It's Been a Long Week - and It's Only Wednesday

I know it's only Wednesday (aka: hump day).  But have you ever had one of those Wednesdays where Monday feels as if it was so very long ago?  That's my story right now.

It's all because I am a worrier. And because of this:

Max, the dachshund puppy, had his surgery to be neutered yesterday.   

I didn't sleep well Monday night because...

1) I was worrying about his upcoming surgery

and

2) I had to be up early to have him to the vet at 7:45am and for whatever reason I never sleep well when I know I have to be up early for something.  I guess part of my brain is worried I'll oversleep and be late or miss it, so I keep waking up

After dropping Max off at the vet, I can home and anxiously awaited the call from the doctor letting me know it was over and he was ok.  On the bright side, I took advantage of this time to sweep, mop and vacuum without having a little canine chasing me around, barking his little head off and trying to bite the broom/mop/vacuum cleaner.

Of course, his surgery went well.  He's a little champ.  And I was even able to pick him up earlier than they had told me to expect when I dropped him off.  

Once home, I had to keep an eye out for any signs of stress, nausea, diarrhea, etc.  I had to watch him because he was still a little groggy.  He was also learning to do things with the "cone of shame" - walking for example.  

Last night, he was a little restless.  Probably sore from the procedure.  And I can't imagine sleeping with a plastic lampshade around your neck is exactly comfortable.  Needless to say, I was aware of every time he shifted or moved around and would wake up to check on him.  That made night #2 of poor sleep.

Woke up with a headache this morning.  It started yesterday.  I think I can blame that on the change in the weather to cool and rainy.

Today, Max is clearly feeling much better than he was yesterday evening.  He seems to be mostly back to himself.  Which is good.  Except that this means he wants to play, and wrestle with his blanket, and run and try to jump on me.  All things he should NOT be doing right now.  It's giving me all kinds of anxiety.

I had hoped his pain medicine would keep him a little tired, but so far that doesn't seem to be the case.  The vet had said I could try some Benedryl if I need to sedate him a little.  Or she could prescribe something.  I hope I don't have to resort to that, but if he feels even better tomorrow and is trying to bounce off the walls - desperate times call for desperate measures. 

He does seem to have quickly figured out that the has to hold his head up to walk with the cone.  But he still keeps bumping into things.   I thought about getting him one of those soft, inflatable neck pillow type of rings to see if he likes that better, but there were mixed reviews online - so I'm not sure about that.

Have you ever had to cope with the recovery of a pet following neutering?  What's your best tip for getting through the process?