Post-op blues

Hi. Your husband is safely through a very big operation and is heading for a curative route away from this dreadful disease. He is only just at the start of his recovery. I think you should take the time out to get your own rest and to relax from any worry. He is being well looked after.at the hospital. Yes of course HDU is a busy place and perhaps patients sleeping regime is not the immediate priority!  I doubt he has any prior  experience of the after effects of having a lung  deflated and his rib caged stretched so sure there is some discomfort. No one is saying it is easy and recovery from this must be taken slowly but he now has been given that second chance at life and that must be his driving force.  My very best wishes to you both.

Completely normal he will have chest drains in which make breathing difficult he will be on loads of pain killers which will make you feel strange and as for sleeping forget it you just catch bits if sleep when you can ! 
Each day you will see an improvement as each tube a wire come out he will start to become his old self ! but as our wise anglers says take care of your self and try not to worry it’s all part of the course. 

wishing you both well it’s a long haul but doable x

Thank you. I have pointed out to him that it's very early days and they seem very happy with his progress. I expected him to feel awful physically at this stage but not for him to be so anxious and depressed. Perhaps the cocktail of drugs he has been given is a contributory factor?

The lack of sleep worries me because I can't see how being exhausted is going to help his recovery, physically or mentally/emotionally, but it seems to be a common complaint from people who have been in hospital, regardless of the reason for their stay. There's a saying 'sleep is the best medicine', but it seems this doesn't apply in hospital.

I'm trying to take care of myself but sleep doesn't come easily for me either. At midnight last night I was sitting in the garden staring at the clouds! I'm afraid I can't help but worry, it's hard enough just being apart from him.

I know it’s hard probably more so for the one not having the operation ! But he’s in the best hands ! I was in for a month before my operation as I had to be fed through a picc line and got very little sleep during that time so when I was in after my operation I knew I wouldn’t get much sleep but I survived !! 
 
Just take one day at a time there will be good ones and bad ones but you will both get through it x

Thank you. He looked like the bionic man the day after the op - tubes all over the place! A lot of those were removed yesterday which has to be a good sign, as is his move from Intensive Care as they wouldn't do that if they didn't think he was doing OK.

I'll just do my best to reassure him that all is 'as well as can be expected' at this stage and what's he's experiencing is normal. That's about all I can do.

This forum is so helpful - hearing from people who have been through it is invaluable.

I am now 14 months post op and life is back to normal well except for the sleeping sitting up but it’s a small price to pay ! Send him my best wishes  and try not to worry too much, my story is on my profile it he wants to read it ! 

Thanks, I will send him your best wishes and hopefully the responses I've had here will help him to be a bit more positive in his thinking.

Only 3 days after his op, your husband is in the very early days of his recovery. One that will take many months to complete. In the days following mine, I was on a plethora of pain killing medication but still struggled to find a comfortable sleeping position. I just tended to doze on and off during the day. Eventually the pain slowly diminished and the pain meds were reduced down until I was only taking paracetamol and then nothing at all. I reckon that process took about 4-6 weeks to accomplish. Reassure your husband that things will improve but it will take time. He has just been through what my surgeon described as one of the most brutal surgical procedures that the human body can endure. The fact that he was offered it at all is a good sign. I am now 26 months post surgery and, although it was bloody tough to get through and life is different now to how it used to be, I am so glad that I was given the option. 

I don't think he knew, or even understands now, just how brutal the operation is. I did because I had read about it here but he adopted the 'ignorance is bliss' approach, which is his prerogative.

I've just spoken to someone on his ward and mentioned the pain. Before the op the anaesthetist said the epidural was the best means of pain control and would stay in place for some days after the operation but I discovered this morning that for reasons known only to himself the surgeon decided it should be removed when he was in Intensive Care, which explains a lot. 

I keep pointing out to him that these are very early days in a long recovery process and yes, he is indeed fortunate that surgery was an option. Will do my best to keep his spirits up when I see him this afternoon.

The 'ignorance is bliss' approach is very understandable and very few of us have any kind of comprehension of everything that is involved before we undertake this operation. However down the road perhaps there are good arguments to getting a better understanding as to what your own body has been through as it may help with coping with future limitations. For anyone who is interested and maybe not aware of it, there is a very good episode on BBCiplayer of the team at UHS carrying out this operation.