After surgery

Wowzers you’ve been through the mill. I feel very fortunate that my keyhole surgery went as planned.  I  couldn’t sleep lying down for a fair few weeks - didn’t get rid of the wedge pillow for 8 to 10 weeks. I think if I was having trouble with pain, I’d give the specialist nurses a ring and tell them you’re struggling with pain and see what they advise.

I hope things improve for you soon, sending you a big virtual hug

steph x

Good luck let us know how you get on 

Thanks for the virtual hug.  I thought my end had come in the early hours of those morning, I have not been able to cough as its too painful and cannot get a deep enough breath to fo it.  Anyway, my body decided it was coughing whether I wanted to or not which resulted in thick gurgling stuck in my windpipe and I couldn't get it up, I was literally chocking on all the gunk that's built up and it was so frightening, I got a small breath through nose, just enough to push it into throat then straight into my stomach.  Now I'm afraid to even sleep propped up, that was so scary, did you have any problems coughing to clear lungs ? They gave me medication in hospital to clear any congestion, but they had no effect on me, but maybe this is my body reacting to them now?   

That sounds horrendous. They like to keep on top of the pain so you can cough to clear your chest.  They showed me a technique holding a cushion very tightly to the affected side, and the coughing. Bit unpleasant and a little painful to begin with but then ok after a while.  The first coughs are definitely the worst and it gets progressively easier.

But then I didn’t have a thoracotomy.  It sounds like your surgeon has taken every precaution he can to avoid leaving anything behind by scraping etc.  A Thoracotomy is an even bigger insult to the body than VATS and it’s probably going to take a while to recover. Perhaps peeps who have had a thoracotomy could chip in with any tips. I found lots of hot drinks really helped with a teaspoon of honey.  

Do get in touch with your specialist nurses about the pain as it’s going to be difficult to cough or rest without some respite.

wishing you all the very best x