Recovering From Surgery the FIT Way

I realized about mid-December that I had no choice but to have surgery.  It wasn't an emergency or anything but I was definitely experiencing some things that had no chance of resolving themselves (somehow I always hope my doctor will say, "it will resolve on it's own").  I would be lying if I said that I wasn't a little bit disheartened.  I was.  I had worked my butt off to get in the best shape of my life and I felt instantly defeated.  But instead of giving in to defeat, I decided that I would continue with my workouts until the day of my surgery, and I committed to myself that I would get back to my regular routine as soon as I could.  Sticking to my healthy eating habits was the easy part for me.  Actually, I get a little overly-excited when it comes to using nutrition to aid recovery, so that was a no-brainier. I prepared lots of nutrient dense, healthy meals in the days leading up to surgery.  It was knowing that I'd be forced to stop exercising for a while that made me anxious.  I've been tripped up by injury and illness in the past, to the point that I ended up doing nothing for several months, and I did NOT want it to happen again.  So, I made a plan.  

Over the past month or so I've been writing down the things that have and have not gone according to plan.  I'm about two weeks post-op, and I can honestly say that it's been much easier than my doctor had led me to believe it would be.  In fact, sometimes I have to consciously remind myself not to over-do it.  Energy wise, I feel totally back to normal.  Physically, I have very little discomfort, which I definitely didn't expect.  I was prepared to have at least some pain for about a month.  I think it's the lack of pain that's deceiving.  It's hard to remember to take it easy when everything feels so normal.  At any rate, I'm good.  WAY better than I expected to be.

Now, I realize this post will not apply to everyone, but I wanted to write about some of the things I've learned over the past few weeks about dealing with physical setbacks.  Specifically, the surgical kind.  I can't even tell you how much I was NOT looking forward to having surgery.  But, you know, if I'm ever faced with something like this again (and I'm guessing that at some point I probably will be), I'll hopefully be less worried and more prepared than I was this time.  Surgery sucks.  But it doesn't have to totally derail you're physical fitness.  So, here are a few tips.  Some of them came in the form of advice from friends, and some of them I discovered on my own.  I hope you never have to have your intestines shoved back into you're abdominal cavity, or your pectoral muscle dissected and sewn to your rebellious breast implant (easy solution there - don't get implants), but if you ever do, I hope these tips come in handy.

1) Find the right doctor.  Since I had to have an implant fixed (I could do an entire post on implant trouble shooting), I knew I'd need a plastic surgeon.  I also had an umbilical hernia and a cyst right above it that had to be removed (about the size of a quarter).  I figured I'd probably have to have two separate surgeries, which I was not very happy about.  BUT, much to my surprise, my plastic surgeon said that he could tackle the whole tamale.  I found out that plastic surgeons are actually board certified general surgeons first, so they have lots of experience with general surgery procedures.  But what makes them even more appealing is that because they're plastic surgeons, they've perfected their suturing techniques.  Most of them are incision suturing bad asses.  A super experienced plastic surgeon ended up being exactly what I needed.   

2) Talk to your dr. about your concerns.  Doctors hate me.  I'm a horrible patient.  I don't like being told what I can and can't do.  I prefer to listen to and take cues from my own body.  I told my surgeon during my pre-op appointment about how much I was dreading taking 6 weeks off from exercising.  He said, "then don't take 6 weeks off."  I have to say, I was a little stunned.  He went on to tell me that recovering from surgery isn't a black and white process.  He said that the more fit you are going in, the faster you'll recover.  Then he said....wait for it.........
that I should listen to my body.  He said I could start exercising (within reason) as soon as I felt ready.  I was instructed to hold off on upper body weight training for a few weeks, but that I could start some light cardio within a few days of surgery, which I did, and I'm telling you, it has made a WORLD of difference in my ability to handle this recovery.  Talk to your doctor about your concerns and don't be afraid to be specific.  Doctors, surgeons particularly, like proactive patients.  It makes their job easier.

3) Get fit in advance.  I think this is similar to having a baby.  The more fit you are going in, the easier and faster your recovery will to be.  I'm glad I didn't give into the disappointment I felt at the prospect of having surgery and decide to ease up on my workouts beforehand.  Some days I wondered why I was working so hard knowing I would just lose everything I had gained, but that was just the worry talking.  Have I experienced some muscle atrophy?  Well, yes.  Of course.  But not to the extent that I expected.  At this point, I'm doing enough to maintain, and in a matter of a few weeks I'll be back to my regular routine.  This will all just end up being a blip on the radar.  No biggie.

4) Diet diet diet.  And I don't mean cut your calories.  That will happen naturally because you're not doing as much so you won't feel as hungry.  I decided to use my down time to really focus on eating enough fresh, healthy, anti-inflammatory foods.  I'm kind of a micro nutrient nerd at heart, so it's actually been really fun to focus on that again.  I grocery shopped beforehand so I'd have everything I needed.  The first 48 hours I ate mostly soup and smoothies, but once I could move around a bit without discomfort, I made fresh salads, veggie/nut burgers, wraps, etc.  I figured it was a productive way to channel my rapidly returning energy.  I also aimed to eat foods that would help me retain as much lean mass as possible.

5) Plan for the second day setback. After I thought about it I realized that this happened last time I had surgery too.  Day 1 is all about the adrenaline rush and the thrill of not having kicked the bucket on the operating table.  But the next day?  Kicked. My. Trash.  I still had brain fog from the general anesthesia, but the local anesthesia, which is almost always used during any open surgey, had worn off.  I was miserable.  Initially I hoped to not need any kind of narcotic pain medications (they make me puke like crazy and I HATE the way they make me feel), but I had no choice by the second day.  I doubled up on the anti-nausea meds and hoped to high heaven that I could stomach the pain meds.  I only needed to take 3 pills total to get through that day.  Needless to say, I was flat on my back and pretty discouraged, not to mention the unbelievable number it did on my digestive system (hellooooo colace).  Crazy thing though, I was a million times better by the 3rd day post-op.  That second day just plain sucks though.  I'll remember that next time.

6) Move asap.  Movement leads to recovery and a decreased chance of blood clots.  Even when you're drugged into oblivion and feel like your incisions are on fire, you HAVE to move.  It's a better option than developing a pulmonary embolism, no question there.  I also had to wear the ever-stylish TED hose for a week post-op to further decrease the chance of developing blood clots.  I wanted to burn them with a blow torch by the end of that week, but I was a good little patient and did as I was told.  Normally people have to wear them for 3 weeks, so I'll keep my belly-aching to a minimum.

7) Don't push or limit yourself.  Are you going to be running a marathon the day after surgery?  No.  You're not.  But you also shouldn't assume you're going to be bedridden for weeks on end.  Most outpatient surgeries, even if they're "open" and include several different incisions (which mine did), can have pretty quick recoveries if you take the right approach.  Take pain meds if you need them, but stop taking them as soon as you can.  Rest a lot at first and then add some activity back in.  As soon as I started going for walks and doing some light abdominal exercises, I couln't believe how much more normal I felt.  Use common sense and recover YOUR way.  Don't worry about what anyone besides your doctor says and stay the hell away from Google.  Just sayin.

I think in another week I'll be 100%.  Just by listening to my body and getting the right nutrition, I've been able to cut a 6-7 week recovery to a 2-3 week recovery.  I can't do heavy chest exercises for another month (implants have their own rules), but I'm fine with that.  I'm amazed at how much easier this has been than I had expected.  Another testament to the fact that living a healthy lifestyle can pay off in ways you might not expect.  I for one have been pleasantly surprised.  And the bonus?  I'm going on a business trip with Ryan that originally I didn't think I'd be well enough to go on.  I probably shouldn't press my luck by hitting the black jack tables.  That's one thing that healthy living has no effect on.  I learned that the hard way.