I am heading into surgery on July 30 and I am concerned about how I am going to get out of bed without straining my stomach muscles and causing pain. Any suggestions out there?

I slept on a narrow couch for about three nights. I used a pillow to brace my stomach when moving around, and I always took my pain meds. Don't be a hero and take the pain meds on a regular schedule for the first 5-6 days (or longer if needed).

They showed us a fine technique during the pre-surgical meeting. Roll onto your side (the direction off the bed) and start to slide the legs off the bed first, the gently push yourself up with your arms and voila` you are up and out of the bed. I was up and out of that hospital bed constantly as well.

The pain was minimal for me (other than the gas pain which will go away with walking after your surgery) so it was not hard to get out of bed.

I slept on a recliner for about 1 week after surgery. Now I'm in my bed and I can only sleep on my back. When I'm getting out of bed I put my legs down first and then roll to my side and push up with my hands. Good Luck!!!!

You may be able to ask the doctor or the nurse for an abdominal binder. What's working for me is using my upper body strength to kind of push myself up and swing my legs over in one swoop.

I too slept in a recliner. It kept me the most comfortable.

I really don't know what I would have done without the recliner. They even had them in the hospital.

I also slept in a recliner for the first week or so.

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I am heading into surgery on July 30 and I am concerned about how I am going to get out of bed without straining my stomach muscles and causing pain. Any suggestions out there?

Here's what I did I put the hospital bed all the way up so I could roll on my right side and my feet dangled until the height of the bed was to where I ca practically stand it helped me out but when I came home the hell with the bed my ass slept on the sofa with lotssss of pillows

Recliner for about a week and a half

CAUTION TMI coming....I slept in Recliner for 2 nights after getting home BUT watch out for the pain meds...I um......well, apparently in the night I had an accident and we ended up throwing away the recliner. The meds were just a bit much for me but it was nice to sleep kinda..

i did great at the hospital with this technique but when i got home totally used my muscles and now im sore,tender and numb under my main incision and im two weeks out.be careful

I am on the "recliner" bandwagon. I slept in my recliner for the first 5 days post op. Saying I "slept" is stretching it. I got around surprisingly well and was excited to get off the pain meds because they interfered with my sleep and made me loopy. Once I was able to sleep in my bed, I slept on my side with a body pillow supporting my stomach.

They showed us a fine technique during the pre-surgical meeting. Roll onto your side (the direction off the bed) and start to slide the legs off the bed first, the gently push yourself up with your arms and voila` you are up and out of the bed. I was up and out of that hospital bed constantly as well.

The pain was minimal for me (other than the gas pain which will go away with walking after your surgery) so it was not hard to get out of bed.

That's exactly what I figured out and it worked. There was only slight discomfort. I didn't need pain medicine at all once I left the hospital.

Good luck to you. Being on the other side and working for a better life is wonderful.

I didn't have a recliner, but did have a fairly comfortable camping chair that I could sleep in that stretched me out. Sounds strange, but it's a lot like a recliner!

Hi I had my surgery on 7/23/12 and no one gave me tips on the easiest way to get up but i found out on my own that rolling to the side of the bed first and then feet first you can use your elbows for strenght to get up. I am having trouble drinking enough liquids and also with my vitamin intake. Today s new thing happened my stomsch started making really loud noises after i sipp on water or if I eat.