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Surgeries are a stressful time for anyone no matter how many surgeries you may have had. Many times the recovery time can be twice as long when living with fibromyalgia, and it also has a tendency to trigger a flare, too. After having various surgeries, I’ve learned a few things to help with a smooth recovery with half the recovery time. Here are a few simple tips for fast healing after surgery.
Tips for Fast Healing After Surgery
Avoid Constipation
Most pain medicines will cause constipation. Being on a semi-liquid diet leading up to, and after, surgery will help ease constipation. Having easy bowel movements is especially important after abdominal surgery. It will be less painful and reduce straining and harming the surgical area.
If your doctor prescribes stool softeners, take them! As stated earlier, most painkillers cause constipation, and stool softeners will help.
It’s important to drink liquids, but warm liquids are better than cold liquids. Warm liquids will reduce gas and ease bowel movements. My favorite tea is Echinacea tea which is perfect because it supports the immune system.
Entertainment
Distractions will take your mind off recovering and cure restless bones. After each of my surgeries, I made sure to read the books I’d been meaning to read, movies on my watchlist, and catch up on TV series I’d missed. I also like to listen to podcasts with my eyes closed or color when my mind is too busy to focus on reading or watching anything.
Stay Hydrated
Dehydration will prolong your recovery and prevent your body from properly healing. By not getting enough fluids, you could experience increased fatigue, dizziness, confusion, and other side effects. Staying hydrated will reduce pain and help heal the affected area faster. It will also help with bowel movements and reduce headaches. If it’s difficult to drink water for whatever reason, eat fruits with a lot of water such as melons or cucumbers. You could also sip on healing teas or drink smoothies.
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Medical Notebook
A medical notebook isn’t something you’d typically think of when it comes to tips for fast healing after surgery, but here’s why. After the surgery, you will most likely be on various medications. Each medication will have different doses at different intervals. Keep track of when and how much you took each medicine. Also keep track of bowel movements, temperature, and how much water you drink. This may sound trivial, but it may help if complications occur during recovery. It also helps people like me who have trouble remembering what times I took the last medicine. You can keep track of your medications in your medical notebook if you have one.
Walk
It’s important to rest but it’s also important to move when you can. Muscles can become cramped if not used regularly so get movement in small doses such as moving your legs or arms or other parts of your body as long as it doesn’t cause pain in the surgery area. Walk a few minutes each hour as you can even if it’s just a few minutes. Keep the walk slow and even-paced. Don’t overdo it or push yourself too far. You may not feel the pain of walking because of the pain medicine, so keep it minimal.
Play with Your Kiddos
Remember those fun bags you made before your surgery? Take them out and play with your kids one-on-one. Your recovery may make them feel lonely or forgotten. Didn’t make the bags? That’s okay. Play a card game or board game or watch a movie together. You can color with them or even just talk to them. Ask them questions about their days and what they have been doing. The important part is to make them feel important and to have your attention.
Warm Blanket
Having a warm blanket will help with body pains and any chill you may have while lying in bed. A heating blanket is perfect for recovering from surgery and even when you’re not!
Rest
This is the most important of all the tips. Rest, rest, rest! Your body has undergone trauma and needs time to repair. Rest is the most essential need you can give your body. Your pain medicine will make you feel as though you’re feeling okay, but you still need to take it easy. You don’t want to cause further damage or infection. Rest now to heal faster.
Let Others Help
Accepting help from others is the hardest thing for me to do. I am used to doing everything and caring for others, so it was difficult to let my family take care of me. Don’t learn this the hard way as I did. After two of my surgeries, I didn’t let my family help me. I was stubborn and tried to do it all on my own. This resulted in infections and setbacks which caused an even longer recovery. Let your family and friends help! They love you and want to help you so let them. You would do it for them, so let them do it for you.
Sleep Mask
Use a sleep mask during the day to get more restful sleep. A sleeping mask will also help with headaches should your pain medicine cause you to have headaches.
