Fitness After Surgery

I'm officially one month post-op and I have been having a few set backs.  While the majority of my incisions are healed, I have been having issues with one area that keeps having drainage.  I had to return to my doctor for an unplanned follow up appointment because all of a sudden I started having a lot of drainage requiring an immediate site assessment and change in the plan of care.  I'm now having to conduct daily dressing changes. As of a week ago I was changing the dressing up to three times a day.  Drainage has finally started to slow down and I am now changing my dressing once or twice a day. 


On the fitness end of things, I have started to do some online yoga classes with www.DoYogaWithMe.com.  I also successfully took a yoga class on Friday with my local YMCA. Saturday morning I did a quick at home circuit training routine that focused strongly on glutes and legs. I am also continuing to use my Desk Cycle throughout the work day while I sit at my desk. While my incisional healing has been a slow progress, I have been working towards increasing my endurance with around the house activities.  I couldn't believe how wiped out the surgery left me.  The first three weeks post-op were frustrating because mentally I was ready to get moving while physically I was not.  I've been itching to get back in the air but have been cautious as to not jump back on any apparatuses while having drainage. 


I think the most frustrating thing is that while most of the incisional area is well healed, there is one area that is being stubborn. The reason for this is because of a previous hernia repair that resulted in my surgeon having to make a cut in a secondary location. Obviously the secondary location is not a preferred area and after experiencing the slower recuperation, I completely understand the reasoning why.


While I have not gone into complete details about my surgery and why I had it, I can say that I am feeling so much better than I have in the last 12+ years.  I'm able to tolerate eating certain things better than I was.  I have noticed a difference so I would say my surgery was quite successful.  I think the one thing I keep trying to remind myself is that I need to respect the fact that I just had a major surgery a month ago.  In the big picture, a month is really not all that long ago.  It may seem like an eternity at times but in reality, sometimes our bodies need time for recovery and pushing ourselves too much too soon can have the opposite effect of our intentions.  So I'm hanging in there and continuing to work on my short term goals and hopefully I will be back at it before long.