Upcoming hysterectomy 3/6: Will I be overresting?

When My doctor first told me about the LAVH which I will be getting in less than two weeks now, she said I would feel like resting for a few days and after that I will feel like I can do anything but I can't. Then she said at two weeks I can do anything except for sex which will be okayed at 6 weeks. She says that by two weeks I will be back to vacuuming my house etc. (yay) She said I should take two weeks off of work. Then I came on here and I am reading that I may not necessarily feel that way. I decided for myself that I would do nothing for two weeks besides resting and walking. But then I go onto other websites and they say this type of hysterectomy will require 1 or 2 weeks recovery which now gets me wondering if I am over planning my recovery time. Maybe I should just plan on resting for 1 week? I don't want to try and take advantage. What does everyone think? How much time did you plan to rest?

All I can say is take your time recovering. I initially took two,weeks for recovery. Before returning to work I had a scheduled dr appt. I wasn't able to,return to work as I was still swollen badly in the belly, feeling tired a lot, and a lot of back pain. You should really listen to your body and let it be the judge, as we all heal differently.

My advice is to see how you feel after you have your surgery..... regardless of what your doctor is predicting. And in answer to your subject line "Will I be overresting?" I don't think you can ever over rest after major surgery. Your body goes through a lot of trauma and therefore I feel it needs plenty of time to heal both physically and mentally.

Good luck on March 6th

Everyone is different. Every recovery is different. Two weeks was enough for me. It may not be for you. I say plan for a little more time then if you want to go back early, do it.

Although I had far more extensive surgery so from that aspect I can't compare how.long you will need to rest..I agree with others here who say you really need to wait and see how YOU feel. The way we heal is unique to our body - and is based on so many other factors: our age, general health, previous health conditions, present or chronic conditions, weight, heredity, diet, exercise level, complications from other surgeries....WHEW! The point is there is "no one size fits all" to recovery. In my own experience, no matter what I read, it couldn't have changed the fact that I was still tired and I needed to rest. I did not fit those guidelines that at 2 weeks you drive, 4 weeks you "fill in the blanks" - so I accepted that.

The thought of vacuuming at 2 weeks and sex at 6 weeks is not a definite fact or a "given" for many of us - so please don't automatically assume these dates are set in stone - you may feel great or you may still need more time to heal. I just don't want you to be disappointed if you are tired.

Just please try to relax and do not think in terms of "taking advantage"...you are NOT a slacker to need rest after major surgery.
So please be kind to yourself and plan on resting and getting well as long as it takes. We cannot rush recovery no matter how hard we try.. Please check out the link for an article on the length of recovery:

TRYING TO RUSH RECOVERY

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Originally Posted by Janman ...Maybe I should just plan on resting for 1 week? I don't want to try and take advantage. What does everyone think? How much time did you plan to rest?

What I think is that you should stop worrying about "taking advantage." Taking the amount of time you need to heal - however long that turns out to be - is not "taking advantage."

If your doc is saying two weeks for your recovery, I would plan on two weeks for now, with the understanding that you may need to revise that upwards once you get to a week and a half and see how things are going.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by Janman When My doctor first told me about the LAVH which I will be getting in less than two weeks now, she said I would feel like resting for a few days and after that I will feel like I can do anything but I can't. Then she said at two weeks I can do anything except for sex which will be okayed at 6 weeks. She says that by two weeks I will be back to vacuuming my house etc. (yay) She said I should take two weeks off of work. Then I came on here and I am reading that I may not necessarily feel that way. I decided for myself that I would do nothing for two weeks besides resting and walking. But then I go onto other websites and they say this type of hysterectomy will require 1 or 2 weeks recovery which now gets me wondering if I am over planning my recovery time. Maybe I should just plan on resting for 1 week? I don't want to try and take advantage. What does everyone think? How much time did you plan to rest?

I had a LAVH exactly 2 weeks ago and am just starting to feel better. I'm not ready to return to work yet but can do things for myself around the house (not heavy cleaning yet!) now. I still feel tired and have a bit of pain in tummy and back. I would plan to take at least two weeks of 'rest' and then take it from there. Trust me, after the first week I was nowhere ready to be back to my normal routine. I had the same questions as you before my surgery and I can say now that you will need the rest!! Good luck!!

You may just want to wait and see how you feel. I felt great right after my surgery, and doing nothing was not for me. I did any activities I wanted to which weren't restricted and I felt up to doing. I couldn't just rest, I was bored to death. I talked to my dr about what was and wasn't ok to do. I was out and about within a couple of days of my surgery, and continued feeling great. But some people just don't feel as good as I did, or have a different philosophy about what is needed for healing. Luckily for me, my dr and I were on the same page. You might want to see how you feel after the surgery and go from there. There is no right or wrong way, just what is right for you.

Hmm. ok so it looks like I was overdoing it. Just when I got to the point I was looking forward to my little vacation lol. I will plan on pretty much just carrying on with life as normal minus my workouts unless I find I feel really bad. You would think that if we lose a uterus we could get out of housecleaning for a bit but it is probably better to carry on and not focus on the surgery.At least some of the pressure is off about getting ready for the surgery.

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Originally Posted by Janman ...You would think that if we lose a uterus we could get out of housecleaning for a bit...

Why can't you? I did. Gave the place a good scrub beforehand and then afterwards did nothing beyond washing a few dishes at the sink and keeping the litter box scooped. Nothing horrible is going to happen just because a few dust bunnies accumulate.

I pretty much treated the whole thing as if I *were* on vacation. I went for lots of walks - short ones, at first - and otherwise spent my time reading, sewing, on the computer or playing with my cats. My recovery was in June, so except for the computer I often sat outside doing these things.

I slept when I wanted to and ate what I wanted to, when I wanted to.

It was great!