Why I left my tech job to work on chronic pain

> Minor post surgery issues

My wife has had two surgeries and each time she had a minor post surgery issue. One of them was an area that was tender to touch; another was chronic pain. Neither was mentioned as a possible side effect of the surgery by the surgeon. The main takeaway even if a bit extreme here is avoid all surgeries unless absolutely necessary.

Depending on the underlying issue, delaying a surgery could easily lead to needing an even more invasive or extensive procedure, with worse complications or side effects. A blanket avoidance of all surgeries is a great way to be even more miserable.

Anecdotal case: My wife broke her arm some 10 years ago or so. She was really upset about potential recovery time, insurance copayments and such, especially since she was (at the time) a single mother. The doctor suggested setting it and letting it heal on its own, which was absolutely the wrong call. Had she gotten surgery straight away, she would have recovered by the time she actually ended up getting surgery.

I've often wondered if there wasn't a malpractice case that could have been made, but it was before we met so that's lost to time.

Surgery is a bigger deal than doctors make it seem, but after surgery care can make a huge difference.

I had a surgery asked for more pain meds once on day 5 or 6. Instead the surgeon had me come in to look at the wound, made a tiny incision a blob of pus came out and things felt fine the next day. That’s the kind of thing that could have easily resulted in major problems, but just the right treatment at just the right time fixed it.

> Instead the surgeon had me come in to look at the wound

I'm surprised this is not the standard for any surgery involving a significant incision. In my country it's been the standard for instance for all three of my cervical spine surgeries, including the one I just had.

At the 7-10 day mark I must go to my normal GP who performs wound review and checks for signs of infection or other anomaly.

It was standard to have a follow up. He called me in early, the same day they called. And he looked to it himself rather than having a GP do so.

Vasectomies are never “absolutely necessary”, but the risk of chronic pain (very small) vs the risk of unintended pregnancy, risk to the partner, or potential financial hardship, can make it a good decision. It’s never black and white in medicine.

Oh ok that makes sense, for a second it just sounded like it would have went I caught otherwise and I began wondering if maybe this wasn’t as much of a standard as I thought it was.

Any time you have surgery, especially anything to repair a bone, joint, muscle, or tendon, do the post-op physical therapy religously. Do not skip it. It will be uncomfortable at first, but stick with it. If you slack off or don't do it, you may end up with persistent pain and mobility issues.