Guest guest Posted May 11, 2004 Report Share Posted May 11, 2004 , I'm almost 1 month post op, here are my suggestions and experiences. If you don't have a recliner, you MUST rent or steal one. I know they rent them in the U.S.I lived in mine for weeks. It is the most comfortable position I could find. I hate lying in bed unless I'm sleeping. Also, I think you'll find stairs a snap. It'll seem daunting originally, but they should discuss the how-to's with you before you leave the hospital. Operated leg first on the way down, and good leg first on the way up. It's really not hard, unless your'e a bilateral. But the biggest suggestion I can make is to get a big long body pillow...mine is about 5 feet long, and normal pillow width. It is made to go across the head of the bed. I put it betweed my legs, and roll over onto the non-op side. It supports my op leg all the way to the ankle, and with the non-op leg underneath, you can navigate the bending of your legs with ease. Some have actually fallen in love with their body pillows and needed marriage counseling to dis- engage. It has been my salvation, having tried " regular " pillows first, and of course the dreaded " yellow crotch wedge of doom " . Anything else I can be of help with, let me know. =) C+ Amstutz 4-15-04 > Well, it looks like I'm getting in the queue for my LH resurf. We live in > a two-story house and I think at least at first I'll sleep downstairs, > though our bedroom is upstairs. My question is: how difficult do people > find stairs at first? And I've read some posts that indicate a recliner is > a great choice for sleeping in the early post-op days. Someone even > mentioned an electric one -- is that something you can rent? What about a > hospital bed? We only have a sleep sofa downstairs, which is not very > comfortable even in good circumstances, so I have to do something about > this. > > What else is indispensible in the early post-op days? > > Many thanks to all. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 11, 2004 Report Share Posted May 11, 2004 , I'm almost 1 month post op, here are my suggestions and experiences. If you don't have a recliner, you MUST rent or steal one. I know they rent them in the U.S.I lived in mine for weeks. It is the most comfortable position I could find. I hate lying in bed unless I'm sleeping. Also, I think you'll find stairs a snap. It'll seem daunting originally, but they should discuss the how-to's with you before you leave the hospital. Operated leg first on the way down, and good leg first on the way up. It's really not hard, unless your'e a bilateral. But the biggest suggestion I can make is to get a big long body pillow...mine is about 5 feet long, and normal pillow width. It is made to go across the head of the bed. I put it betweed my legs, and roll over onto the non-op side. It supports my op leg all the way to the ankle, and with the non-op leg underneath, you can navigate the bending of your legs with ease. Some have actually fallen in love with their body pillows and needed marriage counseling to dis- engage. It has been my salvation, having tried " regular " pillows first, and of course the dreaded " yellow crotch wedge of doom " . Anything else I can be of help with, let me know. =) C+ Amstutz 4-15-04 > Well, it looks like I'm getting in the queue for my LH resurf. We live in > a two-story house and I think at least at first I'll sleep downstairs, > though our bedroom is upstairs. My question is: how difficult do people > find stairs at first? And I've read some posts that indicate a recliner is > a great choice for sleeping in the early post-op days. Someone even > mentioned an electric one -- is that something you can rent? What about a > hospital bed? We only have a sleep sofa downstairs, which is not very > comfortable even in good circumstances, so I have to do something about > this. > > What else is indispensible in the early post-op days? > > Many thanks to all. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 11, 2004 Report Share Posted May 11, 2004 , I found stairs to not be a problem at all. Our master bedroom is on the second floor and I spent every night in my own bed there. They teach you how to climb stairs before you leave the hospital. It's not exactly a race going up or down them, but it really isn't a problem at all. A regular bed wasn't a problem either. You have to sleep on your back for the first couple of weeks because it is just not comfortable on your side (either one) until then. Even when you get to the side sleeping stage, you need to sleep with a couple of pillows between your legs. You'll understand when you get there. Without them, there's too much " pulling " on the incision - painful. When you are sleeping on your back, put a big pillow under your knees. This will help keep your back from hurting. I also found that I needed one under my calves. My heels got very, very tender from resting on the bed all night. With the calf pillow, they didn't touch the mattress and felt fine. You will need a " reacher " for picking things up off the floor until you get the go-ahead to bend past the 90 degree point. It also helps in putting on undies and shorts or pants. You might consider slip on shoes until you can bend past 90 degrees. You won't be able to tie shoes until then. Good luck! Gross 6/12/03 RHR C2K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 11, 2004 Report Share Posted May 11, 2004 : Glad to see that you're getting ready and seriously thinking of doing your LH soon. I can't be of too much help about the upstairs bedroom because mine is on the first floor. I did little stair climbing in the early days, but many people have posted that they had upstairs bedrooms and stairs were no problem. They don't let you leave the hospital without learning how to navigate steps. A recliner is a great idea. Besides being relaxing and comfortable, I found it to be helpful with the swelling I had on and off during the first 2 weeks. I found elevating my legs and doing my ankle pumps (an exercise you are given) really helped to reduce the swelling. It was also a comfortable place to watch my NETFLIX DVD's! I have heard tell you can rent them from hospital supply stores. Early on you will need a grabber to help you pick up anything you drop or can't reach. This is a great tool and with the " 's Law " of recovery, you will definitely drop lots of stuff. Later on you can perfect the ballerina bend. More about that another day.... The grabber also helps you to dress...helps you get your surgical side into pants and shorts. Also helpful is the thing that helps put socks on. It really works! But if you get resurfed in the summer, I suggest slip on shoes. New Balance makes a slip-on verson of their most popular sneaker...is it the 805? You can buy it at the New Balance website or one of their stores. Very comfy. I had a canvas apron ($1 Home Depot) tied onto my walker. I put the portable phone in there, some gum, my book, a notepad, anything I needed handy. I moved onto crutches pretty quickly and bought lambs wool covering for the hand grips, that helped soften the hold. When you use crutches 24/7, your palms begin to ache. I also found my bike riding gloves (gel pads in palm) to be helpful for long crutch walks. I loved having a raised toilet seat that clamped on to my regular one. It made sitting down easier. We recently remodeled our bathroom and I put in a high toilet....the salesperson said everyone wants them (Ah Baby boomers!) and soon they will be more popular then 'regular' ones. I also found a shower chair really useful. I didn't have a walk-in shower then (I do now!), but a shower in a tub that you have to step over and into. Ugh! That was hard the first few weeks and I needed help getting in. The seat solved the problem of 'how the hell am I going to stand in the shower?' Hope this helps. Lois C+ 3/27/03 Dr. Mont sleeping post surgery Well, it looks like I'm getting in the queue for my LH resurf. We live in a two-story house and I think at least at first I'll sleep downstairs, though our bedroom is upstairs. My question is: how difficult do people find stairs at first? And I've read some posts that indicate a recliner is a great choice for sleeping in the early post-op days. Someone even mentioned an electric one -- is that something you can rent? What about a hospital bed? We only have a sleep sofa downstairs, which is not very comfortable even in good circumstances, so I have to do something about this. What else is indispensible in the early post-op days? Many thanks to all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 11, 2004 Report Share Posted May 11, 2004 : Glad to see that you're getting ready and seriously thinking of doing your LH soon. I can't be of too much help about the upstairs bedroom because mine is on the first floor. I did little stair climbing in the early days, but many people have posted that they had upstairs bedrooms and stairs were no problem. They don't let you leave the hospital without learning how to navigate steps. A recliner is a great idea. Besides being relaxing and comfortable, I found it to be helpful with the swelling I had on and off during the first 2 weeks. I found elevating my legs and doing my ankle pumps (an exercise you are given) really helped to reduce the swelling. It was also a comfortable place to watch my NETFLIX DVD's! I have heard tell you can rent them from hospital supply stores. Early on you will need a grabber to help you pick up anything you drop or can't reach. This is a great tool and with the " 's Law " of recovery, you will definitely drop lots of stuff. Later on you can perfect the ballerina bend. More about that another day.... The grabber also helps you to dress...helps you get your surgical side into pants and shorts. Also helpful is the thing that helps put socks on. It really works! But if you get resurfed in the summer, I suggest slip on shoes. New Balance makes a slip-on verson of their most popular sneaker...is it the 805? You can buy it at the New Balance website or one of their stores. Very comfy. I had a canvas apron ($1 Home Depot) tied onto my walker. I put the portable phone in there, some gum, my book, a notepad, anything I needed handy. I moved onto crutches pretty quickly and bought lambs wool covering for the hand grips, that helped soften the hold. When you use crutches 24/7, your palms begin to ache. I also found my bike riding gloves (gel pads in palm) to be helpful for long crutch walks. I loved having a raised toilet seat that clamped on to my regular one. It made sitting down easier. We recently remodeled our bathroom and I put in a high toilet....the salesperson said everyone wants them (Ah Baby boomers!) and soon they will be more popular then 'regular' ones. I also found a shower chair really useful. I didn't have a walk-in shower then (I do now!), but a shower in a tub that you have to step over and into. Ugh! That was hard the first few weeks and I needed help getting in. The seat solved the problem of 'how the hell am I going to stand in the shower?' Hope this helps. Lois C+ 3/27/03 Dr. Mont sleeping post surgery Well, it looks like I'm getting in the queue for my LH resurf. We live in a two-story house and I think at least at first I'll sleep downstairs, though our bedroom is upstairs. My question is: how difficult do people find stairs at first? And I've read some posts that indicate a recliner is a great choice for sleeping in the early post-op days. Someone even mentioned an electric one -- is that something you can rent? What about a hospital bed? We only have a sleep sofa downstairs, which is not very comfortable even in good circumstances, so I have to do something about this. What else is indispensible in the early post-op days? Many thanks to all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 11, 2004 Report Share Posted May 11, 2004 , We live in a two story house as well and I didn't have any problems with the stairs on crutches (in fact, I think it's good exercise). Given the choice of our sleeper sofa (a good one) and my bed, I chose my bed. I had problems sleeping but found the answer in pillows (to support the op leg) and an OTC sleep aid (same active ingredients as Benedryl),late movies helped also). Sleeping will be different for everyone depending on surgery location and how they feel most comfortable sleeping. I was lucky as I had my right side operated on and I'm most comforable sleeping on my left side. That said, it still wasn't easy. One thing that is an essential early on is a commode with handles for going to the bathroom. It helps as it is higher than the normal toilet seat and gives you something to push yourself up with. I used it for the first two - three weeks. I still have it if you would like to use it. Let me know, Fred Gross, C2K 1/21/04 > Well, it looks like I'm getting in the queue for my LH resurf. We live in > a two-story house and I think at least at first I'll sleep downstairs, > though our bedroom is upstairs. My question is: how difficult do people > find stairs at first? And I've read some posts that indicate a recliner is > a great choice for sleeping in the early post-op days. Someone even > mentioned an electric one -- is that something you can rent? What about a > hospital bed? We only have a sleep sofa downstairs, which is not very > comfortable even in good circumstances, so I have to do something about > this. > > What else is indispensible in the early post-op days? > > Many thanks to all. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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