Upcoming hysterectomy 6/4: 500 km drive day after surgery?

Hi there. I am a week away from surgery. I live in the far north and must travel 500km to the hospital the day before ( and 500km back afterwards, of course.)

I have multiple large fibroids and we are trying for a TLH but it might end up being a TAH.

If it is a TLH, I may be release the following morning. Is it realistic for my husband to drive me home or will that just be a disaster? There is a 250 km stretch with no services. I will be staying in a hotel the night before surgery but I'd rather be at home afterwards if possible.

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Originally Posted by Sky of Blue Hi there. I am a week away from surgery. I live in the far north and must travel 500km to the hospital the day before ( and 500km back afterwards, of course.) I have multiple large fibroids and we are trying for a TLH but it might end up being a TAH. If it is a TLH, I may be release the following morning. Is it realistic for my husband to drive me home or will that just be a disaster? There is a 250 km stretch with no services. I will be staying in a hotel the night before surgery but I'd rather be at home afterwards if possible.

I think that would be a very painful drive. I was in the car just over one week after surgery for a 20min drive and it really hurt. I had a TLH like you are planning on having. I agree it would be nice to be home but the drive will take a lot out of you. What about staying in a suite hotel for a bit before attempting the drive? Another thing, get a donut to sit on while in the car. It will help on the bumps. Maybe talk with your doctor. He might be able to recommend something for you.
Good luck and please let us know how it goes for you.

Hmmmm I did not think of a donut. I will look for one. The road is rough and we will be in a truck. This is not sounding promising. I can't really afford too many days in a hotel. What else might help? Will I need to hit a bathroom a lot? There are no bathrooms for 250km of the drive, so about 3 hours. I'm I being completely unrealistic?

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Originally Posted by Sky of Blue Hmmmm I did not think of a donut. I will look for one. The road is rough and we will be in a truck. This is not sounding promising. I can't really afford too many days in a hotel. What else might help? Will I need to hit a bathroom a lot? There are no bathrooms for 250km of the drive, so about 3 hours. I'm I being completely unrealistic?

I agree - you might be really pushing it. If your doctor is aware of the distance to travel, if need be could he arrange for another night in the hospital? Also, talk to him about pain medication for the trip.

If it was a car it would be hard, but a truck? There is another post from a few months ago about a woman who went in a trip a week after in a truck. It was not a pleasant ride for her. If no alternative, maybe make it an option to stop overnight half way there - where the services end.

A friend of mine drove me home in her pick-up three days after my TAH. I had a comfortable trip, but it was only 154 km and mostly on a good highway. Also, I took Gravol for motion sickness, so I was mildly sedated.

You might to try and break up the trip into two stretches. I'd say three, but you mentioned the 250 km stretch with no services and I sure *wouldn't* recommend camping!

Re: no bathroom facilities for 250 km, how much brush is there along the road? Alternatively, is the truck a four-door? Because then you can open both doors on one side and do your thing between the doors. If it's a two-door truck, open one door and then your husband holds a blanket on the other side of you? I assume he's seen the territory before. Sometimes you gotta what you gotta do.

It's a 4 door truck. The drive would usually take me a bit over 5 hours if the road and weather is good.

When you say "the weather is good," do you mean that there are there weather conditions that might occur at this time of year that would qualify as bad weather? Because if that's the case, you may need to take the weather forecast into your plans as well and have a Plan B if the combination of your physical condition plus the weather is just too much to handle.

The weather will be good as in likely no snow although it's below freezing tonight here. The days are warm. It's a good time to travel, all considered. Just rough as the road breaks up this time of year in some sections. I will buy some gravol for sure.

Did you talk to your surgeon about this? The first IR I saw about a UFE wanted me to stay at least one extra night in the area instead of driving the 10 hours home. His reasoning was that the hospital there would be up to date on my case if there were complications and could better treat me. So it was more than just about how you feel but what is best in the early recovery period for treatment. I would definitely talk to your surgeon about it, if you haven't already.

Just something else to think about.

I've booked the hotel for the following night now. This is sounding more complicated/painful than I was thinking.