I have a date and a question!

My day has finally come and I am so excited. I can't believe how fast the little cliches were handled. My new birthday is February 1, 2010.

I did have a question. How much help did you guys need when you got out of the hospital? I have a few people lined up but am actually wondered how much I will need them. I understand that it is individual, but is there a norm?

Thanks for much!

Donna

That is a very individual question.  I will try to help answer it.

Do you have small children?  If so, you should know you are restricted to not lifting more than about 10 lbs.  So no lifting the kiddos.  You would need help with that.    You will also be sore and will not wanting little ones climbing on you.  So that would be a biggie.

As far as taking care of yourself,  you will be able to handle basic tasks just fine.  You wont need anyone to cook for you, of course, but you will want to have tiny containers to split out your portions of jello and juice.  It truly helps to have them set up so you just pull one out of the fridge when its time.  Personal hygene and such will not be a problem for most of us. 

I personally felt great after about 3 days and was walking a mile every day.  I had my RNY thru lap surgery with no big incisions.  The worst part for me was the drain tube.  Not all docs use a drain tube.   Some people are opened and have a very hard first few days.  Keep in mind that you need to walk at least every two hours while awake.  Walking does a lot of great things for you.  Prevents blood clots, gives you energy, improves circulation, helps to take away the soreness, just to name a few.

You biggest challenges will be to stay hydrated and to get in your fluids.  Your supplements will be slow going.  No one I know has ever gotten their supplements and all their fluids the first week they went home.  Strive for it because it is very important!  It will get easier.  You will need a reminder of when to take your vitamins and calcium and a way to track your fluids and protein.  If you have someone staying with you or checking in on you, they should be made aware of your intake of fluids so they can help track that too.  Dehydration will do lots of things to you, disorientation is a part of that.  So have someone double check you on your process and counts until you are into a routine and have it all figured out.  Meds will be a part of that too for a while.

You will do just great and I hope you need little to no help at all.  I did fine on my own but this was my 13 surgery and it was lap (no open) and I thought it was an easy one compared to some of my others.  So your own personal medical history with surgery will have a play in it too.

Congrats, and Huge hugz,
Tracy

Congratulations!!!! Thats awesome!!!!

I guess depending on your situation whether you have kids or not...maybe a week... I had my Mom in town it was nice to have her help with the kids, taking them where they needed to go etc.... If it weren't for them, I probably would of been ok on my own!!

Good Luck!

How long are you not allowed to lift more than ten lbs? I watch my granddaughter every weekend and will need to know this. Thank you so much! Laura  [email protected]