Have a Shower Hero after your Lap!

[squidgy]

Further to my earlier post a couple days ago I had a slight blip and just wanted to mention on here for those who are due to have a lap soon. But don't take it as gospel as each person is individual!

Basically, I had my first shower last night, 2 days after my Lap. I asked my husband to sit in bathroom with me to help me and had read I may feel a little light headed in first shower. I managed to shower, got out and dried then took off the dressings which were wet to replace with new fresh ones. However straight after taking off the dressings I felt very hot, light headed and nauseous. I quickly sat on the toilet and my husband stood infront holding me up and I could feel my head getting heavier but lighter at same time and hotter. Next thing I knew I was waking up on the floor with my husband saying "it's ok you are on the bathroom floor, you passed out, but you are ok!" Not nice at all! Took me ages to get back up off floor, new dressings on and getting dressed myself..all of which my super hero husband helped me! Without him being there I would have hit my head and goodness knows then where I would be!

Today I still feeling heavy/light headed, whoozy feeling but nowhere near as bad as last night!

My tip when it says on info for after care that you may want someone with you when you first have a shower after your Lap DO! You need a shower hero!

[hayls]

Your post made me giggle as this is exactly what happened to me after my last lap - so I definitely agree that everyone needs a shower hero!

[squidgy in reply to hayls]

Hi hayls

Glad I brought some cheer and made you giggle. Sorry to hear the same happened to you too! xx

[MrsRothers]

Thanks for the heads up. I have my Lap Thursday so will make sure hubby is on hand and close by. I'm so buying him some Superman pants to wear while he's waiting lol

[squidgy in reply to MrsRothers]

Hi MrsRothers

No worries for the heads up! Ha love it with the superman pants! Made me chortle! Good luck with your Lap on Thursday. Hope all goes well and you have a quick, as pain free recovery as possible. Also that you get some answers, but not bad ones! x x If you have any questions re the lap feel free to ask on here or private message me x

[emaweegirl]

Bless you. Thanks for sharing and for the heads up! X

[squidgy in reply to emaweegirl]

No problemo emaweegirl ! Thanks for taking time out to reply to my post x

[Cat247]

Agree! I didn't colapse but certainly felt like I was going to after my first lap. The more recent op which was a lot bigger the nurses just left me to have a shower on my own in my own little bathroom that I had in my room at hospital! My mum was horrified when she heard I showered alone! Luckily for me I've never passed out in my life but I did feel horrendously light headed and dizzy. Good advice hun.xx

[squidgy in reply to Cat247]

Hi there Cat247. Glad you have not collapsed in shower/bathroom after ops. I agree with your mum, that not good they left you to shower alone esp as they know risks after an op. But glad you were ok. It is horrible the light headed/dizzy feeling isn't it. Hope your recovery is still going ok. I am having a very teary day today! Along with the pains recovering from op. Gonna try a shower again tomorrow morning...will have my shower hero to hand again methinks..just in case!

[Cat247 in reply to squidgy]

Aww bless you yes make sure he is there tomorrow. Hope you get a good night sleep. I'm not doing too bad. Went to the supermarket today so got quite a bit of lower back pain now. Desperately trying to get by on basic pain relief as bit scared of tramadol now as I'm sure that caused my tummy troubles.xx

[squidgy in reply to Cat247]

Yup. I had him nearby again and thankfully this time no passing out! Still felt bit woozy but no where near as bad! I feel woozy if I do too much (which isn't much)!

It is nice when manage get out isn't it. Makes us feel a bit normal again. I over did it yesterday and that was just by visiting the in-laws and then some friends. My hubby wanted to take me to a & e but I said no.

I was given one dose of tramadol when I was in recovery from op as in so much pain, which meant I needed an anti sickness jab too. Tramadol does the job but not nice side effects. I hope you manage to get by with basic pain relief and as each day goes by you feel your strength coming back. x

[merlin19]

Thanks for the advice, I'll be having my first lap soon and any tips are helpful!

[squidgy in reply to merlin19]

No problem merlin19. Good luck for your up coming lap. If you have any queries don't hesitate to ask on here or via a private message.

[merlin19 in reply to squidgy]

Thank you! I'm waiting for the date to come through, there's been a lot of good advice on here already, but I'm sure I'll think of something as it gets closer. I know everyone's different, but one of the things I'm most eager to know is how much time I'll likely need off work after, I've heard everything from a couple of days up to 3/4 weeks, I guess I'll just have to see how I feel afterwards! I'll certainly make sure there's someone about for the first few days after, I've already got my mum set up for taxi duties though

[squidgy in reply to merlin19]

I was lucky and a very rare case that I didn't have a long wait..only 2 weeks. That was bad enough,so can only imagine what like waiting for longer!

Yeh this forum is fab for info,support and advice. So glad I found it. Has kept me sain, that for sure.

Like you say, everyone recovers differently. I had my op on Tuesday 3rd June. I felt sore and movement was painful but I was managing to get out of bed (slowly and carefully) and downstairs to the sofa. I also didn't suffer from the shoulder pain people have mentioned on here. For that I feel very lucky. Nausea has been an issue for me, but I suffered with this before the op. I am still fragile and have to take things slowly. I feel dizzy/woozy if do too much, which isn't much. Plus I am dozing a lot too. But I know I could not be back at work yet that for sure! My work is as an Avon Lady so I am fortunate that I have more flexible work schedule and no boss to answer too. However the next order of goods is due on Wednesday for me to bag up and deliver and to be honest I not sure I up to that yet. What I did, esp after reading about different people's experience and what the sites about endo say, is that I expected the worse then that way anything less would be a blessing. I would say allow yourself a minimum of 2 weeks. There is no harm over estimating how long you may be off to your boss as that way they wont, in theory, be pushing you to come back after 2 days! But I know a lot of workplaces are not supportive at all.

Yeh def have someone about for at least first few days. I had my dad here so my husband could still work after my op and not worry as much. It was a blessing having him here. I hated having to keep saying "can I have some water", "can I have another hot water bottle", "can I have some toast", "could you go to the shop and get me a paper and we need some milk" etc. I am a stubborn person and not like asking for help but I realised that for me and my body to heal I had to be a little demanding! Today (Monday) is my first day being home alone and so far I doing ok. I have not tried driving yet as I know my body not ready yet.

I hope you get a date soon and then get some answers so you can move on with your life and know what you are dealing with.

I hope my blah blah has helped, even if just a little. x x

[Impatient]

I avoided that mishap by having shallow baths and luckily the house we were living in had a well placed handle on the wall for getting up out of the bath. A relic of the previous elderly owner and I was very grateful for it being there.

I found that at 1st kneeling in the bath helped me get up gently.

another tip is make sure everything you need is within easy to reach distance before you have the shower or bath so you are not stretching. Place a plastic chair or stool in the shower unit so you are sitting on something in case you feel light headed by being vertical too long, and have another outside the shower to sit down on while drying.

Either way DO NOT lock the bathroom door. Stick a sign on it saying occupied if you are sharing your home with others, but do not lock yourself in there. If you do need help a locked door is a considerable problem.

So pleased you had a shower superhero on hand Squidgy. Not a nice experience to have that happen.

If you still have surgical stockings from the op, keep them on for up to a week, that way it will stop the blood filling up the legs and struggling to get pumped back up to your heart and head. Keeping active every hour with a pottering about walk will also get the circulation going, and when you do lie down, elevate your legs higher than your torso, so the blood doesn't get stuck down in the legs causing you to be light headed when you do have to get up. It will get easier, but in the meantime there are things you can do to help not have a repeat episode. Very speedy recovery wishes to you.

[squidgy in reply to Impatient]

Hi impatient

Thanks for your reply and sound advice which is always valuable!

Yeh I still am wearing the surgical stockings all day and night since the op as I am having to inject myself with blood thinning drugs (last one today!) as a precaution due to an inherent condition I may have.

I am going to try have a shower again tomorrow morning and will use your useful tips and have my shower hero nearby again...just in case!

Sorry to be a pain to ask, but do you know how long it usually takes for dissolvable stitches to come out?

I really want to go to the stupid gastroenterologist who said I didn't have endo as it doesn't effect bowel with my recent results from my lap (as mentioned in my post a couple days ago)!

I hope you are doing ok and having as pain free a weekend as possible.

[Endoizzy]

That happened to me too. I thought I was being silly to collapse after dressing removed. My husband was with me at the time, tks to him things didn't go worst. Take rest and soon you will be feeling much better

[squidgy in reply to Endoizzy]

Hi endoizzy

Thanks for your reply and kind wishes.

Sorry to hear you had the same horrible experience for your shower too! Was it just the first one or for a few more after? I am going to try having another tomorrow and fingers crossed all goes better than last time! But will have my hero there just in case! Like you say thank goodness for the husband or whoever we can have with us or would be worse!

I thought I was being silly too with how I'd reacted in the shower. Good to hear I not the only one from your reply and the others on here.

[Endoizzy]

That happened only one time, so fingers crossed, positive thoughts are needed, I'm sure all goes better tomorrow. Good luck

[squidgy in reply to Endoizzy]

Cheers Endoizzy. Yeh 2nd shower went much better thanks. Still felt woozy/dizzy but no where near as bad and I didn't collapse which is definately a bonus!

[ashleyjane88]

Thanks squidgy my laps tomorrow and I would never have thought to ask my partner to do that, so Ive just told him and he agreed lol! Your husbands a real hero lol! Hope your feeling better soon! Xxxx

[squidgy in reply to ashleyjane88]

I know you wont see this now until after your Lap, but just to say I hope it all goes well and you not too far down the list for being operated on. I hope you get some answers and these answers are not too severe.

Glad your husband is going to be your shower hero for you. I think they like to feel they are doing something too as I know mine feels helpless and that he wants to take it all away for me. We had a chat in the garden the other evening and were both in tears!

I am recovering slowly but in the right direction. Just trying to take it easy and not do much but try increase what I do esp from today. Although still feel woozy/dizzy and fragile.

Hugs to you for your Lap and your recovery x

[Howmanyfrogs]

My hubby had to almost carry me to the loo for my first wee after my first lap, I was so weak and still attached to numerous tubes. Yet, I couldn't wee. So they had to help me out. We both cheered my first proper wee the following day. Life is wonderfully weird sometimes.

I'm glad he caught you!

[squidgy in reply to Howmanyfrogs]

Yeh so am I! Such a surreal experience.

Yeh that first wee is def a need for little celebration. I went back to my cubicle, arms in air and proudly announced to my husband "yeh I've had a wee!" The small things hey! Mind you my bladder not been same since the op, but GP doesn't seem bothered every time I mention it!

Hope your recovery from Lap went well or is going well and endo is giving you some symptom free days.

[char172]

This advice is so important. My boyfriend had to help me with absolutely everything after my operation from lifting me in and out of bed to helping me bathe. It's so scary how dependent you suddenly have to become!

[squidgy in reply to char172]

Thanks. I thought it may be something useful as I had never heard about it before! Glad you had support for after your Lap. It is amazing what a shock to the body it is. I hope your recovery was as quick as possible and the endo is being as pain free as possible x