8 days post op

**This somehow was inadvertantly deleted so I am reposting it and adding two more days to it**

Home for two days...I have to admit it is a huge relief to be out of the hospital. The care was great and nurses and staff at Rose Medical Center were wonderful but there was just this something that I could not put my finger on. If I wanted to feel better I needed to get out of there...resume my "normal" life.

The first night at home my son went to Subway to get sandwiches for my Mom (my short term caretaker) and me. So I just hung around the house that night and was trying to find out where the hell could I sit comfortably, and for how long. What things did I need in the bedroom at night? Like medications, thermometer (of course I could not find it), something to drink, phone, bedpan (easier than getting up if I was in pain), computer, etc.

Then there are all these things that I just took for granted in my life...that I now needed help with in some way. There was the 10 pound lifting restriction (feeding the cats, cleaning the litter, taking out the trash) and the bending and twisting restriction (things that were down below my waist where I could reach them like pots and pans, shaving cream, shoes, etc). Trust me there is a lot to figure out and it is really nice to have someone to help you out...thanks Mom!. On the other hand I don't want to turn into "that guy" that does nothing for himself and asks to have it done for him even if he can do it himself. Yes I can walk to the refrigerator and get myself a cold drink if I want one....but the temptation is there. Bottom line...do what you can do for yourself...but make sure you are following your doctors orders with weight restrictions and such. But you will be blown away by how many things in your house are at a place where you would have to bend at the waist to get at them....to reach those items you now need to put them on higher shelves or do a "deep knee bend" to the floor to pick them up. You gain a brand new perspective for your "normal" life.

Speaking of "normal" my bowels also got in on the action today....where was all that food going? I had not had a bowel movement since Monday (day of surgery). I will not belabor this but I was doing everything in my power (bran flakes, bran muffins, prunes, carrots, roughage, etc). Game over...back to "normal".

Sleeping in my bed again was wonderful. It was soooooo comfy compared to the hospital....and no tubes in my arms, or my penis, or nurses walking in at 3:00 for meds....wonderful!! I had to wake myself up for meds...which I did for a couple of nights but by that time (Sunday) I was no longer taking narcotic pain killers. I am still using a bedpan at night (easier than getting up) but I think today that ends....time to make the short walk to the bathroom. I have had a little bit of restless leg type of thing going on...not sure why....maybe coming off of narcotics...and that has disrupted sleep a bit but for the most part I have slept great. When you get up in the morning your back can feel kind of "full" or swollen...but walking around for a few minutes alleviates that. But the best suggestion I can make is get all your "night" stuff to your night stand...that way it is there when you need it and you can just roll over to get it rather than wandering around the house for it in the middle of the night.

The back brace....a rapidly developing love/hate relationship. I love the way it supports me....and that is about it. I hate the way it looks. I hate the way it can cut off my breathing when I sit a certain way. I hate the way it makes me all hot and gross (yes it is 95 outside lately so this may have more to do with temperature than the brace). I hate the way it looks (oh I already said that...well I really do). It makes me feel like an old man and I don't like that. I was no Adonis but I took care of myself and this feels like I didn't. Get over it Craig...because it is not going anywhere. I wear it over my clothing. Maybe I can figure out a way to wear it under clothes with a loose fitting shirt over top of it...who knows...work in progress...love/hate!!

I am not able to exercise (with the exception of walking) for three months....something needs to change and that something is my diet. I used to work out everyday aerobically. I knew going out to eat was not an option...nor was eating a bunch of crap...so I needed to do some shopping. I also wanted to be a bit more cognizant about what I was eating. All my life I have had a propensity to put on weight and for 3 months I am not going to be working out regularly...that means eating better, lower calorie meals. Not that I ate bad before but I would do "take out" a lot so this was a good time to get things like salads, vegetables, etc back into the diet in a more consistent way. That meant a trip to the grocery store on Friday (one day after I returned home).

No I am not going to blog about going to the grocery store...it was the same as usual....with the exception my son drove me. What was interesting is that I walked around for about 2 - 3 hours that day. Then got home and went for a walk after a couple of hours. I felt good enough be out and about for extended periods of time immediately. Yesterday (Sunday) I went for three different walks of 0:30, 1:30, and 0:30. I felt great! My legs feel a bit tired but I feel great....truly! Iheard from someone else that walking was key and I am taking that to heart. My mom keeps saying "Oh Craig...please don't overdo it"...but it feels natural to get out there and DO something. I have always needed the ability to blow off steam....this is not the same as riding bike but I have to go with it...because it is all I've got.

Finally narcotic pain killers (percocet, vicodin, diluadid...to name a few). This is one subject that had concerned me forever. I have an addiction type personality. If you can do it to excess...I can do it to excess. I felt like I needed the pain killers to manage my pain but also felt like I needed to be very wary of them. I started taking narcotic pain killers last fall and here is it almost 12 months later. I generally took them in the evenings because that was when ibuprofen or acetaminophen were totally ineffective. Well Sunday was the first day I did NOT take at least one in probably 10 months. If you want one single reason why this surgery was a success you can point to that. In one week I am sitting here telling you that I did not take pain killers yesterday and I likely will not take them today. It was the pain that was killing me and right now it feels manageable and I am a mere one week post op.

BIG HUGE GIGANTIC WIN....more in two days!