Nervous about injury...

[jennybebopper]

I am almost 3 weeks out from donation and doing great.  I am looking forward to returning to work, but trying to figure out how to best prepare for the transition back.  I work 12-hour shifts in an ICU, so lots of twisting, pulling with significant weight.  I am taking the full 6 weeks off recommended by my transplant center, and have age and good baseline health in my favor.  I've been trying to stretch daily, lots of walks and even made it back on the elliptical yesterday.  Anyone have tips on other good prep?  Most of the strain in my job involves core strength, so I'd like to try to do something with abs, chest, back (within the 10lb limit they gave me) in these few weeks but don't know how safe this is.  Experiences, anyone?

[theburts26]

Hi Jenny,

Thank you for sharing your experience, my husband is donating on March 28th, so we will definitely be following your progress. He works in a pretty physically demanding job that involves lifting 50+ lbs pretty regularly and lots of running around, they are estimating 6-8 weeks for his recovery. Please let us know if you find an exercise that helps you; most recent donors have suggested lots and lots of walking! If you are interested we would love for you to become a member on our website and share your journey before, during, and after on our forum. We are trying to connect donors and recipients, so that we can promote living donation and an active discussion board of support.

Best wishes!!

[Orchidlady]

Jenny, I can give you the schedule that the surgeon gave me, which might give you at least an indication of a timeline. You should probably check with your own surgeon or doctor, but this might give you a starting point to talk.
At 50, I did not have the benefit of age, but my husband and I are both avid weightlifters & gym goers, and I wanted to have an idea of when I could get back to the gym, along with how to construct a schedule of weight limits.

At the 2 week check back, the surgeon and I  spent some time going over what I had been doing and his schedule was: No more than 10 pounds for 6 weeks. No more than 30 pounds from 6 weeks to 12 weeks. Increase gradually thereafter as tolerated. No abdominal exercises or heavy lifting until the 6 months mark. He said it wasn't a big deal if I didn't follow it - just meant the possiblity of a hernia and more surgery. No thank you! He was pretty much right on the money with his timing.

 
What really helped was that I had a phenomenal, experienced trainer I had worked with (and still do), that had some experience in both preparation for surgery and recovery from surgery. Once I was back in the gym, I would work with him a couple days a week, as he was able to come up with various things that I could do within my restrictions. He was a big believer in core work, and was able to show me a number of different things that would help my core, yet not traumatize or pull on that still-tender ab area.  If you work in healthcare, see if you can get a good physical therapist to work with you for a few weeks. I am willing to bet they could do the same thing - show you ways to strengthen your core without pulling on the incision area.

Good luck, and glad to hear you are feeling good!