STAIRS! Eeek, can I?

I am scheduled for a TAH in March. Looking and planning ahead with preparations, I am concerned that the stairs at my recovery home will be a problelm? Will they and for how long? There is no bathroom upstairs in the bedroom!
Any suggestions?

You need to ask your doctor, but mine said stairs only 1/day for the first week, and only slowly increasing thereafter.
Can you put a bed on the same floor as the bathroom temporarily? I had to choose between spending my day near the kitchen or the bathroom--no contest, I had people bring up food to me before they left for the day. You will have to pee a lot at first, because you will have to get rid of the fluid from teh IV--I needed to wake up and use the bathroom every 2 hours. And even if your doc says stairs are ok, I would be uncomfortable about doing them at night when you aresleepy.
Deb

Different doctors have different rules. But even if your doc says "stairs as tolerated", you may find yourself too exhausted by stairs to use them very much! I'd strongly recommend you find a way to sleep on the same floor with the bathroom, at least for a few days! If you cannot have a bed on the first floor (as mentioned by policymuse), what about a recliner? I slept in a recliner after my weight loss surgery, and it was much more comfortable than a bed (for reasons I'll outline if you want to know). Even if you don't have a comfortable recliner in your house, it may be quite doable to rent one for a week or two! Just make sure there's a table nearby for you to sit a drink, your meds, etc. I'm also planning on putting flannel sheets on mine, to make it cozier (I'm going with the recliner plan again!)

If you do need to go up the stairs, I've been told that going up backwards puts less strain on the abdominals than going up forwards! Funny, but I've tried it and it seems to be true! Also, if you do need to use the stairs, is there somewhere up there you can rest afterwards? After my weight loss surgery, I had to sit for at least 15 minutes after climbing the stairs, and if you sit on the toilet for that long, your legs fall asleep! Lol!

My Dr. said stairs were ok as tolerated. I have one of those houses where you have to either go up or down a flight of stairs as soon as you walk in the front door so I had no choice. My DH however, would not let me use them unsupervised. It didn't hurt to use the stairs which surprised me. Just use caution and do what feels comfortable to you.

My doc said as tolerated. I'll let you know next week how tolerable I found them.
Be prepared though. You might be able to do stairs, but you might not want to.

My doc said the stairs are ok as long as I felt I could do them. I'm 5 days post op and haven't attempted them because I know I wouldn't make it to the top. My bedroom is upstairs, the kitchen and living room are downstairs but I'm lucky and have a small full bathroom downstairs also. I sleep in the recliner or on the sofa. I know there's NO WAY I could get in and out of my (high) bed to urinate as many times a day as I'm going.
So -- the answer, with so many things related to this surgery is "it depends". I know its a frustrating answer, but just given the responses to this post, we have admit its the best answer anyone can give us.

Speaking of the high bed- someone had mentioned putting a chair next to the bed, to use the back of it to help getting in and out. I am hoping that works, as that is what I am planning to do. My bed isn't too high, but it is a little hop up there...and the only place to sleep on the same floor as the bathroom.

I actually think its easier to get in and out of a high bed than a low one. But a chair sounds like a good plan. Also a husband pillow or a lot of pillows, I found were really really helpful.
Deb

Husband pillow...I like that!

I have a supe high bed ( :long story how) it looks like a king size bunk bed. I have to climb a stool to get in it now, and I jump out 20 times a night to go to the bathroom. I have already resorted to the fact I wont be sleeping there when I come home, and the recliner or my daughters bed will make a nice home for me for several weeks.

Best luck!!!!