post-op activities

[dmeehan]

Hi Everyone
I have AVR surgery coming up on March 1st. My family and I are wondering what I will want to/be able to do in the recovery weeks at home. I was hoping some of you might weigh in and tell me what you did during your recovery. Apart from the exercise portion of it, what did you do to pass time? Many folks I talk to say they were unable to read because of concentration issues. Did you watch movies and TV? crossowords, etc?

 

[Greg a]

I watched a LOT of home improvement shows.....that was DUMB as I wanted to do it all LOL

 

[Freddie]

Walk, rest, drink, breath and eat then repeat for the first 2 weeks. Don't remember doing much else for those first 10 days. Didn't touch the computer, a book or any crosswords because of the lack of focus/concentration. What ever was on TV I was happy with that.

 

[Mentu]

By the time I got home, my concentration was improving so during the 5 weeks before I could drive again, I spent some time reading. I also found that it was just nice to be able to the little chores around the house without the exhaustion that I experienced before surgery. I couldn't carry a full laundry basket so I had to make multiple trips but I had the time. After the 2nd week home, I took advantage of the time cooked for friends who I invited over periodically. I also took advantage of the time and wrote lots of notes, letters and emails to friends and family and I may have set some kind of record for the number of telephone calls I made. Filling the time just never seemed to be a problem.

Larry

 

[normofthenorth]

I somehow avoided the lack-of-focus problems, so I was back to work on this laptop while still in the hospital. My fingers threw in more typos at first, but that cleared up long before they sent me home on Day 6. I wasn't setting any records for long days or long sessions, but I actually got a fair amount of good work done, even before I got home.

I've discussed my situation here, but it's possible that my lack of brain-fog and "pump-head" symptoms was because I'd had long talks with two of my anesthesiologists, and (as we agreed) they skipped some of the drugs and went easy on some others. Or I may have just been lucky, hard to know.

For a while, my OR anesthesiologist was going to completely skip the benzodiazepines -- the anti-anxiety drugs that also cause retrograde amnesia, so you forget everything you see after you get the drugs (and maybe some earlier memories, though he said no). But shortly before the op, he asked me to reconsider, explained why, and we compromised on a low dose, but not zero.

 

[clement]

Hi Dmeehan,

I had my surgery exactly 2 weeks ago.
For the 1st 6 days at the hospital, I did not touch a single book that I had brought with me.
Basically, there is lots of pain and your mind is somewhere else.

Then since being home: Lots of web surfing. A little bit of reading.
I feel pretty good (off pain killers for 6 days now) and my main challenge is NOT to be able to excercise.
Walking is boring. I would like to resume abs work and else. But I cannot because too risky for the healing sternum.

Clement

 

[Jkm7]

I was not able to concentrate on reading during my first weeks home from both my OHS. I walked as instructed three times a day initially and according to the schedule they set out for me. I chatted with friends on the phone, I napped some but not too much, I watched some mindless TV, and found I was able to get on my laptop for a little e-mailing but only for short periods of time. I'm sure there were a great many typos but my friends didn't seem to mind.

I was able from first day home to shower and wash my hair and dress every morning with no assistance. I also was able to prepare light meals such as warm up food that had been brought to us, make a tossed green salad, tuna fish. Within a week, I could put a piece of salmon on the stove and grill it with some veggies. I was permitted to and was able to load my dishwasher, do light dishwashing but had no pots or pans that needed 'scrubbing'. I could not have done that.

Everyone truly is different and it isn't a brush off when the nurses and doctors say that to you and they probably will. We really all recover at our own pace and even the same person having surgery with the same surgeon in the same hospital recovers differently each surgery. My recoveries were both very, very smooth but different.

The most important is no lifting, pulling, pushing more than 10 pounds at first, and listen to your body. Do not overdo it. The price you could pay is not worth it.
Best wishes..

 

[tprice54]

Best gift was a Netflix subscription.....I slept thru parts of the movies, but so what!

 

[malibu82]

tv, resting, watched my kids play. i was still able to do the dishes and make meals. went for a lot of walks outside too!

 

[Bean Counter]

Walks and lots of tv. A year ago I caught my 1st season of "24", so I bought seasons 5 and 6 and barely got through them in the 6 weeks I was off of work. Lots of napping as well the 1st few weeks.

 

[jake]

Well lets see, weeks one and two involved plowing through seasons 1 through 6 of the Sopranos. Between that, the drugs and the new recliner, life was painful but tollerable!

Week 3 involved a subscription to Netflix and re-runs of Parking Wars and American Chopper. Lots of walking and some at home PT.

 

[Michelle D]

I watched lots of television. I thought I'd catch up on my reading but it wasn't until about 6 weeks post-op that it even sounded remotely appealing. I did get some cookbooks for low-sodium diets and yeah lots of tv. You might want to think about a netflix account. I was sick of watch old 80s sitcom reruns every day so we upgraded to the movie channels. I pretty much lost interest in everything for a little while, I didn't like music, I didn't want to see my friends, I let my garden go to waste, I just wanted to lie down in front of the tube and go in and out of naps.

 

[Michelle D]

Oh and shallow bubble baths after my groin incision healed, careful not to let my chest incision soak. Also I loved my husband driving me places because I could sleep so much better in the car. I essentially turned into a baby for a while. I think because my heart was so weak before surgery it was disturbing to me that I could feel my heart beating and my blow flowing through my body but if it happens to you don't worry, it goes away after a few weeks. Looking at magazines was another I could do but there are only so many. I also did a lot of writing, it is all pretty much illegible but it helped me clear my foggy brain.

 

[Philip B]

Post-op Activities

Post-op Activities

I returned to work on a half day basis immediately after my release from the hospital and full days during the week after that. I did a lot of exercise (walking). My cardiologists dropped me into a rehab program at two weeks post-op to have my quick recovery monitored.

What one can do and how quickly on can do it varies among members. My experience wasn't the norm. I pushed pretty hard and my cardio doc worked with me. My quick recovery made him pretty nervous

Hopefully, you'll find a pace that's comfortable for you.

-Philip

 

[Guest]

Filling the time just never seemed to be a problem.

Same here.

I was either listening to music, reading, surfing online, or sleeping/resting. An aunt and I started going through my grandmother's scrapbooks, too, twice a week ... and that was sssoo fun!



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[Greg a]

Hi Everyone
I have AVR surgery coming up on March 1st. My family and I are wondering what I will want to/be able to do in the recovery weeks at home. I was hoping some of you might weigh in and tell me what you did during your recovery. Apart from the exercise portion of it, what did you do to pass time? Many folks I talk to say they were unable to read because of concentration issues. Did you watch movies and TV? crossowords, etc?

I have added this to the VR calendar

 

[drivetopless]

Get Netflix hooked up to your tv at home if you don't have it. I've watched lots of movies. I didn't have too many concentration problems and was interested in reading about week 2. Don't bother taking a lot to do in the hospital. You'll be sleeping a good bit.

I was able to go out to dinner with friends/family at a nearby restaurant during my 2nd week at home. I was also able to take short trips in the car just to get out of the house. While my driver shopped, I used the time to stroll around the store (not too much) for exercise. Just bring your coughing pillow with you. LImit your total time away from home on these trips to an hour or 2 so you don't get too tired. You may also be able to go to the movies.

Do your best not to use your arms to pick up/hold things, even if you feel good. I found when I did too much with my arms, my ribs/back/chest would start to ache later.

Like Philip B, after 2 weeks, I felt like I could have done some part-time computer-based work, at least mentally. However, afib kicked in and I had a set back that left me physically drained. So, don't overdo it too soon, even if you feel good.