How much help will I need when I come home?

I am hopefully going to be nearing the end stages of my pre-op journey and I am trying to understand everything as best I can so I can prepare my S/O when I come home. How much help did you need when you came home from surgery? I already know I will not be able to drive myself, as long as I am taking pain meds, but what forms of help did you need (whether physical or digital) that helped your journey in the few months post surgery?

My sister stayed one day after I came home which is when I stopped pain meds. I didn't require any help after that. Only physical restriction was lifting, I think it was 5 or 10 lbs or less (so I had to go to a smaller purse, lol)

Thank you! Never even gave a second thought about my purse! Mine is pretty big... lol

If I'm not careful, my purse will weigh more than a small toddler, lol

I would suggest using pods for the laundry instead of lifting a heavy bottle of detergent. Don't run a heavy vacuum cleaner for the first month or so. Buy milk in small size containers. Don't move furniture around, I would recommend a robot vac if you don't already have one.

Also a chair in the shower is a good idea, just in case you get dizzy while taking a shower. It will probably never happen, but could. You should not require any help from other people, except with lifting.

Wow... all of these things I would have NEVER given a second thought to as being too heavy! I thankfully have a seat in my shower already!

Thank you!

It just really depends. Some people have an easy recovery and can fend for themselves a day or two after surgery; others need a few more days to reach that point.

Despite my age at the time of surgery (58), I felt great 24 hours after surgery. I live alone, and didn't need any help. (I did have friends I could call if I needed help.) I did get tired easily, though. A full grocery shop would have been too taxing for me, but going into a store and picking up a few items was no problem. I could do just about anything; I just couldn't do it for very long! Of course you'll want to avoid lifting anything heavy (like laundry).

My main problem was that I felt so good that I would forget I had surgery recently, and try to do too much. It took about six months to get my stamina back completely.

I agree 100% - I had the same experience at 61.

Thank you! Hoping I can do *most things myself.

my husband took a week off of work when I had my surgery - and it was great to have someone bring me protein shakes, etc - but I think i could have probably managed on my own. I had a really easy recovery.