After your operation your body needs time to heal. However, during this recovery period it is important that you continue to be active and try to get moving again sooner rather than later.
Research has shown that there are lots of benefits to getting out of bed early and returning to normal activities.
Everybody’s recovery is different, but this booklet provides some information about what you can expect, and some targets for you to work towards after your operation.
Recovery begins before surgery
Recovery from surgery actually starts before your operation even begins. See the the Getting Fit for Surgery page which has more information about how you can prepare for surgery to improve your chances of a good recovery.
How will I feel?
During your recovery some days might go better than others.
Feeling sick
Feeling sick is not unusual after surgery, but there will always be anti-sickness medicine available. You should tell the nurses or doctors looking after you if you are feeling sick.
Tiredness
Recovering from surgery requires a lot of energy as your body heals. This will make you feel more tired than normal.
It is important to get enough good quality sleep at night to allow you to be active during the day. You may want to consider bringing an eye mask and ear plugs to help you sleep if you will be staying in hospital.
Pain
You may be worried that pain will stop you from moving, but there are a range of pain relief options to help you.
Although you may not be totally pain free, you should be able to do the mobility and breathing exercises. If it is too painful to do these you should tell the nurses or doctors looking after you so that they can help.
For more information see the pain management page.
The team looking after you
Getting going with your recovery after surgery may seem daunting, but we are here to support you through this process.
The staff at NHS Lothian work together to make your recovery go as smoothly as possible, but it all starts with you.
PLEASE NOTE
This website includes content taken from the Royal College of Anaesthetists’ (RCoA) leaflets ‘Fitter, Better, Sooner (2018)’, ‘You and your anaesthetic (2020)’, ‘Anaesthesia explained (2015)’, and ‘Common events and risks in anaesthesia(2019)’. However, The RCoA has not reviewed the website as a whole. Some of the RCoA infographics used on the website have been adapted for web viewing.
