While you might have had a surgery before when you were younger, as you get older, the recovery from surgeries can be a bit different. So if you have some type of surgery scheduled, it could be worth it to think ahead about your recovery period to ensure that you’re able to get healthy and mobile again, regardless of whether you’re recovering at home or in an assisted living facility.
To help you see how this can be done, here are three tips for recovering from surgery as a senior citizen.
Build Up Your Physical Strength Beforehand
Before you head into surgery, the way that you prepare your body will have a big impact on how your recovery goes.
Ideally, you should try to get yourself as strong and healthy beforehand as you can. The more strength that your body has to pull from when you’re recovering, the sooner you’ll be able to recover and get back to yourself. Stronger muscles and organs will ensure that your body will be able to make up for the strength you might have lost during your surgery and the weeks that you’ll be recovering afterwards.
Set Up The Support You Need
Almost regardless of what kind of surgery you’re undergoing, you’re going to need to have someone there to help you take care of yourself and your household while you’re trying to get your strength back.
If you have friends or family in your area that you can call on, ask them to be there for you for at least the first few weeks. You can encourage them to create a schedule or communicate between each other so that you can have the help and support you need to allow you to heal and recover to the best of your ability. And if you don’t have people that you can ask to assist you, hiring some help can also be a great option.
Plan For Patience
While you might have recovered quickly and easily from surgeries in the past, now that you’re older, your body is likely to have a much harder time. So if you’re expecting to be up and about in just a few days, you might have another thing coming when reality sets in.
While you should try to heal up as quickly as you can, you should also be prepared to practice patience with yourself. Doing too much too soon can set your healing back. So while it can be hard to rest sometimes, overestimating how long it might take for you to be feeling better may be the best way to go.
If you’re a senior citizen who will be having surgery soon, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you learn how to best allow yourself to recover.
