Mossy Cottage Knits

I'm tired just HEARING about 'the wall'!!......

re: your surgery... Been there, done that (my 7 year 'anniversary' was just two weeks ago)...the important thing to know is that IT DOES GET BETTER!!

I didn't know you needed Arkansas. Or Kentucky!! I could have arranged to get both. [expletive deleted]. Glad to hear the wall is getting smaller.

The "hit by a Mack Truck" feeling does go away (eventually), hang in there Ryan! We're pulling for you! I had a ginormous ovarian tumor removed several years ago, and I can sympathize.

I did get an email Friday from FIRE and they said the total was slightly over 9,000....???????????? Either way, ladies, it is a priviledge to knit with you--you are all stupendous!!!

Oh honey, I sympathize. I had walking pnuemonia last year, not even any kind of surgery, and the thing that really was a challenge was the fatigue. I would wake up exhausted. And I was too tired to even sit up and knit a lot of the time. And sometimes I only had enough energy to sit up. So hang in there, we are all sending you tons of good mojo.

My appendix burst (tip: don't let it do that!) a couple years ago, and the worst part of recovery was The Wall - you feel fine, maybe even like you might be able to think about some color-knitting -and then WHAMMO!

I wish I could make you feel better now, but I promise it gets a little better every day!

Last year I had an itty bitty surgery to remove a dermoid (like a fibroid, but yuckier, due to the presence of Things That Should Not Be In There). Based on what I felt then and your description, I will now live in abject fear of The Wall, and hope like crazy it never happens to me.
And that is an extreme way to drop 7 pounds for your high school reunion.
And do we ever get to know why Mary B didn't get to read the total of Dulaan items?

I'm real glad yo hear you're doing better Ryan - surgery (of any kind) bites - but especially major invasive surgery.

You keep on resting and behaving yourself. It will get better - evidence of which you're already seeing :)

The Dulaan numbers just knock me right out :) We rock!

There are two things I remember about The Wall from my hysterectomy. I remember hitting it while I was knitting and just sitting there "holding" my knitting for hours, and I remember hitting it while chewing and having a half bite of apple in my mouth for the longest time before I could work up the strength to swallow.

The Wall sucks.

Ohh, how exciting about the Dulaan hat from wherever the hell. (I can't be bothered to look back up the page to see the name again....that elusive name that can't seem to stick in my brain.) Someplace very north.

Keep resting and behaving yourself, as Robbyn says, is RIGHT.

Stephanie, similar to your experiences, I made it from TMK's house to the back of her yard; I was not able, however, to make the return trip. Fortunately, her yard is pretty and I had lots of lovely things to look at while I was rooted to one spot for the next half hour. It's like narcolepsy, only you're awake.

Carrie, the reason MaryB was forbidden from looking at the Dulaan numbers is because she has been predicting, ever since the beginning of Dulaan 2006, that we would reach 10,000 and we have been saying, "Nuh-uh. No frickin' way. G'wan wit' you." If she actually found out how close we are to 10,000, she would become insufferable. It's moot anyway; she looked at the numbers because, well, she's just that way.

Also, Carrie, I'm not sure how or why, but I've managed to lose *17* pounds. God only knows what they removed to account for those other 10 pounds. Maybe I don't WANT to know.

Thank you everyone for reassuring me that this, too, shall pass.

I have hit the wall from surgery too - and we all think they must be talking about other people. But just a side note - if you know anyone with Fibromyalgia - know that we hit that same wall a LOT. I have come out from the grocery store and loaded the food in the car and sat and cried because I there was absolutely no way I could drive home right then - and sat and sat until I could. And you can be going along pretty well and think you can do things and BLAM that wall is there in an instant.

From the surgery point of view it will pass - slowly you will go longer and longer without that blasted wall - but it is amazing that those doctors know what they are talking about isn't it :D

Oh, I know about the Wall (but not from a hysterectomy)! Hang in there. Also, all my friends and relations suggest avoiding driving at all costs until the end of the 6-week period. Driving involves more stomach muscles than one thinks.

Ryan,
Only you can make THE WALL sound humorous.

Kentucky WAS represented! My buddy sent several things and both she and her mother-in-law have started on items for 2007!

After having two C-sections, I figured my Hysterectomy would be a similar experience. Uh, no.

My doctor didn't tell me the weight of the fibroids. I would have been interested to know. He just said I had an ugly uterus (Umm, Thanks, Doc!) He was probably right, though. The radiologist stopped counting and measuring the fibroids at 20 or so... said there were more, but she had given a big enough range and she wasn't counting anymore! (I know, TMI, but I wanted you to know that you are not alone!)

The Wall... I could have sworn I'd be able to catch up on my WIPs. Read. Watch TV. No.Not.Nyet. I slept ALOT and could not concentrate on anything until about week 5 - 5 1/2. And that didn't leave time to actually DO anything.

So I totally sympathize with you!

And will keep Lee Ann in my prayers too!

Ah, The Wall. I met The Wall when I was recovering from spinal meningitis, and it is a sneaky, evil foe. Take it easy, and remember that The Wall loves nothing more than to sneak up on you from behind.

Thinking many good thoughts for Lee Ann ....

Ryan,

I'm glad to hear you are feeling better and your tummy isn't as painful. Take heart that you are improving day by day. re: hitting the Wall, I have CFS so I know exactly what you're talking about. Thankfully for you it will slowly disappear in time. Take care and be gentle with yourself.

I'm about 15 months post-op from my hysterectomy, and I finally started getting a reprieve from the Wall about 6 months ago. There are still episodes (my doc told me up to 2 years for a full recovery, and for me to look at the outside limit because I had 13 lbs of ick to get rid of), but they are of shorter and shorter duration. I hope you keep feeling better and better as soon as possible.

Wow! I'm so impressed! I'm so happy that there was something sent from Iqaluit!!
Congratulations!

If you didn't get the Northwest Territories . . .then you only got 2 Territories (not 3) . . . but this is very awesome that the whole country got involved!!

In 1990 my mom had this same operation and I went back to Nebraska, supposedly to help her while recuperating, but thinking, 'O, not MY Manic Mom, Manic Mom can run around no matter what has happened to her, and in fact she'll be cooking and cleaning for ME and it's going to be GREAT.'

Imagine my spoiled-brat disappointment. She was laid LOW by the Wall. I had to actually HELP. The good news is that once she did recover she was so happy to be done with all the other symptoms. Felt years younger and today at 60 something she is MORE MANIC THAN EVER. Are you ready to be more manic than ever?????

So I am sorry for you doll, and even sorrier that you have been laid low by the Dishrag Disease. But hey--they ARE nice dishcloths, no? xoxo Kay

Another uterus-less knitter chiming in here. Mine came out because of fibroids, but who knew that the doctors WEIGH them? I wish I had known it back then so I could join in the bragging now. My surgeon did the operation without an abdominal incision (i.e., vaginally) so the initial recovery was as lot faster; the Wall was only present for about a week, but it still took the full 6 weeks to be entirely back to normal. My husband, normally the most sympathetic of mates, Just Didn't Get It (he's never had major surgery, maybe that's why).

Glad to hear you are feeling enough better to venture forth to knit in the wild. I for one have missed you. btw, you can now look forward to many years that are rather less complicated than the ones you have lived so far: you can wear any color pants on any day of the month, and you no longer have to stock *supplies* in your bathroom, your office, or your purse.

You sure do have "THE WALL" nailed down to a tee!!And yes, you will need every day to recooperate. I had a friend who would pick me up at my house after children went to school and take me to her couch and pamper me all day........and then take me home to suffer thru the afterschool/supper hour! But the pampering sure was well needed and appreciated!! It does get better....in fact all my friends were jealous that I had it done and they didn't! It was a race to see who could be next!! Take you time getting back into the swing of things....and take care when rolling over....it IS a TRICK!!

omg...I think I can relate - DD#2 arrived three weeks late, 44 hours of induced labor ending with a ruptured uterus. The doctor was so proud when he announced he managed to save it after 4 hours of surgery - feh, guess he didn't read my instruction of tube tying or standard procedures in the event of surgery. I would be unable to move at times for months - I like your term "the wall" it's perfect. It takes a long, long, long time to truly recover after surgery like this - be patient and kind to yourself; you deserve it.

My health is broken so what you call the Wall is my path. The trick is to give your body and mind all the support you can.

Try to avoid stress and frustration. Your adrenal system needs some time to recover. Read light-hearted contemporary novels or tame Regency romances, not sagas or true crime. Listen to joyful music, not dirges. Watch comedies, not horror films.

Spend time with people who naturally make you relax and feel serene, and engineer situations so this happens on sunny porches, in kitchens where bread is baking and soup simmering on the stove, where the view is of fog drifting over the headlands and the soundtrack chirping birds.

See if you can round out your nutritional intake with a fruit and yogurt smoothie that contains spirulina, with creamed spinach, custard, cream of broccoli soup made with chicken broth. If you can handle it, thaw some frozen raspberries (gentle fiber) and eat them with yogurt. Mashed potatoes sound good? Miso with small cubes of tofu and finely ground thyme? Sweet rice simmered in chicken broth is very easy on the tummy.

Knit something comforting with your favorite needles and well-behaved yarn, and make it for someone you adore. Fill the knitting with happiness.

Sleep. Keep strict hours at night, sleeping from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. or thereabouts, but try to make it the same schedule every night. Give yourself a dose of sunlight or a full-spectrum light for the first twenty minutes of each day. If possible, do all other resting in other places and reserve your bed for the nighttime sleep. Have a couch or hammock for napping and set an alarm clock so you don't nap past, oh, 4 p.m. or whatever works for you so you can get back to sleep after supper and sleep through the night.

When you are up to it, exercise. For some of us, all it involves is breathing more fully, best done while singing a song, and rotating our ankles. Pushing with the toes to lift the knees. Gradually working up to walking, yoga, tai chi, swimming... In moderation.

It is always hard to set aside the day-to-day concerns, to *give* yourself the time necessary to heal, but the consequences are much, much worse than anything you are currently experiencing. Chin up, grab those needles, and drink another glass of water.

I think all this "wall" garbage is just designed to make us more sympathetic when she misses a day of posting. Well, we're ON TO YOU, sista, and it's not going to work. That little laptop TMK got you is light. Major surgery be damned, I need my fix!
or a little bit of valium...

(I hope it's clear that I was being silly. I reread after I posted it, and it read a little more, um, hysterical than I'd meant it to...)

Carrie, not to fret; we've got yer number. We laughed and laughed at your first entry...but I won't say if you're right or not. ;-)

Whew, I was afraid for a minute that my neuroses were showing. (Am I the only one who hears that phrase spoken in my mother's voice?)
And now, ahem, where the hell is Wednesday's post? :-D I was reduced to reading all the back entries of various blogs (mostly Stephanie's Christmas IT series - I just ordered some yarn for my Christmas projects) in order to waste time at work!

I feel for you. I just had my 5 year anniversary of my hyst and I can still remember how it felt. Exhausted doesn't even begin to describe it, and summer is the worst, 'cause you can't curl up under the covers!

Hang in there, and know we're sending health and energy and strong knitting vibes your way!

Hey good luck on the recouperation. I just had my hysterectomy on June 1st and I just went back to work this week. It ain't fun. I thought I would spend every day knitting but most days I was too tired. But every day does get a little better.

Best advice my doctor ever gave me: "Recovery will take six to eight weeks, but tell your boss to plan on eight."

Your description of the surgery is extremely apt. It is very like having a hand blender dropped into your abdominal cavity. Now, imagine that the docs gave everything a good cleaning and plopped it back in...the joys of endometriosis.

I find out next Tuesday just how many fibroids I have, and what the doctor wants to do about them. My boss is living in fear of doing without me for eight weeks. Heh. At least I know I'm appreciated.

Take care, and take it as slowly as you need.

If you've never had abdominal/abominable surgery before it is definitely a challenge. I'd had 3 by the time the baby factory was taken over by fibroids. It DOES get better, and the hassle you probably had due to the fibroids will be something I very much doubt you'll miss. Have a thorough discussion about what is and isn't worth doing about hotflashes. I now manage mine with Gin and tonic... or ice cream.
As Mr. Rogers in HIS sweater used to say, Speedy Recovery.

Hmm, I sent in a hat from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories last month. Perhaps it got lost in the mail.

I had my hyst in Feb 2004. Abdominal, bigBIG fibroids and a complex cyst on one ovary.

I still remember The Wall. But it gets better; at six weeks I was back at work and in early May I managed MS&W just fine. It was maybe 8 months before I nevereverEVER got that odd swellybelly feeling from overdoing, but in general the hyst didn't get in the way of my life.

Best advice I got was to take the six weeks from work. My obgyn said that his patients who did that then didn't complain of fatigue at their six month checkup.

And having surgery was totally and completely worth it. Life without the nastysymptoms is much more fun!