dVH/RALH How much walking one week post op?

I am one week post op and doing pretty well so far. My question is how much should I be walking? I know it is good to walk but I don't want to over do it either! I walk in the house through out the day. I try to walk out to the mailbox once or twice a day (about 50-60 feet).

I have not had any discharge. Swelly Belly is still there. I notice it gets firmer the longer I have been on my feet. I am taking ibuprofen for pain every 6 hours and that works well.

Also what about stairs? When is it ok to go up and down stairs?

Thanks!

At one week post-op I was trying for 10-15 minutes every 2-3 hours. I would do as you are doing: walk through the apartment (it's small, so I did a lot of backing and forthing), or back and forth from the front of our front yard (the mailbox), to the back gate. I'm quite sure that on one or two of these outside trips a neighbour wondered what I was doing walking around, holding a cushion to my belly! Not that I cared one bit, mind you.

As to stairs, I didn't have any.

Good luck. It does get easier.

I was told that I should try to walk or be on my feet from 5-15 minutes every hour the first week and to increase my time as my body felt up to it. I would walk laps around the house or the yard, or even walk in place while I ate a meal at the countertop in the kitchen.

As for stairs, I did not get any specifics and live in a single story home. I know some sisters here who had to tackle stairs from day one and from what I read, it seems that you should limit climbing stairs as much as possible the first week, but from that point on just listen to your body... if it hurts, don't do it. Otherwise, just take it slow and steady.

Good luck and happy healing to you.

I don't think I did stairs until probably week 3. Thankfully my family helped with my laundry and taking the trash out (all stairs required). I took it very slow on the stairs, one step at a time, both feet each step. I did that even though I was able to walk up and down the stairs normally, in keeping with forcing myself to slow down for the bigger payback at the end, a good recovery.

I am sure advice differs but doc said walking as I felt up to it was fine as much as I felt up to right away (oddly I felt more up to it in wk 1 than wk 2 where I was more tired). I asked about stairs at my 2 wk post op and was told they were "fine" but that was a bit further out. Running was not considered OK at that time, however. (and in retrospect would probably hurt!)

I walked a lot -- don't know what amount of time -- but did circles around the room, down the hall, etc. and up and down the driveway when it was cool outside. I did NOT want to get overheated and sweaty in the sun! I made sure to get up every hour if I wasn't asleep. That kept me from getting so stiff, and worked those tummy muscles a little bit. I think it was well into my second week that I was half-way across the room when it hit me -- "this doesn't hurt!" Of course, that isn't always true, even now after week 3, but the sensation is now more 'discomfort' than pain.

I also did stairs on the second day home -- just once a day was enough for me for the first few days. It was tiring, but my bedroom/bath are upstairs and it was worth it to get in the shower! My nurse practitioner said the main trouble with stairs was risk of falling, so be careful and take it slow. Note that my surgery was laprascopic, so things might be quite different for an abdominal surgery. Additionally, I was able to stop pain meds on day 2. If you are taking pain meds, you should be even more careful on those stairs!

Aside from walking the 40 feet between my computer and the toilet fairly frequently *grin* I've been walking to and from a small park 600 m (3/8 mi) away from my apartment. I chose the park as a destination because it's got benches and I can rest if I need to! Today I went a bit beyond the park and also tried a not-too-steep hill. I got what felt like a bit of a stitch in my side but it went away once I got home and sat down.

I've been going up a few steps at the front of the building to get my mail each day, and that's been fine. Today my cat wanted to go up the fire escape steps (one flight), so we took it slow and that was fine too.

My goal is to be able to get to the clinic to have my staples taken out next Tuesday! That's 1.5 km (a bit less than a mile) if I take the route that avoids the steep hills.

Thank you all for your responses. I am going to slowly increase the amount I walk to build stamina. It doesn't hurt when I walk but I will be careful. Some of the roads around my house are the old brick cobblestone and are uneven. I am a little afraid of stumbling or falling so will venture there with a companion!

One day at a time!

Have you noticed any changes in the length of your stride? I normally have a long stride. When I first started walking post-surgery, I noticed I was taking very short steps. Over the days, my steps have gradually lengthened to something approaching my normal stride. :-)

Speaking of walking post-surgery, it's exactly one week ago today that a nurse "suggested" that I "might like to" go for a walk. She stayed with me as I tottered one lap around the ward, then when we returned to my room, "suggested" that I "might like to" sit in my armchair for a while. I lasted half an hour before going back to bed!

When I look back, I see how much progress I've made.