After surgery what can you carry?how heavy

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Jadedjo
Jadedjo Member Posts: 469
edited August 2018 in Surgery - Before, During, and After

Hi all

I'm trying to find a bag right now to pack for surgery because the sooner I find one and start adding to it the less frantic I am closer to the day and forgetting stuff and I'm going to have enough stress then.

And it hit me that I don't know how much I will be able to carry when I leave the hospital (I have no help) I know I need a few changes of underwear and I usually toss a pair men's pj bottoms because the hospital gowns don't cover near enough especially if I'm up and walking around.

My cell,my old iPhone that has meditations and sleepy time music on it.i just realized I need to find my old ear phones. My medication in a week long pill organizer because they will be keeping me there until I can safely take care of myself. A few pairs of socks.a wallet with just the basics(ID,health card)and a small amount of money.my little notebook and a couple of pens. A small towel to put on my chest for the seatbelt.I know I'm forgetting things.

But none of that is going to help me if I have to carry it home and can't do it.

I was wondering what was the most those who had surgery were allowed to carry after surgery? It will probably be a few days before  I will leave the hospital due to me living in the top floor of a walk up with steep stairs and having no help.

I know it's different for everyone I just need a close estimate.

Thank you for your replies in advance.

Blessed be.

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  • wrenn
    wrenn Member Posts: 2,707
    edited August 2018

    What surgery are you having?

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  • Jadedjo
    Jadedjo Member Posts: 469
    edited August 2018

    @ wrenn

    Probably dmx with implants if I am a candidate otherwise flat with possible future reconstruction if I can lose enough weight to become a candidate.

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  • wrenn
    wrenn Member Posts: 2,707
    edited August 2018

    For BMX you usually go home the same day or overnight at most. I'm not sure if you stay longer with reconstruction.

    I was told with BMX to not lift more than 10 lbs for the first while. If you do a search you will get better answers.

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  • Jadedjo
    Jadedjo Member Posts: 469
    edited September 2018

    Thanks Surgeon said I would be there longer considering where I live and since I have no help. They can't knowingly send me home when I have no way to take care of myself or even get up to my apt like I would get there but with the stairs it would take a few hours.

    I did a search but pretty much got answers from you can't carry anything to ten pounds.I'm asking on here so I can figure out a middle ground.


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  • wrenn
    wrenn Member Posts: 2,707
    edited August 2018

    Ah, Well that's good that they are letting you stay. I am surprised the will do that since it is so expensive to stay in hospital. You are lucky. I was on my own and actually had no problems with anything much after BMX. Stairs were not a problem and I was emptying cat litter box and cooking etc. I made sure to put things on the counter so I wouldn't have to reach high but I was very surprised at how little pain there was. I was only taking plain tylenol the second day.

    I hope it goes smoothly for you and that more people come by with information.

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  • Jadedjo
    Jadedjo Member Posts: 469
    edited September 2018

    Thank you.

    Our inside stairs are quite steep it's like climbing up a mountain sometimes ,even healthy active people have difficulty with them.not gonna lie it's kept my butt from ballooning to a larger size since living here.

    the ones outside are easier but aren't that sturdy either. I lose either way.

    The surgeon straight up said when I brought it up that they won't send me home until they know I can tend to myself without massive issues. When I brought up the stairs and that I have no help whatsoever he said at least a few days depending on my mobility.

    I don't think my hospital bag will be more then 10 pounds. The heaviest things will be the phones ( ones deactivated cellularly but I use it for meditation apps, music that makes me sleepy etc) and whatever toiletries I bring, those will be travel sized.

    My biggest concern after returning home  is groceries and laundry. Those are both things that can be heavy and I only can do laundry on one certain day a week  so I tend to have big heavy loads. 

    Groceries I guess wil be part of my recovery plan to go out at least once a day for a small walk to the local grocery grab something light like premade salad or a bag of pea pods I can nibble at and a couple of fruit and then walk home but I know especially if I am getting dti that I won't be able to do that the first few days but if memory serves I'm not all that hungry the first week after any surgery/ anesthesia  so I don't need much. If anybody has any BC acceptable but affordable protein powders please let me know as I usually can only stomach fluids the first few days.

     Being alone sucks.



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  • sheila888
    sheila888 Member Posts: 25,634
    edited August 2018

    jo ...After my BMX I was told not more than 5 lb this was almost 3 years ago .

    Maybe where you are is different.

    BMX is considered Ambulatory surgery you go home the same day. I told my BS I needed 1 overnight but I wasn't ready.the next day it took all day with the health Insurance and they kept me another night.

    It's good that they are taking your needs into consideration.

    I had a nurse and a PT COMING 2 to 3 times a week.

    I changed my own drains and had them for 2 weeks which was annoying but not painful.

    Thinking of you.

    Sheila 💛

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  • Leatherette
    Leatherette Member Posts: 448
    edited August 2018

    Maybe stock up on most foods before surgery, then do your walk to the store for little things, like you were saying? I don’t know about where you are, but there are people who volunteer to do things for people in treatment- maybe someone like that could do your laundry? And make sure your laundry is all caught up before? Handwash essentials like underwear and hang them to dry overnight? I’d try to carry as little as possible, I was told no more than a gallon of milk in terms of weight (8.5 lbs). I’m not sure...I know this is an overwhelming time! Is there a friend or neighbor who will want to help in any way?



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  • Jadedjo
    Jadedjo Member Posts: 469
    edited September 2018

    It seems like it changes wherever people live from what I'm getting.

    I suspect there might be a nurse the first week after release to help with bandages or they might tell me to go to the hospital across the street (the surgery happens at another one but this one has an offshoot of cancer care) but I know I have to keep track of drains myself until they are removed.

    Thank you I appreciate it.

    Blessed be.

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  • sheila888
    sheila888 Member Posts: 25,634
    edited August 2018

    Good Night Jo 💛

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  • Jadedjo
    Jadedjo Member Posts: 469
    edited August 2018

    Good night, Sheila888

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  • gaspasser
    gaspasser Member Posts: 34
    edited August 2018

    Hi,

    After my BMX TE it was about 10 lb limit for awhile. One thing I found very helpful when I needed surgery for a wound vac placement recently was using the Shipt service for groceries near me. I'm not sure if there is anything similar near you? The person shops and delivers groceries. You can tip the shopper, but it is up to you and delivery is free if the total is above $35 I think? They even carry them up into your house which would include steps in your case. Target also has the Shipt service. I'm not sure where you live and what is available. It might be one less stress for produce etx.for first couple weeks until you are up and about a bit more? Best of luck and keep us posted!

    Gaspasser (Sara)

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  • Jadedjo
    Jadedjo Member Posts: 469
    edited September 2018

    I don't think we have anything like that around here. I do have a grocery store almost right behind my apt and another one about a 7min walk away but they don't have any kind of delivery service.

    As much as I would love to buy inadvance I can only buy so much because I have a small fridge feeezer. So basically I will be buying,cooking and cutting up a bunch of chicken breast and freezing in two day portions,whatever non perishables  a day or two before surgery I will go buy wraps,and the perishable makings for them  and a pile of fruit to get me through the first week or so dependant on appetite and then hope for the best. 

    Thank you.

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  • sheila888
    sheila888 Member Posts: 25,634
    edited August 2018

    Thinking of you Jo.

    Sheila💛

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  • Jadedjo
    Jadedjo Member Posts: 469
    edited August 2018

    Thank you.

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  • Icietla
    Icietla Member Posts: 1,265
    edited August 2018

    Hi Jadedjo. I am thinking a smallish lightweight soft type -- not the heavier, tougher, more rigid type -- canvas bag with two little handle loop straps -- say, just big enough for two smallish loaves of bread -- should work just fine to carry your tightly rolled clothing items and all those other items you would want for your hospital stay. A smallish Tyvek bag would be even lighter.

    After my drains had been removed -- that was about a week after my last mastectomy surgery -- I was okayed to lift up to two pounds if I were using both arms and hands together. About a week later, I was directed to start with a few simple exercises to help recover my (very limited) reach range, and then I was okayed to lift as much as four pounds -- if using both arms and hands together -- over the next several months. My already very limited arm use was a factor in my lifting restrictions, as well as that my TAH-BSO surgery had been done I think about seven weeks before my last mastectomy surgery.

    Onions keep well. Potatoes keep well in darkness. Chilled carrots and apples keep well. There are smallish units of easy-to-open prepared foods -- as some examples, some instant soups, some canned soups with pull-off lids, and some small microwavable meals in UHT type packaging (for shelf storage) and having peel-off covers. Barilla brand has some good UHT meals that are meatless and cheeseless. Minute brand UHT-packaged 60-second ready-to-eat Fried Rice is delicious. Small shelf storage cups of plain applesauce with peel-off lids are another possibility for convenience food. These are some type things you might collect over time leading up to your surgery time to set in a good supply so you could take it easier for longer after your return home.

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  • Jadedjo
    Jadedjo Member Posts: 469
    edited August 2018

    Thank you.

    I think I have a bag that might work.

    Microwave meals are out as I don't have a microwave but will look into some fruit cups and such.

    2 pounds for a week and Only 4 pounds for four months? 

    I hope I am able to carry more then that or things aren't going to go well for me.

    Thanks.

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  • sheila888
    sheila888 Member Posts: 25,634
    edited August 2018

    Hi Jo...Do you have a date for your surgery ?

    Hugs

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  • Jadedjo
    Jadedjo Member Posts: 469
    edited September 2018

    Thank you.

    No and it's frustrating me. They told me I would see a plastic surgeon within 2-3 weeks of seeing the breast surgeon and it's been over a week since that day already and I don't even have the appt day with the PS yet.

     I finally got fed up 15 min ago and called the nurse contact at the PS office I was given and left a message asking  "did you people lose my paperwork?" Mostly cause that happens to me a lot around here. I have the worst luck when it comes to paperwork. Actually I seem to have the worst luck for wvrythung these days.

    They don't seem to be in an all fired hurry to do anything even though it's cancer. The curse of being in the Canadian health system, your on their time not your own.

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  • Jadedjo
    Jadedjo Member Posts: 469
    edited August 2018

    So apparently there is a disconnect between me and a couple of the  health professionals, and it's possible I won't be getting implants after all. I was talking pre pec dti and they thought I was talking about under the muscle dti which is apparently a thing here ? i didn't  even know that was a thing.

    I will find out next week as I got a callback and an appt with the ps then.

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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited August 2018

    jadedjo - sub-pec DTI was the standard for quite a while - everywhere, not just where you are, and a fair number of plastic surgeons don't do DTI at all. Pre-pec reconstruction is a relatively recent resurgence of an older procedure using expanders/implants, but finding a PS that does DTI, and is doing it pre-pec is even harder to find than one who does it sub-pec.

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  • Jadedjo
    Jadedjo Member Posts: 469
    edited August 2018

    @specialk

    Thanks, 

    I should have known better really,it seemed too easy. they were all too agreeable about what I wanted I should have specified pre-pec dti as I was mentioning it. I was recently told they don't do expanders in  this city anymore.

    I'm getting so much conflicting information from the health team involved in my care.im sure I mentioned to them tepeatedly that I didn't want muscle cut into but I guess I wasn't straightforward enough. I thought damn something finally working out in my favor.

    I was an idiot.

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  • Icietla
    Icietla Member Posts: 1,265
    edited August 2018

    >> 2 pounds for a week and Only 4 pounds for four months? <<

    Well, I am uncommonly challenged anyway as to arm use and back strength. Many members and readers here at BCO are much more challenged than I as to arm use.

    I would expect that the more typical arm use and lifting restrictions for after mastectomy; after drains removal; and for with and without reconstruction procedures in progress would be more fairly representative of the post-surgery guidance given for most cases.

    Unlike so many of the frozen microwavable meals, the shelf-storage UHT-packaged foods are already thoroughly cooked.

    Please keep us up on your news.

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  • Jadedjo
    Jadedjo Member Posts: 469
    edited August 2018

    lcietla

    Will try. 

    At this rate I'm tired of getting my hopes up that something is finally go my way only to be let down hard once again. After how many times it happens you think I would know better by now but nope.

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  • borogirl
    borogirl Member Posts: 86
    edited August 2018

    My plastic surgeon is going to do pre-pectoral TEs at time of MX. I asked about DTI but he said that in 80-90% of those cases he still has to go in later and make revisions. He said the problem is he doesn't always know what condition the skin pocket is in when the BS finishes the MX part, and PS can't control the size and shape of the already emptied pocket. By starting with TEs and then having final implant put in later, he can manage the pocket better. Good thing is that PS says with pre-pectoral implants he can go ahead and start off with about 300cc in TE at time of MX, decreasing the number of fills needed later on, therefore decreasing the time needed to complete fills.

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  • Jadedjo
    Jadedjo Member Posts: 469
    edited September 2018

    Borogirl

    I was informed by the nurse that TE's are no longer used in this city. Don't know why. I see the plastic surgeon this week and will be asking my options. It's not like I want Dolly Parton boobs I already have those and hate them(and now they are trying to murder me) I just want enough to say I have something. From what I'm reading get the size I want to go down to seems to be the norm sometimes as I'm aiming for a full B or small C.

    Thanks,blessed be.

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  • Icietla
    Icietla Member Posts: 1,265
    edited August 2018

    i will be back later to show you some likely helpful stuff that may help you manage better during recovery so you should not need to brave the stairs at the post-surgery times unsafest for you after someone has seen you safely into your dwelling place for the first stretch of your recovery time.

    We all care about you. We want you healthy and happy. We want to support you through all this to be and feel at your best.

    I do not know where else to say what follows. My Hell was much of the front end of my life.

    This is sent in love and caring, and I hope you will understand it as sent in that spirit. Some of the content will not fit all this perfectly, but this is the selection that comes to mind that is nearest to something I want to express to you. It is not meant to hurt you, nor refresh any of your pain/s, but only to reach you with kind and hopeful regards. Please turn it up.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAjq2uxLfpY

    ___

    "It all comes down to who you crucify."


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  • Jadedjo
    Jadedjo Member Posts: 469
    edited August 2018

    Ya I know I carry more then I should and I should really let things go. Especially things I can no longer fix or that is in the past.

    Thank you for thinking of me.

    blessed be

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  • Idkidk
    Idkidk Member Posts: 91
    edited August 2018

    Don’t carry too much even if you feel up to it. I moved around some boxes and unpacked some things yesterday and cleaned up mold I found in my Florida room where the boxes were leaning against. Well during the night the pain was unbearable and I had chills and fever of 102.7 and I can’t move my arm now and I slept over 24 hours. My drains were overflowing and I feel delirious. Better now but still have fever and the pain despite the oxycodone is so intense. Chest feels like a solid boulder is in it.

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  • Jadedjo
    Jadedjo Member Posts: 469
    edited August 2018

    Oh boy.

    I hope you're feeling better. If it lasts get it checked out cause that doesn't sound good.kinda scary actually. I will be sure to take easy in the beginning.

    Take care

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