LAVH Abdominal binder - How long to wear?

I'm just curious as to how long other ladies are using their binders for that wonderful extra support. I wore it consistently the first week but have been phasing it out over the past week and a half.

Hi, Immaculate, I had the surgery on 06/24, and I still wear the binder. I like the support it gives me. The first four weeks, I wore it 24/7. I sleep with it off now, and when I need to run errands, I wear a panty girdle or stockings that have a built-in girdle. I hope that this helps.

Thank you for your quick response. I'm thinking maybe I'm trying to phase it out too quickly. I tried a girdle panty the other day on a brief outing and it just wasn't comfortable.

Wear it as long as you feel you need it. I never wore one at all. If the girdle panty wasn't doing it for you, you might want to stick with the binder a while yet.

I wore mine regularly for 2,weeks, after that, just as I felt I needed it. I loved my binder :-)

I'm wearing mine continusously right now. I only take it off for showers and to leave it off until my incision is fully dry from being pat down to air dry. I love the extra support I have from it, plus I also had 3 hernia repairs during my hysterectomy, so I more or less have it to strengthen my abdominal wall from that. My surgeon (general) wants me to wear it even after recovery when I return to work or while I'm out and could possibly be lifting/straining as a reminder to take it easy. Which works for me.

I had LARH, and asked for the binder in the hospital. Loved the extra support it gives me when walking any distances. My surgery was on July 16th, and still wear it occasionally.

For Immaculate, CoffeeBean and FiggyMuffin -- I thought I would mention this, in case you are having the same problems I had. I found that the binder was very irritating to my skin, especially the areas around the incisions. I solved this problem by taking two old, soft, worn out pillowcases, and cuttting them up. I wrap the cut up pillowcase around my belly, and secure it with two safety pins. Then, I put the binder on. I found that, because there is a layer underneath the binder, I have to wash it less. Of course, I wash the cut up pillowcases every day.

Great tip, Ashley. Thanks everyone for your responses. I didn't have the binder before surgery but asked for it once I was in my hospital room. The nurse was wonderful at showing me how to use it. I wish I would have had one when I had my c-sections.