Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Back to Work...

I don't have any pain related to the Vasectomy. I understand how guys think they are feeling better and can disregard doctor's orders and do things like go hiking, lift weights, or even go for a bike ride (I know someone who did this, and eneded up with an infection--yikes! LISTEN TO YOUR DOCTOR!) before they are fully healed and ready. The Orchiectomy (Losing Lefty, as you may call it) still has a huge lump where they cut through the muscle wall at the bikini line, and this is where all of my pain is centralized these days.

I'm doing a lot better now. It was weird, because for a while I felt I wasn't improving much at all. Every day, I woke up with pretty much the same level of pain as the day before. On Sunday, my daughter noticed a difference first: "Daddy, you're moving around MUCH better today."
"You know what, you're right honey. I am," I replied. I felt like a huge load had been lifted off, and the pain was incrementally less.

I went back to work yesterday. On top of still being sore, my car almost didn't start, so I also had to take that to the garage to get a new battery and positive cable. Needless to say, I was pretty wiped by the end of the day.

Today was a little better. I have had considerably less pain the last two days, and, consequently, this takes less out of me. Additionally, I am taking Tylenol to manage the pain and that has made things so much better than the Oxycodone (Percocet). I don't miss that icky feeling I got with the Percocet at all.

I am also managing to get around much better. I can walk the dog around the block without feeling pain or getting worn out. I can also do a shuffle-run. Not a full run, but more like the NFL-Practice-I-just-caught-a-pass-and-I-know-people-are-looking-at-me-kind-of-shuffle-run (Think: TO, without all the baggage...).

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fish:

Sounds like you're on the mend from the operation. What kind of restrictions did the Dr. give you on getting back to your old activity level? Any news yet on when (or if) you'll begin radiation therapy?

P.S. Happy to hear you're off Percocet - especially after that recent "I Pinch" installment :^)

Anonymous said...

I was extremely happy to hear you are making progress. We will continue to pray for your recovery.

Bob Devlin said...

Good to hear you're feeling better. Pace yourself - I know a few people who, at the first sign of feeling better, went to fast and set themselves back.

FishrCutB8 said...

I will know more about the next steps on Tuesday, when I have my next doctor's appointment. We'll review tests, talk about hooking up with an oncologist and all of that.

I am thinking I will probably have to go through radiation at the very least, but will wait to hear it from the doctors. Fortunately, I'm about an hour and ahalf from Johns Hopkins, arguably one of the best cancer hospitals in the country, so I'll head there for a second opinion.

I want to get back to running and biking, but will DEFINITELY wait to get the go-ahead on that. The last thing I need is more stuff going on down there....

hardrox said...

Good to hear your relatively mobile again, Fish. Just don't over do it.

FishrCutB8 said...

It's like the anti-Nike ad...Just Don't Do It. Where were you guys when the double and triple-dog-dares of childhood were issued...could have saved a lot of aggravation and pnadaids. I suppose that's still true, actually.