Walking after surgery

[snowkitten 371]

So I've heard a lot of people advising that as soon as you wake up from surgery you need to walk walk walk. I think that's great advice and fully plan on doing just that because i really really want to succeed. BUT I kinda have an obsessive personality (with goals and projects) and in the past I've been known to do TOO much. This is where i always fail because i over do it, injure myself and have to stop.

So, how much is too little and how much is too much (how long & how often did you walk)? I really want to succeed at this so i need some guidelines.

I know everyone is different so obviously someone with chronic injuries cant do as much as another person without them, i just would like to know in general what others have done and their experience.

Im 28, and except for asthma, knee pain, and a tendency to get sick alot, i have no troubles with walking. I can walk as much as my little obese body will allow, so whats smart after a major surgery?

[Bob2013 326]

Do whatever your body is up to.

When I woke up after surgery, as soon as I was steady on my feet, I would take a lap around the nurses station. at a slow hobble, hanging on to my I/V stand, the walk took me up to 10 minutes. I went back to the room, sipped on some Water, put my compression boots back on (by myself), took a nap, woke up, took the compression boots back off, went to the restroom and walked again. This was my routine until I was released the next day.

Unless you pass out and fall, I dont think there is any limit, or too much. There was a few times I had to stop and lean against a wall for a couple minutes, but after a brief rest I continued.

Then when you get home, just do whatever you need to do. Go fix your own food and drinks. sponge bathe yourself, ect. Prior to surgery when meeting with the surgeon, the doctor looked at my wife and told her in a stern voice, "Dont baby him".

[taylorj7 51]

Great advice from Bob, I did exactly the same during my hospital stay only thing I did different was I took my Water with me and sipped every few minutes. This seemed to make it go faster as they require you to drink two oz of Water every fifteen minutes. Good luck and keep us posted

[snowkitten 371]

see, this is exactly what i need to know. When i hear walk walk walk im thinking i should do laps around the hospital, not the nurses station lol. Im glad I asked ! Thanks

[Ginger Snaps 1,323]

I wasn't really allowed to walk after surgery in the hospital (screwup and misunderstanding from the nurses) but ended up back in the hospital 2 days after release with pneumonia (caused by not walking and moving around much go figure). But when I was in that weekend, I watched the clock and at least once every hour, I got up and walked 2-3 laps around the floor (2 nurses stations). And I sat up in a chair a lot instead of staying in bed.

Once I was home at least 3 times a day I got up and walked about halfway down the street and back, adding a little more distance most days.

I don't think you should try to set a distance goal but maybe a time goal and the number of times a day. Then just do what feels ok. I think your body will tell you to stop if you try to do too much.

Best wishes on the surgery and GET UP AND WALK (from someone who had complications because I wasn't allowed to).

[brians34 31]

I was told to get a pedometer and have goal as 10,000 steps/day

[snowkitten 371]

Oh no!! That's horrible. I bet those nurses felt bad.

I had the opposite problem after my c-section. The nurses constantly told me I need to be walking ("have you walked yet", "you need to walk", "start walking").... I still had my catheter in!!!! Grr, annoying nurses. I think they should pay a little more attention to what the patients specific needs are.

[snowkitten 371]

Brians 34 - was this RIGHT out of surgery (like first day- 2 weeks), or just in general?

[GummyTummy 154]

Snowkitten,

The advice you are getting is pretty spot on. My only suggestions are these - make sure you have a family member / friend / or nurse actually help you out of bed each time you get up for the first day or two. You and I pretty much will have been identical in weight and to avoid tearing any mending muscle / sutures / or staples, I needed some help actually getting to my feet. I walked alone and the first several times it was with the aid of the IV pole. About every two or three hours was ideal for walking. Also, assuming you don't have to get a cath, you will be walking to the potty to pee about this often so just ask your body to go a bit further and walk around the floor you are on.

Stop when you are out of breath. One final thing, I actually had a major issue with my nurse forcing me to walk prior to me being given any pain meds. DEMAND pain meds if you are in pain. Walk when you are ready but know that it helps get rid of the gas bubble and prevents blood clots way better than those snazzy little compression socks they will put on your calves. As a female, buy a pair of loose fitting giant pajama pants from Roaman's. I actually ordered one either 4 or 5 x, they fit like a parachute but you know as ladies we don't want the world seeing are backside or up the front each time we swing our leg to get out of bed. Those hospital gowns aren't really made for large people even when they are made for large people. Your swollen tummy will appreciate loose fitting clothing. Best wishes

[finediva 979]

I was told to get a pedometer and have goal as 10,000 steps/day

Really? Right out of surgery?!!!

[snowkitten 371]

• GummyTummy

Great suggestions! I've already bought my night outfits for the hospital stay but now that i think of it im not sure i got pj pants! That's very unlike me. Ill be sure to remember to get those so my hubby doesn't have to run around afterward. Why big parachute size tho?I will keep the pain med thing in mind. I'd probably try to tough it out.

[brians34 31]

Brians 34 - was this RIGHT out of surgery (like first day- 2 weeks), or just in general?

Really? Right out of surgery?!!!

OK, that's what I get for not paying close enough attention.

I haven't been sleeved yet, have visited surgeon's office and talked with them.

This is a good question, something I will have to ask myself on my next visit.

I took the message as how much walking should I do, and that's what we were told was to try and get in 10,000 steps/day (of course wouldn't be able to do this right after surgery, but something to work towards in the following weeks, months, etc.). Sorry for reading more into the OP message. :-)

[Forsythia 882]

Right out of the surgery, the staff gave me a goal to walk a lap around the floor at least 4 times that day. So I did. I told them it was easy (I was in very little pain) so for the next day they made me do it 8 times. It was still pretty easy. I would get winded toward the end of my lap. So it's not like I was running marathons or anything. It was a bit harder in the real world. I had to walk with my husband to the bus stop to go home - that was actually a challenge - I found myself walking much slower than my normal pace, and it felt like there was an elephant on my lungs - the staff said my oxygen levels were good, but that I was just taking shallow breaths as a defense mechanism due to the surgical trauma. But I did it. So really, walk as much as you can without causing yourself any pain. The hardest thing to navigate that first week for me was steps. I live in a 3rd floor walk up condo. They advised me to limit taking them but, I had no way to leave my house to walk otherwise! I did try to stay out for awhile rather than go up and down them (sometimes that meant stopping in a Starbucks to sit or finding a park bench).

Oh, and they are gonna give you one of those breathing devices - make sure you use it several times a day, it helps clear the lungs of that heavy elephant on your chest feeling and gets your oxygen levels back up on par with normal faster.

[Yasman 195]

I was told to get a pedometer and have goal as 10,000 steps/day

I think this is a good goal for everyone, WLS or not, to work towards for general good health. That said, if we are talking specifically about after surgery, it's probably outside the realm of possibility.

I like all the suggestions and stories everyone has said so far but will add my bit...

My nurses were indifferent to my interest/need for walking and I had not had any guidelines other than "walk after surgery before you go home" so I ended up walking twice the day of surgery and then one long long (into another ward and back) the second day. It was hard to get the nurses (who were supportive) to go with me and I wasn't permitted to go walking around the floor on my own. I didn't have an IV or catheter to worry about, just those damn booties. I would have walked more if I felt I could have, but I will warn you you will feel weak, slow, and possibly also dizzy so I don't think the idea about walking is to achieve some kind of marathon goal of distance. You will want to pay attention to your own strength and ability and the distance will figure itself out.

I probably didn't walk as much as I should have because the plastic receptical they had hanging out of me to collect drainage collected a blood clot right away. Walk as much as you can because the walking will help reduce the likelihood of clots, which can kill you. I'm glad my clot got collected, and I'm grateful that was the only one.

yas

Edited August 22, 2014 by Yasman

[Kindle 8,667]

Right after surgery I basically just got up to pee a few times and walked up and down the short hall when I was bored with what was on TV. (I've never been able to sleep after anesthesia, so I usually just dose off and on and watch TV all night).

I was discharged about 15 hours after surgery and went back to the hotel with my sister. We walked to Walmart/Starbucks -about 1 mile round trip. Went back to the hotel for a nap, and then went back to Starbucks and walked around Walmart for a while, checking out all the varieties of Tequila and trying to read the Spanish labels. The 2nd day we walked to Starbucks AGAIN (my sister has a bit of a fetish), went to the clinic for a recheck, then went shopping up and down Avenude Revolucion. 3rd day...another mile RT to Starbucks, back to the clinic for final leak test and drain removal, then off to the airport where, of course, I did a lot if walking through security and to the terminal.

Once back in snowy Idaho, I walked about a mile/day on the treadmill to help with digestion for a couple weeks and since then I haven't gone out of my way to walk any more than I normally do.