I'd forgotten about the restrictions on lifting... and at the time I lived in a 3 story house, so the stairs were an issue. I tried to restrict myself to one floor whenever possible. The worst part was getting in/out of bed... my sons had grown and gone by that time, so I used one of their twin beds, and installed a bathtub handrail in the wall next to it. I kept a roll of plastic wrap in the bathroom, and when I couldn't stand it any longer, I wrapped my incision with plastic wrap and showered carefully. I didn't have any issue with my 1st BM, although I was scared of what it would involve. But there wasn't any issue. The only issue I had was that they'd taken me off the morphine before they took out my catheter... that is just WRONG. I felt... well, it was more painfull than anything else, and the discomfort from it lasted a long time afterwards. But, other than those little issues, it was a relatively easy experience. Now, my lapro surgery, totally different kettle of fish... my sides, ribs, wellll, everything... hurt for extended periods... and the gas pains... apparently they inflate your abdomen with inert hospital gas.. blow you up like a balloon so they can work inside the tent... and that is where the pain issues stem from. Though the incisions were minor... really tiny in comparison... mine leaked for weeks afterwards... I had to resort to covering the areas around the 5 little incisions with oversized feminine products... and what discharged out of those was... obnoxious.
Soooooo, if asked, (and mine is probably a biased opinion) I would recommend doing it the old fashioned way over lapro any day... because although the surgical scars are tiny, the pain and issues... well, it felt like the heavyweight champ had used my belly as a punching bag... and the drainage... I was convinced I had some secondary sort of infection going on.
The only issues I have today from those surgical ventures are... I'm... I guess ashamed is too strong a term... embarrassed ... very embarrassed.. by my surgical scars (I think I see it as a badge of my illness.. I'm no psychiatrist) AND the surgeons/surgery left my belly button too small. I don't know why they just don't cut it out completely and be done with it. Oh, and before I forget... for the 1st little while, try to avoid sneezing and laughter...