Hi all, got a question about walking

Hi all!  Haven't been online much lately.  Been pretty busy.  Julie, I am sorry i missed your support group meeting on the 17th.  My son had a chorus concert.  Talk about wanting to split yourself in two!  I really enjoyed the meeting i went to.  I hope i can go this month. 
I FINALLY got clearance from the Cardiologist for the surgery.  She denied me in November due to my high blood pressure.  But after trying 2 different meds ( one made me really sick), my pressure has come back down to a reasonable level before surgery.  I have my 2nd appointment with Dr. Giovanni on Tuesday!!!!  I hope i will have a date after that!  I am really excited and pretty scared too.  I do have a question though...  what are some good suggestions for walking right after surgery (I have decided to have the RNY) in the winter.  I am afraid of icy walks and I probably won't be able to drive for a little while.  I do have the Wii fit.  But I really don't know what i will be able to do.  Looking forward to some of your best responses!  Thanks for listening.  Eldy
PS-  I finally figured out how to get a picture for the avatar   !

I was doing low impact items on Wii Fit within 2 weeks of surgery.  Some of the balance games were fine .... the stregnth and yoga not so much, and you may not want to touch the hula hoop game until after 4 - 5 weeks.

I would suggest using a treadmill or mall walking.  I know a lot of malls open at 6 am and allow people to mall walk. 

Mall walking does sound like a good idea.  I could get my husband or one of the kids to walk with me ( except my son will want to stop at Game Stop each time we pass, LOL).  Thanks for the tip.  I like that one.      Are you feeling better?  I hope so, theres nothing worse than being sick.  Take care now

Hi Eldy,

Just wanted to say congrats on getting clearance from your cardiologist!  That's great!  Hopefully after surgery, your bp will become an non-issue!   

I can't speak to how you will be feeling with regards to driving post RNY as I had the band, and my recovery was a bit quicker, but walk around your house for those gas pains until you can get out and about.  I just walked up and down my street that first week, and it helped.  Hopefully it won't be too icy by the time you have your surgery.  :o)  Best of luck!  I'm so happy for you!  You have waited a long time.

Cara

My husband was scared about me mall walking that it would cost him money, but since I go around 7am nothing is open and only the 2nd floor is allowed for mall walkers (I goto Silver City Galleria) and most of the stores I like are on the 1st floor.

I did drive about 11 days after surgery.  The only issue I found was trying to sit up straight for long periods I would have abdominal discomfort.  By the time I was 2 1/2 weeks out I had no trouble driving.  My husband had wanted to make sure I'd be able to drive in case I got sick and had to get to the hospital or Dr. Pohl's office.  He works 50 miles from where we live so trying to rush here in an emergency could have been an issue - especially dealing with traffic.   Luckily I never had to drive myself anywhere ..... except the last few days home I hit the outlets. 

For the first week at least you won't feel like always doing a lot of walking, for far distances, just a lot of little walks, so i paced the house. It helped a lot and was more comfortable, because when you get too tired you can sit back down in a comfortable place until you are ready to get up and go again. you will def want to be more active later on, and i agree that mall walking is a great idea. I am currently up to the treadmill stage at the moment. I can't wait for nicer, or at least a *little* warmer weather to get outside and do it.
~Kaisa

Hi Kaisa,
thanks for the advice.   I think I will definetely be doing some mall walking.   In fact, I was talking at work about it and they even said to do  some pacing too.  I just might see you in one of the malls one day.  THanks again !  Eldy