Lefort I post-surgery recovery headaches?

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#1 Post by **xraider** » Fri Jun 18, 2010 7:49 pm

Daughter had this 2 days ago. I don't know what all she had besides the Lefort I and genioplasty. She's home now and suffering from headaches. Anyone else have that? Any advice?

#2 Post by **BracketRacket** » Fri Jun 18, 2010 7:58 pm

Could it be sinus pain/headache? They do cut through the sinuses, and I had some discomfort, especially at first. My doctor said I could take Sudafed, maybe check?

#3 Post by **OzzysMom** » Sat Jun 19, 2010 1:47 am

At 2-3 days post-op I had them too. Could not lift my head off the pillow. On day 3 I struggled just to get online to tell everyone I was ok and that was only for a few minutes. The first 5 days are really tough. That is often a normal part of the recovery for a lot of people but if you have any questions, just give your surgeon a call.

Wishing her a nice recovery.

#4 Post by **crazybeautiful** » Sat Jun 19, 2010 4:46 am

Though a simple thing, it may be down to her not drinking enough water, since it's difficult to get enough fluids down so soon after the operation.

#5 Post by **xraider** » Sat Jun 19, 2010 7:05 am

Thank you all. We're trying to make her drink today but she's not up for it yet. If the headaches don't go down in the next day or two, I'll call her doctor on Monday. I really appreciate the comments, and the encouragement.

#6 Post by **Audra** » Sat Jun 19, 2010 7:17 am

She really needs to drink, whether she's up for it or not. Juice will taste better for her right now. Just keep a syringe and some juice by her at all times. She needs to sip (through the syringe of course) all throughout the day or she will get dehydrated.

I had the headaches too. Make sure she is not lying flat. I had to sleep on the couch propped by pillows for about a month after surgery.

If she got a prescription nasal spray to decongest her sinuses make sure she uses it. It will help a lot. Also, sudafed tablets (crushed and mixed with juice) can be used as well in addition to the spray. The sinus pressure after a lefort 1 is pretty intense, especially since she's not allowed to blow her nose.

Seriously though, get some fluids into her whether she complains about it or not or she'll end up back in the hospital on an IV

#7 Post by **nineeyes** » Sat Jun 19, 2010 7:37 am

I will second what Audra said. It will go much more smoothly if she keeps properly hydrated in addition to getting some food like protein shakes or soup. The recovery period is definitely tough, but it could be much tougher if problems arise from being malnourished or dehydrated - particularly after the trauma of surgery.

#8 Post by **Audra** » Sat Jun 19, 2010 7:59 am

I just thought I would add that on day 4 when I was home from the hospital, I could not keep anything down due to nausea. It turned out the antibiotics were making me quite sick so my doctor told my husband to stop giving them to me. I also could not get the liquid gravol (dramamine if you are in the US) down due to the nausea (and the gravol HELPS with the nausea) so my husband had to go buy me gravol suppositories. That did the trick. The nausea went away and I was able to begin consuming liquids again.

I cannot understate how ill one can become from becoming dehydrated.