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Healing isn't Linear!

Writer's picture: Kristin PageKristin Page

As of 5/26 and 6/2,I have made it to week 4 and 5 of my open myomectomy recovery. If you have been following my recovery journey you may have read how smooth recovery has been going for me and it truly has. However that is not the case everyday. For those that follow me on my social media platforms you may have noticed that I have been missing in action for the last two weeks, that's because healing isn't linear and every day isn't the same! One day there isn't any pain and things appear to be easy and other days there is a new twinge or something new to focus on. I decided to take two weeks away from blogging as well to focus on healing and soak up all the love I recieved from family and friends who decided to call, visit (minimal so that I could rest), and gifts, that I have recieved from everyone. It was a vital part of my healing. That is one thing I want you to take away from my exerience with this, your village ( family and friends) are a vital part of your healing, which i will talk more about in this blog.

If you have been following my journey post surgery you have read how smoothly my recovery has gone. Although this is still true, week 4 and 5 I noticed some pain that I did not have in the beggining there were pinching pains in my lower abdomen closer to my growing. The pain was on both the left and the right side but more intense on the left side. I assumed that the pain on the left side was still from healing and that is also the area where the largest fibroid was located in the connective tissue next to my womb. I wanted to be safe plus i'm an over thinker so I contacted my doctor. She conducted a telehealth assessment and reassured me that it was normal. I later found out this pain was partly due to ovulation and my first menstrual cycle post surgery ( more details on that in the next blog!) along with the pain was fatigue. As always I listened to my body and did what it told me to do and that was rest. For the pain I continued with my CBD regimen which continued to work wonders for me..... I don't think I will ever go back to traditional pain meds! The CBD controlled the pain and it was a lot gentler on my body than the traditional pain meds including Ibuprophen. I also continued to have pain while driving so although my doc released me to drive I opted not to drive until after my second post op appointment to give myself more time to heal. Car rides were not as painful as before as long as no one hit a pot hole or a speed bump. I was able to continue with daily activities including very light cooking. I'm still unable to lift anything heavy so I was limited on the more intense cooking. I had others to continue to help me with those tasks that I was unable to complete. This is why it is very important to have supportive people around you! When I needed help with cooking, washing and styling my hair, and other activities they were there to help without question. The phone calls, gifts, and visits also helped keep me in good spirits. We don't think that things this small can help in the healing process but its one of the most important parts of healing. If I did not have this support I could have possibly injured myself and had a set back. The friendly faces, phone calls, and random car rides to get me out of the house kept my spirits lifted and helped me avoid any temporary depression that might have tried to sneak in by being locked in the house. Lord knows after COVID lock down we all appreciate the outside world more than ever! The walks helped ease me back into some activity. I was careful not to over do anything as I wanted to ensure my incisions inside and out were healing properly. When I tell you this scar healing is weird and all over the place i really mean it! If you ever have to experience an open myomectomy keep in mind you may feel some funny feelings during scar healing.

Let's get into this scar healing! I have felt everything from being numb, itching, and even feelings that felt like small electrical shocks. At my first post op follow up my doctor instructed me that around week 4/5 I could and should wear silicone scar sheets for my incision. Once the scabs were gone around week 4 1/2 I imidiately ordered scar sheets from amazon ( I will place the link below). Thats when the itching and weird shocking pains started. I knew the shocking pains were nothing to worry about, I mean I did just have my abdomen cut open and that means that nerves were also cut in half during the process. Although I knew this was normal I did mention it to my doctor just incase. She did reassure me that this was normal. Once I recieved the scar sheets I immidiately started to use them and they are great!!! They assist with controling the itcheness that I was feeling. One of the things that became annoying was to have anything rub against the healing scar, now I know I mentioned that alot of the area was numb but the parts that were not numb felt like I was burning my skin when anything rubbed against so the silicon strips were a big help. The only thing that the strips didn't help with were the tingling shocking feeling I would feel however this feeling was not ongoing it was a come and go type of thing. I believe this was just my nerves repairing themselves and coming back alive. I still have those same sensations til this day but not as often and not as intense. Some of the feeling is coming back in the area where the scar is but there is still a significant part that is numb. According to research and my doctor it may take up to a year to regain total feeling in this area, to be honest knowing my body and how it heals I believe I will have total sensation in 5-6 months...I will definitly keep you updated on that. As far as the strips they are used to assist with the scar healing by keeping the scar moist and softening it to assist with keeping it from becoming a keloid scar (if you are prone to keloids this may not be preventable depending on the severity of the condition.) it also helps protect the scar from reopening from irritation or things bumping against the area. The strips are to be worn up to 12 hours per day perferably during the day time when you are the most active and are prone to have items irritate the area. At night I clean the area during my showers and clean the strips, the strips can be used for up to 7 days. I keep two sets of strips rotating so that I can have a pair to wear while the other pair is drying. Speaking of drying it is imparative to allow your scar to breath in between the 12 hours of wearing the strips so that you can avoid infections of a fingus. I'm very careful not to have things like my pillow rub against my scar at night while I allow my scar to breath because it causes the area to become irritated.

Sleep! Sleeping is getting better by the week! Although I'm still unable to sleep on my stomach, I no longer have to sleep on my back. I currently sleep exlusively on my side but it comes with it's issues. If I would have known then what I know now I would have invested in a pregnancy pillow. Why, you ask, because I have to sleep with fifty elleven pillows just to be comfortable and I also have to continue to rotate sides due to one side becoming numb when I lay on it too long. My hips also hurt if I stay on one side to long. I sleep with a pillow between my legs, two behind me to support my back, and one half way under me near my abdomen to cushion my side but also to keep my abdomen/ scar from rubbing the the mattress... So yea if you have to have a myomectomy I suggest investing in a pregnancy pillow.

I hope you find this information helpful in some way rather you ae gathering information to prepare yourself for a myomectomy, a caregiver of someone who is having/ has had a myomectomy, or if you are trying to decided what is the best option for you!!! Until next time, be well!


*This is not medical information and should not be used as such. Please speak with your doctor before changing/ starting a new regimen. These are my experiences that I'm sharing with you


Link to silicone scar strips:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001AJ4L1E?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details



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