What is the first day home like?

Hey ~ Walt & Diane,   Your question doesn't sound strange at all.... Not knowing is very scary!!  The mind can sure conjure up some "stressful" images...   This posting is a very personal posting and in no way takes away from the way others walked along their path.     I’ll give you an overview of how Buddy & I feel about having major surgery.   It will definitely differ from most but we are different in many respects to most!   So ~ here goes.      Our 1 st and foremost thoughts were allowing our bodies to heal and giving the time necessary to do so.   Now ~ I realize with Buddy being retired…   this was an easy thing for us to do.   And not everyone is going to be able to do this.   We gave ourselves 8 weeks recovery rather than the 6 weeks.   Excessive? Yes in many eyes… but not for us!!     The most important thing for healing is sleep.   And the things we were cautious about were food intake, pain, constipation, and bladder spasms.   After reading Dr. Walsh’s book ~ we had every answer to any question we had.   We read the book together before surgery (except Chapter 12) and after surgery if something happened that alarmed us ~ we went back to the book and it eased our minds…   We went in asking to have a 2 night stay in hospital... We are quite aways from the hospital and live on a gravel road... and felt the extra day there would be good for both of us!    1 st day home…  Ahhhh it's nice to be home!!!  Changed from the leg bag to “Mr. Hang” and then we both laid down for a nice long nap!!!   The wedge pillow was perfect for not having to lay down flat.   It helped when getting ready to get up too!   We had practiced with me standing beside the bed and Buddy holding on to my locked arms as I pulled him to sitting stance.   This worked beautifully and had no strain on his incision area at all.   He is a side sleeper and the wedge pillow kept him on his back.   And Mr. Hang did a wonderful job. We used the big bag 98% of the time.  And would have come home with Mr. Hang (big bag) if we had known what to expect "which we didn't"      Medication:   We did take pain medication mainly to allow for the extra sleep and I did not want Buddy to have any pain so I may have given it to him more for me than him!   It worked for us!   Exercise:   1 st day home…. his daily routine was walk/eat/sleep/walk/eat/sleep/walk/eat/sleep   The day we saw blood in the urine with some particles floating around ~ told us he had over-done it a bit in the walking department…this was on a day he decided to walk a little further up the inclined lane… so he went back to his normal route and in a few days he tried the incline again and was fine!!!   Buddy is not a big eater of heavy foods even before surgery so again ~ our routine will differ greatly from other… but hey ~ it might be something you pull from so will continue to share.   Food:   We had lots of chicken noodle soup, crackers, Jell-o, and Gatorade!!   We did not eat any heavy meals for a week (our choice).   Hoping to help with constipation and allow the gases to get out of our system.     Constipation:   You don’t want to have to deal with this…so start on the stool softeners as soon as your doctor tells you that you can.   This was a scary time because you don’t want to strain.   Your mind can do crazy things at times!!!   And you don’t need the stress that it causes…   so ~ head this off early on!   We did need a stool softener.   The one that worked best for us was not the prescript ion one!! I went to Wal-Mart and talked with the pharmacist… he suggested… equate natural vegetable laxative and this worked like a charm…         Bladder Spasms:   We had medication prescribed.   Our doctor said to take them all ~ so we did.   Better to not have one at all.   Rather than have one and then take the medication.   We decided to play it safe.   And this worked for us.   During the 1 st Week at home we kept the same routine   ~ walk/eat/sleep/walk/eat/sleep/walk/eat/sleep (a.m/noon/pm) and we continued this through out our recovery weeks but obviously as your strength returns you do a little more.   Your body will heal and your mind will begin to heal from the past many months of “turmoil”… but you must still take precaution not to over do it!   You will feel great and will push it and your body will tell you that you’ve over done it.   Give yourself time to heal and recover.   And the best advice we can share is... Listen to your body!   I've updated "Our Journey" as of today.... hope you have a chance to see it! Sending extra strength to wrap around you and Diane as you move forward. If you find a wobbly stepping-stone ~ just reach out because we are all here for you!! In Friendship ~ Lee & Buddy   Here's a little rainbow to help you to the other side..... http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb179/mamabluebird1955/Waitingontheotherside.jpg   Post edited to add message to picture ; )

Bluebird covered just about everything I experienced, so I have nothing to add.  Even though each person will react differently, I think you can expect about the same as us for the first day or so.  Any differences will come a few days later, as you begin your healing and recovery.  Use the first day or two to regain your equilibrium, let things settle down, evaluate just what condition your body is in, and get a feel for living with your new 'skin'.  You will have healing, maybe a bad day, mostly good days and improvement ahead.  The first day home is the lull before the storm, if there are any.  Just take the time now to adjust to your bodies needs and you will be fine. 

forgot about limitations.  I am restricted to no more than 4 lbs lifting for 4 weeks, then 10 lbs. for 2 weeks, then return to regular routine.  Bodily your restrictions will be catheter and your actions to regain your strength.  Exercise and rest in turn will do you the most good...Your Doc should encouraage early and increasing walking as soon as you get out of the recovery room, and especially at home.

 

Walt,

I was one of the lucky ones on my first day. My surgery was done at the hospital about two hours from my home so we stayed in a local motel just a few blocks from the hospital just for precautionary reasons. The day after surgery at was released at about 2:00 PM. We went to a Walgreens from there to buy some pads for the next week when the catheter was coming out. I walked around Walgreens without any problems. The we went and checked in. From there we went to a Panera Bread where I got chicken vegetable soup in a bread bowl. This was the first semi solid food I had in 4 days. I thought I would be starving but I could not finish the soup. Back to the motel after that. I had a couple BM's in the hospital and never had any gas pains. We were both wiped out and went to bed at 7:00 PM. I got up after about three hours and took some Tylenol PM and then slept the rest of the night until 7:00 AM the next morning. Got breakfast at the motel and drove home. I got home and felt real good. I took the dog for about a half mile walk then home to relax. I took a nap and then just took it easy. Friends brought over some good chicken stew and that is what I ate for the next couple of days. I had no pain but did have abdomen soreness and took extra strength Tylenol which helped a lot.

That is about it. Just kind of a boring day all in all.

Tamu

Hi Walt,
You'll be just fine. But I'd drag it out. I will be coming up on my 8th month post op and kept it up real well. In fact while while watching a football game this weekend I told my wife that I was leaking one of my sutures and that I still had cath burn and if she could go get me a beer I would feel much better. After I got up and got my beer I limped back in front of the TV and told her the wives here at healingwell were getting beers for their husbands. She bought the whole thing. Sort of.

Seriously though, each day you will feel better until back to normal. I recommend walking as I now walk 4 miles a day and feel great for doing it. Even with the catheter I was walking half mile increments. eventually I was enjoying the walking and am now joined by my neighbor. My wife doen't walk with me, can't imagine why, but she does tell me that she knows how I can add another mile or two on the weekends.

Tony

I remember my first day home, after spending 4 nights in hospital. A little scared leaving the hospital, theres a sense of order/security in their routines. The drive home made me nervous, right at rush hour, but wife tried real hard to watch out for all the bumps/pot holes. Got home, so nice to see the old house. After a careful trip up the front walk and steps, she got me settled down in a nice bed with plenty of pillows. I lay on my back, knees propped up with pillows, and took a pain pill. Mostly rested the rest of that day/evening. Had first home cooked meal that evening, didnt feel like eating, but what I did was really good. Many family members came by and visited for short periods, then at last, peace and quiet. Actually slept pretty decent that first night, so made the transition from hospital to home fine. Just my experience.

David in SC

PS Didnt have my first BM after surgery till I had been home 2 days.

Positive mental attitude helps to overcome a lot of things. I read comments from people who've allowed the cancer to consume them and their lives and to change how they live, negatively. I was one of the lucky ones in that my cancer was caught early and removed quickly - and I've considered the process like I consider having an abcessed tooth removed. I know the cancer is/was more serious, but I really don't think about it much. For me, it's over. Best wishes to all.