Recovery After Surgery – A Personal Experience
Just a few days ago my sister had her kidney removed and I’ve taken a few days to help her out at home. Of course I’m not familiar at all with kidney recovery as I am with c-section recovery, but there are plenty of similarities when it comes to caring for someone at home and their recovery after surgery.
For one thing, there’s a lot of pain so getting the right medications, doses and schedules is important.
My sister didn’t tolerate the initial medications she was sent home with so we had to revert to other medications that worked better. This made the first few days pretty tough.
One thing to remember about medications is that it can be a process and you can sometimes expect a day or two delay in comfort if there needs to be adjustments.
I almost think that it would have been better for her to stay in the hospital one more day taking the meds they intended to send home with her, this would have helped us know she needed something a little different, just an idea.
One thing that has been a huge help is the abdominal binder she wears. Those binders aren’t just for c-section moms, they work for anyone recovering from abdominal surgery and it’s been a huge help for my sister. She doesn’t like to lay down with it on so we take it off before bed, but when she gets up she grabs for it immediately.
She tells me that her insides feel like things are moving around, and they probably are, but wearing the binder seems to make them feel like they are in their place as opposed to feeling like they may fall out. Of course they won’t fall out but it can feel that way.
The other advantage of the abdominal binder is that her surgical wound gets a lot more support so it’s not as painful to get up and down and walk around.
And while we’re on the topic of walking; make sure you walk after surgery. My sister had a tough time at first with getting up on her feet and moving but she knows I’m a stickler and I really push it so she hasn’t had much choice 
Walking is a huge part of your home care after surgery. It’s tough and it hurts, but walking is how you will get your energy back and heal faster. If I learned anything from having a c-section it’s to get walking as fast and as much as you can.
In fact if weather permits we take short walks down the driveway or simply sit outside. Not all weather permits being outside but if you can get out, by all means do it. The fresh air and sunshine can work wonders, even if it’s for a short time.
Having surgery of any kind is never easy but whether you’re the patient or you’re caring for someone at home, remember to keep on top of your medications, walk and get outside as much as you can and just take it one day at a time, it will get better 
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