Hi i have surgery Monday. Im having it done through the neck. Any must haves after surgery to make recovery easier? I will be staying one night in hospital. Also how long did your surgery take.
Here is the link to a list that seamom put together:
Your food tastes may differ so buy what fits in your diet. The main idea is that you’ll most likely want soft foods for a few days to a week after surgery & perhaps a bit longer depending on how sore your throat/neck/jaw are.
The most important thing is to closely follow your surgeon’s pain care instructions & stay on the pain meds for at least a week then on an as needed basis after that. Keeping your pain controlled in that first week is vital to more rapid healing. A lot of people (including me) worry about becoming addicted to pain meds but that doesn’t happen in one week or even two. I made the mistake of trying to wean mid-first week post op & paid dearly trying to play catch up when my pain flared & layed me flat out for 2 days which was discouraging.
If you have adult family members who can help w/ your needs post op, don’t feel guilty about leaning on them. You’ll appreciate being able to take it easy for the first couple of weeks post op.
I will pray for a successful surgery & easy recovery for you.
Thank you. I don’t know how much resting i can do with a one yr old. I will only have help for.2 days then its all.me. until my husband gets home. that’s what im nervous about the most.
Hi Magen7984,
I’m sending you a private email to continue this discussion.
Do you have a neighbor or friend who can step in to help w/ your one year old for a few days? You may be fine. I was pretty functional w/in a couple of days of my surgery. It was the pain med that threw me for a loop. You won’t want to be lifting your baby for probably at least the first week & maybe longer.
I’ve been in Wyoming for the last 2 weeks taking care of my 8 month old grandson. I know how busy these little tykes are!!
Yes your more then welcome to email me! I will be looking for message thanks
I hope that your surgery goes well! It does vary alot with sugery- with my first my neck was pretty stiff for several weeks, and I couldn’t open my mouth wise or chew, so I was on soft foods and smoothies for a couple of weeks (you and your baby can eat the same things!!), but the second surgery was loads easier and I was back to normal much quicker. I think the lifting of your little one is going to be tricky- as Isaiah says do you have any friends or neighbours who can help? Do you go to a Church at all, would they be able to help? In the UK we have a charity called Home-Start where volunteers can help out in situations like that, but not sure if there’s anything like that in the US?
If not then I guess you’ll have to just let things go at home for a couple of weeks, nap with your baby on a mattress on the floor maybe instead of lifting her into a cot if you can, let bath time go until your hubby gets home, make sure you stock up on easy foods so that you don’t have to go shopping…
As for how long surgery takes, mine was about 3 hours, and I was kept in overnight to have a drain in to ease swelling.
Best wishes, thinking of you! 
