Endo Excision: Day 11 (recovery list)

Recovery Update Day #11

I can finally see a glimmer of the body I left behind almost a year ago. I CAN FINALLY SEE that this surgery might have helped. It's been really hard mentally to remember that this is a slow process of recovering these last 11 days but I'm doing my best! I've only gone downstairs TWICE and I'm trying my best to not overdo any particularly severe motions.

I'm attempting to stay off pain killers today. I went down to half Tylenol doses for the last day and we decided to not bother waking up of the middle of the night to take a pill. So I woke up at 9am in the same amount of pain as yesterday, but having taken no pill in 10+ hours. I still have not taken anything and I'm ok! I'm uncomfortable but if I can give my body/stomach a break from pain pills, I feel like I should. I'm not gonna be a hero if I decide it's time to take another pill LOL I will absolutely take a Tylenol if I need to.

I'm finally starting to feel like myself, but that in itself is the hard part... I have to REST and not try to overdo a damn thing. It's hard. But I have an on-going list of things I want to try on my streams after having spent SO MUCH TIME on Twitch this week. The fundraising event has taken what we'd raised (around $8k) to almost $12k now. We still have today and tomorrow yet but it's been so healing to spend time with all these streamers who want to help. I even had a 45-minute Discord call with Nick Black during one of them! It's been a hoot to stay present with them all. ❤

Before I go though, I want to make note of things that have helped me a lot through this process that you might not think of if you've never been through this before. This list is for anyone who might find this helpful in the future!

- MIRALAX - Anesthesia and narcotics cause constipation. The last thing you want while healing is THAT. I started taking miralax every single day on day 1 and it's saved me. I've never pooped this normal in my life. I'm sure the surgery is partly to blame for this, as endometriosis caused all types of gastrointestinal issues, but I'm also sure the miralax is helping hugely.

- GAS X - If you've had a laparoscopic process, you know that the gas pains after the procedure can be worse than the actual incisions and recovery itself. That happened to me last time. As a precaution, I took people's advice to take this daily (sometimes twice) to combat this. Y'ALL. This was a game changer. I only struggled with the gas pains for a few days and haven't thought about it since. Holy hell. Do this.

- BIG PANTS AND BIG UNDERWEAR - So, this is something that occurred to me about a week prior to surgery. All my sweatpants and joggers have elastic around the waist as well as all my brief or bikini underwear. THIS WOULD NOT HAVE WORKED AT ALL FOR AS HUGELY IMFLAMMED AS I'VE BEEN. So all the pants (and underwear you're not seeing) were bought right before surgery because they have ZERO elastic in them. And honestly, they're all super comfy. Not a bad purchase overall.

- ALWAYS DISCREET UNDERWEAR - If you're a person with a uterus and you've had surgery, you know it's very common to bleed after surgery. I was no exception to this rule both times I've had laparoscopic surgeries. Someone shared these with me A DAY before surgery and I'm SO GLAD THEY DID. This was the best thing to happen to me in those first 4-5 days. Best hack for not worrying about leaks and changing pads when all you want to do is SLEEP.

- PANTRY STABLE SNACKS + PROTEIN - I'm talking about like, child packaging, y'all. The GOGO SQUEEZ packets. This has been a lifesaver for when I need a quick boost. And this also goes for single serving drinks like juice, bone broth and the OWYN protein shakes. While I've been eating mostly solid food for a whole week, I still like to supplement the meals with these little snacks in between. They're very helpful for keeping my blood sugar up (I'm borderline hypoglycemic) and for extra nutrients. I'm only a few days into eating FULL meal portions, and if y'all know me, I AM A HUNGRY GHOUL. So the smaller portions for a week+ were really difficult for me in terms of feeling "full" but also not overfilling and causing pain. But again, these little packets and drinks help immensely. I plan to keep some of these things in the house from now on.

- SHOWER STOOL - That's it. Very good. Very helpful. I was able to shower days before I probably would've without a stool. Thank goodness.

- TEMPORARY TOILET RAILS - I found them an Amazon for like $30 and it's definitely helped give me more privacy in the bathroom. Without them, I would've physically needed help getting up and down from the toilet, especially the first week.

- SEAT BELT PILLOW/PAD - I have only used this once in the car as I've not had to leave since my surgery. But having that for my way home from surgery was incredible. There are velcro slots in the front of it so you put the seat belt safely around it. Perfection. I'll be using this again for probably many reasons. It even has a pouch for a cold/hot pack. And honestly, you could really just use it in your house as a pillow and no one would know the difference.

- DUDE WIPES + SHOWER WIPES + VAGISIL WIPES - I still can't muster the energy to shower everyday but freshening up is a must. I have always had the Vagisil wipes on hand for YEARS now but I think these other 2 types of wipes will become travel staples for me in the future. Super handy, eco-friendly (dude wipes) and pretty affordable.

- BED WEDGE PILLOW - Not having to use 4 pillows to prep myself up at night has been amazing. We were gifted a wedge pillow for the bed (only wide enough for my side) and it's been a game changer. Not only does it HUGELY help with the post-op gas issues, it helps keep my acid reflux away, too. I highly recommend this for anyone who wants to ditch the multi-pillow stack they've got going on in their bedroom right now.

- LAP and/or COUCH TABLES - I'm using one right now! I had a few prior to surgery that I used literally every day but they relied on having a lap to put the table on. We were 2 separate tables that stand free and they have been absolutely amazing to have while my inflammation is too severe to even risk putting a lap table near.

I'm sure there are more things but these are all the ones I could think of right now!