TVH: Stairs, walking, etc...

So, I've read a lot about recovery time... listening to advice about not pushing things too soon.... but, I've also read about nurses / doctors wanting you to walk as soon as possible...

Any opinions on stairs? We recently moved to a new townhouse & it has 3 floors with 2 sets of very steep stairs... I'm trying to prepare for when I come home from the hospital if I should stay on our middle floor (kitchen, living room, 1/2 bath)... or if I should plan to be on the top (3rd) floor where our bedroom & full bathroom are.

Thankfully, we have no kids (only kittycats) & it should be quiet in our house whichever floor I decide to be on. The doctor's office already told me to plan for a 2 day hospitall stay (after a TVH on March 30th).

Any advice or experience with walking and/or dealing with stairs after surgery would be appreciated!

(p.s. I'm used to exercising all the time, but I know that surgery is a whole different thing and our stairs are steep!)

I had a TVH w/AP repairs on March 10. Becareful with the stairs. I was very off balance feeling when I first got home. My doc said the first few days walk to the bathroom and the kitchen. Once I got home, I felt pretty good. Much better than expected. On day 4, I decided to go grocery shopping with my Mother in law... That was a bad idea!! I felt horrible the rest of the day, day 5, not so good, and day 6 I was in bed all day! I have found if I push it, I feel it the most 2 days later. If I were you, I would set up on the second floor, as long as you can get comfortable in the living room. I am feeling better every day (went shopping today, no problem) If you have any questions feel free to ask

My bedroom is on the second floor of my house and I was going up and down all day from the beginning. My doctor just said to make trips up or down worth while, multitask. You will be a little more slow-moving than normal, but stairs are okay (I had LAVH).

I have a trilevel townhouse type home and had to do stairs. They were no problem but walking far was too tiring. I was up and down stairs a lot but I did hold on in case. Good luck.

I am also a bit worried about stairs. We have a 5 level house. There are stairs to go anywhere.

The ground floor is just kitchen, dining room and powder room...nowhere to put a bed. Next level up is just the living room...no bathroom. The top level is the master bedroom and main bathroom.

I think I will have to get up to the top level to my bedroom when I get home and maybe stay there for a few days until I see how I am doing. At least that means I won't be tempted to cook or do dishes for a while!!

The famiy room where the "good" TV is located is down another flight of stairs. That will have to wait for a week or so I guess. I'll have to make do with the ancient old TV in the bedroom for a while!

Although I had a TAH, my doctor said no stairs for 3 weeks. I thought "you must be joking". I must say that I was very unsteady on my feet the first week or so. I did step into my SUV for a quick trip (passenger only) and let me tell you it was very hard. Lucky for me I am in a single story house. Let your body tell you but I would not take steps unless it is needed for at least 2 weeks. Then again you were fit before you started this process! BTW CanTeach I really feel for you! Let yourself rest!

My DH may have to carry me up the stairs!!! That would be a sight to see!

I'll just have to take it one step at a time...literally! Hopefully I'll still be on mega painkillers the day I come home!

I am going to bring a recliner and a mini fridge into the room so it will be like I am living in a little apartment! My DH and my sister (who is coming to stay with me for a week) will get lots of exercise on those stairs as they wait on me hand and foot! I have already told hubby that he is kicked out into the spare room for a while so I can moan and groan and pass gas in peace!

I stayed six days in hospital. After that I did do one flight of stairs from Day 7 on. Just had to take it real slow.

You should do fine with the stairs. You are obviously in good physical shape going into this. I had a TVH/Bladder Sling/TVTO/A&P repairs... discharged after 1 night in the hospital and had to come up a flight of stairs from the garage coming home. I just went slow, held on and did fine. You might want to camp out on the living room sofa for a couple of days depending on how you feel, but i would have gone crazy to stay in my bedroom! I got up the first day home and showered and put on my comfy clothes...it just made me feel better to be kind of normal!

Thank you ladies soooo much for all the replies!!! It just helps to "talk it thru" & hear different experiences & opinions...

I'll do as everyone (and the doctor) suggests and take it easy & listen to how I'm feeling... if I think our couch with reclining ends will be comfy enough, I may just camp out on the middle floor (taking over the biggest tv... haha)... otherwise, I'll have to kick hubby out of our bed (and we don't currently have a guest bed... got rid of it when we moved recently!)...

CanTeach - your surgery is about a week after mine, so I'll let you know how I do with the stairs... I'm thinking my hubby just may have to carry me up at least the first flight of stairs the day I come home!

Again, thank you "sisters" for your advice & support... I'm sooo very grateful to have found this site!