How much help do I need at home?

I am scheduled for a LSH on June 1st. The doctor has warned me that if he finds the stalk on my pedunculated fibroid tumor too big to remove via laparoscopy, he will have to do a SAH instead. I'm single and trying to figure out how much help to enlist from family and friends for when I get home. Since I don't know which procedure I will end up having, I'm even more confused.

Whether it's a LSH or SAH, will I need someone to stay with me 24 hours a day? If so, for how long? What types of things will I need help with? At 45, single/never married, I'm not used to depending on others. I'm trying to set expectations so my friends and family understand what they are signing up for.

Any advice is appreciated!!

I'm 2 weeks post-op from an SAH and have had a fairly easy recovery. For the first 2 or 3 days at home I had someone with me day and night. After that I was able to prepare my own very easily made meals. It was also nice to have someone around the first couple of times that I showered.

Today is actually the first day post-op that I have spent fully alone till 6pm when DD came home from work. Everyone I told that I was going to have the surgery offered to help if I needed it, and for once I took them up on it.

Best of luck.

Hi!

The amount of help depends on how much you have going. It's nice to have someone to be able to run out and pick up stuff for you (alhough these days with grocery service that isn't such a big deal I guess) , to help carry laundry, to help pick up stuff off the floor and in high places, to feed animals, etc. Any bend-y chores!

Good luck with your surgery!

hp

I am now 5 days post op, and this is my first night home. I can manage most things by my self, but have found I do need help in a couple areas.

Taking a shower

Getting out of bed (I haven't figured out how to do it without someone lending me a hand yet.)

THe next one is embarrassing however I need to mention it so that since you are alone, you can take into count for it....
I had to have somone lower me to the bathroom for the first time, then I figured out to put a chair in there so I have support when getting down. I also had to have someone help me up after my first BM. I was so tired from the activity, that I had no strength left to get up.

Maybe if you have someone come check on you a couple times a day for the first few days home, that would surfise?

Good luck!

Wow - we're very similar. I am also never-married, no kids and had my surgery 10 days after my 47th birthday. I am extremely independent and not accustomed to asking for help - I tough things out on my own.

Though I have local firends, they all have families and commitments themselves. I knew they'd be there for me for errands or groceries, if needed, but I was likely to need more. So, my sister flew in from Boston the day of my discharge (a Wednesday night as it turned out) and got me home safely from the hospital. She fixed me meals, brought in the mail, fed the cats, and helped me monitor the frequency of my pain medication (so I could ration it and in case it made me loony, which percocet can do). She also ran to Target to pick up my estrogen patch prescription and monitored me from outside the bathroom the first couple of times I took a shower by myself, to make sure I didn't get dizzy or have any other difficulties.

Because she has a child, she couldn't stay long. She left 4 days later, on a Sunday, but then my brother arrived. By this time - six days post-op and four days after discharge - I was getting less sleepy but still napping in the afternoons and not able to be on my feet (like to cook or clean up the kitchen) for long periods of time without getting sore. So, he did meals and so on but was able to leave me watching soap operas a couple of afternoons so he could do some sight-seeing.

When he left the following Thursday, I was 10 days post-op and 8 days post-discharge. I was then 100% on my own! At this point, I started using frozen meals I had made ahead of time - make a casserole, spoon into meal portions and freeze. I lived on that kind of stuff for the next week or so until I started driving. Friends ran to the grocery store and took my garbage out to the bin, things like that. Someone came by once a day just to see if I needed that sort of thing. By 3 weeks post-op, my dogs were home from the kennel and I was driving.

So - one week with help onsite, a second week with friends checking in and then I was home free. I had a great recovery overall - no complications other than some initial constipation until I stopped taking the percocet (oxycontin is notorious for that).

Hope you can learn a bit from my experience!

My brother stayed home with me the first week, but I kept telling him to go and enjoy himself as I really didn't need him (except for groceries, vacuuming, feeding the kitties and sweeping). The rest, including bathing and pee*** I did myself (though I did have a counter to lean on). The tub was low enough that I didn't have any troubles showering. After a few days home I went upstairs and down with no problems.

If I was hungry I had soup and sandwiches and lasagna my sister made for me - in abundance!

You know, I'm actually envying you being off! I remember how much I enjoyed having the "me" time. So I say to you ladiesinwaiting - ENJOY!

I had my LSH on 3/09/05...I too am single, with not many friends in the town i live in...My parents came for a few days which was nice...Actually just cause it was my "Mommy"...I probably could have managed without anyone being there but was nice to not have to worry about certain things and having someone there in case something happened...After the first week I was totally on my own and did fine...I wasn't hungry and relied on sandwhiches and individual containers of applesauce and fruit...I didn't use ANY of the food that I prepared before surgery...I know everyone is different but my tastes changed dramatically...I didn't vacuum for a few weeks, trash I took out in small bags, getting up and down was not a problem after the first couple days...PM me if you would like to chat or have anymore questions...Good luck

I had a TAH on 3-18-05. I am 41 and also live alone and very independent. I had help for the first 4 weeks. Boy am I glad - couldn't have done it along. Although by the 3rd week I was able to do things for myself. My brother came from out of town for the first week which was a great big help. I had to stayed at my godmother's house for the 4 weeks because I lived in an upstairs apartment and the doctor didn't allow me to do steps for the first 4 weeks.

I had TAH/BSO, and needed someone with me day and night for the first week. I needed help with getting dressed, meal prep, feeding/walking dogs, comforting me when I cried, etc. The second week I could be left alone for a brief time, but always had someone on call that could be at my house within 15 minutes. Third week up until now I'm able to do most things by myself, as long as they're DR approved. Surgeries and recoveries vary so much, but I hope this gives you an idea of what you might experience. Best wishes!

MB

I am totally in the same boat as you. My parents are both gone and I'm very lucky that my brother is taking the day off for my surgery. Other than that ...I'm alone with 11 cats. I have taken care of myself with no help after 2 hand surgeries and can do the same again. I have a co worker who has offered if I need anything from the store and have 2 neighbors who have alos offored help. I'm am VERY stubborn and will somehow make due by myself.
Kathy