Living Alone

There are lots of hints about how to manage the home post-op with the help (or not!) of husbands and families, but I live alone (except for pets). My daughter will be coming to stay while in hospital and a couple of days after (she lives 2500 miles away), but what should I expect beyond that? I mentioned pets, and they are my family. I have 3 doggies, 5 kitties, and a bunny. I know I won't be able to walk my best-friend dog (because she is very energetic - not a casual walker), or do heavy maintenance for the other furbabies, but please tell me I will be able take care of their basic needs. Any advice/experience out there?

Hi there,

You probably wont' be able to clean the rabbit's cage or the litter box for awhile. Bending over to feed and fill the food and water bowls for the furry friends was difficult for me and I had to have my husband/daughter do it for awhile. I had a TAH and couldnt' bend over and lift anything from ground level up. I got good at using my toes for stuff, tho! KNOWING that I had animals to care for no doubt speeded up my recovery, I'll tell you that.

If you can swing it, I'd recommend finding some help taking care of the furry ones for a bit if you are having a TAH. Do you have a friend that could come in once a day and clean and fill water bowls, at least? that alone would be a big help in managing the zoo If not...I found that by filling a 1-litre water bottle and positioning it "JUST SO" over water bowl was a big help..at least I didnt have to bend down to fill the water bowl and I cleaned up the 'spray' with a paper towel pushed around w/my feet

AND please..be careful about the pups and kitties jumping on your lap. I could not have ANYTHING touching my stomach post op. Right after surgery, that was pretty painful even if the cat just laid on my stomach!

Good luck to you . I hope your surgery and recovery go extremely smoothly!

I too live alone, but only have my cat! I had someone with me the first the seven days I was home - between my mom and my cousin, they looked after me and Bandit [the cat]

After that, I was ready to be on my own, but not able to do a lot. I was lucky enough to have my mom close by and she popped by every day or so. Did the grocery shopping, cleaned the kitty litter, etc. Then I hired a housekeeper that comes in every two weeks - we aren't that messy!

My friends all offered to help out as well, although I was reluctant to take them up on that - just me!

I got a grabber - a long handle with "hands" at the end. I used it to pick up the food dish and put back down so I was able to feed him myself. It was also great to play with - he loved grabbing onto the "hands" - crazy cat!

I am now 11 weeks post-op and gave the grabber back to my mom. And I have to clean the kitty litter myself now - yuck! :-)

I live alone and had a friend pick me up from the hospital and stay the first night (she was nice enough to bring some food) and the following night my sister stayed over. I had a TAH BSO on 8/30, came home on 9/1, and really felt fine - I didn't need them for much of anything. I had a friend lined up for the third night and told her not to bother. I have been home alone since (people have been stopping by to visit) but I really don't feel like I need anyone hovering over me. I can climb stairs, take a shower, get up and down from bed, couch and chairs with no problems. I have another friend lined up to take me to the doctor next week and hopefully I will be able to drive soon after. I have also have had friends bring food (too much!)
I don't have pets but there were some good suggestions on how to handle that. Maybe even paying a neighbor's child to come in to care for them.
Good luck! I hope things go better than you anticipate as they did for me!
Gail

ask your doc what your restrictions will be. i see a lot of posts about not bending and using grabbers, etc. i had no problams bending and squatting from day 1. docs and nurses gave me no restrictions on range of motion. it is my experience that if you aren't supposed to bend over, the hospital has occupational therapy provide you with the grabbers, etc. hubby was restricted from these activities with his hip surgery and he got all the stuff in the hospital. i have never heard of hysterectomy patients being provided with this stuff. i have lifting restrictions (up to 40 pounds) and was restricted from vigorous exercise for 6 weeks, but not restricted from anything else. Ask your doc, tell him/her you need to plan for post-op pet care. the first week or so i got tired really easily, you may want to hire someone to help with animals then. you may not be able to walk the vigorous dog for a few weeks. tugging and etc. can hurt. lifting heavy bags of food will be a problem for a few weeks too, depending on lifting restrictions. each doc is different, so you should talk to yours. good luck! dee

I also live alone. Once home, realized that I absolutely needed help, especially with kitties. I kept their food bowls on the kitchen counter (No.....that didn't bother me....let's face it: they get up there when we're not looking, anyway!). My friend came over once per day.........to be nearby as I showered, in case I ran into trouble......then, she lifted the litterbox up onto the clothes dryer, so that I could scoop. Normally, I would never consider asking for daily help, perceiving that I would be burdening someone. However, this experience taught me that others appreciate the opportunity to help. It strengthened my friendships! Other days, she would take me to the grocery (always a short trip....I didn't have much stamina) or the doctor. Because of my friend, and the help of some others, I was able to be a good princess and heal well.