Advice on days leading to operation???

This is my first posting...glad I found this web-site, it has already answered many of my questions.

Last week I decided to follow my obgyn's advise and booked for a TAH for Wed. Feb 22nd. I know that it is more than a few weeks away, but I like to research and plan. Some well meaning friends and colleagues have strongly suggested that I take the Monday and Tuesday off work ( with the weekend this will give me 4 days off before the surgery) to relax, prepare and ensure that I not get sick with the commute to work in the cold witner months. Others have suggested working up to the day before, to keep my mind busy. Any thoughts?

jj33

TAH, Fibroids, 5 month uterus

Taking off sounds like a good idea . Go to the store and stock up on easy dinner options. In the next few weeks prepare extra for dinner and freeze some, like meatloaf, lasagna, or whatever you like that freezes well. Make sure you have some panty liners. I knew I'd a have few days of bleeding but was not prepared for 3wks bleeding and then weeks of discharge. Clean your house really well and do laundry cause even though husbands mean well they just don't see what needs to be done. Plan on some things to do that can be done reclining or lying down like organizing photos, going through recipes, or get some books to read. You can watch only so much TV. Good Luck!
Glenda

hi - I am 3 days away and I can tell you that having the time off ahead is good and bad. You likely will think about this and become nervous in advance, but this site has great ideas. Clean the house. Cook things not just for your family but that YOU enjoy eating. For me, I made homemade turkey noodle soup becuase I know it will be very comforting for me to have. I will freeze it in serving size containers to hubby can just take one out, thaw it and microwave it. Do active things too because we know we won't be able to for a while - go for a walk, etc. Good luck and know that this site has been a lifeline for me and others. Best wishes to you and be sure to visit here often, it has sure helped me to do so.

Hi jj33,

I took the day off before my surgery. My surgery was on a Tuesday so I had Monday off. I used Monday as "my day" to do whatever my heart desired. I knew I wouldn't be allowed to drive for six weeks so I made sure I got out of the house that Monday to enjoy driving my car.

A lot of sisters prepare their recovery area, clean their house, grocery shop/prepare meals for recovery, stock-up on household supplies, purchase granny panties (panties that are 2 sizes too big), etc. When you think about it we have a lot to do to prepare for the time we'll be down during recovery. I bought gowns that were a size larger to make sure I was comfortable. Since I knew I was going to have a vertical incision, I bought an abdominal binder which I love. As a matter of fact, I have it on now. It's like a security blanket to me. I had a binder put on in the hospital but I like the one I purchased better. At the two week point my doctor suggested I wear a light support panty girdle. That didn't agree with my incision.

During the days leading up to your surgery I strongly suggest that you surround yourself with pleasurable things and happy thoughts. This helped me to relax tremendously.

I hope you find this website to be a tremendous help as I have.

I wish you the best and I'm sending 's

The biggest advice is to find out when your doctor will allow you to resume activities - and consider this the earliest date. This lets you make the best plans you can. My doctor said 2 weeks for almost everything (driving, returning to work, walking the dog, but 4 weeks for the post-op appointment) but medical at work told me that would be too soon, and so did the short term disability people. I called his nurse, and she told me 2 weeks is the minimum, and it's anything up to 6 weeks, depending on how well you recover. He told me when he released me at the hospital to just tell him when I want to go back, and he'll fill out the paperwork that way. Medical at work also said they prefer people not come back to work until after their post op appointment.

My employer doesn't allow vacation or other days off prior to a medical leave. So, I wasn't able to take any days off prior to surgery because of their rules, but for me, that was a good thing. The day before, I had a 4 hour teleconference at work, and followup work from that meeting, so that kept me so busy I didn't have time to feel as anxious as I would have. I had so much I had to do on that last day, and I wasn't sure I could get it all done!

I arranged for a neighbor to walk the dog for 2 weeks; that has been extended, as I am not ready to do that yet.

I am on a very restricted diet, and I am the only driver in my home. I bought groceries enough to last until I could drive again (2 weeks), and cooked a lot of food ahead, freezing it with 2-3 servings in a package.
I am still eating the food I prepared ahead, and very glad it's there.

I like to plan ahead too. I hope you'll have lots of help when you come home, and your recovery is smooth.

I spent the day before shopping for the perfect jammies and belly pillow. You will need it to cough or laugh. I also kept very busy before the big day so I didn't have time to think and worry about it (even though I still did!) I was on this forum a LOT and that helped the most. I envisioned a lot about the other side of surgery. How much better I would feel and staying positive so I could recover as best as possible. Do you recovery by the book and you won't be sorry. Daytime TV is fun. I got addicted to Starting Over on NBC and a year later I still Tivo it!

As my intro line says, I am so overwhlemed by the number of responses and good will from others. I appreciate your insights and suggestions. Given that I have some flexibility. I think I will take the 2 extra days off ahead so that I can either take care of preparing for post-op and my recovery needs or better yet just enjoy doing the things I like to do.....

What a supportive group. Wishing you all health and happiness.

JJ33

My surgery was on a Monday morning. I spent my weekend like the rest of the ladies, getting things ready. I also spent the day before getting a hair cut and color, manicure, pedicure, the works. At least I went in to surgery looking like a million bucks! Broke as all heck, but I looked good (Laughing)

Afterwards for several weeks I had a hard time concentrating so I didn't read much or watch the ton of movies that I prepared. Instead I spent hours in the back yard. I had my lounge chair, a half gallon cooler full of water, the radio and the view of the lake. Being early may the weather was perfect. As soon as the doc said I could drive I started going to the public pool. I knew I could not get in the water, but I would lay beside the pool and enjoy the sunshine. If I got to warm I ran inside and took a cool shower.

When I finally went back to work, they thought I had been on vacation instead of medical leave because I had such a beautiful tan!

I guess the point of this message is to let you know that you will spend a while recovering, and you should make the best of it! Do things that will occupy your mind without making you feel like you should be cleaning, cooking, or working. You should do things that a Princess does!

Best of luck!

	Quote:
Originally Posted by jj33 This is my first posting...glad I found this web-site, it has already answered many of my questions. Last week I decided to follow my obgyn's advise and booked for a TAH for Wed. Feb 22nd. I know that it is more than a few weeks away, but I like to research and plan. Some well meaning friends and colleagues have strongly suggested that I take the Monday and Tuesday off work ( with the weekend this will give me 4 days off before the surgery) to relax, prepare and ensure that I not get sick with the commute to work in the cold witner months. Others have suggested working up to the day before, to keep my mind busy. Any thoughts? jj33 TAH, Fibroids, 5 month uterus

That's lots of time to investigate this! I had that too, and by the time I had my op, I was really prepared. I worked right till the day before, just tried to stay healthy. I work with the public too, so I was constantly hand-washing, etc. As far as the surgery goes, I took advice from my "sisters" in here and at the pre-op asked for them to give me "something" to calm me down while I waited. That worked great for me. I was not nervous AT ALL after that. One other thing is, that I usually vomit really bad after general anesthesia, I told them that and they gave me something in the OR to stop that. It worked, I didn't vomit after, so that was extremely good too. Good luck!

I Am Due My Op 9th Jan For Heavy Bleeding Also I Researched And Decided To Loose Wieght Pre Op As Apparently We Can Expect To Put On About 9lb With All The Drips Etc.also Research Natural Remedies For Constipation, As The Drugs They Give You For This Does Have A Side Effect Of Weight Gain.appart From This Relaxation Methods To Cope With Pain Is Also Recommended