Things to do before surgery to help after surgery.

[E321]

I am having surgery next month. Is there anything that I can do now to help the recovery process later on?

[selmaS]

Hi...having the place clean is going to be a great help, but also prepping meals ahead and  freezing them is another great help.

Also having someone there to help you in the beginning is also  very helpful...I was using a walker for the first two weeks, so doing things on my own was not something I could do right away and we should avoid certain activities to allow healing and prevent set backs by trying to do too much too soon.

I have a tortise (sea turtle) as my avitar because slow and steady wins the race, no matter what race you are in.....so allow yourself time to do just that, and listen to your body if you try something and it hurts, it was too soon to do that.

For me too many people around post op would have drove me crazy, so send out a notice prior that you do not want surprise visitors to drop in as it may affect your sleeping and healing....for me it was just the noise.....too many speaking at once was hard to deal with.....so I wanted a darkened quiet room, with my favorite music.I avoided TV and the computer as my Dr said allow your brain to rest after this surgery....and for me that is just what I needed to do as well....keep on the med schedule ...once you have bad pain the meds will not help...you need to wait to taper down after you are home a while.....but do not forget to keep on the schedule the first week.....

My hubby packed me a lunch and breakfast and put it in a cooler next to the recliner I stayed in post op.....that was the other helpful thing was to have a recliner as I did not like laying flat.....and I didn't want to roll around in bed and I did not want my hubbys stray arm hitting me during the night.....
The cooler was hubby's idea which worked great too.....when I was hungry I could reach in from the chair and lift out what I wanted.....he also got me a tray table that adjusts....so I had a place to put the food. I was not able to carry food with a walker.....and he had to go back to work...so this worked for us.

We do have a List your surgery date thread where you post your date and we post a Prayer thread for you, if you would like one.....

If there is anything we can help with let us know.

[topherlee80]

Have your place clean. Have items that you use sitting out. You don’t want to bend or have to pick up anything.

I just came home today from my surgery. C1/C2 Laminectomy, craniotomy, and duraplasty