I will be going home to an empty house after surgery. The surgeon said it was ok (though he won't let me drive the 1/4 mile myself so I'll have to call a cab for the 1 minute ride).

For those of you that had to take care of yourselves after surgery, did you have any problems? Do you have any suggestions?

I plan to have everything set up so I don't have to lift anything and easy access to my fully stocked liquids and protein, but I'm wondering what I might not be considering.

My neighbor's kids are feeding my cats while I'm in the hospital and she's offered to help if I need anything. Between that and living 1/4 mile from the hospital, I'm not worried about an emergency. I can also walk to the pharmacy or downtown fairly easily once I'm up and about.

I'm more wondering what support I might wish I had day to day as I recover.

Will I be able to bend over/down? (If I drop something or to clean litter boxes)

You should be fine, I didn't need much help for anything. I did sleep a lot so be warned lol

Do you have a grabber in case you drop something or there is something higher than you can reach without stretching? Someone else suggested that to me.

Do you have a grabber in case you drop something or there is something higher than you can reach without stretching? Someone else suggested that to me.

If I dropped something on the floor the first week it stayed there until someone else picked it up. Bending over hurt. Grabbers would've been handy.

I am single and lived alone at the time I was sleeved. The vast majority of my family lives out of state, so I performed my own aftercare. I managed my immediate post-op recovery just fine.

You should be fine taking care of yourself, I was able to do most things by myself when I got home. I was even driving a stick shift around the block on day 3. Just don't be afraid to reach out for help if you run into any issues/complications.

HW: 330

SW: 294 6/27/2017

CW: 287

GW: 180

VSG, Dr. Jawad, Orlando, FL

Thanks everyone! I figured that was the case, but wanted to check with those who had been there.

I flew my sister in to help me. I was concerned about having to go up and down stairs and caring for my dog.

The stairs were no problem at all. Bending down for dog food or changing water bowl was a problem. Also laundry...bending down and in to get the wash out and into dryer gave me problems. So I was glad to have the help for those things.
If I had to do it again I don't know that I would have asked my sister to take time off work etc...for the couple of days.
If you have a good friend or neighbor who can help out for a bit every day or two that would have been more than enough.

Good luck!


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I flew my sister in to help me. I was concerned about having to go up and down stairs and caring for my dog.

The stairs were no problem at all. Bending down for dog food or changing water bowl was a problem. Also laundry...bending down and in to get the wash out and into dryer gave me problems. So I was glad to have the help for those things.
If I had to do it again I don't know that I would have asked my sister to take time off work etc...for the couple of days.
If you have a good friend or neighbor who can help out for a bit every day or two that would have been more than enough.

Good luck!


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Thanks! That's good to know.
I'll plan to ask the neighbor kids to help out with the kitties instead of trying to do it myself.

Travel girl which procedure did you have

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I think it all depends on you. I was sleeved 4 months ago (revised from band 6 years prior). Both times I was alone post op. I have two dogs 25 and 30 lbs. I had absolutely no problem taking care of them. Did it hurt bending down, yes, but it only hurts for a minute then went away. I just put my knee up when my dog tried to jump on me just to try to avoid that pain. I was walking my dogs for their longer walk the day after I got home. I never took pain meds after the first night. Never had gas pain or anything

So it depends on how you heal

I think it all depends on you. I was sleeved 4 months ago (revised from band 6 years prior). Both times I was alone post op. I have two dogs 25 and 30 lbs. I had absolutely no problem taking care of them. Did it hurt bending down, yes, but it only hurts for a minute then went away. I just put my knee up when my dog tried to jump on me just to try to avoid that pain. I was walking my dogs for their longer walk the day after I got home. I never took pain meds after the first night. Never had gas pain or anything

So it depends on how you heal

Thanks! That's reassuring. I'm pretty self-sufficient and would rather take care of things myself whenever possible.

Just have a friend or neighbor on stand by just in case. Every one heals differently. I could not do stairs easily or bend. I was also dizzy . Almost fell in shower. I would not go down stairs or shower without someone in the house with me.