“It’s critical after surgery that you do keep active and keep your body in the best possible condition,” says Melissa Culligan, a thoracic surgery nurse at the University of Maryland Medical Center.
She says it’s important to keep in close contact with the members of your care team to let them know about the severity of your pain and discomfort, as well as any anxiety and stress that you may feel.
Read MoreBecause pain can show up in different ways, it’s worth working with your care team early to create a personalized pain‑management plan, ideally before treatment begins.
As you move through your pain‑management routine, it’s also common for sleep patterns to be disrupted. Understanding what’s normal and what needs attention can help you stay ahead of these challenges.
“Oftentimes, patients will ask for sleeping medications or anti-anxiety medications,” Culligan says.
Culligan still stresses that staying active and on the move with your daily life is one of the best medicines to manage pain and stress that is often associated with it.
Medications aren’t always the answer, so encouraging patients to go out and go to the movies and go to the mall and maintain their life as best they can while they’re going through treatment and recovering from it.
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