“Why do I feel so sleepy post my surgery?”
I had abdominal surgery and now I'm feeling extremely sleepy. I had the surgery over a week ago, and while I know I'm still in recovery, I shouldn't feel too tired. Why is this happening to me?
3 Answers
Anesthesia still on board.
You’re catching up and need to rest.
Surgery itself, in addition to whatever pathology led to your surgery, is a huge physiologic insult to your body. It takes time to recover. I tell my patients that energy is the hardest thing to recover after surgery. Even a routine operation like removing a gallbladder or appendix may take 4-6 weeks before your energy level returns to normal. People who have never taken naps in their life will find they need to rest in the afternoon to make it through the day. This is fairly typical.
