. I had the luxury of being able to get up and walk or go sit on the recliner and rest any time I needed to. Most of us don't have that ability at work - once you're there, you're expected to perform as you did before.

I went through a period during the first month where I was like a jumping bean - I got pain in my hip bones if I sat too long. There is still a huge amount of healing that has to happen in your body.

I also am wondering how you will get to work. If you have been released to drive, make sure you'll really feel up to it - many do not. And if you plan to drive, do check with your insurance company, as some will not insure you this close to an operation.

I know we are all different, and don't want to disagree with your doctor, but I am concerned about you. I would urge you to see how you feel after going back to work, take it day by day, and listen to your body. If you find you are too sore (I was more uncomfortable than tired that first period) and can afford more time off, please consider taking it.

Hopefully you will be able to get up and walk aroung some between phone calls. Another thing to consider is something to put your feet up on for at least some of the time - I found that helped me. I took a cardboard box and stuck it upsidedown under my desk. Also, please be very careful about lifting and reaching while at work - have a co-worker help you if you have to lift anything more than what your doc has told you or if you need something on a high shelf.

Good luck, and let us know how you're doing!

Cheers,

I had my surgery on april 18th mine was pretty much like Kabo0922 was except I had my staples in from thurs until the following fri and had to take pain meds for a couple of weeks off and on..as of right now Im on my 3 rd week and I still have alot of pain in my incision but it seems to have healed good on the outside I think the pain is coming from healing on the inside...so I would say you are very, very lucky and I wish you the best