BONUS: Personal Update: Recovering from Surgery, Strong Drugs, and Returning to Work Life
Ribbing You: My First Explicit Podcast!
Hey Everyone,
I wanted to share another update as I continue this rollercoaster of recovery after my surgery. I’ve received so many lovely comments and well-wishes after my previous posts, so I thought it would be good to do one final update now that I’m (mostly) back to normal!
In my earlier updates, I explained why I had to step away from work to focus on healing, and then in August, I covered my hospital stay, the rib removal, and the journey home. But at that point, my recovery was just beginning, cue the real challenge: weaning myself off some pretty strong meds and trying to function while working from home.
So, here I am, one rib lighter and maybe a few brain cells short, let’s be honest! Buckle up (or should I say “rib up”?).
Life After Surgery: The Reality Hits
Back in the hospital, I felt awful, vulnerable, and utterly dependent on the amazing NHS staff. There was always a certain sense of security, drugs on demand, answers to every question. It’s a safety net of sorts, where all the basics of life are taken care of for you.
But once I was home, it hit me hard.
No nurses.
No instant drug relief.
I had to rely on family and, let’s be honest, it felt like I was putting a burden on them. The drugs that seemed run-of-the-mill in the hospital were wreaking havoc on me at home, and I was dealing with the lingering effects of the general anaesthetic.
And then there was the pain. Oh yeah, I’m missing a rib, that realisation hits you every time you move. Add in deferred pain (thanks, nerve system!), and you’ve got a recipe for sleepless nights. I started getting nerve spasms that kept me awake night after night.
Nothing helped, so I was prescribed Amitriptyline Hydrochloride alongside my beloved Dihydrocodeine.
The Joy of Weaning Off Strong Drugs
Fast forward a week post-surgery, and I’d settled into a routine with these painkillers. They were managing the pain, including that lovely nerve twitching, but the side effects?
Oh boy.
Dihydrocodeine’s side effects include constipation, dry mouth, headaches, sickness, drowsiness, and dizziness. Amitriptyline Hydrochloride has the same effects, but ramps up the drowsiness and adds nightmares to the mix. The irony of being knocked out by meds only to have nightmares is not lost on me!
Amitriptyline really knocked me out. One moment I’m playing with my son Rocco (now 3), and the next, I’m a vacant shell with my eyes rolling back. Thankfully, I didn’t scare the poor boy too much.
As the drugs helped with the pain, I was acutely aware that I needed to cut back. So, after talking with the doctors, I started reducing the doses. The process of weaning off pain meds?
You either turn into a sloth or a hyperactive squirrel who decides that reorganising your sock drawer at 3 AM is a great idea.
It was intense, but I eventually transitioned onto co-codamol, which helped me operate like a semi-functional human again.
The Bandage Battle: A War I Didn’t Expect
Somewhere in the midst of all this, I had the absolute worst experience, removing my dressings. I had bandages, gauze, and protective film over the wound, and let me tell you, taking those off was beyond nasty.
My work buddies Tyler and Chris got live video updates of me peeling those things off. You go into it thinking, “How hard can it be?”
Oh, sweet, naive me.
Those bandages were practically cemented to my skin and had fused with the stitches. It was like the bandage was holding my wound together, and taking it off felt like pulling my own skin off.
Cue saline solution, which should’ve helped loosen the bandages. Instead, it soaked in and made the bandage grip tighter. After what felt like hours of awkward tugging and a lot of cursing, I finally got it off. That relief was something else. But there was always another bandage waiting for me…
Getting Back to Work
My colleagues were amazing throughout my recovery, covering for me while offering moral support. But transitioning back to work was still surreal. There I was, a Sales and Marketing Director, maintaining some degree of professionalism, all while popping enough pills to sedate a small elephant.
Surprisingly, nothing went drastically wrong!
I slowly transitioned back to full-time work, and now I’m fully back in the swing of things. I’ve joined the elite club of ribless people, which means I get to make Adam and Eve jokes at cocktail parties and spin pirate stories about my scar.
In reality, it feels a bit anticlimactic.
I still have some pain, and it could take months to see if the operation was truly effective. The real test will be whether the pneumonia that led to this surgery returns.
Reflecting on the Journey
At the end of the day, returning to work while recovering from surgery is a weird balancing act. It’s trying to be a professional adult while also being someone who’s missing a rib and sometimes hallucinates about spreadsheets.
I’m now getting to grips with walking my 35kg muscle beast of a dog, who doesn’t care that I’ve had surgery, and playing with my 3-year-old, who likes to pretend he’s a doctor. He still doesn’t quite understand why he can’t put stickers on my scar just yet!
Every morning, I wake up and have those couple of seconds before the pain sets in, hoping this will be the first day I don’t wake up in pain. I’m still waiting for that day, but I know it’s coming.
If you’re going through something like this yourself, remember, it’s incredible how resilient the human body is. Recovery is a strange, surreal journey, but you’ll get there!
Massive thanks to all my friends and family for your support—I’m one lucky guy.
Until next time, stay ribless and fabulous!
Will Green
