Tuesday, October 13, 2015

DIEP Reconstruction Aftermath: 5 Weeks

Five weeks and feeling good!

Two days into taking tamoxifen, and my world hasn't fallen apart. I am my usual crabby self, and I haven't even had any hot flashes. Knock on wood.

I'm still having occasional shooting pains in my chest and abdomen as I regain feeling, but it's manageable. I also get itchy a lot, but it's manageable, not to mention something I'm used to. (I've been itchy my whole life.) I still have quite a bit of tightness in my abdomen, but it's manageable. I'm upright for the most part for most of the day.

Oh! And the biggest news is that my insomnia is improving in a major way. I've been trying to wean myself off of sleeping pills, and it's going pretty well. I've been sleeping about 5 hours a night and it's AMAZING. It's still not enough, but it's so much better than it was. I'll take it.

Probably the best part of all of this is that I am loving not working. Waaaaaay too much. I'm kind of scared of how much I enjoy doing nothing all day. I knew that work stressed me out in a major way, but OMG, I had no idea just how much. I feel like I need to go back to work just so I don't get used to this level of happiness and stresslessness. (Is that twisted logic? It's like the Seinfeld episode where Jerry and Elaine are arguing over who should get to fly first class, and Jerry's logic is that since Elaine has never flown first class, it's easier for her to fly coach, because she doesn't know anything different. NOW I KNOW DIFFERENT. Ahhhhh!) I hope I don't become permanently lazy.

Interestingly, when I was debating what to do over my work situation, my plastic surgeon wrote me: As far as the recovery, I typically tell folks to anticipate 4-6 weeks to be completely conservative. You are very young and in great shape so should heal very well and much more quickly. I have to say that while I do feel good, I don't feel that good. I'm REALLY GLAD I ignored this, because if I had made plans to go back to work after, like, 3-4 weeks, I'd be one unhappy camper right now.

Anyway, no complaints. Life is good.

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