Post-surgery Fatigue

[GregD]

Hi all,
I had surgery about 6 weeks ago. During the operation, they removed over 2 feet of small intestine and my appendix. Since then, most of my symptoms have improved, except for the fatigue, which was also pretty bad before my operation. I've been getting about 8 hours of sleep a night, but feel like I can hardly make it through the work day, which seriously affects my ability to concentrate. My eyes also constantly have dark circles under them.
I'm currently taking b12 injections, a multi-vitamin, and recently started probiotics, but nothing has really made a difference. I am also tapering of predisone, which might have something to do with the fatigue. Is it normal to be this tired over a month and half after surgery? If so, when can I expect to feel better? Also, does anybody have any tips on gaining more energy? I appreciate any advice anybody could give. Thanks.

-Greg

 

[KCMike]

GregD,

It's possible your iron levels are really low and you could be anemic. A bloodtest will determine your iron levels. My GI had me on iron supplements shortly(4 weeks) after surgery. I would discuss it with your GI. As far as being tired all of the time, I was that way for a few weeks after sugery also. I had lost so much weight and muscle mass prior to that I felt like I was moving in slow motion some days. As I gained weight the fatigue lessened. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[mikeyarmo]

Hi Greg,


When I had my surgery, I was told I would still be recovering for about 2 months after the surgery. Some symptoms definately lasted for about that duration, so I would not overly worry about it. Your absorption abilities may be reduced now compared with before, so your current diet/multi vitamin may not be supplying you with all the nutrients you require. This can be confirmed with a simple blood test. Otherwise, realize that surgery is a big deal, and it does take your body quite some time to recover from it. Your body will likely still be creating scar tissue inside of you as it attempts to repair itself from the surgery still. I was told by some people that your intestines take a full year to fully heal (do not know the accuracy of that though). Either way, realize that 6 weeks is not really that long of a time, and if you are back at work already you are likely just working a bit harder than your body would like to handle. This should pass in time.

It is good that you are not letting this symptom pass unnoticed though, and do not feel like you should not discuss this with your doctor. I had a similar experience as KCMike, as I had lost a lot of weight (took about a year to regain it) so my body was not used to functioning in a smaller body. Low iron levels are also likely to keep an individual feeling lethargic. Liver is a source rich in iron, and many other iron-rich foods can be found by a search engine.

I found that a lot of sleep, moderate exercise and a good diet all helped me regain energy after my surgery. I did wait about 2 months before doing any exercise above walking mind you.

I hope this has been helpful .

 

[Sojourn]

Also, the tapering off Prednisone could be a contributor. I began to taper before my resection and already noticed increased fatigue. My resection was laparoscopic which is supposed to make recovery quicker. I was back at work in 3 weeks, though, not feeling completely up to it. And my hours are absurd.

I've had my first two full days off now since going back to work 2 weeks ago and the first day was almost entirely sleep. I slept 18 hours out of the 24, though, not consecutively.

 

[Kev]

After my surgery, I felt tremendous (barring the typical post op recovery issues). I think some of that was euphoria from the docs mistakenly telling me I was cured. I also believe it was from the walking and exercises I was doing each day. My case is different than yours because it involved the colon, not the ileum, I wasn't on any pred (pred withdrawal was really nasty, extremely draining and fatiguing), and recovery provided me a rest from the constant pain I was in pre-op... there was still pain, but it was decreasing each day, and I was able to eat without pain.. Overall, my surgery was an idyllic experience.