Two Weeks Post Surgery - Question re: Walking

[shelby]

I know the importance of walking, my question is how much? How may times per day? What distance or length of time is recommended?

[Dora76]

Hi Shelby.  Congratulations on the surgery!  I'm celebrating my one-year donor anniversary on November 1, so I've been reflecting on my experience lately, which is how I came across this forum.  To your question--I don't think there's a specific "recommended" amount of walking.  Within the first few weeks of my surgery I tried to walk as much as I could, especially when I started feeling better.  By the time I was 2 weeks out, I tried to walk for 20-30 minutes a day and I just kept increasing it until I felt I needed to rest.  It really helped me feel better and gave me a goal.  Good luck to you and your recipient.

[lawphi]

The more you walk, the better you feel.  Walking helps with any remaining CO2 pain.  I was walking a mile a day after a week.  There is no magic figure, but you will get sore if you sit too long.

[Orchidlady]

We were told that as soon as we got home we should start walking. One of the benefits, while you may not realize it, is that is requires use of your abdominal muscles. They said it would help gently exercise those traumatized core muscles for both of us and get them back in order and working the way they should. Our second day home, we took a walk in the morning and afternoon. It was a very short walk - just around the little court in which we live. We must have been a sight! One of us used a cane and the other a walking stick just for a little support. I am sure we looked like some teetering old couple out there! What we did was to, each day, modestly increase the distance. Listen to your body - you will know what is not enough or too much. I remember that we both commented that just the act of getting out of the house and walking, even if just a block, made us feel better.

[Snoopy]

  Well, thanks to this thread I was inspired to take a long walk to the bank and back today.  Nobody really told me anything about walking (or, in fact, much of anything else) when I left the hospital (though they did encourage me to walk up and down the halls post-surgery, in the period when I was still unable to stand up straight).
  Really, it wouldn't even have occurred to me to walk more than to the corner.  But, after reading about everybody's long walks after the hospital, I decided to see what I could do.  It went pretty well (probably about 1-1/2 miles), although now I'm TIRED.
   Fair enough.  If I'm going to go back to work next week, I might as well start moving.
     Thanks for you all giving me the idea, Snoopy

[shelby]

Hey Snoopy,

Totally agree with you! My walks were pretty lame  until I got the answers to my question and found out I needed to pick up the pace. I am now doing about 2 one mile walks a day at 2.5 weeks post surgery and feel way better for it. Thanks to everyone for sharing your experience.

Good luck to you returning to work next week. I have a desk job but can work from home mostly and am happy about that. I think it is is far easier to work on my lap top in a recliner chair than attempt sitting at a desk for 8 hours - definitely not up to that yet.

Shelby

[Scott337]

As much as you can tolerate.  Moving gets many of your system functions working at optimum levels, speeds healing and endurance.  Just listen to your body and don't over do it if you feel your body isn't tolerating it - you'll know when you reach that.  Many of us have moved back into or have taken up running also during recuperation - very therapeutic.  I wish you well and a speedy recovery.

Scott   

[Aries7]

I walked as much as I was comfortable with. I started out just walking a short distance down the street and and then back home. From there, I was able to walk around the block and so on. Walk as much as you can, but don't push yourself. If you start to feel sore and/or tired, take a break and let yourself rest. Walking is very good for you, but do listen to your body and don't overdo it.

Best Wishes!

Linda

[Dora76]

Just wanted to share--reading this thread reminded me of how I should walk more!  I walked a lot post-surgery.  The ironic thing is when I started feeling significantly better I devoted less and less time to walking.  I work a 9-5pm as a staff member at a college, and there are some days where I'm sitting at my desk for hours.  A year out of surgery, sometimes I still feel like my abdominal muscles cramp up a bit, especially after I've been either sitting or standing for a very long time.  I was never good at exercising regularly, unlike many of the posters here.  But I've learned my lesson--I should walk as much as possible.  Thanks, all, for reminding me =)  And Snoopy, I hope the recovery is going well.