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Memory foam post-op, yes or no?

Posted , 16 users are following.

Kristin53
Kristin53

Hi folks

Just five days to go to op day of 5th October and I am getting things ready for when I come home afterwards. 

I decided to go into the spare room for a few weeks so as me and the hubs do not disturb each other.  Was making the bed up and wondered whether I should leave the nemory foam topper on. It is quite a thick one and the mattress underneath is pretty firm.

What is best?  Can anyone share their experience either way re comfort?  Anything else I should know other than using a slippy sheet and lots of pillows ?  It is a double bed and we have moved it so I can get in an out either side. 

Oh and I dont have a frame so just on crutches.. Does it help getting in and put if I have something to help me stand?

Thanks in advance. X

3 likes, 62 replies

62 Replies

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  • dot60135
    dot60135 Kristin53

    Posted

    I live in a very old house 1475, have a huge bed up a steep staircare, bliss as I am now back in it but had to spend some time in a different bed downstairs, mem foam topper made sleeping much better. Remember to get lots of pillows in a V shape to prop you up or even buy one but not needed if you can do "nurse" pillows.

    Best wishes,

    Dot x

    • Kristin53
      Kristin53 dot60135

      Posted

      Hi dot.

      i have a long body pillow I can fold. Will try it out anyway. Nit sure what nurse pilllows are?

      thanks smile 

  • carla66308
    carla66308 Kristin53

    Posted

    I have to sleep In spare room cause the bed sits lower. I kept the memory foam on because you will want the softness, I also have one of those lift straps. So I sit as far back as I can , put the strap under the foot of bad hip and lift my leg into the bed. So much easier than trying to do it yourself. I have a side table next to the bed So I can have my pain meds ready. I take meds every 3 hours, so I sit out a 1/2 banana, water and pills in 3 sections on the table. So when my alarm goes off, I just have to eat something and take my meds that is already to go and go back to sleep. So much easier then actually getting up. And you DO NOT want to skip your meds at night, it's hard to catch up.

    Akso, practice taking a shower with your walker and shower stool before surgery. That helped me So much the first time I took shower after Surgery. I knew what was safe.

    Buy extra ice packs, that way you have plenty that are cold. I use 2 at a time, one on my incision the other on my thigh.

    Get tray for your walker. Also. If you are alone, wear a fanny pack to carry your phone.that way if you fall you will have your phone to call for help.

    I hope all goes well for you.

    • Kristin53
      Kristin53 carla66308

      Posted

      Thankyou so much Carla.  The banana is a great idea. My bedside table is already yay high with meds I will need to make sure I have room.

      I will definitely look at some sort of lift strap.  Hand that over to my DH as a project to keep his mind off me under the knife again smile

      Sadly there wasnt enough time to install a walk in shower so it is a bath biard till it is done. sad  Not looking forward to that one bit. 

      No walker here either, just crutches and a small backpack. My ipad is too big to fit into what you call a fanny pack.. always makes me laugh that as its sounds a bit risque to us brits wink 

      I have a few gel packs that go in the freezer.  The sort of size you get in those Costco lunch bags.  Thanks for the reminder I will put them on the list to look out.

      Thank you so much for the advice, it us very much appreciated. I hope your recovery is smooth from here on. 

      Everyone here is so helpful and supportive. 

      Take care x

    • carla66308
      carla66308 Kristin53

      Posted

      I forget that we are from all over and terminology isn't the same. Lol

      I just found that the more I practiced maneuvering with a bum leg, the better I did after surgery.  Cause once the surgery is done it's difficult to concentrate on the dos and donts. 

      When is your surgery?

    • Kristin53
      Kristin53 carla66308

      Posted

      Monday 5th october @ 8am.  Less than 2 days time smile 

      I have practiced getting in and out if bed, shoe horn and grabber.

      Still to do- car, bath board and toilet raiser ( dont have either yet)  oh an crutches. 

      Just packing and trying to keep calm smile   X 

    • diannec
      diannec Kristin53

      Posted

      Didn't need a toilet raiser think cause I am only 5 foot, could not get in bath ( have over bath shower) so had to make do with strip wash until I got the 'blue & white' bath step from Argos really good very solid gives 4 inch step you can buy more and they fit together each additional one gives a further two inches would highly recommend it. Never used the show horn, grabber a few times but I don't think you can really practice getting in and out of bed, the crutches and certainly not the car because you don't know how much movement you will have, with the car we just pulled the front seat as far back as it would go reclined it a tiny bit and i had to start getting in like a lady lol, the bath once I had the step was extend one crutch fully get on step operated leg over support weight on extended crutch ( still on floor) being other leg over and coming out I led again with operated leg
    • diannec
      diannec

      Posted

      Oh and good luck not gonna tell you not to worry cause you still will but as bad as those first couple of weeks seem it does get better five months down the line last night I started learning the cha cha having just spent 3 weeks on the fox trot 3 weeks before that on the Argentine tango so as you can see I started my dance lessons at about 14 weeks oh and started Pilates two weeks ago some of which I can't do but not giving up x
    • Kristin53
      Kristin53 diannec

      Posted

      Sounds like you are doing fantastic dianne, thanks for the well wishes smile

      so you stood in the bath to shower? How many weeks out were you then ?  We are in the middle of planning a shower room, company has measured up so waiting for plans and then,  when I am able, need to visit showroom again to pick evrrything.  Cant trust husband alone he's colour blind and it would probably end up dark grey. smile 

      My MIL stayed with us after her first THR and managed witha strip wash. Her showeroom was fitted whilst she was away so at least got home to better facilities. 

      Thanks again x

    • diannec
      diannec Kristin53

      Posted

      Probably about 3 weeks as we ordered the step on line when I found it only to find a week later that it was out of stock then realized that Argos dos them so yes used over bath shower with bath mat but have been having actual bath which really eases aches since about 14 weeks we do have a corner bath though which is wider and gives space to manoeuvre
    • ginger47520
      ginger47520 Kristin53

      Posted

      One more thing to think about is a leg lifter. That helps getting into the car and bed.

      You can also use a belt. Lol

    • Kristin53
      Kristin53 diannec

      Posted

      Thanks dianne. Our bath is quite deep. I noticed Ikea have a bath step £4.50, it seems pretty solid as I stood on it today and neither does it move around. Its a lot deeper than the Argos one! I think I would have to stack 2 or 3 of those so the Ikea one looks attractive given it will be put in recycling in a few weeks. I will see how I get on with a bath board in hosiptal first. 

      Thanks for all your help. X 

  • diannec
    diannec Kristin53

    Posted

    I discussed the leg lift thing with my physio and OT they both suggested I try to manage without one aa it slows up progress, so didn't use one, we don't have a spare room and I was very aware of disturbing other half especially when hue went back to work after the first week. As I have said before on here the nights and tje sleeplessness were by far the worst part of my recovery took about 6-8 weeks to get a reasonable nights sleep I was exhausted I tried staying awake in the day in the hope I would sleep better at night it didn't work so I'm the end I just slept when I needed to which was better fore in the long run, I really did not cope with sleeping on my back but pillows under the knees helped and when I could lay ony operated side at 6 weeks I had a pillow at the side so my leg did not drop too far and one between my knees as well
    • Kristin53
      Kristin53 diannec

      Posted

      Thanks dianne.

      I find I already have to hoik my bad leg into beg by grabbing my pyjama leg and that is pre-op. It varies day by day but certainly if I fo too much, like yesterday, there is no way the hip will support my leg getting in and out of bed. 

      Since another op I had in June I have been very tired and can sleep at the  drop of a hat, hopefully it will still be the case after my hip op.  As an ex-insomniac I really dread being back in that place, I can commiserate with weeks of not sleeping well.

      Thank you for the info. 

      Take care x

       

  • Kikeena
    Kikeena Kristin53

    Posted

    I have a memory foam topper and wouldn't be without it. I sleep on my back the whole night. Others manage to sleep on their non operated side but I don't find that too comfortable. So because you can't roll around it's best if the mattress is soft and doesn't cause pressure points.

    I also have a pillow under my knees. Makes it so much more comfortable. And I have a pillow beside my feet to take the weight of the bedclothes off my feet. And, another one (!). I have a back roll under my back! It takes a while to get settled at night, but it’s worth it. With all that I usually only wake twice.

    I was told it’s easier to get out of bed if you sleep on the same side as the surgery. Eg I had surgery on my right hip, and I sleep on the right side of the bed. By the way, I use a dressing gown cord around the foot on the operated side and use that to hoist my leg into the bed. I put the foot from the non operated side up first, of course.

    I spend almonst all my time either in my raised bed or my raised chair. And over a 6 week period that’s an awful lot of time. Having a recliner chair makes that so much more comfortable. I know you can hire recliner chairs from shops specialising in disability aids, and it might be helpful to look into this.

    • Kristin53
      Kristin53 Kikeena

      Posted

      Thanks for all the suggestions Kikeena.  I just went off an researched hiring a recliner and the cost was about the same as buying one, if you allow for say 6-8 weeks hire.  Maybe I messed up just getting a high armchair, there wasn't much time to study the options before I went on holiday. Everything has been rushed here, sigh.  I think I will have to live with my choice and see how I get on.  Daft thing is I looked at a recliner first, oh well.

      Will be trying out some of your pillow suggestions, I have lots on hand.  smile

      thanks again. X

    • Kikeena
      Kikeena Kristin53

      Posted

      I'm surprised it was that much. Oh well. See if you can extend your legs onto a pillow on top of a low table or something. I was rushed getting ready too. I didn't want to think about it too much cause it made me anxious. I hope it all works out well for you. It's such a feeling of relief and accomplishment when you've got through those first few days. If fact for me each day was much better than the day before.
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