should I get a bed?

DH and I are wondering about me going up and down the stairs and stuff and decided it be best I live in the dining room for awhile. Question is should I try to get a hospital bed? I think I am facing major surgery. Full hysterectomy and I'm afraid they will want to take my bowel, which I will fight them all the way on. If i do is there anything I should know? I keep hearing from my mom I can get one for free is this true? Is this neccessary?
I'm 46 and fat, hard to get up alread!!!!!1
keggy

Hi Keggy
I don't think that would be a good idea!!! After my radical hysterectomy and five nights in the hospital, it was so great to be home. My steps were limited to twice a day. I saved those times for going to bed at night and one trip if I needed it in the daytime. You will need to rest often, but the couch is usually good enough. I would be afraid that if a bed were available, you would relax too much. After surgery it is very important to move around. Take little walks and build up stamina. If you laid in bed too much your chance of a clot forming in your legs would increase. As well as the old pneumonia problem.
Sitting with legs up or reclining on the couch is usually enough. Wouldn't you feel quite ill if you lived in the dining room?
Just my opinion!!

karenann

Keggy,


I would make my bedroom as nice and convenient as possible. I think that you will be tired of hospital beds, and in fact they are higher than regular beds so might be harder to get in and out of. By the time you are discharged you should be able to go up and down the stairs once or twice a day (at least) and will probably be able to eat sitting in a chair.

If you are very concerned, ask your doctor, but if you really need it, it can be arranged quickly after your surgery.

Dorrie

I guess I should have mentioned that my couch is sort of like a cloth rock. Its a very hard futon and is very uncomfortable to sit on even without surgery.
I wasn't planning on staying in bed all day, just thought that if I needed to lie down having a bed on the same floor made more sense. My bedroom can't be fixed up too easily. We were underr renovation when My hubby and daughter got ill and my bedroom is a sheet-rocked ugly mess. Not that my dining room is much better but at least I will have a TV fridge and bathroom and no stairs to conted with.
I can borrow a regular bed I just thought a hospital bed was better to get up and off on. When i had a C section 13 years ago I remember standing was hell, and we had a comfy couch then.
Actually Karenann I think I'll feel quite ill in any room of my house. its a depressing place to be.
keggy

Well Keggy Weggy, now that you have gotten more descript, maybe the dining room would be okay! I am surprised by everyone's response. I moved my bed in the family room! I had a three month old baby to contend with, and I could not be carrying her up and down. I did have my nanny fall on me after surgery, which gave me a hematoma and landed me back in the hospital for a total of three in a half weeks. I also have nerve damage. So, my case is a bit unusual. Some women really have an easy time with their hysters! They are so blessed and must have many s looking after them! Maybe you will have an easy time as well!!! I will pray for that.

In the meantime, if you are having construction or a messy house at the moment, maybe your friends and family could pitch in to get things squared away for you. Maybe your downstairs can be more comfy for you to recover. I was told to rest and it felt horrible to sit. You will know how your body feels!

Well, this was an interesting one! Take care and thinking of you. sss

I asked my surgeon about my two options--staying with a friend's family with someone around a lot of the time but taking stairs twice a day vs. going home alone to my elevator apartment. He was absolute, no stairs was the preferable alternative by far. I think one reason he said that was that I am very overweight and it gave my vertical incision one less source of strain. It's nice to have one's incision heal right. ( beachgirl I'm sorry you had such a hard time!)

As for the height, I have a very high antique bed and I think it helped, but then I'm tall. I appreciated that my very heavy bureau was next to it. I did a kind of hoist/roll off maneuver that worked really very well. Grace personified. I also liked my tall sturdy wooden rocker with the arms. Much easier to stand up out of it than out of the comfy chair.

So I bet physique has a big influence on what kind of things are comfortable. I dunno about the full blown hospital bed, but I vote for the dining room because a deconstructed bedroom won't be relaxing. I agree with beachgirl that if you can get someone to pitch in and help make it as pleasant as possible, that will help.



Oh, and living alone meant that I was always puttering around slowly, with lots of rests, which in my case worked well.

I decided to steal my daughters bed, its a full size and put it in my ugly dining room. I got my puter nearby, a tv and DH will bring the air conditioner downstairs. I don't know when my surgery will be, so we are working on it now. My dd will sleep in her sleeping bag and airmattress, (which is about the best thing that will happen to her this summer, she is excited about it)
Also DH will be able to sleep on the incredibly unfomfortable futon in the next room and hear me if I yell (I'm also looking for the walkie talkies) My buffet will be my bureau.
I'm really afraid when I go to the doctor tommorow he will put me in the hospital right away.
I think this makes sense then trying to get upstairs every time I want to lie down. I just won't go up there for awhile!! Sounds like a plan!