Activities during at-home recovery

[mrichardson]

Ok, here's a question. One of the things I'd like to be able to do during my recovery is watch a movie or something on my laptop, in my bedroom. However, I think my laptop (an older model) may be too heavy. I don't know how much it weighs, but I doubt it weighs more than 4 or 5 pounds.

I'd also like to be able to strum my guitar. Would that be possible, too, during the first few weeks of recovery?

I'm asking because my cardiologist and my surgeon have both told me that I'll have to be at home (i.e. no work) for 4 weeks or so. So, aside from walking, I'd like to have some activities I can do. I'm going to be at home, but pretty much in the bedroom all day...

So, thoughts? Of course, I'm going to run all this by the surgeon, anyway.

I do think, though, I'm going to have a notebook in case I feel the need to write anything down, especially as an amateur lyricist.

Some of the things I've been reading about the "at home" (i.e. after discharge) recovery worry me, and I want to find things I can do to take my mind off of them, if possible. Like the depression thing, that scares me.

 

[tsanjose]

after my surgery they gave me a schedule for when and how much i should be walking. they pretty much want you to be moving and gradually increasing over time. by the end of the first week i think i needed to be walking 15-20 minutes 3x's a day. my surgery was in november so it rained a bit during the weeks following my surgery so i paced around in my house and did some high-step-walking in place. this is key to working your heart and decreasing the chance of clotting in your legs.

 

[Ryan CA]

I think the lap top will be ok. Strumming a guitar may be pretty tough for the first couple weeks though. I read a lot, played video games, watched tv....and walked as much as I could.

 

[almost_hectic]

Don't plan on spending a few weeks laying in bed. That won't do you any good. Get up and walk around, sit upright in a chair. No you won't feel strong for doing much, but you can easily spend time on the computer, but it doesn't have to be lying down. Sit in a chair, be mobile and active as much as you're comfortable with. Yes you'll be plenty tired and you'll need to nap often, but don't plan on sitting in bed waiting for your strength to come back on its own, you have to build it up by being active and doing your breathing exercises.4 weeks is pretty soon to go back to work unless you really have to. I'd recommend you ask about a cardiac rehab program and if your doctors agree, I highly suggest you take the opportunity.

 

[AZ Don]

I read a good article once that talked about the restrictions placed on cardiac patients, including not lifting more than 10 pounds, while at the same time the door to the cardiac unit required 15 pounds of force to open, and not one patient had an issue because of the door. It is important not to lift anything remotely heavy until your sternum heals (at least 6 weeks generally) but exactly what you can and can't lift is very subjective and Dr's do not agree. I think you have to decide for yourself what is heavy to you. I would think the laptop and playing the guitar sitting down would be fine. As mentioned above, walking is important. I had my surgery in Phoenix in late May so it was too hot to walk outside. I did laps inside the house until I was cleared to drive and had more options. Re. going back to work, that depends on what you do, how anxious you are to get back, and how you will get there (generally you can't drive for 6 weeks). 4 weeks may be doable but it is on the early side, especially if you plan to be full time when you go back. You will really need to see how you are feeling.

 

[Paleowoman]

Don't stay in bed mrichardson ! You do have to have a nap during the day, yes, and you do have to take it easy to an extent , like not lifting anything too heavy, and not tiring yourself out as you will get tired, but you should be walking a fair bit, even if that is indoors because the weather miight be bad. You should also be getting dressed each day - even in hospital they make you get dressed rather than stay in pj's. You should do as much as you can - if you're in a lot of pain or discomfort then sit and watch a DVD if you like, but out of bed. Don't stay in your bedroom !

 

[honeybunny]

I would use both hands/arms to lift the laptop so you are not placing the weight all on one side of your body. If you could set it up such that you won't need to lift it all the time (i.e., you would go to the laptop rather than it go to where you are) that would be better. I know you are allowed to lift under 10 lbs but I tried not to lift more than a few. My daughter stayed with me for the first couple of weeks so she did any lifting. I was healed and back to work after 8 weeks but then did something (not sure what) that led to pain on the left side of my sternum and it took several weeks for me to feel better again. So it's important not to strain it.

As everyone said, do get up and moving around, even if it's just walking a few laps around the room. You'll receive more instructions before you are discharged. And of course, come here to ask questions. There is a great (and very long) thread on the post-surgery forum that talks about things that folks were surprised by after their surgery. I read through it and found it helpful. Almost_hectic found it worrisome. I preferred to know what I might expect. And virtually none of the problems discussed happened to me.

 

[mrichardson]

Thank you all for your input!

Allow me to explain why I'm asking. My wife is a stay at home mom. Our son is nearly 11, and on the high-functioning end of the Autism spectrum. He's also what I like to refer to as "rambunctious". We also home school, as the traditional public school environment didn't fit him well.

So we had considered that, since I'm going to be recovering at home, I would spend most of my time in our master bedroom. It has a shower and bathroom. I can rather easily put a chair in there to sit in, and I can "pace" around the bed if I need to, for my walking. There's a night stand and dresser I could put the laptop on. I don't have a TV or anything in the bedroom, but I am going to put a stereo in there.

I'm sure I'll be up and about, out of the bedroom also, but for the most part, during the "school day" (7:30 - 3 PM) I'll be "out of the way". We did buy some Walkie-Talkies, too, in case I need anything from her.

 

[Paleowoman]

Now I do completely understand why you want to stay in your room ! My son is also at the high functioning end of the autistic spectrum, he has Asperger's syndrome but he is very disabled by it and, although he's now 27, he needs our continued support almost as much as when he was a child. We also homeschooled him all the way through as he would never have been able to cope in a school environment (I moderate a Yahoo group for parents who homeschool their ASD children: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/asyoulikeit/info and I contributed to a book 'Home Educating our Autistic Spectrum Children' !). My son was 24 when I had my AVR and it was very difficult for him because of his huge anxiety issues and routines. He wouldn't come to the hospital to visit me because he's so petrified of germs. And when I was home after surgery I had to sleep in the living room which he found very difficult because it upset his routine of course. Because of my son, the cardiologist and nursing staff advised I have a week at a recuperation hospital rather than go home but I would have hated that. My son had to put up with the disruption to his routines and the anxieties the heart surgery provoked in him - it certainly had a negative effect on him and made my recovery difficult in someways. Yes, stay in your room, but try and walk as much as you can !

 

[mrichardson]

I do also have a Tai Chi DVD (two, actually), so I can spend some time on that in my bedroom, too...it's a good way for me to get exercise in addition to my walking. At least until I can get back into doing my DDP Yoga*...

* It ain't your mama's yoga...