Weakness after surgery?

anonemouse · 01-05-2007, 11:13 PM

How weak did you get after surgery? Did it impact your life severely or your work?

stacyrtl · 01-06-2007, 12:55 AM

Wow, I'm sorry to see that nobody has responded yet. Unfortunately I can not answer this for you yet. I am scheduled to have surgery on January 29th.
Hopefully you get some responses, I would like to know myself. Good luck!!

sg_sg · 01-06-2007, 01:17 AM

hi there.

after my surgery, i took 3 wks off work....... it was a personal choice, because i wanted to be as healed as possible before going back... i didnt want to take any chances with getting a hernia.

so i'm now 7 wks post-op...... and feel like 'normal' except for the amount of food i can eat. (i have not had a fill yet)

the first few days were the worst..... i only needed the pain medication for the 1st day..... i was able to sleep normally after about a week (able to turn on my side)..... and tolerated the suggested diet plan as it was prescribed

surgery is different for everyone... i do not have a problem with anaesthesia, but some people have a bad reaction to it..... i think it's diffcult to say there is a certain way every patient will recover

so, no there was not a severe impact except for the diet change.

Allison925 · 01-06-2007, 02:39 AM

Hi Lauren,
I think it really depends from person to person, and also on the diet your doctor has you on post surgery. Depending on how long you're on clear liquids and regular liquids will probably make the most amount of difference.

When I was on clear liquids I was barely taking in 500 calories a day, so this left me feeling a little weak (I don't think weak is even the right word, more like unenergized). That's a huge change for a body that used to take in at least 3000-4000 calories per day.

All in all though, it didn't really effect my daily functions much and I soon got used to it. Hope this helps!

siyah · 01-06-2007, 02:42 AM

Hi! I am ten days out and was really weak for the first few days. I realized at one point that I really had not eaten for four days. Nothing the night before surgery, then my surgery was really late the next day, day three I slept a lot and had to dring a ton of water, day 4 i managed some broth- i think. So no protein whatsoever. I would get really dizzy, too. After I began to try and push the protein and drink warm things I started to feel better. I bought some of the really good-for-you organic chicken broth in those soy-milk type cartons from the healthy section of Fred Meyer. They tased really good, despite having a lot of sodium. I figured all the water would take care of that.

Now I am fine. I returned to work on day 7. I did feel weak and it's been a REALLY long week with pain and tiredness (I teach), but each day got a little better. I still can't sleep on my side or belly (preference), but I am hopeful that will happen soon. If I can answer anything else, i am happy to. I've found this site to be really helpful myself.

faybie · 01-06-2007, 09:01 AM

I was weak, but if I absolutely HAD to, I could have went to work almost immediately. I didn't have to and took 5 days off, which was plenty for me. I sit at a desk and am not required to walk much so very little physical activity needed for my job.

I didn't have any of the gas pains in my shoulder that people talk about. Before surgery, I read a post where a persons Dr. recommended an enema the night before surgery to cut down on after surgery gas pains. I used the advice and I truly believe it helped.