So here’s what you may not know about getting your varicose veins stripped: it really, really hurts. I know! News flash! But honestly, I was unprepared for how much it would hurt and how difficult it would be to walk afterward. I am happy to tell you that today I am moving around and even getting up out of bed by myself without thinking that a crane and/or hydraulic lift would be handy.
My strongest – and yet still vague and fuzzy – recollection from the recovery room is whispering to my nurse that I didn’t expect it to hurt so much. “I just didn’t think it would hurt like this,” I whispered sadly as the nurse upped my morphine dosage. The nurses kept asking me to rate my pain on a scale from one to ten, and I kept saying, passionately, SIX. It is a SIX. Mentally I rationalized that I’d had two babies with no pain medication, and that hurt way more, so I could not go above six on the scale, but I did not explain that to the nurse who I assumed could understand that SIX IS AS HIGH AS I WOULD GO.
Good times. So the last few days have been marked by my stumbling around the house – “walking” to avoid blood clots and the like – sleeping a lot, and counting down until it’s time to take pain medication again. My husband has been handling things amazingly well, making meals and even keeping the house clean. The kids have been good and have made me several dozen pictures in the past couple of days. I was sent a gorgeous fruit bouquet by some girlfriends and one lovely friend dropped off sourdough and scones just today. So I feel very thankful for my wonderful friends and family.
Here’s my complaint about convalescence: it is very boring. Daytime television is atrocious. We have a couple hundred channels and almost everything is either a) some sort of strange reality program, b) a crappy talk show, or c) sports. Since it’s spring break and the kids are around, I can’t really watch reruns of NYPD Blue, either, or not without fear of scarring the children. I did watch Chris Rock on David Letterman and laughed so hard at his criticism of foreign policy – “There’s a guy over there having a heart attack! Let’s go kick him in the balls!” – that my stitches hurt.
Thanks everyone for your well wishes. xo
have a fast recovery!
So glad you are recovering nicely. Albeit, a little bit bored by the crap on tv. Won’t be long before you are out shivering and waiting for that dumb lunch bell to ring.
Daytime TV does suck which is why I usually just end up watching the guide. Hope your recovery is fast and the husband continues to cook and clean after you feel better.
I HATE pain-rating scales. I HATE them. They’re WRONG. I think other people are saying “TEN!” at the drop of a hat when they mean “More drugs plz kthanx!,” and so then when I give my carefully-considered 4 or 5, keeping in mind that there are levels of pain I have not yet experienced, the nurse thinks, “Oh, good, she doesn’t even need a tylenol!”
I’d always heard that vein stripping really really hurts. But on the boredom….don’t you read? We’re so alike, I just assumed…. just kidding. Download a bunch of iCarly and Phineas and Ferb — I love them, they’re kid-friendly, and man, on painkillers they’d be AWESOME.
Yes to Bibliomama’s Phineas and Ferb suggestion. They are wonderful.
Glad you’re feeling better. Wish I hadn’t read this blog post while eating spaghetti.
Glad you are starting to feel better! I hope the rest of your recovery goes quickly! Big hugs!
Day time t.v? What’s that? I’m always elbow deep in potty training and overly played Elmo videos to watch day time t.v. Looks like I’m not missing out.Take it easy my friend.
Ah geez, you had to go through this surgery AND have the kids home on spring break! My deepest condolences. And yes, keep walking, gotta get better! Take care and speedy recovery!
The last pain rating scale I had was after my c-section and I never knew what to say either.
Vein stripping just sounds bad. Glad you’re on the mend!
Ouch. Mental note to self not have that down. I hope you feel better soon. Enjoy those scones.
LisaDay
ow. ow. ow. ow.
ow.
feel better.