After 5 major surgeries in the last 7 years, I have discovered My Best Tips for Surgery Recovery.
On May 10th, 2022, I had a full shoulder replacement at the ripe ol’ age of 37. Before that, I had 2 full knee replacements and 2 rotator cuff surgeries.
(Gotta say, the soft tissue recovery of a rotator cuff is way worse than a knee replacement, and these first 2 weeks of shoulder replacement surgery, by far.)
I have my RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis) to thank for getting me into all these surgeries and my wonderful husband, Mr. Bean, for getting me through all of them.
Having a strong support system of family and friends has gotten me through some sucky recovery times, but I have come out stronger every time! (Maybe not so much stronger muscles, but abilities, emotions, and mental. Check out my article on Loving My Future Self)
With all this recovery experience, I’ve given aunties and uncles tips and tricks for their own surgery recoveries that they have found very useful. So, my mom suggested I write a blog post to help others recover from their own surgeries as quickly as possible.
Here are some of My Best Tips for Surgery Recovery:
Before Surgery
- Discuss any medications you will have to take after surgery with your doctor and see if they will let you fill the Rx beforehand. It is no fun waiting at a pharmacy for pain meds when you’re post-surgery and in pain.
- Get access to a shower chair. Borrow one from someone else who had surgery or invest in one. (You can get a simple one for under $40 and can use FSA funds) Especially, if the surgery is below the waist, but even if it’s a shoulder. When you’re in pain or drugged up, being able to sit in the shower is so much easier and safer. (My uncle dislocated his brand new hip replacement post-surgery getting in the shower! It’s not fun to have to go under the knife twice in one week.)
- Get a recliner or slanted sleeping position if it’s shoulder surgery. After shoulder surgery, you will not be able to lay flat on your back or side for weeks. If you have a non-rocking recliner, plan to sleep in it for a while. Or, get a wedge pillow or backrest pillow. I used something like this and added pillows where necessary for support.
- Plan to have someone help you. From daily bandage changing, food preparation, bathing, and dressing, you will need help caring for yourself. If you live with a spouse, have them try to schedule time off, at least for the week after you come home. Or if you live alone, try to arrange for someone to stay with you or you with them. If you have young kids at home, plan be useless for a while, at least 3 weeks. Schedule all the help you’ll need.
- Stock your kitchen with healthy, easy-to-digest foods. Vegetable soups, frozen fruits, and greens for smoothies (we love our blender). Pain meds make you nauseous and slow down your digestive system. Constipation can become a real problem, try to prevent it by eating healthy both before and after surgery. (Reduce Inflammation)
- Call the hospital nutrition/dietary department to let them know if you follow a specific diet.
- Our local hospital does not normally offer plant-based diets, but by simply calling a week ahead of surgery, they were able to build custom menus for me during my hospital stay.
- Stock up on bandages/gauze, tape, and iodine. Most hospitals will send you on your way with a few days’ worth of wound care supplies, but you’ll almost always need more.
- Ask your surgeon about how big your incision will be and get gauze pads large enough to cover it.
- Decide what medical tape works for you. I realized paper tape gives me rashes so I stock up on plastic tape.
- Iodine has been every one of my surgeon’s preferred cleaning method for daily bandage changing.
- Get all your What-If paperwork handled- wills, medical directives, password sharing with your spouse.
- Most likely, everything will go off without a hitch and you’ll be back home napping soon after surgery, but just for that 1 in a million chance, I always make sure everything is up to date. (I update my what-if paperwork annually anyways but pre-surgery, I just double check if I haven’t updated things yet that year)
After Surgery
- Get yourself on a regular pain medication schedule – when first out of surgery, you are usually doped up on some leftover anesthesia. When that wears off, it is important to get your pain pills on a regular schedule.
- I am usually given Prednisone which lasts about 4 hours when the pain is bad. It has worked best for me (whether in the hospital or at home) to be woken up every 4 hours to take pain killers for the first 2-3 days.
- Many people try though it out and go as long as possible without taking anything, but in those first few days, it is important to keep pain under control so you can sleep and heal.
- After a few days, you should be able to start spacing your pain pills out to only when you need them.
- After 2 weeks, some ibuprofen, on occasion, is usually all I need.
- Prepare to be constipated. Anesthesia and pain killers will get you every time. Make sure to take your stool softeners and drink a lot of water. Eat lots of fruits and veggies, if your doctor says it’s okay, and avoid processed bread items like white bread, pasta, and pizza. They will back you up worse.
- Be patient with yourself. Don’t be too proud to use an enema or suppository if it’s been days and you still can’t get things going. You will be so relieved once you do.
- Ice is your friend – Whether you like to use an actual ice bag or a cold compress, like this one, keep a constant supply of cold on your injury. It will keep swelling down and ease the pain.
- Shower, but keep the area dry– the first shower after surgery is magical! But you must make sure to keep the area dry. Some doctors suggest using saran wrap but we found that to be difficult to get the wrap tight enough and angled correctly to actually stay dry. We found these awesome cover patches that work great to go over the bandage. They are a little bit on the spendy side but we have found them to be worth it. Another option is taping a garbage bag over the wound so water can just drip over it.
- If possible, change tape positions daily– for both of my knees, we completely surrounded the bandage with tape to keep it clean, but after multiple days of ripping that tape off the same spot every night, I was beginning to get sores that were more painful than the actual wound! If possible, rotate tape positions daily so that the same skin is not being ripped of tape every day.
- Tank tops are ideal for shoulder surgeries- When you have shoulder surgery, it is hard to get shirts on over your head. I have found that a loose tank top that you can put on from the bottom and wiggle over your hips and up, works the best.
- Stretch and massage- While laying in bed for days recovering, the rest of your body can become super stiff. Make sure to stretch, even just neck rolls, throughout the day. And even better if a loving helper can throw in some massage.
Move or don’t move, do what your doctor says!
Doctor says Move, MOVE!
- After both knee replacements and my appendectomy, my doctors said to move to get the healing process going! It was sore and sucked, but you have to do it.
- Get up and walk around a few times a day. Have someone stand behind or next to you and get moving. Down the hall, up and down steps, whatever. Just don’t sit or lay down ALL day and get stiff. Even laying in bed, I’d slide my feet up and down to get moving.
Doctor says Don’t Move, DON’T MOVE!
- After both of my rotator cuff surgeries and shoulder replacement, the doctor sent me home in a sling and told me to not move my arm for 2+ weeks.
- Even the tiniest movement of the shoulder sent pain down my arm. Doc wasn’t kidding! Don’t move your shoulder for the first 2 weeks.
- BUT, after my first shoulder surgery, I took it too seriously and literally left my arm in the sling for 2 to 3 weeks. Only taking the sling off to shower. But because of that, I had a horrible frozen shoulder.
- For my second two shoulder surgeries, I realize that it is good 2 to 3 times a day to prop the shoulder on pillows so that it stays in the same position but remove the sling for 5 to 10 minutes to straighten and bend my elbow. After two weeks, the doctor commonly suggests doing arm hangs and elephant swings to get the shoulder moving. Just be careful and do not overdo it.
Make sure to do your PT (Physical Therapy)
Physical therapy is such an important part of the recovery process after major surgery. Make sure you are following your doctor’s instructions and get physical therapy ASAP. It will make you tired and will potentially be sore but it is better than the outcome of going through surgery and not actually fixing the problem. Make your appointments and stick to them. And don’t forget to continue the exercises at home too.
A good physical therapist will be rather hands-on. They should not just give you some exercises and send you to do them on your own. Good PTs should be monitoring you and in the case of shoulder surgery, they should be moving your arm around and getting it going even before you can on your own.
If you do not feel comfortable with your physical therapist, find another one. Sometimes the first recommendation from your doctor is not the best fit for you. Call around. Get recommendations from friends. Make sure you find someone who’s a good fit and can help get you back in working order.
Prevent Rashes
During my first shoulder surgery recovery, I did as the doctor said and kept my arm in the sling for the full 2 to 3 weeks. The problem with keeping your arm immobile for so long is that the skin under your arm can start to form rashes. My rash got so bad that it went all the way down my side to my hip and even caused boils. Not fun when you’re recovering from surgery!
In order to prevent rashes after surgeries, I discovered it is good to keep a folded washrag underneath your armpit at all times. It creates a barrier for the skin and absorbs any bacteria that may form. Change out the rag every night after showering and dressing changes. I have had no problems in the last two surgeries!
Wrap-Up
I hope some of these tips and tricks will help someone else recover faster or at least be more comfortable.
Please be kind, I wrote this article one-handed, but with minimal pain meds in my system. I will continue to add to it as new tips come to mind.
Best wishes to all!
*Please remember, I am not a doctor. These are just tips I have learned through my own experience. Everyone is different. Please listen to your doctor.
Do you have any surgery recovery tips? Or just general surgery tales? Drop a comment below.