Dealing With Post Surgery Depression
This post will explain how it feels during the initial recovery process and how I found it best to deal with it.
Now I am in no way being sarcastic when I say that this surgery could not have come at a better time for me. It was just after I had finished University and I had the entire of the summer holidays to recover with no plans other than to heal as quick as possible!
Many people dream of having a day of doing absolutely nothing, however when it is every single day you start to go a bit stir crazy (as you will see from my daily rountine below for the first few weeks).
My Daily Routine
1. Waking up and getting dressed - I deliberately wore easy clothing for the first 2 weeks (i.e. dresses) as they required very little lower body movement.
2. Getting down the stairs. - This was one stair at a time as my surgeon was very strict on weight bearing limits and it felt really uncomfortable if I tried to do one leg then the other.
3. Having breakfast - Which is very difficult when you're on two crutches. I found it easiest to carry a shoulder bag everywhere that would have everything I needed inside. I would even use to carry my cereal from the kitchen to our living room. Fortunately I had porridge so it didn't spill everywhere (at least not on all occasions!)
4. Taking my medication. - x3 tablets in the morning and x2 in the evening.
5. Finding ways to pass the time - Predominately spent watching TV or playing computer games. This was until lunch where I would have to figure out what to cook. Which takes more time as I had restricted movement around the kitchen because I had no free hands unless I was staying completely still and standing primarily on my non-operated leg.
6. Dinner & taking tablets - Fortunately mum or dad was around to do this part and bring it to me.
7. Shower - I had to use a stool that would sit in the shower to prevent me from slipping over.
8. Daily exercises - Which took about 30 mins. - Then Bed Time.
As you can imagine this got very boring very quickly, I mean there are only so many TV series and films you can watch. To pass the time I would often take naps in the day as I was still very tired from the anaesthesia. I did this everyday for a few weeks where a slowly started to feel depressed. I know this is a strong word to use, but post-surgery depression is a very common thing amongst people who undergo operations.
The thing I found the hardest was watching the world go by without me. It was the summer holidays after all. Many people were on holiday, festivals, going out all the time and social media doesn't help but emphasize what a great time everyone is having.
The recovery process tested my mental ability more than anything i've ever experienced.
So here is 4 ways I dealt with my recovery.
1. Take up a new hobby/ interest
With so much spare time on my hands it definitely seemed appropriate to try something new. For me this was writing. Setting up my own blog and website not only helped the time pass but also helped me to come to terms with what had happened and the changes that were going on in my life. I also found myself being drawn to baking and cooking. In fact the day I came home from hospital I made dinner with mum which really helped show me that there was still so much that I could do.
2. Celebrate the small things.
One thing many people forget when they are going through a massive change is to celebrate the small successes. For me it may have been things like learning a new exercise in my hydro-therapy class or finishing my medication or walking 100 metres up the road for the first time.
3. Find a new book or 3...
I've never been much of a book enthusiast, and I think that was because I wanted to spend my time watching TV or playing on my PC when I was younger. However, in the summer I found myself being drawn towards three books. 'Everything I know about parties, dates, friends, jobs, life, love' - Dolly Alderton, 'Normal People' - Sally Rooney and 'The Little Book of Life Hacks' - Yumi Sakugawa. All completely different which meant I had a choice of what to read depending on what genre I felt like reading on the day.
4. Take any opportunity to get out of the house.
I looked forward to every time I could leave the house, even if this meant going to london twice a week to hydrotherapy. Or at the weekends as my boyfriend would come over and we would go out and do something together. I think it's important to realise that there are many things you can do whilst on recovery, they may be difficult but it is still possible.
Some of the activities I went on whilst on 2 crutches: The Cinema - Rainforest Zoo - Evening shows - Drives with SHORT walks - Birthday Parties - Countryfile Live - Lunches - Drinks in the Pub.
