Currently at 2 weeks and a few hours after surgery. Still have a big bruise on my hand from the IV. I may be a weakling, but I’m not up to 60 minutes of activity a day. More importantly, a friendly website about recovery for my specific surgery said that it’s ok. It really is/was a major surgery where multiple internal organs are impacted, and it takes 6-8 weeks to heal and function at any level of normalcy. So just because I did 9k+ steps on Tuesday, I don’t need to beat myself up if I can’t do that every single day. It’s normal to have energy one day, and feel like napping the next. It’s easy to overdo it (think I did last Saturday) and it doesn’t help to torture your body over-doing it when it’s trying to heal and get back to normal. It’s great to take lots of small walks here and there to not be completely sedentary, but the resting and healing a lot is still a real thing. Even stretching some body parts is not a good thing. So many things adjacent or connected enough that you don’t realize a stretch was a bad idea.
In the meantime I’ll do what I can. It won’t do any good to injure myself trying to do too much too fast. And that’s ok.
Thursday, May 16, 2024
Monday, May 13, 2024
New Bruises, Walking Ideals
Developed a large bruise 10 days after the surgery, nowhere near any incision sites. They said it should be fine since I don’t have any other symptoms (fever, chills, etc.), but keep an eye on it. Surprised me, was all. Guessing it was a deep bruise and took that long to surface.
My skin is still has spots that are porcupine-y from rash, some that are red and nasty looking but not infected, some dry and flakey, or just plain itchy. I’d use lotion or moisturizing soap, but not really supposed to scrub or lotion most of it yet.
Not sure where I read that one needs a minimum 60 minutes a day of moderate activity. That’s a lot even if I take multiple 10 minute walks. What if my fitness tracker doesn’t register that my pulse is up to the moderate zone the entire time? Glack I’m pathetic if this seems like such a challenging goal. I don’t recall where I saw it or who came up with this number. A couple other resources and health professionals had advised about 150 minutes a week, which comes out to 22 minutes a day. Certainly more feasible, but one might also argue if that’s enough. Even breaking up 60 minutes during a regular workday, it seems like a lot. Yes, one has breaks and lunch, but using this time to use facilities, get water and food at lunch, I think it’d be pressing it to get 40 minutes total. And that’s only if you go by the clock and don’t worry if the tracker states you only spent 25 of those minutes in your target heart-range. Then 20 minutes after work wouldn’t seem so bad, but that’s still an ideal day. If you had to do most of it after work, or feel you need to make up for any other days you didn’t get 60 minutes in, you start to see where activity seems more like a chore than an opportunity to be healthy. Under surgery recovery protocols, I’m not supposed to worry about walking speed or intensity; only gradually working up total endurance for length of single walks. At the end of 6 weeks, I should be ok to walk 30 minutes continuously. This is still week two. I can do 10 minute walks. All I’m saying is 6 of them is still quite a bit. What about the tiny walks inbetween if you don’t start your timer? Do you discourage yourself from sneaking in a few extra steps if you don’t got a full 10 minutes at a time?
I saw another site that recommended 150 minutes plus strength training. That means if you strength train 3 times a week for 20 minutes that's an hour that doesn't count? Good grief.
Perusing the internet, I found a walking app that professed it could get me to my ideal weight by a not so distant date. I will not be investing in it, but it was that an interesting thought. Maybe that’s the type of ideal I should visualize when I’m griping about 60 minutes of daily activity. The last time I was at a healthy weight, I did roughly 90 minutes a day of combined activities. Parked far away on purpose, walks and stairs on lunches and breaks, 40+ minutes vigorous activity (dripping sweat) after work, and then stretches and mild strengthening on top of that. I did not find it to be sustainable. There’s a point where you don’t mind pushing yourself when your trying to lose weight, because you think eventually you can let up a little bit. You think sure, I’ll do extra right now to get to that goal, but you don’t necessarily think you’ll have to keep up that intensity forever. Some activity, sure. 22 minutes, no problem. An hour? Maybe.
I guess for me, just try to be consistent and build up as permitted. Try not to be overwhelmed or discouraged by ideals that seem far off . . .
My skin is still has spots that are porcupine-y from rash, some that are red and nasty looking but not infected, some dry and flakey, or just plain itchy. I’d use lotion or moisturizing soap, but not really supposed to scrub or lotion most of it yet.
Not sure where I read that one needs a minimum 60 minutes a day of moderate activity. That’s a lot even if I take multiple 10 minute walks. What if my fitness tracker doesn’t register that my pulse is up to the moderate zone the entire time? Glack I’m pathetic if this seems like such a challenging goal. I don’t recall where I saw it or who came up with this number. A couple other resources and health professionals had advised about 150 minutes a week, which comes out to 22 minutes a day. Certainly more feasible, but one might also argue if that’s enough. Even breaking up 60 minutes during a regular workday, it seems like a lot. Yes, one has breaks and lunch, but using this time to use facilities, get water and food at lunch, I think it’d be pressing it to get 40 minutes total. And that’s only if you go by the clock and don’t worry if the tracker states you only spent 25 of those minutes in your target heart-range. Then 20 minutes after work wouldn’t seem so bad, but that’s still an ideal day. If you had to do most of it after work, or feel you need to make up for any other days you didn’t get 60 minutes in, you start to see where activity seems more like a chore than an opportunity to be healthy. Under surgery recovery protocols, I’m not supposed to worry about walking speed or intensity; only gradually working up total endurance for length of single walks. At the end of 6 weeks, I should be ok to walk 30 minutes continuously. This is still week two. I can do 10 minute walks. All I’m saying is 6 of them is still quite a bit. What about the tiny walks inbetween if you don’t start your timer? Do you discourage yourself from sneaking in a few extra steps if you don’t got a full 10 minutes at a time?
I saw another site that recommended 150 minutes plus strength training. That means if you strength train 3 times a week for 20 minutes that's an hour that doesn't count? Good grief.
Perusing the internet, I found a walking app that professed it could get me to my ideal weight by a not so distant date. I will not be investing in it, but it was that an interesting thought. Maybe that’s the type of ideal I should visualize when I’m griping about 60 minutes of daily activity. The last time I was at a healthy weight, I did roughly 90 minutes a day of combined activities. Parked far away on purpose, walks and stairs on lunches and breaks, 40+ minutes vigorous activity (dripping sweat) after work, and then stretches and mild strengthening on top of that. I did not find it to be sustainable. There’s a point where you don’t mind pushing yourself when your trying to lose weight, because you think eventually you can let up a little bit. You think sure, I’ll do extra right now to get to that goal, but you don’t necessarily think you’ll have to keep up that intensity forever. Some activity, sure. 22 minutes, no problem. An hour? Maybe.
I guess for me, just try to be consistent and build up as permitted. Try not to be overwhelmed or discouraged by ideals that seem far off . . .
Friday, May 10, 2024
How the Fitbit Helps Post-Op
I know, this is the post you’ve been dying to hear. How on earth a Fitbit (or any fitness tracker) could be helpful motivation for someone recovering from major surgery doing minimal walking.
One can set the hours, and the thing will nudge you if you haven’t gone at least 250 steps every hour. It buzzes at me at 50 minutes after the hour if I'm under 250 steps. During work hours, this is a huge annoyance when I would normally love to be active but I’m stuck in meetings or don’t even feel like I can take a break. Not having that tied-to-a-desk structure, I can actually set a broader range to be at least a little bit active. 250 is not a lot, but I think the idea is to at least get up once in a while. Who knows what information out there is accurate or not, but I saw an article claiming it wasn’t the total number of hours one sits, that is dangerous, but how long in a row one sits in a row. If that’s correct, some of these trackers have the right idea to nudge you every hour.
The other thing that’s nice is having an impartial judge of how much activity I’m doing. I’m not aiming for strenuous exercise (that’s a no-no right now) but it does tell me if my pulse is up, and for how long, for even moderate activity. Sure, why not get credit for that? The idea for my recovery is to walk often and for longer stretches. However I get my steps in, some here or there, or walking in pace during commercial breaks watching a show, at least it tracks them for me and gives me a decent count. Unlike those days where they used to tell you to guess how much or how active you were by how hard it felt. That’s a joke. If you’re tired, the same amount of exercise (or steps) is going to feel harder than when you’re full of energy. Ask anyone with a less than perfect job. The walk in to the office Monday morning is a lot different than the walk out on Friday afternoon. Sure, one could argue which model is 99% accurate vs. 98%, and if it auto-detects this kind of activity or that, has gps, blah, blah, blah. This is perfect for what I need right now. I could see I did 1200 steps the day of surgery, and how I've increased a little bit ever since. My highest was only 6700 so far, but it'll get there. I was barely getting 8k steps before surgery.
Granted, walking indoors vs. outdoors does feel very different muscle-wise, and that's another story. My surgeon said don't worry about it for now; all activity is good activity, whether marching in place or covering distance. They say walking is the perfect weight-loss activity. Let's try to prove them right. Let's try not to focus on all the muscle I may be slowly losing while I'm not allowed to do any strength excercises or lifting.
At least one week out I'm doing ok if I try to ignore the bruises still on my hands (from the IVs) and itchy skin from the surgial glue (protects the wounds and stitches). Week two I should be working up to 10 minute walks, and this morning I did 11 minutes. That's something.
One can set the hours, and the thing will nudge you if you haven’t gone at least 250 steps every hour. It buzzes at me at 50 minutes after the hour if I'm under 250 steps. During work hours, this is a huge annoyance when I would normally love to be active but I’m stuck in meetings or don’t even feel like I can take a break. Not having that tied-to-a-desk structure, I can actually set a broader range to be at least a little bit active. 250 is not a lot, but I think the idea is to at least get up once in a while. Who knows what information out there is accurate or not, but I saw an article claiming it wasn’t the total number of hours one sits, that is dangerous, but how long in a row one sits in a row. If that’s correct, some of these trackers have the right idea to nudge you every hour.
The other thing that’s nice is having an impartial judge of how much activity I’m doing. I’m not aiming for strenuous exercise (that’s a no-no right now) but it does tell me if my pulse is up, and for how long, for even moderate activity. Sure, why not get credit for that? The idea for my recovery is to walk often and for longer stretches. However I get my steps in, some here or there, or walking in pace during commercial breaks watching a show, at least it tracks them for me and gives me a decent count. Unlike those days where they used to tell you to guess how much or how active you were by how hard it felt. That’s a joke. If you’re tired, the same amount of exercise (or steps) is going to feel harder than when you’re full of energy. Ask anyone with a less than perfect job. The walk in to the office Monday morning is a lot different than the walk out on Friday afternoon. Sure, one could argue which model is 99% accurate vs. 98%, and if it auto-detects this kind of activity or that, has gps, blah, blah, blah. This is perfect for what I need right now. I could see I did 1200 steps the day of surgery, and how I've increased a little bit ever since. My highest was only 6700 so far, but it'll get there. I was barely getting 8k steps before surgery.
Granted, walking indoors vs. outdoors does feel very different muscle-wise, and that's another story. My surgeon said don't worry about it for now; all activity is good activity, whether marching in place or covering distance. They say walking is the perfect weight-loss activity. Let's try to prove them right. Let's try not to focus on all the muscle I may be slowly losing while I'm not allowed to do any strength excercises or lifting.
At least one week out I'm doing ok if I try to ignore the bruises still on my hands (from the IVs) and itchy skin from the surgial glue (protects the wounds and stitches). Week two I should be working up to 10 minute walks, and this morning I did 11 minutes. That's something.
Thursday, May 9, 2024
1 Week Past Surgery
Had my one week surgery follow-up and all appears well and on track. I can do as much walking as I’d like, but absolutely no weights or band exercises. Can't even use tiny one-pound weights – I asked. Surgeon said It’s better not to risk it and wait it out until the six-week milestone. I could look up walking workouts, but any strenuous activity is discouraged. Way back in the day I did Leslie Sansone and Walk Away the Pounds (WATP) but I wouldn't necessarily be able to do all of those moves either - anything that engages the core. Which puts it back at hey, maybe walk in place and put some music on in general. Gah. Whatever.
In the meantime my spouse is organizing the front room in an effort to make things look more tidy for the next apartment inspection. I still fail to see the point why they care how many dusty books we have if they are sitting on a bookcases that is our own property, and it is not damaging our dirtying the actual walls, floors, etc. At any rate, getting rid of some things we don't need or want anymore. There's a thrift store down the way that takes donations, so that's nice to let them salvage anything they can, instead of everything going in a landfill. We don't have time or means to do the Kondo method, but willingness to let go of things is a step in the right direction. I read and semi-tried Kondo years ago. There are some valid points, like you shouldn't keep crap that doesn't "spark joy" (unless it's practical). But there's no way I will ever fold everything the way she does.
Speaking of which, should probably do some reading while I have time off. Could even attempt a new hobby, but Idk if I'm that determined. Could designate my own NaNoWriMo.
NaNoWriMo deserves a better sales pitch than I feel like presenting, but suffice it to say it developed when some people said hey, wouldn’t it be cool to sit down and write a Novel in a Month? National Novel Writing Month ensued and is observed every November, and Camp NanoWrimo also occurs in April and July with loser customizable goals.
In looking through all our stuff, an interesting conundrum: to keep or chuck WW (Weight Watchers) material. Even if the plans are outdated, in theory, there could be usable recipes or ideas in there. I mean, I whole-heartedly believed in the plan I started out on for years, despite them revising and rebranding every now and then. And like anything else, sometimes you can read the suggestions and take out of it whatever you agree with, or whatever or works for you. Like the Kondo thing, or anything else. I had a falling out with WW years ago when they made it clear how much more they value money than people. But that’s another saga for another day. The point is, even if I don’t agree with them, it doesn’t mean I need to chuck all the materials I paid for based solely on principle. But how likely am I to ever re-read and use this stuff? Ugh.
In the meantime my spouse is organizing the front room in an effort to make things look more tidy for the next apartment inspection. I still fail to see the point why they care how many dusty books we have if they are sitting on a bookcases that is our own property, and it is not damaging our dirtying the actual walls, floors, etc. At any rate, getting rid of some things we don't need or want anymore. There's a thrift store down the way that takes donations, so that's nice to let them salvage anything they can, instead of everything going in a landfill. We don't have time or means to do the Kondo method, but willingness to let go of things is a step in the right direction. I read and semi-tried Kondo years ago. There are some valid points, like you shouldn't keep crap that doesn't "spark joy" (unless it's practical). But there's no way I will ever fold everything the way she does.
Speaking of which, should probably do some reading while I have time off. Could even attempt a new hobby, but Idk if I'm that determined. Could designate my own NaNoWriMo.
NaNoWriMo deserves a better sales pitch than I feel like presenting, but suffice it to say it developed when some people said hey, wouldn’t it be cool to sit down and write a Novel in a Month? National Novel Writing Month ensued and is observed every November, and Camp NanoWrimo also occurs in April and July with loser customizable goals.
In looking through all our stuff, an interesting conundrum: to keep or chuck WW (Weight Watchers) material. Even if the plans are outdated, in theory, there could be usable recipes or ideas in there. I mean, I whole-heartedly believed in the plan I started out on for years, despite them revising and rebranding every now and then. And like anything else, sometimes you can read the suggestions and take out of it whatever you agree with, or whatever or works for you. Like the Kondo thing, or anything else. I had a falling out with WW years ago when they made it clear how much more they value money than people. But that’s another saga for another day. The point is, even if I don’t agree with them, it doesn’t mean I need to chuck all the materials I paid for based solely on principle. But how likely am I to ever re-read and use this stuff? Ugh.
Sunday, May 5, 2024
Bored
I might end up posting more than anticipated out of boredom, if nothing else. I’m approved for 6 weeks off work from this major surgery. I’ve been out two days and am already going stir-crazy. I slept most of surgery day afterwards, and a bit of the next day (does that count as day 1 or day 2?). I stopped taking prescription pain pills yesterday on day three, and am only taking otcs, but very religiously, to stay ahead of pain. Still hurts occasionally, especially if I cough or such, but overall, I’m surprised how well I’m feeling. Walking is supposed to be great. I can’t cover much ground indoors, and unfortunately outdoors involves getting dressed, stairs and weather. Had my first outing yesterday and I did notice how my stride is different with an actual destination vs. shuffling around indoors. We’ll see what I can do. It’s only one flight of stairs, but my knee doesn’t appreciate them (and my silly Fitbit refuses to acknowledge them, which defiance is irritating). So far the weather is cooler than normal – ideal for me, because I hate the heat.
The sad part is when you gain 6 pounds overnight because you’ve formed the habit of getting on the scale every morning no matter what. And you eat nothing but saltine crackers and pills the first couple of days and keep gaining. When you think “yay” that your appetite has not returned yet, even though you should probably still eat a little bit of healthy food to promote digestion and healing. I used to be able to pour a 2 cup bowl of blueberries and munch on it all morning. The other day I poured a cup in a bowl and it took 4 separate visits to finish it.
I’m very grateful the pain is bearable and hopefully the worst is over. Sounds like day two is the worst. Bruises are surfacing and incisions itch, but otherwise surviving remarkably well.
The sad part is when you gain 6 pounds overnight because you’ve formed the habit of getting on the scale every morning no matter what. And you eat nothing but saltine crackers and pills the first couple of days and keep gaining. When you think “yay” that your appetite has not returned yet, even though you should probably still eat a little bit of healthy food to promote digestion and healing. I used to be able to pour a 2 cup bowl of blueberries and munch on it all morning. The other day I poured a cup in a bowl and it took 4 separate visits to finish it.
I’m very grateful the pain is bearable and hopefully the worst is over. Sounds like day two is the worst. Bruises are surfacing and incisions itch, but otherwise surviving remarkably well.
Friday, May 3, 2024
Still Alive
Still breathing. Napping, walking, trying to get fluids down; incredibly thirsty. No appetite, so only having saltines with the pills that should be taken with food. Surgeon ordered a bunch of blood labs, and I hope my insurance pays for them. Didn't know what all she ordered besides blood type, until I got the lab results via e-mail.
No idea if we passed the apt inspection or not, or when we would find out.
Wednesday, May 1, 2024
Of all the crappy timing . . .
Of all the blasted timing, got an apartment inspection notice this afternoon for tomorrow. My spouse is telling me to try to relax; he will take care of the deep cleaning as I go over my pre and post-op instructions and try not to stress.
Yes you can say we’re stupid for renting, but one has to have enough money in order to buy as well, and the cost of living goes up way faster than our paychecks. No, they don’t reschedule the apt thing – they aren’t even available to take calls for emergencies, let alone questions. They charge for regular wear and tear and threaten to charge if a repeat visit is needed for repairs (even though we’ve been there so long, things wear out, like caulking, non-water-resistant-paint on the shower walls . . .
Since they can show up whenever they please, no idea if they will arrive while we’re at the hospital or after we come home. My spouse is prepared to give them a lecture about disturbing me if it’s after surgery, since they feel they need to inspect every cranny, whether I'm recooping or not. I'd even like to put a note on the door something to the effect that “Please note when you enter, the person living here has had major surgery in the last 24 hours and you are stressing them out.” Technically said statement is true whether or not I would be home. Yes, I have watched a lot of television shows with con-men.
I drank my assigned 3 liters of water plus some, so yay. Still have to wonder how high my blood pressure will be when I check in, given all of this. My fitbit says my BP is much higher in the morning. Wonder if that’s a trend for some people, whether due to age, fitness level, weight . . . Interesting is all, since I have to get there at 5:30 am. I’m usually borderline barely acceptable on a good day, but throw in “white coat syndrome” of being at the hospital, getting what the internet acclaims is on the top 10 most painful surgeries, and stressing about the perceived violation of strangers photographing my home and belongings, hoping they don’t break things and wondering why they need evidence of what I have in my closet in the first place (suspecting drugs?) this is gonna be fun.
I suspect only one person reads this blog anyway, but if anyone by chance is reading this, I welcome any and all positive vibes you can spare (even if you read this later). I really don’t need the threat of eviction on top of everything else because they don’t like our interior decorating (they have complained about dust in the past, good grief people). Happy grateful wishes to anyone reading this at any time who doesn’t judge and scold me for putting myself out there in the first place.
Yes you can say we’re stupid for renting, but one has to have enough money in order to buy as well, and the cost of living goes up way faster than our paychecks. No, they don’t reschedule the apt thing – they aren’t even available to take calls for emergencies, let alone questions. They charge for regular wear and tear and threaten to charge if a repeat visit is needed for repairs (even though we’ve been there so long, things wear out, like caulking, non-water-resistant-paint on the shower walls . . .
Since they can show up whenever they please, no idea if they will arrive while we’re at the hospital or after we come home. My spouse is prepared to give them a lecture about disturbing me if it’s after surgery, since they feel they need to inspect every cranny, whether I'm recooping or not. I'd even like to put a note on the door something to the effect that “Please note when you enter, the person living here has had major surgery in the last 24 hours and you are stressing them out.” Technically said statement is true whether or not I would be home. Yes, I have watched a lot of television shows with con-men.
I drank my assigned 3 liters of water plus some, so yay. Still have to wonder how high my blood pressure will be when I check in, given all of this. My fitbit says my BP is much higher in the morning. Wonder if that’s a trend for some people, whether due to age, fitness level, weight . . . Interesting is all, since I have to get there at 5:30 am. I’m usually borderline barely acceptable on a good day, but throw in “white coat syndrome” of being at the hospital, getting what the internet acclaims is on the top 10 most painful surgeries, and stressing about the perceived violation of strangers photographing my home and belongings, hoping they don’t break things and wondering why they need evidence of what I have in my closet in the first place (suspecting drugs?) this is gonna be fun.
I suspect only one person reads this blog anyway, but if anyone by chance is reading this, I welcome any and all positive vibes you can spare (even if you read this later). I really don’t need the threat of eviction on top of everything else because they don’t like our interior decorating (they have complained about dust in the past, good grief people). Happy grateful wishes to anyone reading this at any time who doesn’t judge and scold me for putting myself out there in the first place.
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