Lost & Found

The first few days after surgery, I couldn't do a whole lot. I mean, I walked; I moved. I was kind of in a fog. There were certain movements that would cause that twinge. Even on the days that I felt really good, there was that little voice at the back of my head asking, "Am I doing too much?" "No. I'm ok. I'm doing what the doctor said."

The first week was good. It went incredibly well. Scroll back and read about it.

On Wed of last week, I was 1 week post-op. At one week, I was allowed to start riding and running again. You can imagine. I was feeling pretty good at this point.

I rode the trainer. I ran a little bit.

We had a blizzard hit. We got more snow that anyone other than the mountains. We got over 2 feet of snow with drifts as high as 4 feet. Right after that storm, we got another storm of an additional 8 inches of snow.

I couldn't go outside for any walks for risk of falling or causing any kind of injury. (Remember: I'm only 7 days out from surgery.) Trainer rides inside. Walk/runs on the treadmill.

Day 10 was the first day that I felt 100%. I had no more twinges. There were no activities that I didn't feel comfortable doing.....with the exception of 2. I was nervous about sneezing. Granted....not an activity, but you know. The second was lifting really heavy things. I tend to err on the side of caution. I avoided sneezing, and Mr. Tea did all my heavy lifting.

It was day 10 that I started struggling.

I don't know what to do. I'm lost. I didn't realize it at the time. All I noticed is that my mood had changed. I'm always pretty happy. I was still happy, but I wasn't my normal happy.

Mr. Tea told me that I just needed to get to Wed (my follow up appt) and that everything would be better once I had the ok to start training again.

But that's 4 days away. I know what you're thinking, "It's just 4 days, Tea. BUCK UP."

It's not that easy. This isn't a matter of "bucking up".

I woke up today (day 12) and realized that I have been lost. Prior to surgery, I had worked ahead. I had done all my work for a week, so that I could take as much time as I wanted to recover. Now, I was lost. I was feeling lost because I had no structure to my life. The first week was really fun, doing what I want when I want, having off from work.

But now it was a burden. I needed structure back in my life.

This morning, I sat in front of my computer and went through my training schedule. I found Liz workouts that I could easily do. I started copying and pasting training into my schedule.

Next, I sat down and wrote out a work schedule. I need to accomplish x, y, and z today.

I did the same thing for Tuesday and Wednesday.

I opened trainingpeaks, and Liz had put in training for Thursday of this week through the end of next week. It made me smile.

Just like that. I felt like my old self again.

9 days later

Surgery update:

If you found this post because you are looking for information regarding recovery time for a triathlete after surgery, you are going to want to read my previous posts:

How surgery went
The first 24 hours
The first 48 hours

It's now been 9 days since surgery. I attribute my crazy fast recovery to several factors:
1.) My Coach had me in exceptional shape prior to surgery.
2.) My surgeon (Dr. Beckley at Alpine Surgery in Boulder) told me that because I was in great shape, that I would recover fast. In addition to this, I did exactly what he said.
3.) My nutritionist gave me pre-surgery & post-surgery advice.

All which is laid out in the previous posts.

At one week, I was able to start riding and running again. (I did this yesterday).

I rode on the trainer and did a very easy spin. I started with an easy warm up. By the end of the 35 minutes, I was in zone 2. I was upright for the first 10 minutes. (Unsure of how aero would feel). The next 5 minutes, I put my hands on the elbow pads. After that, I was aero for the remainder of the time.

Later in the day, I was really excited to see how running would feel. I ran 25 minutes on the treadmill at 2% incline. Well, I didn't run the entire time. I walked a 10 minute warm up then did intervals of :30, 1:00, 1:30, 1:00, 1:00 each separated by 2:00 of walking. I covered 1.5 miles.

Besides this, I have done a number of strength workouts (all unweighted). Depending on the workout, I will skip a day between. It really depended on what else I did that day.

The TIRED: Don't be surprised if you feel unusually tired during the day. Like clockwork, I was getting tired around 3pm. I wasn't sleepy. I was tired. I would lay down on the couch for about 30-40 minutes. I felt better after it. Pay attention to how you feel and honor those feelings. It's very normal to feel tired a week after surgery. (BTW: Yesterday, day 8, was the first day that I didn't have any of the Tired. I went through my day as normal).

ICE: For awhile, I looked like I had a softball in my abdomen. I decided that after any workouts (walking, strength training, anything) that I would ice it. Nine days later, and my bruising is going away. I'm not nearly as swollen as I was. I don't have any discomfort around the area....meaning that I can put pressure on it without pain. In an effort to be as honest as I can, I don't know if the slight swollen-ness that exists is because my period is getting ready to start. I normally get bloated and big down there. Because I have other factors that I'm dealing with, it's a little tough to call.

Incision site: The incision site doesn't even bother me anymore. It can get irritated if something rubs up against it. So, I just wear my pants lower than normal. I roll down the top of my pants, so it doesn't irritate the incision. The incision now looks more like a scab. If you've ever cut yourself, you know how it feels to have something rub up against it. It doesn't hurt. It simply gets irritated.

My follow up exam is next Wed. Based on how things are going, I have no reason to think that my doctor won't release me to start swimming again and to resume training.

At that time, I'll also post how my workouts are progressing.

+48 hours after surgery

My recovery updates are getting a little boring. After this one, my next one will be at one week post surgery (Thursday).

A couple of things to note:

1.) Every single day I'm walking further and or faster and continuing my non-weight bearing exercises.  I do unweighted squats, lunges, back lunges, side lunges. I continue with the recovery core exercises. I haven't been comfortable (more or less a mental issue) starting significant core exercises. My recovery is going so smoothly, I'm a little nervous about it. I think I'll wait until I'm at my week mark. One week, was the time frame my surgeon gave me for being active but not doing any Olympic activities.

2.) The tired. Every afternoon, I get tired around 3pm. This is not normal for me, but it IS normal for a few days after surgery. I listen to my body. I lay down, turn on the tv and relax for about 30-40 minutes. At that point, I feel normal again.

3.) My nutrition: filled with leafy greens, protein, nuts, & fruits means that I've gotten over the bloat much faster than anticipated. I'm still swollen, but the bloat is going away. I'm starting to see my stomach muscles again. Seriously, I think the Kombucha has played a HUGE role in this. I never even had it before surgery.

4.) Pain = no pain for awhile now. I have some minor soreness that feels like a bruise (which, of course, I have a beautiful rainbow colored bruise on my abdomen). I only feel the soreness when I'm inactive for awhile and then make a quick twist or something like that. In fact, I no longer roll to my side to get up from laying down. I can sit up without any discomfort.

My follow up exam is March 30th.

I'll post a one week update at the end of this week.

Unrelated to recovery. This surgery was so worth it for me. I can't tell you how happy I am that the lump is gone. It was visible through tight clothing. It was visible through my swimsuit. It was visible through my tri kit. There was always the worry in the back of my mind, "Is it getting bigger? Should I see the doctor?"  That's gone now.

The first 24 hours post surgery

If you missed the first post and are looking for information about how the surgery went, you can find the post here.

Today, I want to tell you about the first 24 hours and also what I did prior to surgery and what my recommendations were from the experts. I think everything that I have done has had a huge positive impact on how I'm feeling 36 hours later.

My surgery was 2pm on Thursday. On Friday, I woke up (see previous post) feeling pretty darn well. I was a little stiff in the incision area but (again) not debilitating, more of a nuisance. I took Tylenol at 7am.

I didn't take any over the counter medicine for the rest of the day.

I had the day off from work. I was advised to take the day off from work to avoid making any decisions. Sedation stays in your bloodstream awhile.

The day after surgery, there were 4 things that stood out to me.

1.) The bloating is SO BAD. If you are a woman who has been pregnant, it's very much like being 12 weeks pregnant. If you haven't been pregnant, imagine the worst cramps and bloating and stomach issues that you can get during your period. It was very uncomfortable. (Read on for what I did that I truly believe helped). In a nutshell, I couldn't bend over. My entire middle was gone. My waist is normally 26 inches, and I have defined ab muscles. Yesterday, I was just under 29 inches. I didn't measure my hips, but the bloating doesn't really seem to go down that far.

2.) The day after surgery, I have virtually no pain. I am absolutely shocked. I can feel little twinges when I don't move for awhile. (JMan visited to take care of me yesterday, and we spent the day watching movies). The twinges tend to happen when I go from laying down to twisting to sit up. It's not even painful, just a minor twinge.

3.) I showered. I was able to shower after the surgery, but I was pretty worn out. Obviously, I can't scrub the incision. Having the hot water running all over, felt really good. I also think it helped relax me.

4.) I started walking and doing core exercises. (see recommendations below). As for core exercises, I did these. I intended on just doing the deep breathing, but I moved on quickly when I realized that I had no pain at all. None. Zero. Zilch.

I also did a 1 mile walk. I started at 30:00 pace on 0% incline and by the end I was at 2% and did 1 mile in 20 minutes. No pain. Zero. Zilch.

After both, I felt better afterward than I did before.

The rest of the day was uneventful. I slept great. In fact, the night of the surgery, I was only able to sleep on my back. Sleeping on my sides was really uncomfortable. Last night, I could sleep on my sides or back. I'm not about to try laying on my stomach. I have accidentally hit my stomach a couple of times, and it hurts. So, I don't think I can sleep on my stomach yet. (Again, getting hit in the stomach was much like being pregnant. If you are familiar with the baby kicking your intestines, THAT's exactly how it feels. I give out a little "oof", and that's it.)

Let's talk about recommendations


During my initial consultation with my surgeon, I told him that I'm a triathlete and that I work with a nutritionist. I was training 13 hours per week. I'm in exceptional shape. At that time, he gave me a few pieces of advice about supplements, then said, "It's great that you work with a nutritionist. In fact, don't listen to me. Listen to her. She's the expert."

How can you not love a surgeon who says, "Hey, this isn't my area of expertise."

If you read my blog regularly, you know that if I pay for information, I don't share it. I have a Coach who creates workouts for me based on my abilities. I have a nutritionist who set up a plan based on my own nutritional needs.

This time it's different. I worked with Dina for this information, but it's not specifically tailored to me. This is information that pretty much anyone, heading into surgery, can benefit from.

Pre-surgery: for 1 week prior
-Vitamin C: 1 gram 2x/day
- Zinc: 30 mg /day <— can cause stomach upset and nausea so be sure to take with food
- General nutrition: “anti-inflammatory foods” —> lots of leafy greens, variety of vegetables, berries; watch simple sugars. Cooking with turmeric would be great (dry or fresh)

Post-surgery: for 1 week post
- Vitamin C 1 gram 2x/day
- Vitamin E gel cap to break open and apply to skin where procedure was performed (depends on incision size)
-Check your omega-3 dosing and aim for 2 grams DHA + EPA total per day. (I don't eat seafood, so I always take Omegas.)
- Protein: be sure you’re getting no less than 120 grams per day in the week following. (This is based on my weight of 136lbs.)
- the anti-inflammatory food focus as mentioned above should continue.

If you are going to be put on antibiotics, then a probiotic wold be good to take. Also, if you are on pain meds, some of these can cause constipation so you’ll want to be sure to drink plenty of fluids.

I did everything that my nutritionist recommended with the exception of one thing. I have not used the Vit E on my incision. I read several research articles about this. Using vitamin e too early, can cause skin irritation and delay the healing process. I decided that was a risk I didn't want to take. I have vitamin e and will use it once the incision is healed to reduce the scarring. For now, I'm not doing it.

Let's talk about the bloating for a minute. The bloating and constipation were pretty bad. I had forgotten that she had mentioned taking probiotics. I didn't have any at home. (I don't eat yogurt). Mr. Tea and I went to the store and bought some Kombucha.

I was advised by my surgeon to take a stool softener. When it comes to medication, I'm a naturalist. I've said it before. My preferred method is to use natural foods, spices, etc to recover. I didn't even buy a stool softener. BUT, I would have used it if necessary. In my case, the natural remedies worked for me. (The exception is Tylenol. As of this writing, I've only taken it twice. Once for the headache and once in the morning the day after surgery).

I'm not typically someone who jumps on a band wagon. At the same time, I was a little desperate. I really wanted the bloating to be a little less uncomfortable. I knew that Kombucha is known for being an acquired taste, and that (anecdotally people report that it helps with constipation and bloating).

I decided that no matter HOW BAD it tasted, I wanted to try it. Surprisingly, I didn't have a problem with the taste at all. In fact, I liked it.

The best part: instantly, my stomach felt better. The bloat didn't go away instantly. It just felt better. The next morning, I woke up and realized that I wasn't as bloated as I was the day before.

In addition to that, I'm having berries and citrus fruits at every meal (which is pretty normal for me anyway). The difference, right now, is that I'm focusing on the fruits/veggies that act as natural inflammatories.

 EXERCISE RECOMMENDATIONS

This is really important if you are an athlete. When I was researching, I only found posts from bodybuilders. I couldn't find any information from triathletes. (As I previously mentioned, I found two very helpful blogs: one from an ultramarathoner and one from a runner/swimmer/golfer). Both the ultramarathoner and runner/swimmer/golfer were able to move immediately and started running very quickly. If you are a bodybuilder and are going through this surgery, you can't be too careful with the heavy lifting. Your fitness will come back. It's worth taking the time to heal.

From my surgeon: No olympic activity for the week after surgery. For the first week after surgery, your lifting limit is what you can lift with one arm. Then, you need to use two arms to lift. So, if you can lift a 50lb toddler with one arm, your weight lifting limit is 50lbs....and you need to use two arms. No steeplechase race the first week after surgery.

I want you moving as much as possible. Walking, going up and down stairs. Do everything you can and let your pain tolerance dictate how much you can do.

I should also say, swimming is not allowed, but that has to do with causing a possible infection and has nothing to do with physical limitations. The soonest I'm allowed back in the pool is after my follow up exam which is in 2 weeks.



So far, this surgery has been incredibly easy on me. I believe a lot of that has to do with the fact that I'm a very coachable athlete. I work with my team. If I have questions, I ask. Whether I'm working with my coach, nutritionist or surgeon, I see us as a team with ME being their #1 priority.

Race Report: How the surgery went down

I woke up at 5am the day of my surgery. I wanted to go back to sleep, but I was hungry. (I always wake up hungry).

Old habits die hard. I went downstairs to make breakfast.

Then, I remembered.
Dinner was the last real food I could eat. I was allowed to drink clear liquids....until 8am.....or wait, was it clear liquids? Was it just liquids in general?

Clearly, I can have coffee, right?

And a smoothie? Not like a thick smoothie but a bunch of my fresh fruit juiced up and mixed together.

That counts as clear liquids....doesn't it? Shit. I can't remember. I pull out my pre-op instructions. Yeah, like I can read the doctor's handwriting.

I'm having coffee and my smoothie. That's settled.

We have to leave for the hospital at 11:30am. It was early. With the storm coming in, we figured that we'd be better off leaving early.

This was going to be my first surgery. I haven't been in the hospital for over 20 years, and the last time was to have JMan & Googs.

Was I nervous? It's kind of hard to say what I was feeling. I wasn't worried about the surgery. I wasn't worried about recovery.

I was worried about waking up during the surgery.

The head nurse came into my room and introduced everyone. The entire team was absolutely amazing.

Then my surgeon came in.

Later in the day, Mr. Tea asked if I remembered cracking jokes and making the everyone laugh.

Of course, I do. I'm hilarious.

Head nurse came back and said, "We're going to give you an amazing cocktail that will give you the same feeling as 3 margaritas. It's meant to relax you before surgery."

Me: WAIT. 3 margaritas? I don't drink. Do you know what that will do to.....zzzzzzzz

The last thing I remember was an oxygen mask being put over my face.






"He got a ticket", the voice said.

Me incoherently mumbling, "Was he on a bike?"

"She's a triathlete."

I slowly open my eyes.

I must be done. I didn't wake up during surgery!

I see the head nurse walking by. This groggy feeling. I don't like it. I start shaking my head, trying to clear my head. The nurse comes over and asks if I want to sit up. YES, I very much want to sit up. I want to move. I want to stand.

She tells me that before I can leave, I have to pee. I tell her, "in that case, bring me water. I can down more water than anyone."

A few minutes later, I was standing up to head on over to the wc.

My hospital gown flies open in the back. Mr. Tea is scrambling to cover me up.  I tell him, "Don't worry about it. It's a show most people would want to see."

I put my regular clothes back on. I look down at the incision site. I'm shocked. The incision is inside my belly button. There won't even be a visible scar once I'm healed?

WHAT?! No war wound? Nothing I can brag about? That's not much fun. Now what am I going to talk about at parties?


You're probably wondering about pain. I'm still under the influence of a local anesthesia and sedation. Although, I feel great. The grogginess is all gone, but I know that sedation takes awhile.....I learned it from House years ago.

My surgeon told me that the first night I will want to take the Oxycodone prescription. After that, do everything I can to avoid taking it. He told me to do what I can to manage pain with over the counter medicines.

I don't like prescription medication. I even like narcotics less. My goal was to have the local wear off and see what the pain level was like. I wasn't planning on being a hero, but if I could manage it without narcotics....you bet I'm going to.

Hours later at home, I start getting a headache. I get headaches rarely. I decide to wait it out. I eat more food. (Not a lot but enough that would allow me to figure out if the headache was a hunger headache).

The food didn't help. Now the headache is getting uncomfortable. I decide that it is the sedation medication starting to wear off. I'm the best at making up stories to fit my life.

I take Tylenol. Unfortunately, this is going to delay feeling pain at the surgical site. The headache is really kind of uncomfortable.

30 minutes later, the headache is gone.

From Dr. Google, I find out that local anesthesia can take 4-6 hours to wear off. By the time I hit 6 hours, I'll be in bed.


The night was pretty uneventful except for one instance.

I woke up in the middle of the night. (It felt like the middle of the night).   I had to pee so badly. Getting out of bed was no issue. Although, once I stood up, I realized that I was in a little pain.

I didn't know what time it was. I didn't want to take Tylenol because I had already taken it, and the last thing I want is to od on Tylenol.  I had brought the Oxycodone to my room just in case.

I laid there and allowed myself to feel the pain, to really feel the pain. I think I can manage this. Just then, Mr. Tea walked in. I asked him if he could get me some Aleve.

My plan was to give the Aleve 20-30 minutes to start working. If it didn't work, I would take the Oxycodone.

The pain wasn't going away. If I laid on either of my sides, that made it worse. If I laid on my back, that helped.

I decided to try meditation. It's been years since I've meditated for any real period of time. However, I had a very serious meditation regime for a long time.

I laid on my back. I focused on the pain. I cleared my head of all thoughts and allowed the pain to wash over me. I started to see the pain grow and start to dissipate.

The next thing I know, there is light coming in through my window. It's 7am. I slept straight through for 8 hours without the help of oxycodone.

Here's the real crazy thing. I woke up and didn't feel any pain. I thought getting out of bed would be bad, but it wasn't at all.

Once I started moving around, I started feeling....discomfort....more than I had yesterday but absolutely not debilitating and definitely manageable. I decided to take Tylenol. A short while later, I wasn't feeling any discomfort other than the bloating and slight twinges when I bend over.

My surgeon had told me that I'd need to push myself up out of chairs (with my hands on my legs). I haven't had to do that.

I do not feel 100%, but I also don't feel anywhere NEAR as bad as I thought I would. I can walk, go up and downstairs, I can pick up things; I can twist and turn.

The biggest issue I am dealing with, right now, not even 24 hours after surgery is the bloating. I usually have defined ab muscles. You can't see my abs at all. In fact, I look like I am about 12 weeks pregnant. That makes bending over difficult but not painful. I took a picture, but I don't think I'll post it. I'm not really a fan of of injury pictures.

I, also, now have a small purple bruise right below my belly button.

So far, I can say this has been pretty uneventful.

For those of you who are interested in the specific recommendations from my surgeon, I am going to write about what I did leading up to surgery and post surgery. I was unable to find that information when I was trying to find firsthand experiences.

It just might help someone else getting ready to go through umbilical hernia surgery, especially, those of you who are athletes.