The first two days are hell
2 days since surgery
Coming out of surgery was like a dream, but the reality of the pain soon set in.
As a Reddit user said on one of my threads, these first two days are hell.
A day after surgery, I am back home and parked on my couch.
The surgery bandages are still on, and I will take those off later today.
I have some time to rest at home until the first visit to my physio, six days after surgery.
Sleeping with Stimulation
I emerged from my surgery slumber in the late afternoon, and the hospital physio team had already gone home.
My brace wasn’t fitted, and I wasn’t allowed to leave the bed until the following day. Due to the risks of DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis), I had a stimulation device fitted to both legs.
Every 30 seconds, the machine would click and kick into gear, pulsing to stimulate blood flow in my legs for the entire night.
I couldn’t sleep anyway. I was in a strange half-awake, half-alert state from the anti-anesthesia drugs and enjoyed listening to a few podcasts until the morning came.
Keeping the Pain at Bay
I don’t like to take painkillers under normal circumstances, and I have a high pain tolerance. So I decided to take them only when I needed them.
That was a mistake. The pain comes back slowly, and once it sets in it’s hard to get rid of.
On the first night home, I woke up in agony at 4 am and had to find my way downstairs to my stash of codeine, paracetamol, and ibuprofen.
After that, I have been diligently taking everything every 5 or 6 hours, with a final dose just before bed.
I am happy to be home, resting, and recovering. I had already decided to take a week or so off from working full time on my business.
I believe that when your body is recovering physically, it’s important to be in a relaxed mental state. Any mental stress or exertion can take your body’s focus away from healing.
So far everything feels like it is going to plan. The next focus is the first session with my physio in four days’ time.
