Head ache the day after surgery? It's probably a "coffee headache".
Seattle Plastic Surgeon advises coffee drinker patients to have a cup of coffee ASAP after surgery.
I did surgery on a vigorously healthy middle aged lady yesterday and today she was doing fine except for a really, really bad headache. My very astute nurse told her to drink two cups of coffee and see if that helped. Sure enough, a little caffeine in the system and the headache disappeared.
Coffee headaches are pretty common after surgery because patients cannot eat or drink anything the morning of surgery so regular coffee drinkers miss out on that dose of caffeine and they often don’t feel like a cup of coffee for a few days after surgery.
So, if you had a tummy tuck yesterday and your head hurts more than your tummy, you just may have a coffee headache and the cure is a nice hot cup of coffee. Bottoms up!
Seattle Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Lisa Lynn Sowder gives a tip for a more comfortable postoperative recovery.
Today I saw a lady for her preoperative visit for her upcoming tummy tuck. During this visit, I review the operative plan, do a physical exam, check any necessary lab work, write prescriptions, make sure all the patient’s questions are answered and make sure all of the paperwork is done.
I also use this preoperative visit to discuss recovery with the patient so they really know what to expect. I’ve been under the knife a time or two myself, so I really know what I’m talking about!
I often will recommend that tummy tuck and breast surgery patients buy a body pillow if they don’t already have one that they used during pregnancy. The body pillow can be used to make side sleeping more comfortable and safer for those patients who just cannot sleep on their back as recommended after surgery. They are also useful for keeping that man on his own side of the bed. When I was expecting, my husband referred to my BFF body pillow as the “Berlin Wall”.
@lisalynnsowder
