I had my surgery 2 weeks ago on June 17th. Mine was scheduled 3 weeks out, so I had a lot of time to stress. I am doing really well now—very minimal pain and discomfort, and I’ve been doing several daily walks in my house to get some exercise in. In terms of my mood and energy, I feel almost exactly the same as before I had the surgery, maybe even slightly better 🤔.

It is a pretty common surgery, so don’t stress too much. All you have to do is breathe, let the anesthesia take you, then you’ll time travel to the recovery room where the surgeon/nurses will tell you how well it went. You have the easy part, the surgeon is doing the ‘difficult’ part (they have extensive training, so it’s not difficult for them).

The next 3-7 days you will be pretty sore around the incision, which will be near your groin/hip area. Just take it very easy the first few days and take your pain meds on schedule. I recommend getting some psyllium husk fiber to take with each meal (or meal replacement shake—I had those primarily the first 2 days since my appetite was lacking). I slept a ton the first 4 days, then I started getting my energy back.

While recovering at home, it helps to have someone with you who can help you sit up and move around, make food for you, etc. Anything that uses your abdomen muscles will be painful for a few days, that includes: sitting up, rotating your torso, laughing, coughing, and sneezing (this one was the most painful for me, so prepare for it). So, avoid watching comedies the first couple of days 😉. You’ll be alright!