No work-outs? Come on....

Well...I am 12 days till surgery! I really want to make this surgery part of my history and move on with my life...like Bono says...i am stuck in the moment and can't ge tout of it...until this is behind me. anyway I have my surgery on oct 28th and have put my gym membership on hold till jan 2nd 2003. I am going to try to be a good princess but I am most concerned about losing muscle mass and gaining weight. I can give myself till dec 5th but I was wondering how it would be to go to the local swimming pool to do some light laps in the water at about 7 weeks post op. do you all think this is pushing it...how did you all feel after 6-7 weeks...maybe I am best to weight till the new year seeing as dec is so busy anyway...perhaps I shoudl weight till the new year...i just thought that light swimming at 7 weeks may be okay...i know ..i am not in my right mind...I am coundting the 12 days left till my surgery and then after I will really know how it feels in my own skin...I guess I am out of it! I am going to work out right till my surgery date and hopefully this will help in my recovery...any opinions are appreciated! Maybe I better stick to lite walking untill the new year comes!

Hi Cornelius

IMHO swimming is great exercise as long as your doctor gives you the okay (and you take it easy on your abs).

I know you're concerned about losing muscle mass and gaining weight, but those are two things that can be fixed once you've healed properly --- you only have one chance to heal right! Please explain your feelings to your doctor and see what he says (and then come back and tell us).

s

I wish I had your motivation to exercise. I congratulate you on that!!! I keep meaning to increase my level of fitness "pre-op" but another day just came and went and I am ready to hit the sack. I am strongly of the opinion that being in great shape "pre-op" can only speed your recovery. God speed to ya!

Someone posted earlier that activities that do not strain your abs could be resumed first, generally. I was surprised to see bicycle riding on that list... don't remember seeing swimming.

Well, best wishes again. Pass some of great attitude over here... my get up and go got up and went ....as someone once said.

Corni,

Congrats on your determination to get yourself back in shape after your hyster. Please do remember to heal first and then get yourself back in shape, if you try to rush things, you'll only delay getting yourself back to your pre-surgery form. Everyone is different, but this is what I was able to do (with permission from my doctor of course). Started walking the day after surgery, the first few days I think a 90 year old could have beaten me in the 5 yard dash. I slowly added distance and by my 2-week checkup, I could walk a mile (still at a slow pace). My doctor told me I could start using the elliptical runner and then at the 6-week point told me I could start lifting weights again. I started at very light weights (I'm talking about 1/4 of what I had lifted before my hyst). Now at almost 3 months post-op I'm where I was before my hyst and I'm feeling great! Just take your time getting back into shape, I'm sure that being in shape to begin with really helped my recovery. Just remember, do half of what you think you can do, and don't do anything without getting clearance from your doctor.

Jan

I had my 2-wk checkup today and the MD said I could swim. I don't like to swim, but it would be ok..though he said the crawl stroke would probably be a bit much My incision healed really quickly and well, and water exercise is gentle. If only I wanted to swim...I told him I'd just walk for awhile. He said I could bathe and I said tell me how to get down into the tub!! since I can't bend at all yet.

Corni- I'm right there with ya! I haven't been able to workout since mid July due to heavy bleeding- surgery was 3 weeks ago. I,too, put my gym membership on hold till January 1st but I'm actually hoping to go back much sooner. I am walking- NOT power walking!- 30 minutes once or twice a day and feeling very good. I started doing bicep curls,etc. with my tiny one pounders- it's probably more of a psychological boost then anything! (Dr. said "No lifting of anything heavier then a gallon of milk" = 8lbs.) my DH frowns at me but I'm careful and know that arms and shoulders are IT till my 6 week checkup.
I do think being fairly fit helped me even though I'd been "off" 2 months prior to surgery- I was extremely faithful prior to that.
Hang in there. You'll see after surgery how quickly you're able to walk, etc.- I have been pleasantly surprised. I know I still have healing to do - the gym will be there!
Best wishes!

It encourages me to know I am not alone in my thoughts and feelings. Thanks sisters for that... I won't rush my healing but I will be watching my body...I have to it's the only one I will ever have...It is my responsisbility to do so....thankyou again... any other past princesses that have any other suggestions I will always be here watching the posts...thankyou again!!!!

Corni:

I started swimming while my DD took her lessons at about 7 weeks, with Dr.'s permission!

The first week, I could only do about 4 laps in an Olympic-standard pool, but by three months out, I could do a third of a mile, alternating different strokes, with relative ease. It also had the benefit of a mild diuretic effect (swimming does that for you).

And I did start my yoga stretches pretty much right away, sticking to anything that kept my abdomen "neutral". My rule of thumb with any workout in the early days was: if I could tighten my abdominal muscles without pain, I could do whatever it was. Since your abs are the foundation of everything else you do, this is key to avoiding injury. I did do some light weights from about the 4th week or so (2 lbs).

So often, when I hear women tell me that they "gained so much weight after the hyst", if you look more closely, you'll find hormonal imbalance at the root of it all for many of them. I was 128 lbs the day I had my surgery, and now, five months later (today!) I'm still 128, unless it's been a chocolate weekend .

I loved swimming, it was much better in those early days than any impact activity would have been. Enjoy, and good luck to you!



Audrey

Hi there

I have an aversion to swimming (I'm a Cancerian too so go figure) but my DR told me I could get into it at 4 weeks if I felt like it. Apparently it's good exercise when recovering from surgery. Didn't take him up on the offer....I'm a walking fanatic myself. Good luck.

I was told at my 6 week checkup "no restrictions" so I began running and rowing again. I found I didn't lose much fitness at all and I'm in my 40's. I am now 3 years post op and never have had any issues.

I no longer swim (I competed in college) but I did swim 6 weeks after a C section when I was in my 30's. ( I swam everyday while pregnant) The first day back in the pool I was able to swim 40 laps in 18 minutes. The man sharing the lane with me thought I was a good swimmer and asked me for some tips because he wanted to try a triathlon. I casually mentioned that I'm slower than normal becauseI had a section 6 weeks earlier and it turned out he was an OB/GYN! LOL! He was really impressed and supportive.