From a personal perspective being NEARLY bedridden for 8 months with pregnancy and then finally recovering after the birth ( yay for extreme pregnancy nausea), I lost muscle mass, even being minimally active.
Once I had the kid and the nausea died off, I was really weak. Easily dizzy being upright. Easily fatigued. It does diminish day by day but it's been 5 months and I'm just getting back to what would be considered normal ( legs still weak esp stairs and bending/squatting lifting) mobility is still a bit off. If she's getting physical therapy she might recover faster? It also might depend on their previous fitness level too.
Check exactly what you mean by "bed-ridden". Unable to stand, sure. Could she sit? Roll over, still lying down? Wiggle toes? Move arms? Use fingers to (say) turn the pages on a Kindle, while not having the strength to lift a paperback? I've been told that the fact that I was wiggling my toes as much as I could made a huge difference to my recovery time after several weeks unable to stand, and the use I was making of my arms to move around in bed left them stronger than they were before, not weaker.
I've had this twice, once with chicken pox and once after coeliac. Even with the huge energy boost of diet change post coeliac it was a year before my muscles really recovered, and my "wind" never did even with weightlifting. Chickenpox took two years to get over fully.
Here's a nasty little consequence you may not have thought of - if she was immobilised to the point of being fitted with a catheter, it takes time to regain bladder control once it's removed :( I'm not sure how long, but having shared a ward with a lady who was undergoing this, "some".
I was bedridden and very ill for about 4 weeks and had to go into rehab just to be able to walk again. I was in my late 40s then though so that made a difference and had several surgeries as well. I'd still say she'd probably have to undergo some physical therapy for a bit.
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Once I had the kid and the nausea died off, I was really weak. Easily dizzy being upright. Easily fatigued. It does diminish day by day but it's been 5 months and I'm just getting back to what would be considered normal ( legs still weak esp stairs and bending/squatting lifting) mobility is still a bit off. If she's getting physical therapy she might recover faster? It also might depend on their previous fitness level too.
2 months bedridden completely, I'd estimate 4-6 weeks?
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