Monday, January 23, 2012

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of Surgery

Greetings everyone.  I thought I'd do a quick post to let you all know that surgery went well!  It was more painful than I had anticipated, but I know it will be worth it.  Here's a "Good/Bad/Ugly" summary of my surgery...

The Good
- My mom was here to take care of me.  She was a nurse so is so very very good at this.  I am incredibly thankful that she was here for me.  Also, she bought me flowers on Friday, which was a wonderful surprise.  And she brought me a French-phrase-a-day calendar to cheer me up. :)
- It turns out that I had what you could call a ruptured sinus which was causing all of my sinus problems.  The doctor was able to fix this and told my mom I never would have gotten over this sinus infection without surgery because of that ruptured sinus.  It was really good to have immediate validation that getting surgery was the right decision.

The Bad
- This surgery was painful.  I totally underestimated how painful it would be.  I am not bouncing back as quickly as I thought I would, which means I have to use up more vacation time that I would like.  :(
- I can not blow my nose for 10 days.  This is DRIVING ME CRAZY.

The Ugly
- In a word, Friday was ugly.  I got very sick from the pain pills/aftermath of the surgery/etc.  It was like having the stomach flu while having the worst headache of your life.  My mom picked up a prescription for an anti-nausea med, though, and luckily that has helped!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  I'll be taking the rest of the week away from blogging, but hope to be back next week!

29 comments:

  1. :( well, recover soon, it's good you had it done. I'm just sorry the procedure was so painful (although I imagine that area is quite sensitive). Here's to no more infected sinuses!

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  2. Rest up...sounds like it was good you did it and I'm sure it'll be worth it but can imagine recovery isn't too fun!

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  3. So glad to hear you made it through fine and that your mom was there to help you. I hope you have a speedy recovery and feel 100% very soon!

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  4. OH, I am so glad you had your mom there! I was afraid of this! I think people in general always underestimate the pain after going under the knife. Probably being optimistic, or our way of protecting ourselves. Probably the latter!

    I'm so glad you had that immediate validation. That would be horrible having to wait and see if it worked!

    Rest up!

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  5. Poor Lisa! I'm so glad your mom could be there.

    I hope you feel better quickly!!!

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  6. Was thinking about you this morning!

    So glad having surgery was the right decision in the long run, though I'm sorry to hear you're feeling so crummy right now!

    Hope you manage to relax this week and focus on feeling better!

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  7. Friday was an ugly day! But we survived! You, having the surgery, and me, having to drive in Minneapolis after snowing all morning! This country lady was worried about that! I'm so glad I could be there for you - don't know how you would have handled it without someone being there! It's what we Mom's are for!

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  8. Sooooo glad you went through with this surgery and that you can see the light! After my c-section, I was in the worst pain of my life ... and it lasted for quite a few weeks. I think people underestimate the severity of even routine surgeries. We're beating up our bodies only to make them better. And in hindsight, we're glad we pursued surgery ... but, the healing process is no joke. You take care of yourself this week. There's no such thing as a wasted vacation day when it comes to healing the body. xoxo

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  9. Glad to hear that your surgery went well! Hopefully all of your sinus issues are behind you now :)

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  10. I am glad your mom was there to help out... I hope you'll feel much better very soon!

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  11. Hope you get better soon!! I'm glad your mom was there to take care of you!

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  12. Everything you described sounds just like my experience, so I can at least tell you that it gets better, and it will be worth it!

    I wish you a speedy recovery. Take advantage of the days off to rest and finally get yourself back to 100%!

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  13. I think I would be one to OVERESTIMATE because I hate pain of any form and cannot tolerate it at all. Ha.

    I'm sooo glad your mom was there to help you out. Sounds like you really needed her on Friday!

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  14. I've been thinking of you all weekend! I remember I totally underestimated how long I'd be out when I got my wisdom teeth removed. It was my second year of college right around midterm time and I thought I'd be back at school/work (as a waitress) the Monday (got them removed on the Thursday before) ya that sooooo didn't happen!

    BUT it was all worth it in the end because the wisdom tooth that was causing me severe migraines was gone! I just know it will all be worth it for you in the end too. And how crazy that you had a ruptured sinus!!! So glad you ended up booking this surgery!

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  15. I hope you're starting to feel better. Take your time!

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  16. Ug, sorry it was painful, but glad that it was an "easy" fix, so to speak! And thank goodness for Mom! I know it's hard, but maybe you can take advantage of being home in order to get some of those things done that you never get a chance to do... or maybe just relaxing (which you also never get to do!) is key!

    Good luck in your recovery!

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  17. Oh man, I'm so glad everything went well and that your surgery was definitely the right way to go. On the other hand, I am so bummed for you that it was worse than you expected AND that you'll have to use vacation time- I really feel like sick and vacation time should be separate! I hope you bounce back soon!

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  18. Glad everything went well and that your mom has been around to take care of you, but sorry to hear about all the pain :-( Rest up, feel better, and enjoy your week as much as you can!

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  19. Oh, Lisa! I've never heard of a ruptured sinus! I wonder if that was what made it more painful. I'd forgotten about that blowing the nose thing. I just remembered the packing -- did you have that? I hope not -- it's insult to injury.

    I know it must be just awful, but I'm so glad that you can avoid future infections and those that last so long.

    Let mom take care of you -- you deserve it!

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  20. Ufffda many!

    My husband had sinus surgery; he too said it was the wrost surgery ever-- he had part of his uvula removed and some bone spurs in his nose... (one nasal was completely blocked)...

    Hoping you're feeling better soon! Thoughts are with you!

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  21. Rest up and hope you are feeling better soon.
    PS: Check your mail box when you can.

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  22. Ugh, yuck! Take care of yourself, it will be over soon!

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  23. I am so gald everything seems to be resolved!

    My heart breaks for the pain you experienced on Friday, though!!

    Outpatient surgery is just evil! You can't get your anti-nausea drugs via IV...so most likely you end up vomitting it right back up :(

    Ruptured sinus...that sounds pretty intense. Omg, can you imagine if you wouldn't have gone for surgery?!?! Unreal! I'm so glad you got this taken care of. I hear you may try going back to work tomorrow. Good luck with that, and just remember to listen to your body & take it easy.

    Love you!


    That was so great of Mom to come stay with you. Glad you had her. I hope to God nothing happens to me when Ryan's gone this year....or I'm screwed! I have no one in Tucson! I would have to call a taxi to get home from a hospital! I'd be like one of those homeless people....

    However...I have a large collection of nurse friends, so I'm sure I'll manage.

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  24. Ugh! I hope you're healing and hanging in there. That sounds like no fun, but such a relief that it will solve so many problems for you!! And fresh flowers are the best. For whatever reason, they just make you happy.

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  25. So SO glad you got this! Take it easy this week (I know that can be hard), and you'll feel better faster!

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  26. Glad to hear you're getting better, even if it IS slowly! Although it was super painful, it must be nice to hear that it was the only way to get through this. You'll be back to yourself in no time at all! Take care Lisa! :)

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  27. I can't imagine not being able to blow my nose for that long. How crazy! But I hope you're starting to feel better and that things start getting a little more normal.

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  28. Hopefully you get to the other side soon!!

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  29. And now....? Feeling better now?
    (see? I'm a lousey nurse. I just ask questions, duck in and out of the room) and live on Hope that the patient is healing at the speed of light).
    How wonderful your Mom is there AND that she's a nurse.
    I know from Nor how it hurts. But I AM a good handholder and reader. Perhaps you'd like to hear a story?
    (books on tape are good but a little lacking in the "warmth" department.)
    Above all, hope you're laughing. That seems to heal things well. Honestly, that ruptured sinus thing sounds horrendous. Ah, but don't think of it. Get better. Drink tons of water!!!!
    And here's a book recomment of a book I haven't even read yet but think you might like: MR FOX. yup, I've forgotten the author's name.
    Big hugs from STL, and hope that you feel better enough that you can enjoy this "downtime" of sorts. And that the sun is out!

    more later--
    Oh (aka "Kaye" aka Nor's mom)

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