Exercise & Other Weighty Issues

Well, I'm up to walking a mile a day again. Yay me! I was starting to feel bad when reading about other women who aren't even as far along in recovery as I am and they're walking 3 or 4 miles a day. I'll eventually work up to 5 again, but thinking about it is all I can do right now. And it's not as if I was in bad shape before. I was walking 5 miles, weight training and doing tae-bo.

I've heard that gaining 20 pounds or so is average, so I'm about average. I think the women who do rock climbing, run marathons and hike right up until the day of their surgery are the ones who are bringing the average down. I wish I could have been one of those women but I was a vegetable for the two weeks prior to surgery (partly because of an untimely case of brochitits) and in near-vegetable state for about a month before that. The anemia really knocked me out. Even on days when I felt as if maybe I could do some kind of exercise, I was afraid to walk for fear of my period showing up when I was a mile from a bathroom.

I also know that part of the weight gain had to do with the post-op carb fest. At two weeks that's all I wanted to eat. I told myself that's probably what my body needed so, against my better judgement, I ate carbs. I started the low-carb thing again after I realized that it probably was not my body telling me I needed hot fudge brownie sundaes. Now all I really want to eat is salad. Thank God!

Anyway, at 7 weeks post-op, I'm finally starting to feel like my old self again. Swelly belly continues to be my biggest complaint, literally and figuatively.

Odds & Ends

I should post more often so I don't forget what I'm feeling/felt at the time I'm feeling it. Be that as it may, here we go.

Why do people think 6 is the magic number? Just because it's been 6 weeks (actually 7 now), I am NOT back to normal. I feel a heck of a lot better than I did a month ago, but I am by no means back to "normal." The main problem is that I'm so tired! Even if I don't overdo it, I still need to rest a lot during the day. When I'm stupid and I do overdo it, forget it. I have to take a nap and then lie down for the rest of the day and part of the next day. And "overdoing it" can be something as seemingly simple as pushing a shopping cart. Very frustrating.

Swelly belly sucks! When I wake up in the morning my stomach is as flat as it was last summer, before the fibroids started wreaking havoc. By about 6 p.m., it's swelled about about 6 inches or more. I can put on a skirt in the morning and it fits just fine. By early evening the buttons on the waist are ready to pop. And I go up an entire jeans size during the course of the day. Like I said, it sucks.

All these little aches and pains suck, too. Mostly, they're just annoying but, every now and then, I need to take something for them, and sometimes it doesn't even help. Last night, in fact, I was doubled over in pain at the grocery store. And people are SO compassionate, aren't they? As I was doubled over, a guy asked me to move because I was blocking the ice cream he wanted. That's why I hate going out shopping or to a restaurant, or even just for a walk, because I don't want people to think that just because I'm doing "normal" things, I feel normal.

Insomnia is a side effect I hadn't expected. After a week of not being able to get to sleep until about 5 a.m., and then only for a couple of hours, I bought an OTC sleep aid. So far, it works pretty well. Actually, it still takes about 2 hours for me to fall asleep, but at least I'm sleeping.

On the plus side, I am able to walk again for exercise, not just because I'm supposed to for the recovery. If it hadn't been so hot & humid here for the last few days, I'm sure I could have walked a mile. As it was, I almost did, although it did wipe me out. I think that was more from the humidity than the activity, though.

The biggest plus is that I finally lost 9 of the 13 pounds I gained after surgery. I gained it because I went back to my old habit of comfort eating. I felt yucky and felt sorry for myself, so I ate a lot of things I shouldn't have eaten. Now that I'm over that, and getting to where I was before the surgery, I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. Pre-surgery, I had gained 25 pounds from October to April. I've heard that gaining 20 due to fibroids is average, so I'm not beating myself up about that. I'm just going to buckle down and get it off again. I did it once (when I lost 125), so I can do it again. I'm sure of it.

I know there's a lot more I wanted to write but I can't remember what it was. Brain fog. Just another lovely side effect.

Aches & Pains

For the most part, I feel fine, just very tired. But these aches and pains that show up whenever they feel like it are driving me nuts. Just when I think I can start getting back to my normal life, I have a bad day.

A Little Post-Surgery Humor

Semi-private hospital room: $1,500
Anesthesiologist: $1,693
Surgeon: $2,000
No periods for the rest of your life: PRICELESS!

borrowed from Hyster Sisters.

Revelations (or finally facing the truth)

For months I've been thinking that my gynecological problems have only been going on for, well, it's actually been about a year now. But a few days ago I remembered something. Five years ago I was having all kinds of medical problems and no one could figure it out. My doctor put me on thyroid medication and that seemed to help things a little. He also said I was borderline anemic and we'd have to keep an eye on that. I also saw my former GYN at around the time and I remember telling him about how my periods had changed and how painful they were. His advice? Take Pamprin every 3 hours instead of every 4 hours. Shortly after that I moved to California and didn't see a doctor while I was there. Actually, I went four years without seeing my GP and five without seeing a GYN. If only I'd known five years ago what I know now. If only I'd had the GYN then that finally made me feel better! But I'm not going to dwell on the five years of pain, discomfort and inconvenience. I'm going to look to the future which is looking pretty darn bright right now.

Kind of funny

Before I post this I have to say that I'm in no way trying to minimalize the feelings this woman has. Everyone feels differently and recovers differently so there's no right or wrong way to feel. It's just that this struck me as kind of funny.

On a message board a woman who just had a LAVH was concerned that she hadn't had any bleeding or discharge after her surgery. I'm one of the lucky ones who didn't either and it's perfectly normal not to. What I think is funny is that fact that I've been bleeding having discharges at inopportune times for five years. Not having that is such a welcome relief that I can't even put it into words. I just think it's funny that someone would be concerned about not having anything. Don't question it. Enjoy it, baby!

I Miss My Doctor

That's probably a weird thing but, I do. And it's not as if I'll be seeing him anytime soon because he doesn't practice here anymore. Although the local hospital thought he might be a permanent replacement for the OB/GYN who died unexpectedly in February (at age 43 from a rare and rapidly spreading form of cancer), he (actually, his wife) decided not to stay. So he was here from sometime in March to early June. Now he's gone, and I miss him.

Including all the office visits and all the times he came to see me in the hospital, I saw him more than I've seen any other doctor in my adult life -- and this was only in the period from March 31 to May 19. I guess, considering that, maybe missing him isn't quite so weird after all. Also, if you consider the fact that he's the guy who made me feel better after 5 years of my feeling like crap, and worse than crap since October, it makes perfect sense.

Oh well. I suppose I'll get over it. But I'll always be grateful for what he did for me.

Wearing White

I just realized something. I'm wearing a white skirt today and I don't have to worry about checking for accidents. How cool is that?

Red Letter Day!

Yesterday I was able to fit into my pre-surgery jeans! I was even able to take a short walk in them. I was so excited. I would have been more excited if I could have sat down and/or put on regular shoes instead of clogs but, hey, at least there's a light at the end of the tunnel now. I'm hoping that soon I'll be able to fit into the pre-rapidly-growing-fibroids jeans. Only another few pounds to go. I really hate swelly belly but I hated the fibroids and everything that went along with them even more.

As long as I'm here, I should mention that I'm in the middle of my third "good day" in a row. Now I just have to remind myself to not overdo it because, if I do, it'll be another full day in bed. I hate when that happens, and I know I have no one to blame but myself.

Good Days and Bad Days

This morning I was thinking that even during my worst day over the last week I felt better than I did on my best day over the last six months. I'm feeling pretty darn good about that. Actually, I'm feeling pretty darn good today in general. Still very tired but I'm not even 3 weeks post-op yet, so that's normal.

I'm am so glad I had this done!

I'm sure more whining will commence shortly, though. ;)