I took baths beginning the first day of surgery. I sit on the side of the tub, swing my good foot into the tub, sit down and prop the surgical leg on the side of the tub. I put a folded towel on the side of the tub, and sit on that to dry when I'm done. It's worked good for me. The shor head also converts to a hand held shower, which I think is a must have. Makes hair washing easy. If that doesn't work for you, you can buy no rinse shampoo caps. It looks just like a shower cap, the inside is terry cloth which is saturated with no rinse shampoo. You put the cap in the microwave for a minute, which warms the liquid. Put the cap on just like a reg shower cap, all your hair tucked in. Massage your entire scalp for a few minutes. Remove the cap and throw away. No rinsing needed,,,just style your hair as usual. Your hair feels just like it had been washed, and smells great. In my area, these are available at Walgreens and medical supply stores. I also have slipper socks, with no skid bottoms, that are wide enough to fit over my cast. Keeps the toes warm! Good luck!
As long as the foot does not get wet what is the reason for no bathing? My bathtub is upstairs (shower on 1st fl) and if I can get up the stairs I may be able to get into the tub. Has anyone had to deal with stairs?
My bath is upstairs(so i would have to use stairs), i use the living room my first two weeks of surgery to avoid them. I have no idea why I'm not allowed too, he once said because there a risk of falling or getting the foot wet so its just easier to tell people not too, but, even if I was I wouldn't be able to make it up the stairs plus I'm only in a splint with gaze and an ace bandage. I would be worried about getting it wet.
Dill, I've been using the upstairs bathroom, as the downstairs master bathroom's tub is a jetted tub, too deep for me to be able to use right now. I scoot up the stairs on my knees, using my good foot as the scoot. I can also sit, use my arms and good leg to propel upstairs. My hubby can help me, if needed, but I also can move my crutches one step at a time. I scoot downstairs on my butt. It's not graceful looking, but works for me. I've been bathing since surgery day, with my bad leg propped on the tub edge. To ensure I don't get it wet, I had a bath towel on bath edge. I have a large loft upstairs with sofas, recliner, tv stereo, etc, and bedrooms upstairs, so for the first week, once I got upstairs the first time, I didn't go back down till the second week. Hubby brought me everything else I needed/wanted. I'm very independent and had to figure out some way to be able to bathe everyday. It's worked for me,,,,,,,good luck!!
On my hospital discharge papers they had on there no bath/shower for 10 days. Only sponge bath. I of course did not follow that. I'm the type of person who is crabby until my shower! So I made sure I had everything set out that I would need before hand. Even when I had the bulky splint I bathed. I bought a cast cover, and then was able to sit on the side of the tub, and lower myself in, keeping my leg elevated on the side of the tub. It's also extremely useful to have a handheld shower head, so I am able to "shower" sitting down. Then I dry my top half, get up sitting on the edge of the tub and finish drying.
I'd go totally crazy not getting a real bath for that long!
Good luck!
Erin
__________________ 10/2001 Left kneecap tightened and LR
06/2003 Modified Brostrom on right ankle
10/2012 Biopsies under general
12/2012 Arthroscopy, impingement removed with Brostrom-Evans procedure
Handheld shower made bathing so much easier. Bathing and getting dressed every day just made me feel better and did wonders for my morale. It was painful to have the foot down getting back and forth to bathe, but once I was done, I was back to elevating the foot.
The Following User Says Thank You to Btrfli1 For This Useful Post: ddill (01-12-2013)
I was able to bathe immediately as long as I didn't get it wet. I sit in a shower chair and rest my foot on the back side of the tub. My tub is clawfoot so theres plenty of room to do that.
Hand held shower head is a must in my opinion. Only about $35...well worth it. I am almost 4 months out and still have to sit in the shower. Couldn't get by without it. If you order stuff online (using the big time online service), they have a one month trial period for their expedited shipping service and returns are a breeze. I wound up keeping the service for the whole year. Got my scooter and loads of stuff shipped for free. They also have a ton of movies and TV shows that you can watch for free with the subscription. Good luck! Make lots of lists. It will keep you organized and give you a sense of accomplishment when you can cross things off.
Stairs you can manage on your tush until you feel comfortable. I was very apprehensive about them, but it was mostly in my head. Once you get the big splint off everything is easier.
Ginger
The only stairs I had to use in the first two weeks were the ones in front of my place and then going down them when I went to get my splint off. I am very nervous about the stairs because for the first 4 days I'm very dizzy and off blance...so I tend to avoid them for the first two weeks but, I can cause I just use the family room. Do you have to use the steps? Or can they be avoided like mine?
Yes, shower chair and hand held shower are life savers for sure.
I also have 4 stairs into my house. I can manage them fine on crutches. They make me nervous, but I can do it. It took me a while to get the hang of putting the crutches down first when I go down and good foot up first when I go up, and, once I figured out you need to hold your surgery foot in front of you when going down to keep your balance right (at least I do). Once I got the hang of that, it's not so bad now. Don't get me wrong though - can't wait to be done with it!
When we came home from the hospital, I was still groggy from anesthesia, had never used crutches before, and had the big ole splint on my foot I wasn't used to yet, not to mention it was numb. Had to figure out how to get up the 4 stairs. I was terrified to try it on crutches, since the most practice I'd had was the 10 feet from the car to the stairs. Decided to sit down and scoot up the way the nurse told me to do. So all awkwardly I go scooting up the stairs. I was a sweaty mess because I was so tired and just pushing myself up 4 steps was exhausting. Get to the porch and realize I have NO Idea how to stand up. My husband lifts me up from behind, gets me steady on the crutches. Turn around, and realize the UPS guy was delivering a package and witnessed the whole thing. I wanted to die...I can't imagine how silly I must have looked! He was so kind though, and I had many, many more packages delivered over the next two weeks in preparation for Christmas, he was so helpful leaving them in a place where he knew I could get them, and he'd just knock twice very lightly on my door to let me know he was leaving something since he knew I couldn't hobble over to the door very quickly.
When I do use the stairs I crawl up them and I scoot down on my butt. I have a pair I leave at the top of the stairs for when I reach and a pair at the bottom for when I come down. It helps that I have 3 pairs of crutches in my house. Thanks to my two surgeries and one from my brother when he hurt his knee, I can leave them in places like that.
I found it easiest if you have a railing to use the railing on that side and crutch with the other. If not just make sure someone is behind you and in front of you just in case you're dizzy. I was very dizzy and had to put a chair half way to my porch which was only about ten feet away. Another option is going up the stairs on your butt or knees.
Thank you for all your suggestions on showers and stairs. I like the idea of having another set of crutches at the opposite end of the stairs.
To NCgirl - thanks for your humorous story. I'm thinking many of us probably have similar situations in which we need to modify our methods and someday we can look back on them for a good laugh.
I still have 19 days (18 1/2) before surgery and think I have everything as ready as I can get it so I am anxious for this time to fly by. Which is worse--waiting or the surgery?
You know, I have to say, when I woke up in the recovery room and saw the huge splint on my foot and knew the surgery was all over, I felt a huge relief. Even though I knew I had a long road ahead with recovery, just getting the actual surgery over was HUGE for me.
Yeah, I think the waiting is getting to me. I have almost everything done (still need to get my mammo next Monday) and the waiting is awful. By the time the surgery gets here I will need a good cry just to release some tension.
The waiting is the worst cause you keep thinking about it. Its okay at first cause you have things to get but then you run out of things to do. Atleast this time I plan to work till two days before my surgery, so I will have something to keep me busy. You need a mammo? Maybe cause I'm only going to be 20 I don't need one.
