9 days and counting, ?? from my wife

Hi Marcus,
I sure am relieved there is no side trip to extend the trip home!

It was 275 miles from Mayo's to home, and it was March and very cold. I was medicated so I slept alot, and I was catheterized so there weren't any "emergency" pee stops as before. My Mom and husband made the trip with me. and it was not as bad as it may seem. It was a job to get me in and out of the car - we had had 2 big blizzards in the previous 2 weeks.
Yes we used the pillow trick too reclined seat too I just was not up to anything extra lol Bless you, Holly

Hello all you helpful folks! I think there might be a misunderstaning. Actually we're concerned about the long drive home from Tucson to southern Utah (at least 7 hours) so we thought we'd stop in Flagstaff (on the way) to break up the trip. Have any of you had to travel this far by car after surgery? Any suggestions? If Marcus feels up to it we can drive the whole way. Guess we'll see. It sounds like the front seat, reclined with a pillow, will be the way we work it. Sure wish we lived closer to a hospital or even an airport with (more) direct service. Page/Lake Powell is quite remote...but beautiful!

i'm getting the indiana pouch, and i'm 58, going to stay in tucson for another week to 10 days before coming home. the idea about flagstaff is that we stop on the way home to our house in s. utah. it's a 7-8 hr drive all the way home and we have friends to stay with in flag and then we would drive the next three hours the following day. i'm not going to lay in the back of my truck, just the back seat of the crew cab. also, the front seat does recline a bunch.
still could use some ideas on pain meds other than hydrocodine,
as always, thanks for invaluable info. we love this site.
marcus

There is NO WAY I could have enjoyed any side trips on the way home from a cystectomy and reconstructive surgery. I was in a great deal of pain for some days. I am sure that everyone is different, but I don't know any instances where someone felt like pleasure travel in the first weeks.

Zach...the Indiana is the same as the neo...same amount of intestine cut ..just put in a different location. I couldn't stand up straight for a week and was very weak and tired. I had lost quite a bit of weight and with that goes muscle tone..i relied on my husbands support to walk as i was like a 1 yr old just starting to walk...its crazy...but it just takes a while to regain your strength and tone. I also had a long drive home but we stayed near the hospital for a week after dismissal for a visiting nurse to make sure i was doing everything right and was comfortable with everything and in case something unexpected came up (which it did) i was right there on hospital grounds in one of their hotels. I also took my own pillow and had it in the car for the trip home like Holly..it was a good buffer for the bumps. There was no way i could wear pants with 2 J tubes sticking out of my belly to collect fluids and the larger tube coming out of my side while my bladder healed.
I really didn't need anything but Tylenol after my discharge but everyone is different. I'm sure they can find something you can take if you need it.
Everyone recovers differently from this surgery but if there's anyone out there who was running a mile a week after surgery let me know!
Best of luck with your surgery........Pat

No, it's just that I can't speak first-hand about recovering from the Indiana pouch. I know for a fact that I hardly survived the ride home. If Peggy is reading your experience--which doesn't sound too different from mine--I hope she is reconsidering any side-trips.