I went back to the gym today for the first time since the surgery. I've been doing physical therapy for a couple of months now and while I'm not done there, she cleared me to go back and lift weights (well, cybex weights) again, now that I'm strong enough to do the minimal weight on any of the machines I use. It was really really good. I keep track of my progress on a big clipboard like a dork so I have my records from October and December. I went in and started a new card today. We'll see how sore I am tomorrow, but I think I only lost a little ground on my legs (leg press, curl, hip adductor, hip abductor), which I'll chalk up to living in the house of stairs, and that I've been riding the stationary bike at home for a while, which I wasn't doing last fall because we didn't own it yet.
My arms, as expected, were pretty weak, but I was comfortable. Katie suggested that I add two more machines to my routine (tricep and bicep), which previously I was doing with free weights or with extra work in pilates. The worst is actually my abs and low back, which is why I'm not starting pilates again yet. I did the crunch machine at about half the weight I was pre-op, and that felt weird, but OK. I started at about 60% of my old routine for the low back and that felt OK too.
But, that kind of work doesn't really carry over into real life movement, and I basically got stuck on the leg press because I didn't have enough ab strength to execute the crunch and the twist to get off the thing. I'm sure I looked ridiculous trying to figure my way out of it. I would have yelled for help, but I figured it out after about 30 seconds.
So for now I'll be continuing with physical therapy once or twice a week to work on integrative exercises - doing crunches, leg lifts, and bench presses on a foam roller to help everything knit back together, and then more flexibility for my arms and shoulders. I'm doing fine day to day - hauling groceries and laundry again, but I still cannot get a tighter shirt or a sports bra off over my head. So that's the next hill to climb.
As for the surgical wounds, I think the one on my side finally closed for good, but I won't be surprised if it opened up again either. There's three open spots, varying in size from a nickel to a quarter across my belly still. They were sort of open divots for a while and have been filling in so they are almost level with the surface. I think once they get there they will finally scab over for good.
Pain comes and goes. I still take gabapentin twice a day for nerve pain, and I can definitely tell by 10am if I miss my morning dose. I get this weird burning sensation too, right across and through the middle of my abdomen. It's worse in the afternoons. Most of the time I just live with it. It's bad enough to take Alleve maybe twice a week to get to sleep.
My arms, as expected, were pretty weak, but I was comfortable. Katie suggested that I add two more machines to my routine (tricep and bicep), which previously I was doing with free weights or with extra work in pilates. The worst is actually my abs and low back, which is why I'm not starting pilates again yet. I did the crunch machine at about half the weight I was pre-op, and that felt weird, but OK. I started at about 60% of my old routine for the low back and that felt OK too.
But, that kind of work doesn't really carry over into real life movement, and I basically got stuck on the leg press because I didn't have enough ab strength to execute the crunch and the twist to get off the thing. I'm sure I looked ridiculous trying to figure my way out of it. I would have yelled for help, but I figured it out after about 30 seconds.
So for now I'll be continuing with physical therapy once or twice a week to work on integrative exercises - doing crunches, leg lifts, and bench presses on a foam roller to help everything knit back together, and then more flexibility for my arms and shoulders. I'm doing fine day to day - hauling groceries and laundry again, but I still cannot get a tighter shirt or a sports bra off over my head. So that's the next hill to climb.
As for the surgical wounds, I think the one on my side finally closed for good, but I won't be surprised if it opened up again either. There's three open spots, varying in size from a nickel to a quarter across my belly still. They were sort of open divots for a while and have been filling in so they are almost level with the surface. I think once they get there they will finally scab over for good.
Pain comes and goes. I still take gabapentin twice a day for nerve pain, and I can definitely tell by 10am if I miss my morning dose. I get this weird burning sensation too, right across and through the middle of my abdomen. It's worse in the afternoons. Most of the time I just live with it. It's bad enough to take Alleve maybe twice a week to get to sleep.
