How soon after DS can I drive?

Everyone is different in their recovery but I am wondering how soon after DS can I expect to be able to drive? My time off from work is critical. I am an accountant-all desk work-and I don't have a good backup. I will be able to do some work via laptop but sooner I get back to work the better.

Currently for conditioning and exercise I brisk walk 2.5 miles a day and go to the Y several times a week for 30-45 minutes for resistence training. I really enjoy these workouts. If I get the ok to have the surgery, I will keep this routine right up to surgery time and resume post-op as soon as possible. Hopefully this will help with a short recovery time.

 I was advised by my surgeon I could safely drive as soon as I could turn around while driving, to look for traffic. I could do this with minimal pain at the two week point. I had laparoscopic D.S. It would be 2-3 weeks longer with an open procedure. Your gym training will help you move around more comfortably with internal muscle support. I could get out of bed easier after my laparoscopic  gallbladder surgery 2 weeks ago, with workouts just like yours. I could drive after one week. Work would have been uncomfortable till the end of the second week. The D.S. is a much larger procedure, requiring rest to heal, and laying down to relax the abdomen reducing pain levels. Tylenol was all I needed from week 2 on.

Once you're off narcotic pain medicine.

I was told 2-3 weeks because we don't realize how much of those abdominal muscles we use maneuvering in/out of a car and while driving.  I actually drove at two weeks out.  I stayed in an extended stay place near my surgeon's office and the hospital for an additional week after my week follow-up to be sure I was on track and healing well as they were a good 45 minutes away from me.  A good friend drove me home the night before I checked out to get my car and I drove back.

The next day, I drove home and stayed there (I had already stocked up on what I'd need for the first couple of weeks.  I took it very easy, not wanting to take any chances.  The body is remarkable at what it can endure, but it doesn't pay to disrespect it.  Give yourself time . . . you don't want to compromise your healing by being to aggressive and trying to get back fully into life too soon.

JoAnn

Once I was off the pain meds, it was up to me and how I felt.  It was probably two weeks before I felt comfortable driving.

Driving and going back to work are actually two different things. Okay, you might be able to get out on the road and granny-drive, but this surgery has a way of kicking your ass.  For the first two weeks at least, for me, if I did anything one day - take a shower OR short trip to town, etc. - I was wiped out the next day.  Regardless of if you can get in the car and drive, you might not have the stamina to work. I was miserable for the first two weeks until my drains came out. After that, my stamina was weak for at least another two weeks.  The two weeks after that (5 & 6), I still had off of work.  Even though I was starting to feel like I could go back to work by that time, in truth, my stamina was easy to wipe out. 

So, it might not be the driving that keeps you at home....

I can totally relate, Elia-B!

I go through that on a daily basis with lupus and fibro, so I learned to pace myself a long time ago.

Actually, I was blessed that a surgeon would even give me the DS, given my autoimmune disorders.  I guess at my weight, the benefits outweighed the risks.

I didn't do as badly as I thought I would with the surgery itself, and my doctor kept me a week instead of the standard 72 hours (I had open, BMI was higher than my surgeon would go for lap DS) just to make sure the trauma didn't set something off, and it didn't.

I didn't drive until after my 4 week post-op visit with the surgeon.  It's different for everybody.

OMGosh!  JazzyOne...  I am so humbled by what you had to face going into the surgery.  We all have risks and I think we all face that moment of I'm willing to risk everything for the chance at a better tomorrow, but I am in awe of your bravery.  Kudos to you!!!

 It's different for everyone.  I was driving as soon as I took no narcotics during the daytime.  I saved them for nights so I would sleep better.

2 weeks post, I bought a new used car at a dealership 80 miles away from home.  I went to pick it up as a passenger then drove it home.  And it was stick.  I was fine.

I started walking outside about 5 days postop.  I found walking to be easy but climbing stairs was hard for a few days.

My doc gave me the okay as soon as I could move safely and no longer needed pain meds.  It took only a couple of weeks.