Being on your own at home after op

Just wondering if any of you went home after hospital and were ok to look after yourselves? I’m having ba and uplift so staying overnight in hospital but once my sister brings me back I’ll be on my own as my boyfriend was ment to be looking after me but have no finished! Just a bit worried that’s all as I haven’t really got anyone I can ask to help me out xx

Bless you hun I had my hubby around after mine and I really did need him, I was massively restricted.

Your prob gonna be pretty restricted afterwards so I would plan in advance. The following are a few things I can think of ou should prob do before your op:

Fill your kettle up(but you might not be able to lift it to use it)

Take and glasses/mugs/plates etc out of ny high cupboards so your not reaching.

Set your bed up with your pillows etc so your not having to do it on your first night back

Buy yourself a stack of magazines so when your sitting around all day, you have something to keep you occupied

Take any clothes you intend on wearing off of any high shelves etc, and put them all where you can access them easy.

Make sure taps aren’t turned off too tight otherwise it’ll kill you to turn them on(trust me I no lol)

I couldn’t open any doors, brush my hair or even flush the loo in the early days after mine(I had unders)

Just remember, even if you feel ok to do things, don’t! You don’t wanna stretch those insicions and pull on those stitches otherwise they may not heal as neat xx

thanks hun thats a massive things and certain things i never even thought about!! im having overs but with an uplift im not sure if its more recovery with uplift or not? i think ill just get a stack of mags, a load instant meals and just try to recover as fast as i can before my son comes back lol. luckily im having op on a tuesday and hes not back until the sunday! xx

I’m not sure either what recovery is like…but plan for worse case scenario then at least your sorted deffo stock up on things just to shove in microwave or similar. You won’t feel like cooking. You’ll feel really crappy and bloated too so stock up on fresh fruit and water etc. best thing to do or yourself, is do as little as poss till the Sunday. Let your body rest. I just used to get up off the sofa and just walk around every hour or so, keep the circulation going. I got told to keep my sexy stockings on too until I was moving around more. I ended up keeping them on for about 6 days afterwards! xx

i was the same as u ginag84 !!! and i was lucky 2 have my husband, family and friends 2 help me i sat on the sofa 4 a hole week couldnt do anything but take painkillers lol !!! i bet u have some lovely family and friends that could pop in and make sure your ok lindsey85 u have also got all us 2 talk 2 all day lol !!! chin up babe xxxxx

ill make sure i get some films in ready lol my dad doesnt even know im having it done and i dont speak to my mum and my sister is back in work the thursday as shes taking two days off to take me for op. i think ill prob appreciate a few days to myself anyway wont i? ill just keep a stack of take away menus by me and yes ill be on here all day chatting away awwww thanks girls you have made me feel a lot better about it all! xx

Hey, I was also by myself after my op and it went fine. Just put everything ready before you leave for your op, ginag84 pretty much covered them all And buy food which is really easy and quick to cook, have a book or two ready since you are spending all your time in bed. The only advice I would give is that even though you would feel good, just take it really easy! I felt absolutely great the first after my op, and didn’t stay in bed… and the second day post op was awful. Good luck!

Hi Hun,

I’m a week post off! I couldn’t cut bread slices or chop up vegetables.

Flushing the toilet is very hard.

Pump hand soaps – tricky.

Do lots of lunges and squats before op you will be relying heavily on these muscles – make sure they are toned!

Attach a rope to end of bed to lift yourself up out of bed. But if you can lay down pre op and lift yourself up without your arms you will be fine.

Have a bedside table close for water, phone books etc.

Any doors or fridges with high handles will be hard to open.

Mini waters are easier to lift and pour then large bottled water.

Switches on plugs in awkward places are impossible -I found a long stick to turn them on and off!

Buy aluminium free deodorant, the last thing you want to put into healing areas is toxins.

Good luck Lindsey!! Xx

Thank you girls I’ve wrote all these tips down! Massive help I have a corner sofa which is huge so I’m thinking about just being on there all day instead of bed. Prob be a lot easier to get on and off than bed! Good tip about little bottles of water! Be much easier to fill my kettle that way aswel! I think when it comes to food I’ll just either have to ring for a takeaway or something I can just snack on if I can’t cook. I’m assuming pulling the microwave door open will be tricky aswel, mine is quite heavy! Xx

I did the whole thing by myself, including going to and from the hospital. I had a car take me there and back, but all I had to do was ask the driver to bring my bag inside my front door on the return journey. I had uplift with implants too. You’ll be just fine. Just make sure you have loads of water and fresh food in the fridge that you can get together easily. Avoid processed stuff, as the painkillers do a good job of bunging you up in the first place!! You’ll find you sleep a lot in the first few days. I did anyway. After a couple of days you start feeling human again and it’s all easy from there. Gina covered the main things up top, as there’s no reaching possible for a few days! Good luck, you’ll be on the mend in no time! xx

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