Hi all,

I have my surgery scheduled for April 12th and I really would like to know how I will feel after the surgery. I have two young children (a 5 year old and a 2 year old) and my husband will be out of town. I need to know how much help I will need for the first couple of days. I know that everybody is different and that no experience will be the same, but I would still like to know how you felt. So if anybody could post how they truly felt right after the surgery I would appreciate it.

Thank you

Luci

Ok, here it is. I have a 2 year old and 8 year old. You can NOT pick up the 2 year old, and that includes putting them in the car. I needed an adult home for four days ( including the day of the surgery) and then the 2 year old was in day care the rest of the week. My 8 year old helped me with a lot. Give yourself a good week with help. IMO it is better to have someone there too long than not long enough.

Hi,

I think I had a bit harder than most. I was totally laid up for two full weeks. Surprisingly, the actual "surgical pain" was not very bad after the first two days. Even within the first two days, it wasn't horrible. I mean yes it was painful, but nothing like where I was moaning or crying or anything. It was not excrutiating at all. It was more like "man, this is a bummer, but it's only one more hour till I can take more codiene". After the first two days, what really knocked me out was the horrible, horrible gas and nausea. Of course, my muscles were very sore, and bending down or moving in certain ways was painful, but if I was just sitting still in my recliner, the only thing that really bothered me was the bad gas pains. I would recommend having no dairy at all for two weeks. As soon as I gave up dairy I felt 90% better. I did have to sleep in my recliner for two weeks, because laying on my side in bed pulled on the surgical areas too much. Close to the end of the second week, I did venture out of the house for a half hour, but walking made me very nauseated. In the third week when I went back to work, I still had horrible gas but was able to walk around alot better. I am currently four weeks out today and am feeling great. My surgical area is still sore in the mornings, but only slightly, and very slightly from time to time when I get up from sitting a long time. I have been at the gym every day for almost a week and doing the treadmill for a half hour no problem. With regard to help around the house, my husband did everything for two full weeks.