Level of Help Post-Op

[HedwigPotter 8]

How much help do I need to ask for after surgery? I'm a single mom with a teenage son. My mother has offered to help take care of me after surgery and I don't know what to tell her for how long that will be. She is planning on staying a week, but from some of the other stories I'm hearing, I'll be up and walking on the same day as surgery. I'm hoping that she'll only need to put her life on hold for a couple of days. How long did you need assistance after surgery?

[heftyhoosier 30]

The only thing I needed was for someone to drive me home and carry things. Other than that I was self sustained.

[HedwigPotter 8]

Wow, that's remarkable! I hope I'm half as capable as you are!

[heftyhoosier 30]

Let me clarify - it's not like I felt like a million bucks, but I could get through on my own. Someone stayed with me the first night after the hospital then I was good to go. My advice is to take the pain meds for several days. I tried to back off too early and it ended up making me feel worse.

[McButterpants 2,846]

I traveled to Las Vegas for my surgery with my husband - it was nice to have someone there, not necessarily to dote on me, but to be there for support. I tried not to ask him to do things for me like get me a drink or make a shake - I knew I had to get up and do that stuff for myself. He went for walks with me and was just there when I needed to talk. My doc told me to not lift anything greater than 5 pounds that first week, so keep that in mind. You will need help - you're recovering from major surgery

[Granddaddy 45]

The Dr. told me nothing over 20 lbs. for 2 weeks I drive a truck for a living so I took 2 weeks of and have not missed a beat so I would see what the Dr. requires.

[Elode 8,093]

When I got home from the hospital on day 3 my husband and kids all went to work/school so I was on my own for the day. I did fine. Just keep everything close.

[Bufflehead 6,358]

I live alone and didn't even allow visitors in my house for the first week after surgery. The last thing I wanted was to feel like I had to be entertaining someone. I had no issues taking care of myself, my pets, or my home. I did make sure all the stuff requiring heavy lifting or effort was done in advance -- lawn mowed, kitty litter changed, laundry done, etc.

[Tauruslady5 154]

Hi.

Everyone is different. I needed two weeks of recovery because I ended up with Thrush, which was painful, but it went away. My sister only needed one week.

For lifting, I was unable to lift more than 8 pounds until I had my 30 day post-op appoinment. You can do what you need when you have the strength.

A week may be all you need to start, but again, your body will tell you what you need. I needed alot of rest, because I am a very energetic person, so after having surgery, I was wiped out and my body sure let me know it.

I, too, live alone, but my daughter was just down the street about 10 minutes away and i did fine. I also did not babysit my grand-daughter for one month because of the lifting restrictions.

Hope this helps.

[AquariusDiva 15]

I live with my husband and four year old. The one restriction imposed is no lifting anything heavier than 20 lbs. so far, my husband has lifted our son and done laundry. Other than those tasks the biggest hurdle was getting a driven from the hospital. Everything else has been fine.