How exciting for you to have a surgery date that’s coming up very soon, @babsbr! Time to get that nasty thing out of your neck!!
You should be fine to walk up & down stairs after your surgery. You may feel a bit lightheaded so hang on to the bannister or have someone walk with you if you’re feeling unsteady on your feet & take it slowly. You can always stop to rest, too, if you need to.
In case you haven’t seen this post that @Jules wrote about ES surgery, here’s the link:
If you scroll down, you’ll find a section that talks about Recovery from surgery. The following section which is called Vascular ES post-surgery and Stenting which discusses recovery from those.
Here’s a suggested surgery shopping list which you can, of course, tweak to fit your dietary needs/desires:
The key things that will help you post op is to sleep w/ your head elevated up to 30º if possible (a wedge pillow is helpful with this), ice your neck for 15-20 min. every couple of hours w/ a thin cloth or towel between your skin & the ice pack to prevent ice burns, take your pain meds on schedule, including in the middle of the night. Get a stool softener/laxative to take daily if you opt to take opioid pain meds. Having your “plumbing” back up is miserable when your neck is sore. If your pain is too severe in the first week after surgery, request a tapering course of dexamethasone or prednisone from either Dr. C or your local doctor. It will help reduce swelling which in turn helps decrease pain.
I think that’s all I’ve got for now. I’m putting your surgery date on my calendar so I can pray for you on Monday. 