Stitches etc out - ouch but YES!

Hi all,
I went to see Dr. Sherman this past Tuesday and he removed the stitches, the drains (what a relief) and the tape that was supporting both sides underneath. Honestly, the removal of the tape was absolutely the WORST. Ugh. My skin is still in turmoil from that. I definitely needed some pain meds after that visit and even the next day! The fortunate thing was that I couldn't feel the removal of the stitches (I'm numb in that area due to the removal of the tissue there in October) and the drain removal wasn't that bad. It is Saturday and I still have some nagging, sticking pain on the lower right, no doubt where they stitched the insidue muscles and at the same time, had taped the outside skin. Ugh. Sleeping is not fun at the moment and, today for example, I find myself totally wiped out and yet I'm not sure I can explain why. I mean, sure it might have something to do with the fact that I can only sleep on my back and my neck and shoulders are kind of tensed up from the muscles being understaring in that area or maybe it's just that I still don't have the stamina back that I was hoping for. Oh well, it's okay. I'm just so glad that I can take naps when I need to and rest. For example, I'm watching the Empire Strikes Back while writing this and I really don't have energy for anything else. Yesterday, however, I worked out pretty hard at the gym, I mean I did 30 minutes on the eliptical and then another 20 on the recumbant bike. Maybe that was too much. Oh well. I really had been feeling so great, and it was nice to be able to make some progress athletically speaking. I won't be able to run for a few weeks so I'm trying to be able to do some other things in the meantime. It really helps me to manage stress. I am having some trouble taking deep breaths, too and that may be due to the fact that my diaphram was involved indirectly, I mean via the muscles around the rib cage. It's possible that the general anethsesia may have impacted that, too, but I'm not sure.
I guess I still find it surprising that I can still have some rough days where I just have no energy, despite feeling better overall. That being said, I'm so grateful to be DONE. I mean I walked out of Dr. Sherman's office just elated and a bit giddy that it's basically over. Yay!!!

Love to you all,
Julie