Things To Remember To Ask My Surgeron

Had my meeting with my surgeons nurse and the dietitian  the other day and some of the things they said must have went right over my head until I sat down to read the information packet today--if anyone thinks they know the answers please feel free to express an opinion ! "No drinking liquids 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after a meal"--OK, I totally get why no drinking 30 minutes after a meal--but why 30 minutes before??? "No use of recliners--if you tend to sleep in one because of breathing problems--please see nurse for suggestions of what to do" Good Lord my living room has a couch ( which I don't use--to low--bad knees and back) and 3 recliners !! What the heck am I suppose to sit on when I get out of the hospital????? I LOVE my recliners--they are high enough I can just back up and sit and getting up is not a problem--has anyone else been told no recliners??? I see the surgeon next Wednesday-finale meeting before surgery so if anyone can give some reasonable arguments against these two "rules" to throw at him I would appreciate it.

No use of recliners??? OMG I would have been in trouble.  I slept in mine and still do at times.  I couldn't sleep in my bed at all at first.  Too hard to get in and out of without help.  My recliner saved my life.  I too have a bad back and hips and getting off the couch is impossible.  I cannot tell you what to do, but I would definitely ask them why when you see him next Wednesday.  Our rules for drinking are no liquids 5 minutes before and no liquids 20 minutes after.  You would think with the surgery being the same with everyone as far as the procedure that there would be these such different protocols. 
Good Luck!  Jane

The no drinking before meals for 30 minutes is a common rule. However, since liquids tend to go right thru I know a lot of people (including myself) that drinks right up until time to eat. Even my surgeon has said it's ok to drink up until meal time. It's more important to not drink after your meal so you don't flush the food out of your pouch to quickly. As for not using a recliner I have no clue why that would be a rule! I was able to lay in my bed after surgery, but during the day when I was up, trust and believe I was sitting in the recliner!

We are doing the same things in preparation... i was not told about the recliners...not sure why that is a problem.

It is my guess that they don't want you spending excess time in the recliner to reduce the risk of blood clots. Just remember to get up and walk frequently. I was never told no recliner and never heard that one before.
I ended up sleeping propped up on my couch for 3 weeks - it just hurt to much to get in bed.

Thanks for the replies--I'm still going to ask for clarification when I see the doctor. I have a long history of edema and DVT's in my legs and was told to keep my legs elevated when I sat which is why we got the recliners to begin with !! Not to mention they are certainly comfortable when you just want to take a little nap-lol.

I too, am COMPLETELY mystified why if the surgical procedure is the same why pre-op and post op procedures aren't standardize !!