Hello everyone,
I'm currently writing this from my bed as I have a sneaky cold which started last night- it literally came from nowhere! I'm trying to rest it out and extinguish it with lots of green tea, fruit and veggies! May even go for a brisk walk shortly to try and blast the darn thing!!
A few things which have been bothering me post op recently and I'm sure some of my BT followers may be able to relate to this (warning do not read on if squeamish!)
1. Scar- the scar now is starting to lose the crustiness/scabby bits (gross I know) and I'm able to wash my hair now without having to be so careful but some of the tufts of hair are protruding at weird angles, only around an inch or so long and I know this is just temporary but not sure how to style my hair?! I sometimes have temporary surface bleeding too where the scabby bits come away and this means I've seen my doctor a few times over the past weeks just to check there is no infection. I'm going to attempt to wash my hair again today as I don't really like having unclean hair as it tends to itch a lot more too which is equally frustrating as you can't really scratch it properly.
There are some random short bits all over my head too where it was cut to fit the MRI discs pre op. The scar is a bit more visible now as the head underneath is quite red/pinkish too. Again I know this is trivial and the hair will grow back but I am finding having a strip which runs ear to ear can be hard to work with at times- my current solutions have included getting creative with alice bands!
2. Fatigue- I'm having to keep a fatigue diary but I'm not sure what is normal at this stage. I'm not sleeping in the day now but I'm either rising early or late and I get very tired around the 7-9pm slot, often going to bed about 11pm. Again I'm sure this is all normal but it's something which I'm trying to adjust to as I used to have more energy.
3. Emotions- a bit more leveled but I can be up and down like a yoyo.
4. Cognition/Understanding- I can be mid sentence and forget what point I was trying to make or even the conversation I was having so in my mind I'm sort of back peddling to think about what I'm saying. Sometimes if someone gives me instructions too quickly I can't always understand straight away- I just have to take things a bit slower.
5. Hollowing- I have noticed what I think is a slight hollowing to the top left of my face (I still have facial paralysis with the left eyebrow which we were told could be permanent as sometimes nerves rejoining can be a one in a million thing) it's not a problem as to my friends and I we joke it's like I've had Botox! Wrinkle free for me! The hollowing is something I noticed when washing my face the other night, it's just a small part but it's like the head on the left side is slightly more angular now which then at some angles looks/feels like a hollowing- again this could be temporary and my partner Carl says this is not noticeable. I think you just pick up on things more as you're constantly watching and waiting for things. Maybe that's just me??
I wanted to document the post op things I have noticed to keep a timeline so that I can discuss again with my team if necessary and also I hope this may help for anyone else currently experiencing post op symptoms.
Gem xx
Quick update: Washed the hair and it's still a bit gunky and yuck so managed to get a GP appt and she has started me on a course of antibiotics as she felt it perhaps needed something to help it along- so I think I'm going to have to not wash it again for a while to dry it all out :( The joys of it all!! And my cold is in full force mode now!! Grrr...I'm determined not to let it ruin Xmas as it's one of my favorite times of the year!!
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