Follow up questions

Just curious, how long do most people wait for a follow-up appt? Surgery was on the 12th, and I don't see the dr until 23 Sept. Is this the norm?

Second question.. When do you decide to go back to work? My school district has no problems with the 4 week recovery time (actually only miss one week of teacher prep and one week of actual student contact) once the paperwork is filled out by the dr, but I will need to go back on the 9th.

What did some of you do?

Call the dr and move it up. Hopefully you won't have any problem doing that.

Follow-up appointments are all over the place. In my case, my surgery was done in another city two hours away by bus. I saw a nurse at a local clinic to get my staples replaced with Steri-strips on Day 13, but I didn't see my gyn onc until Day 27. I think he may have postponed the post-op until I was well enough to make the bus trip, which was fine by me.

By the time I saw my gyn onc, I was feeling pretty good, doing lots and lots of walking and beginning to get bored at home. I asked him for clearance to return to work (part-time, desk job) and started back to work the next day, four weeks after I'd had surgery.

You need to check with both doc at your follow-up appointment and *yourself* as to how you're feeling and how your recovery is going. Teaching seems like a pretty active job to me.

I had an uncomplicated LAVH, and my doc said 4-6 weeks for a post-op appointment. Because I plan to be back at work at 6 weeks, I made an appointment in week 4 (September 3).

As for being out of work, it depends on what demands your work puts on you. Given the nature of my commuting and work (I'm a corporate trainer--I provide adult training programs in workplaces--very similar to teaching), my doc said 4 weeks, maybe 5. And with the no-lifting restrictions, I made sure I pre-positioned training materials I'd need through September--that's END September. I really take that lifting restriction seriously. I told clients I needed to park materials at the site early and wouldn't be able to haul them when I came in. They were very kind and accommodating, which was a relief. I'm not comfortable asking for favors and special treatment.

My doc said I still might be tired at 4, 5, or 6 weeks and possibly longer, but everyone feels differently.

I can take it easier than I used to. Due to my naturally energetic ways, my days used to feel like This healing process is teaching me to be more

My post op is 4 weeks.

My post op was 6 weeks - this was also to check I was ok to return to work.

I actually had another two weeks off due to the school holidays

Mine was supposed to be 2 weeks but my dr was on vacation. If you feel you want to be seen sooner tell them so. You have to be somewhat forceful with them especially if they are an ob instead of just a gyn. Ob patients always take priority. I actually called and said if I couldn't be seen I was going to go to the ER (may have eggaerated my need to be seen) but that call got me in that afternoon. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!

I had a one-week post-op appointment to remove staples (and replace them with steri-strips), and have anther one at three weeks post-op. I'll be evaluated them for a return to work date. Although some sisters do go back to work as early as two weeks, I haven't heard anyone report that their doctor limited them to a two-week recovery period. I had a note telling my employer I would be out for at least two weeks, but the doctor has to clear me before I can return.

No major problems so far, but I'm only one week out. I just didn't know what to do about the appt, but 4-6 weeks seems to be the norm.

When it gets closer to the date that I have to return to work, I'll put in a call to my dr. Hopefully she can see me before I go back to school. I'm going to keep on trying.

I'm not going stir crazy yet (mostly resting and taking little walks in the house), but I have a feeling that will come in weeks three and four.

I had post op follow ups at 2 weeks and at 6 weeks