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Original poster

Is it normal to be this tired after an operation?

38 replies

badger2005 · 20/03/2022 17:47

I came off my bike and dislocated and broke my elbow. At A&E they undislocated my elbow, and then 2 days later I had an operation where they put in a new radial head and also repaired some ligaments. This was all 2 weeks ago tomorrow.
My problem is that I am still weirdly tired. The bandages are off, I'm moving my elbow as much as possible to try to regain range of movement (as the surgeon told me to) - though not picking hardly anything up in that hand (as instructed).
But I can't get through a day without sleeping. I got up today, went to a church thing, bought a few things, did a little bit of cleaning - then so tired I had to go to bed and eat lunch there. Then I felt a bit sick - had a short sleep, eventually felt a bit better. Got up to do a bit of socialising (my daughter has a friend here and they wanted to play a game for 3 people - my dc are old enough that they can manage without me for long stretches but I feel bad about not being up and around!). Then felt exhausted and now I'm back in bed.
I thought maybe I was so tired because I was taking codeine for the pain, but I've now taken none for over 24 hours... so why am I still so tired?! And when will it end?! I need to go into work (long commute) on Tuesday for a short day, and I'm worrying about how I'll even manage to do that short day!
If any one has any advice or words of comfort, please tell me!

OP posts:
Original poster
badger2005 · 20/03/2022 17:49

Oh for context - I'm 47 if that helps.
The tiredness is like the sort that almost makes you tearful, and the nausea feels like the sort of nausea you get when you are woken up in the night - but it's the day!!

OP posts:
CremeEggThief · 20/03/2022 17:52

I was under the impression that it takes a good 6 months to fully recover from the effects of general anaesthetic.

JaninaDuszejko · 20/03/2022 17:53

Do you have a temperature?

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Roselilly36 · 20/03/2022 17:54

Probably the effects of the GA I expect. It will get easier. Wishing you a speedy recovery

NoWordForFluffy · 20/03/2022 17:55

Yes, I was utterly wiped out for ages after a GA (shoulder tendon repair, plus a few other bits) the other year.

Rest up as much as possible.

Thinkingblonde · 20/03/2022 18:03

Your body is healing itself and that takes energy.

PaperMonster · 20/03/2022 18:26

I remember saying to my surgeon a couple of weeks after my surgery that I couldn’t believe how tired I was and she said I was expecting too much too soon. Can’t recall how long it took to get over the fatigue but it was 12 months before I felt back to normal.

Original poster
badger2005 · 20/03/2022 18:51

JaninaDuszejko I don't think so but will check when i go down
Everyone else - PaperMonster , Thinkingblonde, NoWordForFluffy, Roselilly36, CremeEggThief - Sounds like i will just need to be patient! I'm confused because after the operation, we got a leaflet that said i needed to rest for 24 hours - no operating appliances including the kettle! Not that I'm allowed to pick it up anyway! But no-one said I'd need to rest for weeks - will it get better? Can't imagine my family are going to carry on being so kind and patient with me as they are being if it goes on and on...Thank you all so much for replying!

OP posts:
CremeEggThief · 20/03/2022 18:57

Hopefully you'll feel far better in a few weeks than you do now. But don't expect to be 100% for a few months.Smile

Lonecatwithkitten · 20/03/2022 18:59

You are healing broken bones, using roughly twice your normal amounts of energy to do that. You need to rest and take things easy. Slow and steady is the beat way forward.

Sunnysal · 20/03/2022 19:00

I've had several operations over the years and it takes a long time to get over them. I had 2 long back surgeries in 3 months which took me over a year to get over. I've had 2 total knee replacements, again took over a year. Try to eat well, drink water and rest as much as possible. If you need to sleep just do it . There's not much that can't wait and don't go back to work until you're ready

Whatliesbeneath707 · 20/03/2022 19:15

We are a similar age OP and if you think back 20 odd years, you would probably have been kept in hospital for a week after the surgery! Just because we don't do that now, we forget that the body doesn't suddenly heal quicker - despite us expecting it to! You would have been having Physio & you would probably not have been allowed to clean/ work for several weeks 😅 Listen to your body. Eat good quality food (protein & veg) and consider asking 8f you can rearrange your commitments on Tuesday. The body has a way of stopping us if we don't listen to it. Sleep as you need to & keep moving, but don't over do it. Hope you soon feel better.

Original poster
badger2005 · 20/03/2022 19:48

CremeEggThief, Lonecatwithkitten, Sunnysal and Whatliesbeneath707 - thank you. I am finding it v comforting to read your kind words, and it does ring true. I think you are right that "The body has a way of stopping us if we don't listen to it" - it seems to be making me just feel nauseous if I don't get enough rest. I will just have to make up my mind to a longer recovery than I was expecting...
I will try to rest and recover and eat well.
I wish that they had told me at the hospital that this was what I should expect... but they probably thought that it was the sort of thing that everyone would know!

OP posts:
Original poster
badger2005 · 21/03/2022 08:09

Just one more question kind and lovely mumsnetters - about pain relief.
As I say in the opening post, I had eliminated codeine to see if that was causing the tiredness. Turns out it wasn't - I'm just as tired (without taking it). And I'm also in pain. My GP was clear that codeine was appropriate for this sort of situation, and I also believe that reducing the pain helps me keep my arm mobile which is important. I woke up in the night in pain, and still in pain this morning, so I've taken some codeine. But I'm worried because I know it's addictive. Anyone have experience or advice about taking it?

OP posts:
Sunnysal · 21/03/2022 09:15

You should aim to keep on top of your pain by taking pain killers regularly. I found that at some point I forgot to take any because I wasn't in pain! Unless you have an addictive personality it quite safe as long as you are aware of what you are doing.

Original poster
badger2005 · 21/03/2022 09:40

Thank you Sunnysal - I will do that. I don't think I do have an addictive personality, so will wait until I just forget to take them.
I'm going to have to just get my head around the idea that this recovery is quite a long term thing - temporary definitely, but not a couple of weeks like I thought it might be. And it's easier to do that while not actually in pain!

OP posts:
TheFlis12345 · 21/03/2022 09:45

I had a very minor op under local anaesthetic and felt exhausted for weeks afterwards. As the surgeon explained, your body uses a massive amount of energy to heal you asap and so diverts it from wherever it can leaving other parts of you shattered! Take it easy and look after yourself Smile

FairyLightAddict · 21/03/2022 11:37

I had my wisdom teeth out under a general and I was tired for weeks. Listen to your body and rest. Eat well. Drink lots of water.

Hope you feel better soon.

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 21/03/2022 11:43

Going against the grain slightly... it was DHs complete exhaustion following a routine operation which led to his thyroid condition being diagnosed. He had put the tiredness down to work stress beforehand, but it was picked up afterwards as he didn't recover as expected.

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 21/03/2022 11:47

2 weeks?! You've had a GA and a really big operation, you're being really hard on yourself. Sleep and rest is really important as you heal when you sleep, you need to factor in an afternoon rest every day for quite some time. Keep on top of painkillers. You've also had a big shock which takes time to process.

SaveWaterDrinkGin · 21/03/2022 11:49

It’ll be the effects of the GA rather than the surgery itself. Keep on top of your pain, sleep as much as you can and rest when not sleeping. Eat as nutritionally as possible.

pawpaws2022 · 21/03/2022 11:50

I basically slept for a month after a spinal op
Sleep, watch an episode of Buffy, eat, repeat
Started feeling more like myself by week 4

Mosaic123 · 21/03/2022 11:53

Could you try different painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen, but more regularly, as they don't make you so sleepy? Maybe ask a pharmacist or your GP first though.

Original poster
badger2005 · 21/03/2022 13:05

Aroundtheworldin80moves yes thank you for this i was wondering if something else is wrong given how tired i am. it would be a bit of a coincidence as i had plenty of energy before this accident - but i thought 'something has to explain this tiredness!' it sounds though from pp that the op and ga might explain it in my case. i hope your dh is ok now? how long did the doctors think he should have taken to recover?

Mosaic123 that's exactly what i thought too, and why i tried stopping the codeine. but i stayed tired and ended up back in pain! guess i'm not ready yet. i'll take your good advice and ask the gp soon.

TheFlis12345, FairyLightAddict, MrsPelligrinoPetrichor, SaveWaterDrinkGin, pawpaws2022 thank you all for your shared experiences and advice. it is so reassuring to read! did some slow wfh this morning, have eaten lunch and now going to have a lie down.

OP posts:
Thereisnolight · 21/03/2022 13:09

@TheFlis12345

I had a very minor op under local anaesthetic and felt exhausted for weeks afterwards. As the surgeon explained, your body uses a massive amount of energy to heal you asap and so diverts it from wherever it can leaving other parts of you shattered! Take it easy and look after yourself Smile
People always blame the GA but this is correct. A lot of inflammation post op with inflammatory chemicals flooding your bloodstream.

It’s possible you could also have picked up a virus coincidentally from somewhere. But the inflammation would explain it.