Upcoming hysterectomy on JAN 7th: To binder or not to binder after TAH?

Ok ladies, I am in crunch mode now. The big day is Wednesday. I am having a TAH with conservation of both ovaries as I am only 37 so MD wants to leave them in place. I have PCOS and heavy bleeds, no endo, no fibroids but tired of putting life on hold for cycle. So anyone out there have recommendations, feedback etc? This is my first major surgery so I really am not sure what to expect. When I go back to work I have a partial desk job. I am an instructor so I stand a lot but I also sit a lot so thinking about post time at home too. Thanks in advance ladies!

It's nice to have on hand, especially for sitting and standing. I just got the pocket one. It works with or without an ice pack.

I used one for about a week once I started sleeping in my bed again. It just made me feel more secure when I sat up in bed.

I love the binder. Used it a ton for about 4 weeks. Sleeping walking everything. Now after 8 and back to everything normal I still find it feels good to wear after a day of being busy. My stomach stills swells and the gentle.compression feels wonderful.

I used mine daily for the first 5 weeks. Idk what I would have done without it! Now i use it when I am cleaning house but not when I am sitting as I noticed that it puts pressure on my bladder and starts causing spasms. In the early stages it was a lifesaver. It was hard to walk because I felt like I had a bowling ball in my stomach.

I had a TAH two weeks ago, which ended up being complicated by a return trip to the OR the day after for internal bleeding. While it was scary to go back into the OR, they inserted a Jackson-Pratt drain, which removed a huge amount of the fluid that was in my belly and (I think) ended up helping me by-pass the "swelly belly" that many mention.
The hospital gave me a very wide binder, which I ended up wearing much like a mini-skirt, but hubby purchased a thinner one for me via Amazon that arrived a few days after I got home... I wear it 24/7 and find it to be exceptionally helpful especially when coughing, sneazing, or getting up/down from a chair.
I also brought an oblong pillow with me... this ended up being really helpful when trying to sleep (the beds are pretty wide) and supported my arm comfortably when they were giving me blood the day before I went home (I was becoming anemic) so I could keep my arm fairly straight.
I wore the same clothes to/from the hospital, which helped in packing light. The pants were really tight b/c I was so swollen but it wasn't a huge deal.
Since you're having a TAH, let me share this bit of awesomeness.... weigh yourself the day you come home from the hospital. It will be totally depressing because you'll be swollen, but weigh EVERY day for a week and you will be so pleasantly surprised at the drop in numbers. It made me feel sooo much better. I went to the hospital weighing 173. Came home weighing 194 (and wanted to cry for a moment), but within 7 DAYS, I was already at 171.9. I logged it in each day (since I was already logging in the drain amounts from the J-P drain mentioned above) and actually had to show the nurses my list to make them believe me. Had my drain removed after 4 days at home (7 days post surgery) and then was questioned about the weigh-in # at my 2-week post-op check. Made me feel so much better about the progress I'd made in such a short time.
My TAH was 1/29, so I'm still healing. I got some great advice and was grateful for all the support, both here and from friends.
Wishing you a simple, uncomplicated, and easy journey!!

Forgot to mention that the hospital binder was given to me the day before I left, so until then I used my oblong pillow if I knew I had to sneeze or cough. I <3 my binder!

Update: Well I didn't get a binder until 2 weeks out. I did not like it at all. I did better with my ice pack on my belly almost 24/7 for the first week including in the hospital. Then I switched to heat at night. I found that the binder put too much pressure on my belly causing gas pains. I am still on one stool softener every day and 2 Gas-X liquid caps at night and as needed. I never really had much discomfort from surgery, other then gas pain. I still take an 800 mg Ibuprofen at night and sleep with heating pad on my belly, it shuts off after 10 minutes so if I wake I turn it on. Glad to know binders work for some but it did not for me. Good luck to all those in the early recovery!