Muscle Soreness

[Nicole222]

I had my surgery May 9th and I am still so incredibly sore.  I've often said that my back, shoulders, and neck hurt worse than my head.  Did anyone else experience this?  And did it last this long?

Oh, and I know I posted about fatigue before, but boy, that hasn't gotten much better either.  My toddler has decided to get up an hour earlier these days (6:30am) and boy is it hard to start the day that early right now.  I could literally sleep all day--and night

I know it's still early in my recovery, but I never claimed to be a patient person

[Jim Scott]

Hi, Nicole:

I'm sorry to learn of your extended fatigue.  This is a bit unusual after 5 weeks but not unheard of.  As the cliché goes: (all together now): 'we all heal differently'.   I'm sure having an active toddler to care for (and get up with) isn't helping. 

The soreness is a different issue and likely stems (partly, at least) from your positioning during surgery.  Coupled with the fact that you're not getting enough rest to regenerate your tired muscles and there you have it.  OTC medications may help the soreness, assuming you're not already taking something.  Other than that, the only advice I can offer is to do whatever it takes to get more rest and consider consulting your doctor if the fatigue doesn't subside in the next few weeks.

I hope you feel better (and better rested) soon, Nicole.

Jim

[Boppie]

Nicole, fatigue after child birth and well into the third year is common.  Couple this fatigue and needing to get up so early, with surgery recovery and I am surprised you'd make it to baby's bedtime any night.  If "I were Queen" I'd order nanny help for every mommie in this world.  But since I can't do that I'll just say you are a hero amongst all of us moms and some day that child will thank you for it too!

I had a lot of muscle soreness in my neck and elbow for several months.   Although I'd agree with Jim that you might ask your regular doctor to check your general symptoms for secondary causes for the pain.

Two suggestions:  Eat very well and the best nutritious food you can find.  Get some yoga tapes and have that little guy exercise with you. 

[Debbi]

Great advice from Boppie and Jim - and I'd second the yoga.  It has helped me.  I still have some soreness in my neck and upper back/shoulder.  I did ask my surgeons about it and both said that it is fairly normal and can be caused by a combination of positioning during surgery, and also how you position your body now.  I don't know about you, but I notice that I tend to be more physically tense, and I definitely favor my right (AN) side - this has probably contributed to soreness.  It is unnerving, though.  Any kind of gentle streching should help - I also find that moist heat provides good temporary relief.  Ibuprofin also helps me.

Have patience - hard to live by, I know...

Debbi

[leapyrtwins]

Nicole -

I too had muscle soreness post op.  Like Debbi said it's usually a combination of positioning during surgery and how you are postioning your body now.  My surgery lasted 7 1/2 hours and my neck was bent so the docs would access my tumor - I'm not sure how long your surgery was, but I'm sure your neck was bent for several hours also.  Post op when your head has the pressure bandage on it, it's hard to position your head like you normally do and that just adds to the neck soreness.  I know I found it hard to sleep with the pressure bandage on.  Once the bandage is removed, you may not want to sleep on your incision because it feels uncomfortable, or you might be placing your head on the pillow differently to "avoid" sleeping on your incision.  All this adds to the muscle soreness.  In my experience, the soreness will go away in time.

The fatigue is normal - I was very surprised how long it took me to regain my usual level of energy.  When my doc told me it usually takes 6 weeks to recover from surgery and I asked him what the main issues would be, he mentioned that fatigue would be a huge factor and he was right. 

I hate to tell people post op to be patient - because I know how hard that was for me - but it's excellent advice.  So, be patient and try to nap when you can 

Jan

[cmp]

Hi Nicole--

I don't remember being especially sore after my '89 surgery (mostly I remember being zonked for 2 months... ) But I do remember my back being especially achy after the nerve graft the following year, and as Jan describes, it mostly had to do with sleeping in weird positions to avoid putting pressure on the incision (which was not on my head that time, but on the back of my neck on the AN side).

I know that, as I've gotten older, I have to change positions frequently at night or my back and neck hurt like heck--I am actually worried about what I'll do when sleeping on my back or the AN side are ruled out as options (at least initially!)

I wonder if in your case--in addition to your position during surgery and your posture now--the positions you are getting in as you care for (or lift?) your toddler may be part of the issue, too? If you are able to, I'd think yoga or gentle stretching would be helpful.

Hang in there!

[LADavid]

Hi Nichole

One of my first post-op visits to the internist was because of neck and shoulder pains.  He had me get an XRay.  Showed that I have some compressed discs in my neck.  I suspect however that we aren't clued in on the after-effects of surgery because there isn't enough cause and effect learning.  I don't know this for a fact because I have never witnessed the actual surgery (and don't want to), but I think our necks are so contorted for such a long time that there is bound to be some damage.  I finally got a reference to a physical therapist to work on my neck.  Now I have two PTs -- one for facial muscles and balance and one for my neck.  I am beginning to believe that the healing process as far as surgeons are concerned is a hit or miss thing with a few more hits than misses.  The misses are left dealing with the clean up.  I'd check back with your internist on this.  And as far as kids are concerned, my 25 year old daughter has been problem enough through this ordeal -- I can't imagine what it would be like for a small child.

My best wishes

David

David