Can I climb stairs when recovering from small bowel resection?

[vfenston]

Just wondering if stair climbing is okay after a small bowel resection. My house is two stories and the bathroom is upstairs.

 

[cmack]

I'm not sure but I would be careful. Tagging ronroush7

 

[ronroush7]

I don't remember how long afterwards but I know that it was a while before I could climb steps again.

 

[emmaaaargh]

I had a small bowel resection and could climb stairs by the time I left the hospital (albeit much more slowly than usual and it took a lot of energy!). My advice would be to try not to go quickly - even if you think you're taking a ridiculous amount of time just to climb some stairs, take it one step at a time (rest on every step if you need to!) and be guided by your body. If anything's painful or out of the ordinary, stop and ask for some help.

 

[vfenston]

Emma, did you have open or laproscopic surgery?

 

[emmaaaargh]

I had laparoscopic surgery and I was pushed to maneuver myself out of bed the day I could hold consciousness (not the day of surgery thanks to an unfortunate drug mix-up, but as soon as possible after!). This made me MISERABLE and I hated every second of it but it really was vital to getting me moving around and discharged quickly.

 

[vfenston]

Thanks everyone for responding and for the info.

 

[mohanskin]

You must be careful.

 

[cmack]

Let your body be the guide. If it hurts too much either go slower or ask for help. Cheers!

 

[valleysangel92]

When I had my resection the physio therapists came to assess my mobility before I was discharged, and part of this was making sure I could safely get up and down the stairs to get up to my bedroom. If you have stairs in your house it's standard in the UK to make sure you're safe to climb them after any hospital stay. Obviously this might be different in other countries but I'm sure if you express your concerns to your doctor they would be able to arrange a similar assessment.