Stages of Fatigue

Message

#1 Post by **enigma** » Mon Feb 08, 2010 10:47 am

Hello all,
Well Im just 3 weeks post op now and am for the most part doing well.
I can open my mouth to fit one finger and Im eating soft food from a baby spoon. I can brush normally and keep good hygiene. And I am trying to eat as much as I can.
But there is a but lol I was wondering at this stage how tired people were?
I had blood tests done before I left hospital and they said my count was under half and that instead of a blood transfusion they would send me home with liquid iron supplement which I haven been taken 20mls of every day since. But I still feel physically weak after very little exertion. I also get quite breathless which I think stems from the same thing. I still feel the need to nap for quite a while during the day.

How tired were you at this point? I have loads of help here but I was just wondering where you were at. What type of things could you do?

I do appreciate that we all heal at different stages and we are all of different fitness to start with Im just curious.
Thanks and best wishes to everyone xxx

#2 Post by **OhioM** » Mon Feb 08, 2010 11:15 am

enigma, I am 19 days post-op and my energy is about 85% of normal right now. Your description sounds a lot like me at 1 week or 1.5 weeks post op. We are all different though, and if you lost a lot of blood and are semi-anemic, then that would explain it. I would just keep getting those calories in. Are you drinking Boost/Ensure? You can't beat the nutrition in those with other liquids. I would aim for 2 or 3 of those a day along with your foods. Keep up with your liquids and vitamins, too.

#3 Post by **dosTfy5** » Mon Feb 08, 2010 11:46 am

Hi I am 3 1/2 weeks from (second) surgey - le fort 1 and bsso. I am still tired and am sleeping maybe 10 hours a day. I think its normal so don't worry about it!

#4 Post by **srs** » Mon Feb 08, 2010 6:30 pm

What do you mean your blood count was "half?" That sounds way low. Breathlesness is a sign of anemia. Do you take vitamins? In my case, I had pretty much normal energy after 1 week, but I am not anemic. Everyone is different. Make sure they follow up on that blood count.

#5 Post by **crazybeautiful** » Tue Feb 09, 2010 11:16 am

I'm the same as OhioM. I only feel fatigued if for whatever reason I haven't eaten much (which I am conscious not to do)

Perhaps it's just the fact that you don't have the capacity to eat much because of lack of ROM (e.g. I'm eating whatever I can eat without chewing and have the ROM to do so), and you're partly anaemic because of blood loss.

All I can say if just keep up with your iron intake, get at least 3 supplement drinks a day, and start to drink some full fat milk, or bulk things up with creams, etc (this was what my dietitian at the hospital told me in case I was on a liquid diet, and was what I did for the first week) so you get a bit more substance to your meals

#6 Post by **enigma** » Tue Feb 09, 2010 1:08 pm

Thanks everyone
I think it is just a combination of things, I must try harder with the energy drinks.
What I mean by my count is low its what the hospital said about my iron.
Thanks for your endless support it really helps xxx

#7 Post by **crazybeautiful** » Tue Feb 09, 2010 2:16 pm

You can also get fortified soups, for some more variety. I used (was given) Nestle Nutren; do Ensure do soups?

Not that I used them after a few days! I seriously detest soup

#8 Post by **blindboarder2008** » Tue Feb 09, 2010 6:08 pm

enigma: When i went for my pre op before my surgery which was this past june, I was told it could take up to a month to start getting energy back. General anesthetic takes alot out of you and since it seems you may be a bit anemic it makes sense that its taking you a bit longer to bounce back and gain your energy. Just keep trying to get as much nutrients as you can and make sure you follow up with the iron count!!!

take it easy and try to take small short walks if you can!

I think it took me almost a month to start feeling semi normal again and even then i could still tell I didn't have full energy back. My sister had the same surgery as I did a year or so before I had mine and she is very anemic and it took her a little over a month to get up and move around alot without her feeling faint or dizzy!! hang in there and take care of yourself!