Hi Jaki
Here the tale of my op, classic case of dont do what i done, listen to your body, you get one chance to recover dont mess it up.
Had laparoscopic hyster in may 13 aged 43, retained ovaries at that point, surgeon went in via belly button and i have two really tiny scars hidden if in a bikini. When i had my ovaries out a year later he went back in at the same points to minimise scarring. I was lucky pain wise after i left hospital both times i took paracetamol only once and that was it.
Recovery on the whole was okay ish but could have been shorter. I was in hospital 2 nts, one if which required a catheter overnight. I was told to keep mobile in discharge so got a stopwatch and every time i was up and about kept a running total of how long for. By day 5 post op i was 5hrs mobile got carried away decided to clean 2 toilets and wash basins despite everyone telling me not to. BIG MISTAKE. Ended up almost collapsing onto tiled floor had my husband not caught me, resulting in back to bed for two days and felt like starting again when i got up after that. Stopwatch was taken off me at that point.
Things progressed ok after i stopped trying to do too much. Mostly i just stayed at home and walked on my treadmil starting at a snails pace. Think cos my scars were almost at bith sides of groin this pulled more with leg movement as opposed to a horizontal scar. I found getting in and out of the car uncomfortable as its quite low and sporty.
I have had 4 gynae surgeries over the years and everytime my bowels rebel, so i would suggest before you go into hospital hve a good clear out as pain killers can make you constipated. Take a laxative when u get home for a couple of weeks, i ended up with piles which wasnt great. As well as a laxative have a supply of mebeverine (used for IBS) this relieved the pain that comes from trapped wind.
i drove the car at around 5 weeks as its automatic driving itself was ok. However as a passenger i swung round both legs together to get out of car, as a driver this went out of the window and i opened the door put one foot on ground one still inside the car and somehow twisted myself, searing pain. This was my own fault and wouldnt have happened if i had taken more care. Tip - legs together, swing out together.
Swelling took around 6wks to subside, my aunt had horizontal scar and wasnt as swollen as me cos with laparoscopic surgery they pump more gas into the abdomen as they have less room to manouvere.
I was off work 10wks in total could prob have gone back at 8wks on reduced duties but gp had already signed me off following the car incident so i just took the opportunity to recover properly. It was a lovely summer so i made the most of it in the garden with my daughter.
Hope i havent put you off, that certainly wasnt my intention, best thing i ever done and dont regret it. If you have any questions i would be happy to answer them.
Any idea when your op will be?
Linseyx
Author
Topic: Surgical menopause & I feel fine, HRT was making me feel awful! (Read 14319 times)