hey bud...im 4 weeks out from a bilateral with dr.gross. Im 35 and I was put on the rapid recovery so if you end up on the slow recovery then thats a whole different ball game that Im not familiar with. I was in a very similar spot with you, worried about how i could manage after, how do i take care of errands, how will I manage mentally with all the down time etc.
I can tell you that I had someone stay with me for 5 days after the surgery....could i have made things work on my own? Yes but it would have been extremely difficult. You will not have the energy to cook meals so you will need your fridge stocked the hell up with easy simple foods to grab. After that you can use things like instacart which is so easy to use, its an app where you can get your groceries delivered to you and its like 5 -10 bucks for delivery. Have everything you need though for at least 2 weeks so you dont have to worry.
Have a walker for around the house getting around... if you are doing stuff for yourself crutches wont cut it, you will need a walker it is a game changer. I thought i could get by without a raised toilet seat...I was wrong you will need that as well. Have water jugs set up beside your bed and wherever you sit, you will find it very hard to carry things the first week so have the water already where you are so you can pour it easy.
My recliner saved me, if i didnt have the recliner Im not sure what I would have done, my couch was too low, i would have had to be in the bed all day. The recliner allows you to keep your feet elevated. You will find lifting your legs impossible the first couple of weeks without someones help or using the tool the give you, the recliner eliminates that bc it lifts your legs up. If you dont have one go get one.
pissing in the middle of the night. Huge pain in the ass, i couldnt do it the first week, so difficult to get in and out of bed so i brought the little urinal bottle from the hospital and pissed in that during the night and emptied it in the morning.
I made a terrible mistake and at a burger and milkshake after leaving the hospital. From all the drugs i was constipated for 4 days so that on top of my stopped up system made me ill and throwing up with a fever for a day. dont make my mistake! Eat sensible until you move your bowels again.
You could do it on your own but it will suck, you just have to make it past that first week. You will have no energy to do anything, just a walk to the kitchen will exhaust you and you will want to take a nap, on your own it will seem scary but just know that gets better with every day. I highly recommend the walker bc its safer, you do not want to fall.
As far as boredom, Im a pretty busy guy so i was concerned with how i would handle this downtime mentally. Let me tell you Im at week 4 and Im loving it lol! Im spending lots of time learning guitar, Im reading books, binge watching netflix etc. I journal write alot so i spend an hour or two a day doing that and thinking about my future and goals and things i want to do etc. Have some type of thing you want to get better at like my guitar and time will pass, look at it as an opportunity to focus on things your busy life wouldnt allow before. I was dreading the time off now I know i will actually miss it when its gone.
As far as the painkillers, I hated them, they made me feel like a zombie and I didnt want to do anything but sit there. I recommend getting off them as soon as you can manage. Also when i came off them i had cold sweats and felt sick, this was days after my naseau problem from the eating so im not sure if it was from stopping cold turkey on the painkillers or just my system getting back to normal. My appetite didnt return until 1 week after the surgery.
Driving....I was told not to drive for 6 weeks, I can see why bc your ability to lift your leg and switch pedals is severely compromised if you can even do it at all. Buuuuuut, if you use both feet it really isnt an issue, your ability to push the pedal is good with those muscles. I drove at week 2 although I probably shouldnt have. I had to get a prescription so i kept the trip very short with no traffic. Ultimately i would drive as little as possible but sitting here at week 4 I feel like my driving is completely normal.
Thats about all I can think of but good luck, i hope you arent on the slow recovery, that will change things, you would have to get some outside help or pay someone to come in I would think.
Also as far as crutches I just got done walking .5 mile with no crutches and 1.5 on crutches so by week 6 im hoping to be off crutches completely but we will see.