Re: Question on coming home from hospital?

[Guest guest]

I came home from the hospital after 3 days. At that point I was able to dress

myself (slowly) and take care of personal hygene. I wasn't able to cook

anything, but since I ate so little there wasn't a lot to cook. At 6 days

post-op I had to be alone for several hours and I managed just fine. By 1 week

post-op I was feeling a whole lot better and at 12 days I started going out and

doing things like grocery shopping, etc. Of course I had someone drive me and

do all the lifting for the first several weeks. I could have driven myself

around at about 2 weeks out, but I just didn't want to. I guess some of it will

depend on how high your BMI is pre-op and how your current state of health is.

My pre-op BMI was 40 and I was in pretty good shape (besides the weight). I am

32 years old.

Kathy M.

DS 7/19/01

213 pre-op

157 today

[Guest guest]

Dear Louise,

I had an open DS three weeks ago. At 8 to 10 days out I was still

needing help putting socks and shoes on, picking up stuff off the

floor, and sometimes getting up from a chair, depending on the

chair. Housework was not an option. I was also still very swollen

and needed an extender to get toilet paper to the right spot, if you

know what I mean. I really wasn't very active, but unless I overdid

I wasn't in a tremendous amount of pain. Those were the days when I

really saw an improvement in having less pain and more ability each

day.

Hugs,

Shelly

[Guest guest]

<<How were you all feeling about 8-10 days after surgery, able to cope

on your own or still heavily reliant on assistance at this point??? I

really want to come home to my own house, but will stay with good

friends if it is necessary.

Louise in Sydney Australia

>>

Louise,

It is difficult to predict what your case would be. I know that I recovered

very well. At 10 days, I was able to get around the house fairly well

(actually the hotel, we had to stay by the doctor since we live in PA and he

was in NY). In fact on day 11 I drove home since my DH wasn't feeling well,

a 2 hour drive. I didn't taken any pain pills after leaving the hospital.

Other people have a really hard time for the first few weeks.

I would advise that if you have the option to stay with someone, plan on it.

When you know you can do on your own, you can then go home. It is good to

know that there is someone you can call on if you need and they are right

there.

Rita

[Guest guest]

At 2:43 PM -0400 10/16/01, Rita B. wrote:

>...

>I would advise that if you have the option to stay with someone, plan on it.

>When you know you can do on your own, you can then go home. It is good to

>know that there is someone you can call on if you need and they are right

>there.

AMEN, Sister! I came home on Day 3. I could get around easily, but

I could not go out to shop, and I was not allowed to go up/down

stairs more than one round trip/day. So, I was dependent on DW to

get a few things here and there for me. She also pureed my soups and

did other things for me that I might have been able to do myself, but

which were appreciated because somebody else did them for me. And,

it was a comfort to know that there was somebody around in case I ran

into trouble--which I did not.

--Steve

--

[Guest guest]

seastarshelly@... wrote: Dear Louise,

I had an open DS three weeks ago. At 8 to 10 days out I was still

needing help putting socks and shoes on, picking up stuff off the

floor, and sometimes getting up from a chair, depending on the

chair. Housework was not an option. I was also still very swollen

and needed an extender to get toilet paper to the right spot, if you

know what I mean. I really wasn't very active, but unless I overdid

I wasn't in a tremendous amount of pain. Those were the days when I

really saw an improvement in having less pain and more ability each

day.

Hugs,

Shelly

Louise, I'm 4 weeks out from an open DS, and I has similar needs at 10 days out

as Shelly. I needed help with my shoes, bending down...I also had a lot of

diarrhea at that point, with pretty intense cramping at times. I felt better

knowing I wasn't in the house alone, in case I needed to go back to the

hospital or something. Beth

----------------------------------------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

At five days post-op friends came to pick me up (two states away) and

drive me home. I stayed by myself. The only thing I was able to eat

was some baby food and I'd stocked up ahead. I was able to care for

myself without any problems. A friend took me shopping at about 10

days out. At 14 days I was able to drive myself, etc. Just be VERY

careful about lifting. I'd try sleeping in a recliner at first, if

you have one available. It hurts trying to lie down flat or heave

yourself out of bed. You might also want to purchase a toilet seat

riser. They are available for less than $30 at most large pharmacies.

Our toilets at home are normal height, i.e. too short to comfortably

get up and down post-op. It sure can't hurt.

P

> I came home from the hospital after 3 days. At that point I was

able to dress myself (slowly) and take care of personal hygene. I

wasn't able to cook anything, but since I ate so little there wasn't

a lot to cook. At 6 days post-op I had to be alone for several hours

and I managed just fine. By 1 week post-op I was feeling a whole lot

better and at 12 days I started going out and doing things like

grocery shopping, etc. Of course I had someone drive me and do all

the lifting for the first several weeks. I could have driven myself

around at about 2 weeks out, but I just didn't want to. I guess some

of it will depend on how high your BMI is pre-op and how your current

state of health is. My pre-op BMI was 40 and I was in pretty good

shape (besides the weight). I am 32 years old.

>

> Kathy M.

> DS 7/19/01

> 213 pre-op

> 157 today

[Guest guest]

Thank you all so much for sharing how you were feeling just home from

hospital, it gets ever so much scarier the closer it gets, and I just

needed to hear some stories to help me relax and plan.

I'm still definately not looking forward to the toilet thing, it

seemed intereresting when I was reading about it here on-line but I

sure am not looking forward to it in reality.

Once again thank you all so much for your replies.

Louise in Sydney Australia

BMI 46ish - Pre-Op 5 November 2001

http://loopljwlsjourney.homestead.com