On Friday and Saturday I woke up with a sour stomach and light head. I suspected that my rotating diet of pain killers was the cause so I quit taking them. I took an anti-nausea pill that the surgeon prescribed and it worked okay. Since then I’ve done nothing for my hand and wrist other than wrap it up with an ice bag.

The hand seems to be working fine except when I try to lift things or twist them. Both these movements are painful. Hopefully this is temporary. There is no sign of bruising now and the incision seems to be all but healed. Tomorrow morning I go to the doctor to have the stitches removed and to get my instructions for further recovery.

As luck, good and bad, would have it, we’re getting a snow storm tomorrow afternoon. That means I won’t be tempted to ride an upright bike until Saturday at the earliest. This will allow more time for recovery. The bad part is that riding my recumbent in the basement is sooo boooring. It also means that I probably won’t be of much use for storm clean up unless the doctor says otherwise. So far my recovery has been exactly as he said it would be so he’s the boss.

No longer having pain killers in my system I could drink beer at yesterday’s Super Bowl party. (Baseball season can’t get here soon enough!) I didn’t intend to do dry January but that’s the way things worked out. I should be dry again or nearly so for another month or two.

Off to the basement for two hours of reading and riding….

Last night I slept well, having taken a Tramadol around 11 p. m. I wrapped my forearm with ice and took it off after a short time. When I awoke, my fingers were completely nimble but there was still some residual numbness which should go away as the median nerve heals. The base of my hand feels like I caught a baseball without a glove on.

After riding and showering, it was time for the big moment. Off came the bandage. First came an ace bandage, then layers and layers of what looked like cotton. The last bit was some small bits of gauze over the wound.

The incision is about twice the width I was expecting. Judging from the bruises on my wrist above the incision, I am guessing that the doctor needed to fish around for a clear path to the ligament.

The surgeon closed the wound with three stitches. I was expecting to put a regular band-aid over the wound but I clearly needed something bigger. Fortunately, I had a perfectly sized flexible mega-band-aid. I put it on right after taking a much-needed shower.

I’ll be taking pain meds and icing the area on and off until next Tuesday when I go for my post-op appointment. I suspect the stitches will come out then.