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After op Howe long will it be before I can go upstairs to sleep in my own bed.

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Gossip
Gossip

im trying to think ahead of everything before I book myself in for surgery. I won't have much help as such at home as my husband works away Monday-Friday & my adult children have recently starting working 50 miles away & don't live at home anymore. I don't want to have to make up a bedroom from one of the living rooms if possible & am wondering if  I might be able to manage the stairs when I leave hospital. Am I expecting too much or should I organise a bed downstairs just in case?

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  • mic71403
    mic71403 Gossip

    Posted

    Hi Gossip,

    Well, everyone here has their own views and crazily different advice from professionals, but:

    Hospital in Devon would not release me till I could climb up and down stairs on the crutches. So i came home with the lesson behind me and went up two flights of stairs to our bed, if slowly, that night. And since!!

    Make sure the height of the bed is good - mine was 17.5 inches and that was OK for the physio. Otherwise you can put blocks under bed legs!

    Good luck

    mic

    x

    • Gossip
      Gossip mic71403

      Posted

      thanx Mic the bed height is really good to know. I'm so badly informed by my surgeon so needless to say I'm going for a second opinion. I try to do the stairs as things are as little as often. Come down in the morning with everything I need & go up at night the same way. My daughter has been amazing as she's a nursing carer but she's starting a new job next week 50 miles away
  • renee01952
    renee01952 Gossip

    Posted

    good evening gossip ... I think you will be discharged from the hospital when you are able to do the stairs .. I  live in a bungalow so I didn't need to ... make sure that your bed is elevatedhigher, so it will be easier to get in and out - do you have a toilet upstairs ? expect to make frequest visits the first nights ...

    do you have a recliner or something similar downstairs ?  am sure that you will get a lot of good tips and advice from fellow hippies ... 

    wishing you a good night for now -

    • Gossip
      Gossip renee01952

      Posted

      Thanx renee. Don't have a recliner downstairs but have a very uncomfortable sofa that could be replaced with a recliner. Have downstairs bathroom with shower & en suite in my bedroom. If I could manage the stairs Id be happier. So I'll follow physios advice. Want to get all in place before I get my op. Still as terrified about op but the pain is taking its toll at this stage. 
    • Jodi-France
      Jodi-France Gossip

      Posted

      I would figure out a way to have my cell phone on my body & chraged at all times if I was going to be alone. I think the first 2 weeks are the worst. If you can get friends/family/neighbors to stay with you at least some of the time for the forst 2 weeks that would be helpful to you. I think you will manage because you have a toilet on both floors.

      What you could do now is invest in a mattress topper, the memory foam type for your very uncomfortable sofa. See the food is downstairs so you are going to be needing to spend time downstairs, you really do need something quite comfortable on that level of the home. I was not comfortable for sitting for very long, 20 to 30 minutes of sitting was a lot, mostly I layed down, either on the sofa or my bed, but I would think a big comfy recliner would be fabulous, I didn't have one. Lazy Boy has nice ones and if you can afford it get the ones that are electric. Actually remembering back, I was not able to get out of the chair by myself, my husband had to help pull me up. My mother has an electric recliner that is also a lift chair, that is the bomb! Since you are alone maybe ask for a walker (I think in the UK they might be called trollies) in addition to crutches. A walker with a seat that folds up is ideal as then you can put food on it and wheel it into the living room. It is very hard for example to carry a cup of tea while using crutches. How do you carry a drink while on crutches? See it's impossible, a walker with a fold up seat would come in very handy for you. If I haven't explained it well enough your daughter will know. You might find one used for free even.

      Keep plenty of toilet paper stocked & on the floor next to the toilet. Bending down to get into a cabinet for a pack is not permitted, just have a good little stock pile set up right next to the toilet before you leave for the hospital.

      You want pillows of various shapes & sizes, some thicker, some thinner, some bigger & some smaller. For me I got the most comfort by taking a thick comforter & folding it in thirds and put that under my leg for support.

      It's not easy, the recovery but it is worth it. I had mine a year ago and this is what I have done in the last month. I completely painted a two bedroom rental propert we own, including vaulted ceilings with beams. Go up the ladder to tape the beams, go down the ladder to move it over, back up the ladder to tape more, rinse and repeat. Once everthing has been taped, back up the ladder to paint edge all the beams and edge paint the walls & windows & doors, down the ladder to move it over. Paint ceiling, back up the ladder to remove the tape.

      After I finished the 2 bedroom apartment, I painted my very very tall kitchen (agains with beams, these even higher grrr) now I am painting the living room ceiling, having spent 3 days just washing it to prepare to paint, and it is getting 3 coats of paint.

      A year ago I was in bed, and prior to that I spent a really awful 3 years basically handicapped with my bad hip. Look how my life has changed. It will be hard, the first two weeks will be the worst, but hang in there right at week 4 & 5 you will suddenly make a very rapid recovery. It seems to take forever but honestly it just seems to take a good month for everthing they cut to heal up and knit itself back together. And I never did any exercizes either, just waited for the healing and once that set in in week 4 & 5 within a week I went from the walker, to two crutches, to one crutch, to no crutch, within one week. Prior to that I laid around. I had Iliopsoas tendonitis set in about a week after my surgery and I couldn't exercize as I had to wait for that to heal up, if you aggrivate it by exercizing it only makes it worse, you don't do anything that makes it hurt, and you let it heal. It took about 3 weeks for that to heal, but it did, now I am going up and down ladders for the last month.

    • Gossip
      Gossip Jodi-France

      Posted

      Thanx Jodie. It sounds like Ur very well recovered. Well done to u. I can't wait to be able to live a normal life again. Keep up the good work x
  • carolineob
    carolineob Gossip

    Posted

    Hi if you are on your own most of the week you might appreciate a bed downstairs to rest properly during the day I had on downstairs against my wishes for first three days I did use it as chair not as comfy. Stairs a bit nerve wracking first few times but can be done easier with one crutch and holding rail but difficult to manage spare crutch but you need both when walking on the flat again. If you have a Comfortable spare then no harm bringing it down you can always put it back after a few days. BTW I'm only 43! But 3 days was enough and th went up to sleep but sctually used bed to rest on for another week in the day time saved going ipstairs
    • Gossip
      Gossip carolineob

      Posted

      Glad to hear Ur did so well so quickly Caroline so soon I'm only 49 but have been in so much pain exercise has been out of the question for last 3/4 years. I'm saving going upstairs now as it is. If I come down in the morning I bringing all I need so I don't need to go back up until bedtime & then I make sur ei have all I have with me also
  • jennifernz
    jennifernz Gossip

    Posted

    Hi, could your husband or adult children not take some leave?  My adult son  took 3 days off work and slept here for 4 weeks, I couldn't have managed without him.  The 3 days were the most helpful as i couldn't even carry a cuppa or get the ready made dinners i had prepared from freezer to oven to table!  As to the stairs, i could just about manage the two steps they made me do before i left hospital, but fortunately i live on one level, perhaps a recliner chair might be okay to sleep on if you don't want to have a bed downstairs, i slept on mine during the day as the first few nights were so uncomfortable and disturbed.  I know everybody is different but don't under estimate how big an op this is, you will need all the help you can get for a little while when you get out of hospital.  Good luck.
    • Gossip
      Gossip jennifernz

      Posted

      hi jennifernz my son only started work 2 weeks ago & my daughter starts next week & my husbands work is seasonal based. His busiest time is June/July/August/September. But I don't think I can cope with the pain til he can take time off. I've always been strong willed & strong minded & felt I didn't need help. I hope I can get over this like I did with breast cancer 10/11 years ago. My husband was there 200% for me then but he's changed jobs & works away during the week. I'm so scared about this op but reading all these posts makes me think do it NOW
    • akawestie
      akawestie Gossip

      Posted

      Hi. I'm now 6 days post op. I'm also only 46! Firstly physios won't let you home unless you can climb the stairs and you have someone to look after you the first day. I was on my own effectively from the Thursday after coming home on Weds with my eldest son who stayed with me till husband came home. I stayed upstairs on the bed as this stopped me from doing stuff! Nurse and physio's come out to me at home the next day (thurs) and will do for once a week until they are happy with progress etc (Southend pct) my hubby went to work thurs & fri so did younger kids to school so a friend popped in, made me tea and lunch and hung some washing out. Rest is much needed and you will really need someone around to support you. Your surgeons don't deal with this side of things, it's your hospital rehab team that do. Friday my mum came to stay to help with younger kids and hubby is off all next week.

      I hope this info helps. Please ask your rehab team what's happening. They should have sorted you a 'hip seminar info hour session' before you get your op so they can explain the whole procedure and answer any queries you have.

      All the best

      Westie 😊

    • ann19982
      ann19982 akawestie

      Posted

      This obviously depends person to person. I live alone 64 home on day 4 felt quite capable of looking after self. No visits from anyone at hospital but sister rang on day 5 to check I was okay. My NHS does not offer hip seminars. Easier when you have no dependents to look after. Of course various friends popped in. I was well prepared with freezer stocked. Guess I am lucky to enjoy independence.

      Keep recovering

  • ann19982
    ann19982 Gossip

    Posted

    Hi I live alone and have stairs. Came home with 2 crutches on day 4 and quite capable of doing stairs. Physio game me lessons. Hold onto rail, and you carry spare crutch in same hand as the crutch you are using. No problem when you are shown how and easier than you think. I do have 2 toilets one up and one down
    • Gossip
      Gossip ann19982

      Posted

      Thank you ann. Glad to hear your doing well. I'm just a scaredy cat about booking in for the op & coping after it. I can't wait to me mobile again. Waiting for apt with 2nd surgeon so will know more then. 1st surgeon gave me no info. very disappointed
  • Lama22
    Lama22 Gossip

    Posted

    Usually they have you using stairs before you go home so may not be a problem. One at a time at first x
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