Comfortable sitting after surgery

[Aerial]

I do not have a recliner.  I am curious if sitting up in bed (with legs extended and a pillow under the knees) is a a comfortable post surgery position.  Sounds silly but I'm trying to decide where to move our best TV and the Roku box (for entertainment post surgery).  Counting down the days now!  Yipppeee!

[Pat Walter]

I stayed in Belgium for 9 days post op and I put a bunch of pillows under my legs.  My doctor said to do that anyways when sleeping because you need your "toes above your nose" to help keep the blood flowing in your legs.  The problem with the bed is it is not quite designed like a lounge chair - for some reason the way my lazyboy is designed, it is much more comfortable for my body.  You will, however, make do with what you have.  I used the recliner to sleep in a few hours at a time when the bed became uncomfortable.  For some reason, moving around really helped. 

Good Luck.

Pat

[hernanu]

Hi Aerial, I used pillows while lying in bed, but for sitting, I used the couch in my living room. I have an ottoman that I used to rest my leg(s) on. I also could use it for reclining and elevating my leg with pillows.

I also found it much easier to get up and walk about when already on the couch, and the armrests were very good for me to lever from to stand up (along with the crutches). I tried to stay out of the bed except for sleeping, since I wanted to move as mch as possible, and this seemed to work for me.

[ScubaDuck]

I agree with Pat on moving around.  It seemed like any position for a long period of time became uncomfortable.  Plus you will want to move the hip frequently.

Find a couple of places that you can move to easily.  In bed have alot of pillows to support your back and under/between your knees.  Find a couch or stuffed chair with an ottoman if you don't have a recliner (I didn't have one either).  I actually found the stuffed chair with an ottoman the most comfortable.  I put several pillows on the ottoman to get my leg up high enough.  Also find the best positions to ice.

Best wishes.

Dan

[Kiwi]

Hi Aerial
I've hired a recliner to reside near my bed.
I'm in hospital bed right now which  is obviously ideal. I thought just the bed at home would get uncomfortable if youre planning on watching entertainment from it as well as sleeping, reading, resting etc, but if you have to adapt you wil.
Il l let you know how I go as I fly home today, but I think an alternative to bed would be beneficial. At least get loads of pillows and ICE prepared!
Good luck.
Simon

[Anniee]

Aerial, a recliner is wonderful after the surgery.  I found mine to be the most comfortable place to sit/recline during the day and sometimes even at night.  However, I already had mine, so I did not go buy one specifically for the surgery.  I was not very comfortable sitting in bed with pillows, but that may be because I did to really work on making it so with extra pillows etc. - like Hernan, I stayed out of the bed during the day.  I used my recliner and my couch, which was also quite comfortable.  My couch is fairly small, so I was able to rest my feet on the arm rest and back, which felt really good sometimes. Both are easy to get in and out of because of the arm rests.

For the first few weeks, it really does help to move around and not stay in one place/position for too long.  This was especially true for me for the first two weeks, when I sometimes had trouble getting comfortable enough in bed to fall asleep at night.  I would go from the bed to the recliner to the couch several times each night.   So if you don't have a recliner, I think you should still figure out how to make yourself comfortable in at least one other place (preferably two) as suggested by others here.  Think about the fact that you may need to use your arms quite a bit to get up and down at first, so something with armrests or some other type of support that can give you some leverage, would be good.

Annie

[Aerial]

Thanks for all the good tips everyone.  I have a chair/ottoman with arms that will work well too I think.  I just have to eject my kitty since this is her favorite spot in the winter!

[mslendzion]

I purchased a recliner for my post surgery recovery.  It was delivered Friday.  It is awesome, first recliner I have owned.  I feel akin to my grandmother and grandfather who each had their own recliners.  I now understand why.  Looking forward to spending some quality time with it post surgery. 

I also followed recommendations from this site and purchased a body pillow for my bed.  Sleeping is really, really painful.  The body pillow has helped significantly reduce the pain.  The size of it keeps it from getting misaligned in the bed at night.  I'm sure this will get a lot of use pre and post surgery.  Thanks to all for the tips!

[Aerial]

I purchased a recliner for my post surgery recovery.  It was delivered Friday.  It is awesome, first recliner I have owned.  I feel akin to my grandmother and grandfather who each had their own recliners.  I now understand why.  Looking forward to spending some quality time with it post surgery. 

I also followed recommendations from this site and purchased a body pillow for my bed.  Sleeping is really, really painful.  The body pillow has helped significantly reduce the pain.  The size of it keeps it from getting misaligned in the bed at night.  I'm sure this will get a lot of use pre and post surgery.  Thanks to all for the tips!

Not to be stupid but how does a body pillow help?  How do you use it for sleeping purposes?  Thanks!

[tennisgirl]

I use the body pillow in between my legs to keep them from crossing.  It's long enough for the entire length of my legs, and it doesn't seem to shift about during the night.  I find it invaluable.  You can buy them inexpensively at Target.  It was such a relief to finally sleep on my side and the body pillow made it possible.

[mslendzion]

Totally agree with tennisgirl. A must for sleeping on your side.

[Kiwi]

The way they showed me in hospital was to place two normal pillows between the legs - but width ways. One for your thighs & one for you calfs. Also they tucked one along my back to stop me rolling in my sleep.
I've been at home two nights now & to be honest have just been using the one normal pillow between my legs. Definatly happy with recliner as can't sit or lie anywhere for too long at the moment.
Each day get easier.

[JMS]

I had a recliner but still found the bed was great in the days shortly after both surgeries.  You can surround yourself with laptop, DVDs, books, power bar, phone  etc and reach them all without a problem.  And you can slide up and down, shift the weight off your hips and onto the small of your back or wherever, so you never feel stranded in a bad position.  You can even do most of your physio in that position.  Of course you will want to get up too, but the bed has a lot going for it.

[David]

I had no recliner and just could not get comfortable in bed except if I were out cold sleeping.  My small couch with a big "hard pt wedge" type pillow worked best for comfort.  Being on the move and changing positions constantly was the norm.

[Aerial]

Took everyone's advice and got a body pillow today.  Thanks again.

[manyworries]

So happy for you Aeriel.  Just think this time next week you will be post-op and well on the road to recovery.  Can't wait to read everything you can remember about your surgery.  All the best to you !!