Week 3 Post-Op

I wish I could say that week 3 ended as well as week 2, but I would be lying. The skin sensitivity stopped getting better after a couple of days and started to get worse. I felt like I had a horrible sun burn over my entire abdomen. I'd wear a sports bra and yoga pants around the house, but just putting on a soft cotton shirt twice a day to walk my daughter to school caused so much discomfort I'd have to take narcotics and lay in bed for the rest of the day.

The doctor addressed this by giving me Zyrtec and Prilosec. He said each of these medications had a nerve inhibitor that would help with the nerves that were reconnecting. He prescribed a cortisone cream (a strong one) to apply twice a day. It didn't work for the first few days but it seems to be better, now. It makes my skin lose all pigment and I'm starting to peel a bit, but I'm able to leave the house without heavy pain meds and I'll take any progress I can get.

I also got the green light to start taking Advil instead of Vicodin, and that's been a huge help. I felt like I was becoming dependent on these meds and I asked my doctor to please not give me anymore. In fact, I said something to the effect of "I need to learn to live without these, from now on, please hold me accountable to that and refuse any further refills." The doctor agreed, saying he doesn't want me in pain but the pain of a possible addiction isn't something he wishes for me either.

I have a full bottle left, and when I feel uncomfortable or sore I'm able to talk myself out of taking them by repeating to myself that the pain isn't that bad and this is my last bottle of the strong pain meds. If I have a bad day or pull a muscle, I need to have these around. So far, it has enabled me to wean off of the hard stuff and on to the Advil. I'm also resting just about as much as I was the first week of the surgery.

This recovery has been more difficult than anyone could have possibly described to me. There are moments when I'm frustrated and I cry because I want to move on with my life and get out of the house. There are moments when I'm elated because I look fantastic. Pre-surgery, I knew it would hurt and it would be difficult but I was able to just block it out of my mind. I refused to think about it. I also need to remember that the longest of recoveries take 8 weeks, and I'm only 3 weeks into it. Patience is not a virtue of mine.

Today I'm going out to the mall to buy some new clothes. THAT makes me happy. :)