6 weeks... really?!?!

Good morning ladies!

So, I'm sitting here trying to figure out how, exactly, I'm going to put my life 'on hold' for 6 weeks. It just doesn't seem realistic. How do women do this? How am I going to do this?

I have a demanding job, and nobody else does my work when I'm gone. I can get about a week's worth of work done in advance so that nobody will really miss me. After that, I plan to log onto my work computer remotely from home, and try to get a bit done from there. I may be able to stretch things out for 2 weeks, max, but I'm going to have to come back in the office.. even if it's for half days. (note - I also returned to work 2.5 weeks post c-section, baby in tow, LOL).

I also have a demanding 7yr old. I've been trying to prepare her, and I think she understands. Luckily, I have an amazing husband who will look after the majority of her needs when he's home, and I also have a good network of support with family and friends. DH's job is also very demanding though, and I know he won't be able to be home as much as he'd like to be. His solution is to hire me a private nurse, but I'm too much of a control freak to be comfortable with that whole idea, LOL. He's already hired a maid and had her start a few weeks ago so I'd get used to another woman being in my 'personal space'. I'm getting used to that (even though I clean better than her, hmpf). If he had his way, I'd just be tied to the bed for 6 weeks!

My other issue is with when I'll be able to drive. My daughter will need to be picked up from school, and like I said, I can probably get enough help to get me through the first couple weeks, but after that I'm going to need to start doing things. I just don't see any way around that.

Am I being totally unrealistic? Back in November when we booked the surgery, and the surgeon told me I should plan to be off work for 6 weeks, I remember laughing to myself, thinking "yeah right!" I know the '6 week' threshold is a guideline, and everyone's recovery is different.. but has anyone went back to work and started driving again after a couple weeks? Am I setting myself up for disaster?

Thanks for any advice!

Good morning sister.

I am 5 weeks into my recovery. I was cleared to drive at three weeks. Will be returning to work on April 1st.

Believe me, I did'nt feel like doing too much the first couple of weeks. Was mostly bored out of my skin. I unfortunately couldn't work from home (I work at an institution for the mentally retarded) so there wasn't much for me to do and I can't return to work with any kind of restrictions so my situation is quite a bit different from yours.

Everyone heals at different rates. My advice would be not to push it. If you feel better, still try to take it easy. I wish I could of afforded to hire a cleaner those first couple of weeks...even if I clean better....would have eased my mind. Enjoy it, I say. When you are feeling better, you will catch it up. Least of your worries once you have the surgery.

Good luck. Will be praying all turns out well and you have a speedy recovery.

Don't push it, dear heart. You need to take it easy for the WHOLE 6 weeks. My doctor did allow me to drive after about a week. (My big outing was a trip to the dry cleaners - I came home and took a nap!) (G)

Go to the checkpoint tab up above, download everything, and follow it religiously. I did and I'm happy to say that I never felt better.

Six weeks seems a long time but you need that time for you. I don't know why women dread it. It was a wonderful enlightening time for ME, the first I've ever had.

Just a thought - if you quit your job tomorrow, they'd find someone else to do the work real fast. They will learn to appreciate what you do - if you're not there to do it!

I had a TVH and returned to work at 4wks part time. Then full time at 5wks. Like you no one else does my job and after the first wk I did check my work email from home and responded to a few issues (my mind was foggy though). Fortunately for me, the client I am currently working for gave me a two week extension on monthly reports usually due the first day of each month. At 4 wks I was achy from sitting at my desk chair and I was still napping in the afternoons when I got home from work, and wk 5 and 6 I found myself still getting achy from sitting and going straight to bed in the evenings. This week has been better so far, but I am still tired when I get home and retreating to bed early. I had my 6 wk check up yesterday and was released to resume all normal activities as tolerated. Yes, being tired easily will get better in time - GYN said this is all normal and not to over do it, and still get plenty of rest and to be careful bending and lift and to work back up to what was normal for my lifestyle. We all heal differently, but we only get one chance to heal right. Listen to your body and your doctor. Best of luck to you.

i am going on week 2 post op. i have had 2 prior csections. i am not alowed to drive for another week. so 3 weeks no driving. and belive me i dont think i could id be a danger to myself and others on the road. i feel great minus being tired and sore and the swelly belly at the end of the day. this is a little diff than csections.. i was shocked i thought id be up and about like i was with my csections. and im not.take care of urself u only have 1 chance to heal right!!

This surgery is different from a c-section. It does take longer to heal.
I have been driving since 11 days post op with no problems, but just the short distance to my daughter's school and back.
Just allow yourself the proper time to heal. Your work will be there when you return.

I dont have any advice since I'm in the same boat. I have two children one is 2 1/2 and the other is 4 months. I am completely lost on how I am going to deal with this. I guess we will just take one day at a time. Good luck!!!

Hi FWChelle,

I thought the same thing regarding work. I even arranged to hook up to the internet at home, so that I could keep in touch with everyone at work, etc. I also brought work home with me. I regret doing that at times, as I've already heard from my boss a few times and from a colleague. In all cases, I couldn't sleep afterwards, as the emails and conversations caused me stress just thinking about the work load upon my return.
I'm always on the go and I figured after a couple of weeks, I'd be ready to go. I was wrong. I get so tired, so quickly. So, my advice would be don't worry about work. As for your family, please get the help you'll need.
Best regards, from Hamilton

FWChellelle-
Talk to your surgeon about your concerns and strategies. What he said back in November may be quite different than what he says now.

I'm planning on working from home after the first 10 days--lots of conference calls, work online, and if people want to see me in person, they can come down to my house. I figure I can do all that while moving from my reclining chair to my desh chair to my bed, as needed.

For help at home, can you hire someone to do the driving and errands for you (in addition to a maid for the cleaning)? Around here, it's not hard to find a reliable university student. While you may be released for driving fairly quickly, having someone else hired to take your daughter around may really help take the pressure off you.

If you really do need to go back to work after a few weeks and your doctor okays that, could you have a recliner put into your office, so you can rest as needed? Lafuma reclining chairs are incredibly comfortable and quite small (they fold--check them out on line), and they're often recommended for people with back pain issues and after surgery. You can sit upright in them when you're talking with people, then recline easily all the way back (or part way back) in them when the people leave your office.

Hiring as much help as possible is also a good thing--perhaps your work can hire someone to take up much of your burden for 6 weeks, so you can do the other critical things from home.

Many women go back earlier than 6 weeks, but again, this is something you and your doctor need to decide for your invididual case. I've told everyone I'll be working from home for 6 weeks, so if I show up a bit earlier, they'll be surprised, not vice versa.

Wow, excellent advice as always! Thanks so much for the replies.

I was feeling a little overwhelmed yesterday. Up until now I've just been in the mindset of "It will all work itself out", and yesterday, I woke up with this little revelation "Ok, how is this going to work, exactly?" then I try to get everything figured out in one day, LOL.

Luckily we live in a world of technology, where you don't need to be sitting at your desk in your office to get things done. I do remember trying to work from home when my daughter was born, and that didn't work out very well.. I found it really hard to divide my time, and still make time for rest. I ended up taking her to the office with me, lol.

I'll just take it one step at a time. Things WILL work out in their own ways. I have my pre-op with the surgeon today, so I'll go over some of these concerns with him.

tiva, that's a great idea to hire someone to do some driving around for my daughter. Her school is only a 5 minute drive, maybe I'll check with some other parents in the neighbourhood and see if they'd be willing to bring her home with their kids. We just moved in the area last summer so I don't know everyone really well yet, but I can certainly ask around. It can't hurt!

A recliner in my office, LOL! Now that would be something

Again, thanks for all the wonderful advice. Don't know what I'd do without this site!