Recovery and Pregnancy

Big announcement: we are 10 weeks pregnant!

The reson for my break on posting was primarily a result of morning sickness. I have been tied to my bed and bathroom for several weeks, only slowly improving. Needless to say, CrossFit has become secondary. It's been difficult to accept that I have to actually take a break on serious training. I'm not going to quit altogether but intensity and volume will not increase as planned post-op. Maybe this is a good thing as it will allow my body to fully heal, who knows?! But it surely makes me sad a bit to not be kicking ass during the opens in 2015. Have to wait for 2016.

On the upside, while my recovery from surgery went extremely well and I have been cleared by my doctors and called fully recovered just two month post cervical foraminotomy, I will now ten this blog towards croasfitting while pregnant and dealing with issues around being a first time mom. 

So keep checking back for stories and insights on my personal journey! 

Sunday, Sep 21 Workout

Starting to do post-op testing

As part of our 8 Week Team Challenge, I have to log my workouts every day for a week, to get  daily lifestyle points. I usually do so anyway, but will do it on here, to make sure.
So today for my workout I tested some maxes.

Mobi

Iron Scap Sequence

Push Jerk: worked up to 120# 1RM
Push Press: worked up to 95# 1RM
Press: worked up to 85# 1RM
Deadlift: worked up to 230 1RM

Mobi

First post-Op soreness!

Im excited to announce that 17 days post-op I am feeling sore again for the first time since my surgery, well technically since June... 

I did some yard work and cleaned the kitchen, plus a 3k walk with 200 lunges and 200 airsquats yesterday; and today I am feeling it and it feels SOOOO good :)

That's all! 

Good night! 

10 Days post-op Posterior Cervical Foraminotomy/Discectomy

Today I had my 10-day post-op follow-up doctor's visit. 
He pulled the sutures and the staple and said it looked really good. 
I don't need the hard brace any longer, but have a soft one, for another week or so. 
I can start driving, but haven't given i a try just yet. I think I will start slow/short distances. 
Though, Tuesday I need to drive down to South Denver, so that will be the first "test"- leaving early to make sure :)

I will be able to start PT in a week, so I will call Monday to maybe get my first appointment set for Friday. From there, I will slowly ease back into more strenuous activities. 
I have been walking 5-10km/day so far and will up it to 20-30km/day this coming week.
I am trying to walk sub 10min/km. I've been around 10:30-11min/km which is fine, but I feel good. Adding in some air squats and lunges as well. 

Also, today I did not have any notable pain in my arm or shoulder and the doctor reassured me that my nerves had plenty of room now, and were just irritated from the procedure. So, once the swelling goes down, I should be as good as new, and obviously, the muscles in my neck need to heal up.

At least I can say I am off pain meds, that is narcotics and muscles relaxants, and only need ibuprofen or bromelain every now and then.
So, all in all, everything went well and I am doing good. 

I am SO ready to go back to lifting. 
I know the first couple of months will be tough... and I will have a battle scar, but in a few years I am sure even this will be gone.

Here, is a picture of what my scar looks like Day 1 post-op versus day 10 post-op. 

1 day post-op

10 days post-op

Second Night and Day Post OP

I slept 4 hours straight and then took a muscle relaxer. My cat was keeping me up a bit. Then I fell back asleep around 6 and slept a couple more hours. Today, it felt like my left arm and shoulder pain was returning. Yet, the pain that I haven't felt in several weeks seems to return. I guess it is due to the swelling and I am going to stay optimistic and believe that that is the case. I will talk to my surgeon tomorrow. Maybe it was a bit premature to be excited about not having any more pain in my left arm right post op... 

I have to stay positive though. I have to rest. Maybe tomorrow, I will lay in bed instead of sitting in the recliner. The neck brace really bothers me. It hurts me. My incision, neck, and the area between my shoulder blades hurt a bit, too. Just cramps, spasms and aches. My staples in my head bother me as well. It's less pleasant today than it was at the hospital and I guess I wished I had stayed a little longer... But I was only approved for 1 night. 

Well, I ordered a wedge for my bed do I hope when that gets here tomorrow I will be able to sleep more comfortably. Also will not work at all tomorrow but rest... 

I have to remind myself: it's just day 2 post op. But I need to be more careful with movements and BLT.

This is not easy.