reply to golfnut - 2
toughing it out in my case probably caused 3 extra days in the hospital, to belabor the point; make sure you get some sleep, DEEP MEANINGFUL sleep, not restless 10 minutes at a time; if you don't then you are insufficiently drugged; in any case, but especially if you are in a room without outside windows as i was, keep yourself oriented to day and night; keep up with what time it is; ask for lights on all day, lights off at night
if possible, have a family member or trusted friend at your bedside 24/7 to be your advocate
try to get out of there as quickly as you can; hospitals are actually dangerous places for infection and the inactivity and lack of control are soul destroying; if you aren't confident enough to go home, you can stay at the Parkway Hotel for another few days, a week, or as long as you want (attached to the hospital by indoor walkway) and rehab as did LisaB in more comfort and freedom; with the prescriptions, you can do your own pain management
to get out quickly, as kelly told me, get moving as soon as you can; when the PT person shows up the next day and tells you that you can stand up and take a few steps, you won't believe it (i didn't) but you CAN; don't refuse this, TRY it, at least;
this piece of success was the only high point of my hospitalization other than leaving;
after this, walking around the floor was easy; i did it much more often than asked, it didn't hurt and it was nice just to get out of that damn bed
the other discharge metrics are eating and pooping; you will have absolutely no appetite but when the tray come you just force yourself to put something down; they will stuff you with laxatives (in my case 3 different ones) to take care of the rest
i will be very anxious to hear how you do; it will probably take weeks after getting home before you feel up to posting and we will all understand this; if you have any other specific questions before your surgery, feel free to ask on the forum or by private message
toughing it out in my case probably caused 3 extra days in the hospital, to belabor the point; make sure you get some sleep, DEEP MEANINGFUL sleep, not restless 10 minutes at a time; if you don't then you are insufficiently drugged; in any case, but especially if you are in a room without outside windows as i was, keep yourself oriented to day and night; keep up with what time it is; ask for lights on all day, lights off at night
if possible, have a family member or trusted friend at your bedside 24/7 to be your advocate
try to get out of there as quickly as you can; hospitals are actually dangerous places for infection and the inactivity and lack of control are soul destroying; if you aren't confident enough to go home, you can stay at the Parkway Hotel for another few days, a week, or as long as you want (attached to the hospital by indoor walkway) and rehab as did LisaB in more comfort and freedom; with the prescriptions, you can do your own pain management
to get out quickly, as kelly told me, get moving as soon as you can; when the PT person shows up the next day and tells you that you can stand up and take a few steps, you won't believe it (i didn't) but you CAN; don't refuse this, TRY it, at least;
this piece of success was the only high point of my hospitalization other than leaving;
after this, walking around the floor was easy; i did it much more often than asked, it didn't hurt and it was nice just to get out of that damn bed
the other discharge metrics are eating and pooping; you will have absolutely no appetite but when the tray come you just force yourself to put something down; they will stuff you with laxatives (in my case 3 different ones) to take care of the rest
i will be very anxious to hear how you do; it will probably take weeks after getting home before you feel up to posting and we will all understand this; if you have any other specific questions before your surgery, feel free to ask on the forum or by private message
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