Well, I am four weeks post op…can you believe it? I certainly cannot! Where did the time go?
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I meant to write up a post last week at the three week mark
but I just never got around to it. I blame all the raucous birthday celebrations
for distracting me. Since I missed last week I will try to catch everyone up to
speed as to what has been happening in the recovery process.
Week three went well. I did not have a doctor’s appointment
last week but when I saw him at my week 2 checkup (on 12/30) he told me that on
January 8th I could begin to transition from wearing the binder all
day/night over to wearing a less rigid compression garment (i.e. spanx)
instead. He said that at first I would probably want to wear the binder over
the spanx because I may feel like I need additional support.
So, on Wednesday I wore the spanx to work and brought my
binder with me just in case I needed it. It was really awkward at first. A bit
uncomfortable. And I found myself walking hunched over again. On Wednesday all
the ladies at work were commenting on how not good I looked so I had to explain
about the transition. I made it through the entire workday wearing only the
spanx but once I was home I took them off and put on the binder and that felt
much better.
However, on Thursday (and every day subsequently) I wore the
spanx only and felt great. On Thursday, the ladies at work all commented on how
great I looked and how much better/easier I was moving around. It is crazy how
quickly the body adapts to new situations. Since last Wednesday I have been following
the routine of spanx at work, binder at night to sleep in and it is working out
great for me. Oh, and in case I haven’t mentioned it before- the idea of
wearing compression gear for months after the surgery is to help hold everything
in place as the body heals so that way it heals up nice and tight not saggy and
droopy because it is fighting against gravity. Doc says it will be a few months
in the compression garments and I am 100% ok with that because I know it will
help in the long run- even if it is weird wearing them all the time. Eh, small
price to pay right?
Oh, and since I headed out to New Orleans last weekend
(which is about a 3 hour car ride) I did wear the binder for the trip for some
extra support. I am flying out to Nashville this Saturday and I plan on doing
the same except I don’t plan on wearing it until after I get through security-
kind of worried they would think I had some kind of explosives strapped to my
stomach and search me.
Overall week three was great. I am feeling more like a ‘regular’
human being especially since I was able to go out and celebrate my birthday,
travel, and do all of the fun things I would have done if I hadn’t had the
surgery so that is a very good thing!
Week Three Pics
Left side is the night before surgery, right side is week 3!
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Today is the four week mark and I am pretty pumped at all
the progress I have made so far. On Monday, I had a follow up appointment with
the surgeon and he basically cleared me to start all activity, at my
discretion. He said to ease into it and be smart about it. Like with cycling to
try the stationary bike first to see how it feels, then move to riding outside
but ride in a really safe/isolated area, then take it out to the streets. With
running he said to slow jog and build as I feel comfortable. This of course is
what I would have done anyway. I am a wimp; I will stop the first sign of pain.
I am absolutely not, nor have I ever been, the ‘push through the pain’ kind of
person. So, slow and easy sounded perfect to me.
Last night, for my first foray back into activity, I hit the
track and it was great. I would have been 100% happy if the only thing I was
able to do was walk but amazingly enough I could jog. I mean it was a slow jog.
People could have easily walked past me but it was a jog nonetheless and I’ll
take it. My friend E and I started off walking. After about 2 laps I was ready
to see if I could jog. We did one full lap jogging then walked another one. I
was hoping to just alternate laps between walking and jogging if my stamina and
body could handle it. We started off on jogging lap two and it felt really good
so we just kept going. We jogged another 3 or 4 laps (we kind of lost track)
and only stopped because I was worried it would be too much to do more. We
walked 2 more laps and called it a night. It was great. It felt amazing to move
again. I was beyond floored that I was able to do so much. Afterwards I
stretched and even that felt great. I thought my range would have diminished
from the lack of regular activity but there I was, hands on the ground in a
forward fold. That was pretty awesome. Also, was pretty stoked that I hit over
18K on the fitbit yesterday. I felt like a champion when I saw that!
Tonight I am heading to the gym. Going to test out the
stationary bike and maybe some light weights and maybe a teeny tiny bit of core
work. We’ll see. I’m just going to test the waters and see what feels good. I
also am going to begin seeing a personal trainer soon. Lita, the trainer who
ran the boot camp class I took last semester, said she would love to help me
get back on track after the surgery so I will be using her to help me get
there. I don’t have any expectations of what I can/cannot do; the only thing I
expect is that if I listen to my body and continue to take care of myself I
will be just fine.
Moving forward, over the next month until my next visit with
the surgeon, I just plan on doing what I’ve been doing; resting, eating good
whole foods, drinking lots of water and slowly reintroducing activity back into
my life. Looking back over the past month I am surprised at how easy it was and
how much I am able to do after such a short amount of time. But I should
probably clarify that last statement a bit here…
No, the recovery wasn’t easy per se. But it was a hell of a
lot easier than I imagined it to be. Don’t get me wrong, there were times when
it sucked, it hurt, I cursed, cried, whined, and cried some more. But those
times, they only accounted for like 10-20% of the time. The pain hit quickly
but also subsided quickly. Putting the binder on was really difficult at first
but that was like 5 minutes of my day. I was walking around from day one and
once I figured out how to get up/down from the couch/bed/chairs I was able to
do so on my own if necessary. For the most part I slept through the night and
usually if I woke up it was because I had to pee, not because I was in pain.
Less than a week post op I had both drain lines removed and was able to shower
and was even able to ride in a car for an hour to spend the holidays with my
Florida ‘family’. I was out drinking on NYE and spent my birthday in New
Orleans. I can shower and get dressed on my own and have been doing so the
whole time (with the exception of the binder when I needed to have it super
tight- that was a two man ordeal); I can drive and have been cleared to do so
since 12/30. I was back at work full time since 2 weeks after the operation and
now am fully adjusted back into my routine and adjusted to being upright all
day. I am back in my apartment; cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry. Life is
pretty much exactly the way it was pre-surgery except that I wear spanx now. Which
is crazy….it’s only been FOUR WEEKS!!!! I absolutely did not expect to have
made so much progress so quickly and so when I say it was easy- this is what I
mean.
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I always try to be open and honest on this blog and share
with you as many details as possible about my life and the goings on of it but
if you have any questions regarding the procedure or the weight loss or
anything really please let me know.
Love, hugs and happiness,
Dacia
You look fantasic and that is so great that you were able to be active and feel good while doing it! I love seeing the pictures next to each other because it shows your body healing and getting to a more normal look. Again, such an inspiration and thank you so much for continuing to share!
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