First Post: Saying Hello and a question...Having VSG, but live alone

First off, hello everyone.  This is a great forum with lot's of great information and support here!

I am close to getting approval for a VSG and I have one issue I haven't read about, although I haven't done a lot of searching on the topic, I live alone and don't have anyone who can care for me after the surgery. 

I have good insurance and was wondering if anyone else had gone through the VSG with limited help, or hired home health care.  I have an adult son who lives in another state but, he's a young man, and I suspect caring for me, his mom, will be too personal. 

Other than my son, I really don't have anyone I can ask.  All my girlfriends work and my folks are elderly and live out of state. 

Has anyone faced this issue?

Thanks again,Blue_Bayou

Welcome!  The only "care" I needed after surgery was a ride home from the hospital.  

I liked having someone around in case I needed a ride to the hospital (I didn't) and someone to fetch me things like french onion soup from Panera (which I strained).  I think those are probably tasks your son could easily handle!  

My sister is assisting an elderly lady short term while she recovers.  Maybe post a help wanted ad?  You do not need any specialized care at all- just a ride home and maybe someone to fetch a few things here and there.  You actually could do your own fetching, so really it would be more to just have another presence in the house to make sure all is smooth sailing.  Anyway, it seems like that may be a whole lot cheaper than a home health aid?

I was in the same situation.  I had a brother and sister-in-law fly in for the surgery itself, but it was really more in the event of emergency and to drive me to and from the hospital.  They left the day after and I was fine taking care of myself.  I drove myself to the follow-up 5 days after surgery.  The thing is, you hope for the best, but prepare for the worse.  Have someone there - friend or relative - for the "worse," but the most likely situation is that you won't really need them for more than the day of.  I thought about getting home health care, but it would have been serious overkill.  But there's nothing wrong with getting the info and getting someone lined up in case you need them.

While it is nice, I really did not need anyone to take care of me during recovery, in fact I loved it when my family was not around.  You will need someone to drive you if you are still on pain killers.  You will be sore and you need to move slow but I don't know if you will get your monies worth out of hiring someone to come in and care for you.  Everyone is different.  If you are the type of person who needs help now when you get sick then you will need someone after surgery but if you take care of yourself now when you are sick then you can probably do just fine by yourself.  You could call around and see what it would take to have someone on call during that time just in case.

you will likely be very tired, sore, and grumpy after surgery.  I live with my husband but during my recovery he went to work so I was alone most of the day.  Never had any trouble until my hubby would come home and make himself something for dinner and my mouth would salivate and I would get SUPER grumpy that I couldn't eat.  Just try to be prepared and have everything you will need post op handy in your house so you don't have to drive/go anywhere for a little while.  Good luck!

I would bet most people didn't have 'help' of any sort. At the time I was 52, I drove myself to and from (lucky because it's 15 miles away). Never took any pain pills. Truthfully my abdomen felt like I'd done a zillion curl ups, sore but nothing drastic or tragic. I only wished that I'd taken a pillow with me to hold against my tummy driving home. My elderly mom lived with me and other than her peeking on me, I didn't have any 'help'. But I'm also one of those people who prefers being alone when sick anyway. I planned all laundry and dishes and shopping things to be done before so I had nothing to 'do' but sleep and rest for 4 days. I had surgery on a Thursday as I recall, drove home in about 20 hours Friday. Went back to work on Monday, full time. Just didn't live anything for a month that I couldn't lift without just using my arms. Yes, I was tired, but that's the only thing I noticed. I don't think I'm one of the lucky ones, I think I'm one of the average ones. I wouldn't even call it 'pain'. Just inconvenient in that you feel (and you are) so bloated from the gas that you feel like you're spillin your guts out for a few days. It's uncomfortable, but for me not painful! My knee surgery was WAYYYY worse and it was arthoscopic too. I suspect you can handle this by yourself. Worse comes to worst you call 911? You need to be up and around anyway, no matter if there's no nurses to bug you to do it. You'll be fine.

You're amazing LisaJ! I'm 53 so I really appreciated your input.

I live alone and it is not an issue. My best friend got me in a cab and made sure I got home, but otherwise, I was alone. and loved it.

but I think it's a lot of personal preference. Post VSG, your goals are to rest, sip, and walk. So I would sleep, sip on protein shakes, and take slow laps around the apartment (and then around the block with the dog as I felt better a few days later). Having someone around to watch me do that would have driven me crazy!

I'm sure your girlfriends would be willing to check in after work to see if you need anything, but just prep before surgery and you'll be fine!

Wow you guys, there are so many really self sufficient women on here it's really inspiring.  I feel so much better after hearing your stories, I can't tell you what a relief it is to know this is doable. 

Thank you for all the quick responses!

Chris D.