How important is a recliner?

1.5 weeks until my date with Da Vinci. I've seen numerous people here recommend spending the first 3-4 nights in a recliner.

How much benefit will I really get from using the recliner instead of a flat bed? I'm now starting to think about going and buying one just for this purpose (and then selling it after I'm healed, because I have no need for it long-term).

I'm more concerned about the healing and rest than the cost of the recliner.

-Gedman

I had my DaVinci surgery close to 3 years ago and never felt like a recliner would have helped me sleep any better.

Once I was in bed, I was fine. It was moving from one position to another (standing to sitting, laying in bed to standing, etc.) that caused a bit of discomfort the first few days. What did help me the first couple of nights was to put a small stepstool right next to my bed, so instead of swinging my legs up from the floor one at a time into bed in one motion, I would sit on the bed, then 'walk' my feet up the stepstool till they were at the top of the stepstool then swing them straight over into the bed.

Coincidentally, we bought a recliner about a month ago and I can tell you this. If you do decide to get a recliner, get one that is very very easy to go from upright to recline-they vary a lot on the amount of effort you need to put into it.

Some rely totally on you gripping the sidearms then pushing back with your back. These would be painfull for a fresh surgery patient to use. There are some that have a little button beside the seat cushion that make it a lot easier to go to the recline position (they have some sort of spring assist), then there are these really nice ones that recline and sit back up all with an electric motor assist.

Good luck with the surgery.

Dan

I only slept in a recliner the first night home after surgery. I think I was very apprehensive about the catheter. It took me about a day to get accustomed to wearing it at home. Although, I must add that it was definitely more comfortable sitting in the recliner during the daytime until the catheter was removed.

I had my surgery at Mayo Clinic and decided to stay in the motel for the week after surgery to have the catheter removed prior to returning home. I was very happy when the motel gladly placed a recliner in my room for when I returned from the surgery.

It was nice & soft & comfortable for me to sit in front of the TV, as opposed to a conventional chair.

The first night I slept in the motel room bed. I had no problem with the actual sleeping. The problem for me was when it was time to get up in the morning. The bed was rather large and it was hard to find a way to brace against anything when trying to get up from a completely flat position.

I then found it VERY painful to try & sit up on my own power because the sutures in the abdomen were still very fresh. I laid there for about 20 minutes trying to figure out how to get up. I finally did manage to get straight up, but not without a ton of discomfort. I often post on how painless the surgery is -- and that IS true. But when you try to challenge those stitches, it does hurt. As long as you don't try to put any pressure or twisting motion on them, it is just fine.

So, the next night I decided to sleep in the recliner. I had a nice blanket over me and it was very soft & comfortable. When I wanted to get up, I just let the recliner's backrest "push" me to a seated position and it was 100% better than getting out of the bed.

So for me, the recliner was like magic.

For other people, if they are back at home right after surgery -- or even if not home yet, but with a spouse or someone else to help -- it may be fine to lay in a bed if you have someone who might take your hand & help you sit up without trying to strain those abdominal muscles.

So, in conclusion, I suppose it depends on the individual circumstances.

Heck, even if you just use it to sit in front of the TV over the first week post-op, it is much more comfortable with the softness since the patient's backside is going to be somewhat sensitive to harder chairs for the first few weeks.

So, if you can afford it, there is nothing like a nice Lazy Boy or other recliner to pamper yourself with as the recovery curve begins.

Anyway, that is my humble opinion. :)

Chuck

Resident of Highland, Indiana just outside of Chicago, IL.
July 2011 local PSA lab reading 6.41 (from 4.1 in 2009). Mayo Clinic PSA Sept. 2011 was 5.7.
Local urologist DRE revealed significant BPH, but no lumps.
PCa Dx Aug. 2011 at age of 61.
Biopsy revealed adenocarcinoma in 3 of 20 cores (one 5%, two 20%). T2C.
Gleason score 3+3=6.
CT of abdomen, bone scan both negative.
DaVinci prostatectomy 11/1/11 at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN), nerve sparing, age 62.
My surgeon was Dr. Matthew Tollefson, who I highly recommend.
Final pathology shows tumor confined to prostate.
5 lymph nodes, seminal vesicles, extraprostatic soft tissue all negative.
1.0 x 0.6 x 0.6 cm mass involving right posterior inferior,
right posterior apex & left mid posterior prostate.
Right posterior apex margin involved by tumor over a 0.2 cm length, doctor says this is insignificant.
Prostate 98.3 grams, tumor 2 grams. Prostate size 5.0 x 4.7 x 4.5 cm.
Catheter out in 7 days. No incontinence, occasional minor dripping.
Post-op exams 2/13/12, 9/10/12, PSA <0.1.
Semi-firm erections now happening 14 months post-op & slowly getting a bit stronger.

My last recliner went to the Goodwill in 1987.

I had to work at home, and do have a somewhat adjustable office chair for the day. I slept in my bed, and used some extra pillows to block myself in place so I would not roll over on the cath tube at night.

Fortunately my bed is at a height that I can easily sit on / get up from, and it was a good height for the cath to drain (yes, the bucket holds your bag, so a mignight leak won't ruin the carpet / floors). If your bed is too low, you might want to get a set of the risers they sell to raise the bed frame a few inches (most often sold as a way to stuff more junk under the bed).

Remember that you will be under "no driving" and a 5 pound lift limit (some here say theirs was 10 for a few weeks, mine was 5 for three months). If you can't do those things, how are you going to launch yourself out of one of those chairs?

Thinking back about getting up and down, one thing I would have liked, if the thought had come to me, would have been a frame around the toilet or bars on the wall to help steady the process of sitting / getting up. It would have been gone after a few weeks, but would have helped. I saw one at a Goodwill store and realized how easy and cheap it would have been to do.

Another "wish I had" was a toilet seat that was U shaped (like public/office facilities) rather than the closed oval that is normal in homes. Trying to deal with the cath tube was problematic.

I read the comments about the recliner and TV and smile a bit about "taking it easy". I had already used my excess "PTO" for the year, and needed to keep a few days for Christmas, so had to work at my PC from the day I got home.

I had open surgery, and spent several days in my own bed once I got home. Don't own a recliner, don't think I would have like being restricted to one or its movements. Just my take.  Plus, I spent 63 days with catheter after surgery, that would have never worked for me.

david

Check the good thrift stores. We got one a few months ago at Housing Works for under $100.

I spent the first week moving between a comfortable couch and a stuffed chair with a foot stool. No recliner. And not much time in my bed.

I had a recliner in my hospital room and I spent about half my time sleeping in the recliner.

I am 4years out from DaVinci surgery and as far as I can remember had no problems whatsoever in sleeping in my own bed from day one, with the catheter bag hanging on a small frame supplied by the hospital. During the the day, I remember the French open tennis was on the tele, I just relaxed on our normal settee in the lounge.
Recliners are not cheap, not in England, so I do not think I would have bothered even if I had thought it would be of any use.

All the best from England.

I had open surgery and my recliner was my best friend for the first couple of days at home. I just found it too difficult to get out of bed. 3rd day at home I moved to the bed and all was well. Hope this helps.

Cajun Jeff

Since surgery 4 weeks ago I've always slept in bed, but like others was worried about the catheter and bag. The bed was also hard at first to get out of with nothing to brace on. My recliner has helped a lot. The arms make it easy to push up out of, although I have added a pad to the back so I don't sit so far back into it. It has the side lever so no problem sitting back up stratight. Without the recliner it would've been hard...Art