Monday, December 2, 2013

LUMPECTOMY FOR BEGINNERS The daily dozen or so

I still have the steri-strips over my incision. The written instructions from the surgery center said leave them on up to three weeks.

Sometimes the incision is sore; or I think I'm sore along the route of the biopsy.  Other times I forget the incision is there.  I wore a bra to sleep the first week, now I sometimes feel better without it at night.  I usually sleep on my side, so it's sometimes hard to get comfortable.  Then what works is sleeping on my back with a pillow under my knees.

The only instruction the surgeon was firm about was to skip the three-pound dumbbells.  I used that as an excuse to skip my ankle weights, too.  Not good. Why am I lazy about the ankle weights?

If I'm the first one awake, I do a of exercises in bed--some from spine rehab, and still very useful..
Pressing my knee against the bed --alternating legs.
Moving the leg to the side and back, ten times, then the other leg.
Pulling my heel along the bed toward my buns--ten times, then the other leg.

Also tendinitis exercises that don't hurt my incision, pressing both my shoulders against the bed 14 times. Gently. Then on my back, pulling my elbows down my side 14 times.
And a couple more for neck and tendons.  In short:  keeping up upper body strength without the dumbbells.  

Above all, walking.  Since it's wintery here some days, I venture out for a few minutes before I put on my sunscreen moisture - just to get some Vitamin D, which I may need, really need if I have more treatments.

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