5 days post op and still feel like blah/weak

Another week seems like a good idea.  Remember, you are not super woman!  You will be.... but right now not so much ;)  

I am a nurse as well but I do not profess to handle pain well at all! Any surgery I have had knocks the stuffing out of me for at least a week. At one week I was able to start walking outside. Prior to that I walked in the house, we have a two story so the stairs were a work out without chancing getting to far from the house and being too exhausted to get back!  I work in the quality dept. So I was able to go back to work at three weeks. Doctor said if I was working patient care he wouldn't allow me bac****il 4 weeks. If you are going to be lifting and on your feet all day make sure you give yourself enough time to heal and make sure you are getting in enough protein to fuel you through a shift.

I'm also a nurse but I do direct pt care, so I'm out of work for 4 weeks. I'm 2 weeks out today and feeling pretty good- you need to give yourself some time to heal. I think as nurses, we think we can do everything quicker, but it's just not the case with this surgery. I had never had surgery before and was pretty narcotic naïve and the general anesthesia and pain meds, really kicked my butt- I was out of it and tired. I got off the pain meds after a few days and that made things much better. Have you tried half strength powerade zero or G2? I found straight out of the bottle it was too sweet for me, but 1/2 strength works well and I really do seem to feel better when I drink it (usually in the mornings). Today is my first day caring for all 4 kids alone (8,7,5 and 2) and it's going well. I was able to get them all ready for school, drive to school, straighten up the house and walk to the park with the baby. I'm taking a break and resting now, but I never could have done all that comfortably a week ago. Good luck- it definitely gets better.

The whole first week, I was not myself at all.  That is typical for me the first week after surgery.  I had zero nausea, and I still felt like things were terrible.

I'm a nurse, as well.  I know you aren't feeling as if you are dehydrated, but you could be in the early stages, and if the meds are making you nauseated, I'd strongly consider their offer to go in for some fluids and "fill your tank."  Everyone here who has done it said they felt so much better after.  I've been slightly dehydrated before and ended up in the ER (long, stupid story) and I know I felt tremendously better with a couple liters of fluid! 

You didn't say how much fluids you ARE able to get in, so I'm betting dollars to donuts (sorry) that you're dehydrated. It's such a quiet side effect....not being thirsty or feeling nauseous IS the hint that you're headed down the dehydrated road....I'm guessing that you know it's harder to get a good vein if you're dehydrated?? For me that's the last thing I wanted to do was take off more time, drive in, sit around and wait for a couple hours to decide I needed an IV.

Five days is NOT that long of a time! If you can suck it up, literally lol, and drink til you think you're gonna burst, you'll probably feel better in no time. I must just have high tolerance and a less-demanding job (you nurses ROCK) but I was back at the desk in 4 days. Was I 100% comfortable? No. Was I worried about everything? Yes! I just slowed down and didn't pu**** I was somewhat different too, in that I didn't have family to care for, just me. And I've always been a "I'm fine-please just leave me alone" person when I'm down for whatever.

Hey. I get in about 64-70 ounces a day of water. I can't do any of the flavored stuff my body just can't handle it. I finally checked my blood sugar today and it was low 60's , and I know that has been also causing some problems. I ended up taking some pedialyte to take in some dextrose from it. Brought my blood sugar back up to the 80s and made me feel better. I saw the doc yesterday and he made some adjustments to my meds. We will see how it goes. Thanks everyone for the input!

can't believe you are already going back to work. I too am a nurse and work 12 hour shifts. I was out 6 week initially and then ended up taking an extra 2 weeks because of continued nausea and dizziness. there is no way I could have gone back that early.

Is it possible this is a gall bladder issue? Gall bladder stones?

I had to have Dilaudid. I can't have oxycodone or hydrocodone for the same reasons. That and they weren't effective enough for pain. 

As far as not feeling yourself, trust that it's part of the process, and you will get through it. It sucks!!! It took me over a month to feel good again but I had complications with my gall bladder removal.