illgeturhairdid 176 Posted September 21, 2011 Good morning all! I'm so happy it is finally the middle of the week! I'm hoping the next two months move this quickly! My question this morning is, how long did you wait to drive? Due to job responsibilities and finances I'm only planning to take a week off of work for recovery. Do you guys think I will be okay to drive by then? My sister and I (we live together) work at the same place but have different hours, but I need to know if I should make plans to do some shifting of times if I will need a ride. Of course, I'm going to ask my doctor the next time I see him. He is going to see me pull out my combination notebook of questions and roll his eyes I swear! lol Thanks all and have a great day! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ranoodle 6 Posted September 21, 2011 Good morning all! I'm so happy it is finally the middle of the week! I'm hoping the next two months move this quickly! My question this morning is, how long did you wait to drive? Due to job responsibilities and finances I'm only planning to take a week off of work for recovery. Do you guys think I will be okay to drive by then? My sister and I (we live together) work at the same place but have different hours, but I need to know if I should make plans to do some shifting of times if I will need a ride. Of course, I'm going to ask my doctor the next time I see him. He is going to see me pull out my combination notebook of questions and roll his eyes I swear! lol Thanks all and have a great day! I waited about a week and a half. The doctor said wait two weeks. I quit taking the Lortab after one week so I felt I was good to drive after being off of that for a few days. Always listen to your doctor of course. But if you aren't taking narcotics I would think you would be okay to drive. Note that I am NOT a medical professional though. LOL Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LeahG 16 Posted September 21, 2011 I have the exact same response as ranoodle. I took a week and a half off of surgery and was off the loratab about 3 or 4 days after surgery. I drove myself into work when I returned and was completely fine! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ILKrista 36 Posted September 21, 2011 I was told not to drive until I was off all pain meds & I could move fairly comfortably. I started driving at a week out. I felt a little light headed the first couple of times I drove & I did have some pain from having to sit so upright at that point. I probably would have been better had I given it another couple of days. However, it wasn't horrible to drive at one week out. Krista Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LR6909 10 Posted September 21, 2011 3 days. I was taking any pain meds really. I just had motion sickness. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LindaS 316 Posted September 21, 2011 I was supposed to wait until my first post-op visit with my doctor, which was about a week later. I have a teenager with a driver's permit who is always happy to drive me around, so I didn't have any problems. Although Saturday morning, I did the usual "going to get the mail," and I was halfway to the post office before I remembered I wasn't supposed to drive yet. That would have been at about 4 days. I wasn't on narcotics, and it was a quick drive. I didn't drive again for the rest of the week although I didn't have anything bad happen. One other caution I received about driving was that you shouldn't do it right after eating new foods. You don't want to be driving when you have a bad reaction. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peppercma 12 Posted September 23, 2011 I wasn't given any driving restrictions that I remember. My surgery was on a Friday, we flew home on Tuesday and I was driving around town on Wednesday...so I guess that was 5 days. Honestly, I felt well enough on Monday and Tuesday that I could have driven then. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kellyw74 258 Posted September 23, 2011 I was told I could drive the day after stopping the pain meds. So, I drove about 3 days after my surgery because I did not take pain medication after leaving the hospital. Kelly Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KathyM 14 Posted September 25, 2011 I drove an hour home from the airport 4 days after surgery, then went everywhere like usual after that without any problems. I didnt have to take any pain meds from the second post-op day on, so you will want to consider if you are medicated before getting behind the wheel. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MeMeMEEE 206 Posted September 25, 2011 My discharge papers said no driving while on pain meds so I drove the day after I came home - I only took tylenol after day 2 in the hospital. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites