Tubal Reversal Surgery: First Week Of Recovery
This is Georgia Peach’s story about the first week of her recovery after tubal reversal surgery.
Readers can view Georgia Peach’s first and subsequent submissions - The Tubal Reversal Journey of Georgia Peach.
The following narrative is Georgia’s next update in her own words…
After Tubal Reversal: Night Of Surgery
Kevin took me back to the hotel after my tubal reversal surgery and I slept pretty much all day. He woke me up once in a while to take my medication. Later that first night I decided I was awake enough to walk around so I walked the halls of the hotel. Once was enough.
I was having a mild allergic reaction to the medications prescribed for me, so I woke up a lot the first night. The next morning the nurse from Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center, Laura, came by to check on me. She said I could remove the pad of gauze and tape covering my incision. Everything looked good and she told Kevin she would get a different type of pain medication for me when she got back.
So- if you are having any problems with your medication, let your nurse know the next day! They were wonderful to work with and made everything easy.
I found what helped me the most was a heating pad. I got one with an automatic shut off, which would cut off once it reached a certain temperature for 15 minutes. It really helped a lot.
The Day After Tubal Ligation Reversal
On Friday evening we decided to venture out. We went to Walmart and I rode around in a motorized wheelchair. We also went to Lone Star to eat. I was still getting tired pretty easily though but tended to think ” Oh, I am ok – lets keep going!”
Ladies! Don’t push yourselves! Saturday I slept most of the day, and my friend came by to visit for a while after we had gone to eat. Sunday we drove home. It was a LONG drive home - it decided to snow that day, and we got stuck on I-85 for a few hours.
My Arrival Home After Tubal Surgery
When I got home, the kids were extremely anxious to see us. We spent the rest of Sunday catching up on the past few days and getting the kids ready for bed. I didn’t have to go back to work until the next Thursday- one week after my surgery, so every morning Kevin would help me out of bed ( we have a water bed so it was a lot of work to get up) and settle me on the couch and that is where I stayed.
Recovering After Reversal Surgery: The Week After
My first week of recovery was the hardest without a doubt, but relatively speaking, it wasn’t that hard. I slept most of Monday, but Tuesday I was more awake. I took my steri-strips off on Tuesday. They peeled off pretty easily, and I mark that to the heating pad helping make the sticky not be so….. sticky.
The first time I sat up after taking the strips off was painful. I felt like those steri-strips had been holding some things in place that gravity got to when they were off, but after that first time I was fine.
Wednesday I was a little more active during the day and even cooked dinner that night. I did talk to my boss and she said for me to just take Thursday off as we were slow that day anyway. So I spent Thursday camped out on my couch again. I really wasn’t hurting, but I didn’t want to over do anything that first week. All in all, aside from just getting really tired really easily, I wasn’t in a huge amount of pain. I took it easy, took everything slow, and rested often.
That is the way to go!
Submitted by Georgia Peach
The next story in this series is After Tubal Reversal Surgery: Returning To Work.
Visitors are welcome to leave comments on the blog for Georgia Peach and/or join discussions with other women on the Tubal Reversal Message Board.
If You Are Interested in Tubal Surgery…
Readers interested in having tubal surgery for blocked tubes or to have their tubes untied can visit the Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center website for more information.
Anyone interested can also call (919) 968-4656 for a free nurse consultation.
Personal Stories Of Tubal Reversal
Personal stories about tubal reversal surgery can be found in our daily submitted Patient Satisfaction Messages and on our Tubal Reversal Blog.
April 27th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Thanks for sharing your experiences for the benefit of others. We appreciate your openness and personal insights.
April 24th, 2009 at 11:46 pm
Thanks I now realize that I can get through the pain thanks again for your stories!!!
April 24th, 2009 at 10:40 am
Peach… this is a wonderful accounting of your reversal. I remember having alot of similar experiences. The care and compassion of CHTRC and the staff is truly unbelievable. Wishing you great success and lots of sticky baby dust!
Prayers and Hugs, Angela BLack
April 24th, 2009 at 6:29 am
It is great that you are sharing your entire story to help benefit other ladies, thank you again! This is such a good way for women thinking of TR to see what it is really like from another patients’ view.
April 23rd, 2009 at 11:15 pm
It’s a great description and helpful. I dont worry too much about the pain, but wonder a great deal about what the pain will be like. I have had 3 c-sections. Your description at least lets me know I can tolerate the pain compared to my other abdominal surgeries. I can imagine the water bed was very difficult! Thank you for sharing your experience!
April 23rd, 2009 at 9:46 pm
[...] Georgia Peach’s next blog is Tubal Reversal Surgery: First Week Of Recovery. [...]
April 23rd, 2009 at 9:25 pm
Your experience in your own words will help many women make their decision about having tubal reversal surgery. You have been very candid. Thank you for taking the time to put this together.
April 23rd, 2009 at 5:17 pm
Georgia, thank you again for offering to share your experience! I am certain that your story is an inspiration to the readers.
April 23rd, 2009 at 3:42 pm
I have heard ladies comment that reading Georgia Peach’s blog is so helpful in understanding what happens when you come to Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center. One thing I would like to mention is that we don’t recommend using a heating pad for the first two days after surgery. It does increase the chance of bleeding and causes the bruising at your incision to be worse. We recommend using ice packs instead for 15 minutes to help ‘numb’ up the area. After the initial days following surgery, it is okay to use a heating pad if that seems to help you.