surgery recovery and NOT MOVING?!?!?!

hello there.

sadly, in about 2 weeks i'm gonna have a surgery that is going to seriously limit my mobility for about 2 weeks afterwards.  i plan on being carried around like a princess, with people fanning me.  no actual walking. ....

does anyone have advice about how to prepare and deal with this?  i am very tempted to be very active while i still can be, but i don't want my body to get used to all that activity and then just...lay there.

thanks!!

I had scheduled surgery on 2/5/09 that I knew about a few months beforehand.  My strategy was to bump my activity by about 50% leading up to the surgery in order to be as fit as possible.  I don't know if it helped, but I was up and about really quickly, and the nurses and doctors were really surprised at how quickly I recovered.  I think a huge factor was taking action to help myself heal, so that my mind expected to heal quickly, and so I did! 

My vote would be to be as active as possible leading up to a period of inactivity to minimize the damage that inactivity does to your body.

I stayed active right up until the day before both times I had surgery this year. Helps to build up some reserves of strength and fitness beforehand, so when you're forced to be immobile for a while and start to lose your fitness you've got a buffer :)

Original Post by broccolibundles:

i plan on being carried around like a princess, with people fanning me.  no actual walking. ....

actually, being carried around like a princess is an exceptionally bad idea.  your surgeon and everyone else will encourage you to be mobile as soon and as often as possible.  not doing so is a good way to get a blood clot and die.

Depends on what part of the body will be out of commission. If your hands and arms are available keep some small weights or exercise bands nearby. You can work your biceps, triceps, forearms, delts, traps, etc... If your mid section is available, do some side or abdominal crunches. Be creative and try to have fun!

Remember to take it easy.  You don't want to rush back into exercise.  Wait until your doctor says it's ok to exercise.  I put a hold on my gym membership for 2 months.  I wasn't allowed to exercise for 8 weeks.  (I had breast reduction surgery)

Good luck though!

thanks everyone!  i figured going into surgery in the best shape possible was probably  a good idea.

and i was kidding about the princess thing!  although it would be nice if someone fanned me.  hm...

I've had 3 foot surgeries since Jul '08 and have my last one coming up in a couple of months. My short term recovery time is 4-6 months and full recovery is a year. I exercised up until my day of surgery, and the best thing to do while recovering is cut down your caloric intake since you won't need as much as energy as you do while mobile;  it depends on how much energy your body uses in a sedentary/low activity lifestyle. Here's a link you can use to calculate how many calories you need or you can google for other websites as well http://nutrition.about.com/od/changeyourdiet/ a/calguide.htm. The rule is to reduce your calories by 500 calories if you're not gaining or losing to lose one lb a week, because 500 calories on a daily basis equals up to a 3500 calorie reduction; equaling one lb. I was trying to find the website where I read that at but I can't find it right now.

You can also look for workouts that you can do in a sit up position using a chair, etc; if it's okay with your physician. Here's a link I found on this website under "Ask Mary": http://exercise.about.com/cs/exerciseworkouts /l/blobeseexercise.htm

I wish you a speedy recovery!

This probably sounds hokey, but when I had my surgery I went on a "healing" diet.  I found it on a surgical web-site.  I'm sorry, I can't find it now.  Supposedly pineapple is good to help with healing scars.  Drinking warm water with lemon juice helps to flush the anesthesia from your system.  Eating a banana a day the week before the surgery was suggested for the potassium.  Eating yogurt every day helped in some way. (?) It was suggested that you eat protein with each meal.  Like I said, probably silly, but I was so worried about my surgery, I followed it.  I have no idea what it did, but I did lose 14 pounds.  Although part of that was what I had had removed from the chest area!

I would also recommend cooking and freezing some super healthy nutrient rich meals/soups ahead of time. 

I had major surgery a few months ago, and while it was so nice to have help and to be waited upon, I am certain I would have been WAY off of the calorie range if I left it entirely up to others. Its hard for people to resist pampering you with 'comfort food' and treats to make you feel better, but clearly not good when your activity level is much limited. Then you can still indulge in a little of the treats if you feel confident that the majority of the meals are good for you. Plus I really think the healthy food helped the recovery process. Also, don't be surprised if your appetite is very light initially after surgery anyway.

Also totally agree with the others regarding walking as soon as possible -- it really does help!!!

Good luck with everything!

I'm having surgery at the beginning of July with a serious recovery time after. I've been hitting the free weights hard and will continue to up until the day of surgery. I want to have as much muscle as I possibly can for when I'm ready to be up and about again. When I was put on strict bed rest for 3 months while pregnant I tore a disc in my back within days of having the baby, I have absolutely no intention of going through sciatica pain like that ever again.

thank you guys so much!  this is really helpful.