walking post op?

I also put this on my state forum but I tihnk I should have put it here to get more responses. So I'm reading a lot of posts from folks who are in the first week or three post op. The advice from others is always sip, sip, sip, walk, walk, walk. I got the sip part but was wondering how much walking. I mean, did y'all just walk around the house for a few days and then just up and down the street? Or did you go outside to walk all the time. How far do you/are you able to walk? Thanks,
Maggie
(one week pre-op, yippeeeee)

The night of my surgery, I got up at 2 a.m. and walked the hospital floor, and did that again at 4 a.m.  The day after surgery, I could not be kept still!  I walked almost every hour at least...

I went home the day after surgery, in the evening.  I stayed in that night, and the next day.  I think I walked to check my mail.  Then, the 3rd day, I walked until I got tired and came back.  Maybe a full city block (but just around my apartment complex).  The  4th day, I got on the train and went up to the grocery store and walked to and from the train stop, through the grocery store, and back.  After that, it was just the normal amount of walking for me...because I take public transportation, I walk a lot.  I never "measured" how much I was walking.  I'd say I was walking at least 20 minutes, 2-3 times a day, though, until I was released for cardio in the gym.

When I was in the hospital i walked for 15 minutes every 3 hours, I even woke up at 3 am to walk. But lets face it your not sleeping that much in there anyway. lol! Now I walk up and down the street for about 15-20 mintues. I don't hurt nearly as much as I thought I would!! I thought I would be down and out and miserable all the time, and that is not the case at all!! My surgery was just on Monday so, I walk then take a nap, walk then take a nap.  Good luck on the surgery!!

I was pretty miserable post-op, in the hospital, and I walked because it was all I could do to feel like I was doing something. (Laying in bed feeling miserable is worse than feeling miserable while doing something else, you know?) In the hospital I did 2-3 laps around the floor every 3 or 4 hours.

When I got home I actually walked less during the first day or two, just around my apartment. Then I started walking around the complex, then the fourth day home I walked to work. It's about three blocks, and I had to stop and rest on a bench on the way there.

But I think the walking in the hospital was really the most important, in my case. I pooped a couple of times while still there - scary, black, sediment-looking poop that the nurse assured me was leftover old blood from the surgery, and perfectly ok. But things were moving, and that's the point.  The whole floor is for WLS patients, and they have signs along the walls making light of passing gas as you walk. Going past the nurse's station is like having a cheering section.
("Have you farted? All RIGHT!")

i can say i was in john hopkins in baltimore md when i had surgery and they had me outta bed about 2 to 3 hours after surgery and down the hall i went and from that point i walked all the time.  i was souped up on pain meds and walking laps around the halls, loving life.... loving my new life.  I do remember other people who wouldnt get up , actually refused and they were in the hosp way longer than i was.  I wasnt having it, hahahah, i wanted to go home.  So the moral to all this is..... You make it what it is, if you feel like you can do it , go for it, i mean dont try to walk a marathon yet, but i believe the more you get around the quicker your body and mind heal. 

Thanks folks! The thing that scares me the most about the surgery is the amount of exercise I'll need to do afterward. This walking thing is now in proportion for me.
Did any of you have trouble using stairs? Everything except my kitchen and the door to the outside is on the 2nd floor of my house.
Maggie

My apartment is upstairs.  My work is upstairs.  So, I've been doing it!  It has gotten much easier now.

You are still pre-op according to your profile?  Are you walking now?

I have said this numerous times: walk NOW!  Do it as much and as often as you can.  I believe it is the number one reason I had such an easy recovery; because I was very active in spite of my weight!  You still have a week or so before surgery...so get out and do some walking now!

Good luck to you!

My surgeon had his patients walk in the hospital just hours after surgery and we're to continue walking after that. He expects us to be doing  1 mile a day after week one and 2 miles a day
after week 2 and to continue that every day and increase it as much as we can. It makes a huge difference in how we feel post op, helps with oxigination of our cells, gets rid of anesthesia in our systems and gets the muscles toned under the skin. It's great low impact exercise.
I walk outside, some walk at the mall, at the gym or in their houses. You can walk anywhere. Some walk indoors as they have to deal with outside inclimate weather.
Jen 9+ yrs post op

 I think the simple answer to your question is to walk as much as you can and feel comfortable with.  You will need to walk, walk, walk to release the gas from your stomach after surgery. The more you walk the better you will feel.

You're getting a lot of great answers, but the most I can say is that you will heal faster and feel better if you incorporate some walking into your day. Luckily, I live in an urban area and don't have the luxury of driving around, so I have to walk anyway. I am 10 days post op and walked 1/2 a mile this morning and will do another 1/2 mile this afternoon while I do my errands. I'm not fast, that's for sure, but I'm getting steady.
Make sure you have a good pair of shoes (maybe ones you can slip on for now, as tying sneakers might be hard) and just go out. I got myself a pair of FitFlops so it doesn't even "look" like I am getting exercise, but they are SUPER comfortable.