Driving Post Op

[LowTofu]

We were told to practice the emergency stop before driving and to call our insurance to get the all clear. I don't remember them giving us a timeframe. By day 9, I was crawling up the walls inside and really wanted some normalcy, so I checked my emergency stop but gave calling the insurance a miss (bad, I know). I found driving fine.

 

[Nearly there-1]

I had my By-Pass on Monday and drove home on Wednesday. No pain or problems. After my sleeve I was driving after 10 days. It depends on how you feel. As long as you can turn and twist without pain and do an emergency stop without a problem it should be fine.
Be guided by how you feel and have a little trial before going far.
If on doubt check with your surgeon and insurance company. We are all individuals and feel different levels of pain after an operation.

 

[SAM55]

I started again at 2 weeks - just a mile down the road and steering was a bit painful. I did practice what an emergency stop felt like - this is the main insurance requirement. At 3 - 4 weeks I did a 120 mile round trip to meet my daughter who was emigrating to NZ to say goodbye. That was fine. It depends a lot on the type of roads you are driving on - I found motorways easier than country roads, and I am sure power steering helped.

Currently have been told with my knee op not to drive for 6 weeks because of insurance and it isn't a surgeon decision although my body apparently would cope with it sooner. If in doubt consult insurance company I think (as I will be doing in the next couple of weeks).