Upcoming hysterectomy 11/11: Recovery furniture

I am having my hysterectomy 11/11 in Houston at <>. I don't live in Houston and will be staying at my inlaw's with my hubby. This is my inlaws second home and it doesn't have a huge variety of furniture. Basically only a queen bed in the bedroom I'll be recovering in. I have been told I'll be catheterized for around 1 week. In addition to the discomfort of the catheter I am nervous about sleeping arrangements. Should I rent an electric hospital bed or a lift chair? There are no recliners in their home. Any ideas?? THe bed seems inexpensive and they deliver. Is that nedsed?

I bought a wedge pillow, a body pillow and a couple of extra pillows for my recovery. I was able to create a very comfortable nest to sleep in. I am normally a side sleeper, so laying on my back took a little getting use to, but I managed to stay comfortable with the extra pillow support.

No special furniture needed, really (unless you have a disability already). It's not like heart or back surgery where you're not able to move much if at all, and in truth, walking a little bit helps. They'll likely have you up and walking (s-l-o-w-l-y!) at the hospital. Getting out of bed at first is tricky, but rolling to your side and pushing up with your free hand while bringing your legs over the edge helps. Wedge pillows are a good bet; I used a tummy pillow to hold against my stomach when getting up.

We don't own a recliner. I usurped my husband's easy chair (with his blessing!) and stuffed pillow around it to make it so that I could recline. It was perfect!

I found one of those grabber/reacher thingies useful for picking up stuff that I dropped, but that was the extent of my pre-op purchases.

I don't own a recliner or a couch. My bed is a mattress on the floor. All of this worked just fine post-surgery. :-)

Things I found useful:
- Before I left for the hospital, I pushed my exercise machine over so that the handlebars were next to my bed. This was really useful for providing support as I got up and down.
- Pillows! I hit a sale on throw pillows at WalMart and bought half a dozen. I used one against my belly when I slept and toted others around to make anyplace I wanted to sit (indoors or out) more comfortable.

You can relax, you don't need a great variety of furniture, queen bed is fine, if it is high, I would consider something to step on and a couch, armchair and chair should be all you need really...
As mentioned above, big pillows can help with your positioning in bed, helping you being more comfortable.

My husband just got me a king size tempur pedic with the base that goes up and down, so I will be more comfortable for recovery. I love it, I know it's not necessary, but I love it anyway.

I agree with the others, no special furniture necessary. I slept in my normal bed and don't own a recliner. You hopefully won't be spending days lying around in bed, you'll be up and about most likely.

Lots of pillows should suffice. I found that when lying down, if I sat at the edge of the bed in the place where my butt would end up, and sat as far into the bad as I could, I didn't have to try and shuffly my body around to get in the right place once I'd moved my legs up on the bed. I had a very firm pillow that I wedged under my thighs if sitting up, or my knees if lying on my back. It helped a lot to keep me in place.

I agree with the others that you just need the basics to keep you comfortable. You can purchase a long body pillow inexpensively that might help you as you sleep on your side. Have a basket near your bed to hold things you want handy - tv remote, chap stick, books and magazines, cellphone, etc. You can always move a small sturdy chair near your bed if you need help getting up.
Plan on very comfy bedclothes and rubber soles slippers for marching around the house.

Since you mentioned you will be going home with the Catheter, here is a link to an article you may find helpful: Going Home With A Catheter Tips

Hugs and best of luck on your surgery and a good recovery.