Sucdess stories

I have been reading a lot about the symptoms that post op sisters have after their surgery. It would really help to hear from those of you who had relatively uneventful, fairly easy recoveries. Also, how many and what kind of pillows are good to buy before surgery to make yourself more comfortable afterwards?

recovery. I was one of the lucky ones. I am still suffering from fatigue, but post op I spent alot of time not sleeping, so now I am making up for it... I got a cold bug and now all I want to do is sleep... I still get swelly belly on occasion, mostly when I have done too much during the day, I think thats the bodys way of saying slow down...
Snickers

I have had a very smooth recovery with no complications whatsoever. And when I say no complications, I mean NO complications. No gas, no constipation, no barfing from anesthesia, no fatigue, nuthin! I had my 6 week checkup yesterday and I asked my doctor how common a smooth recovery is and he said, "Not that uncommon when I do it!" With that said, he did say that my recovery has been even better than his typical smooth recoveries. So while you may want to take my recovery with a grain of salt, his reaction to my question was that most have smooth, uneventful recoveries. Keep in mind also that generally speaking, most of the posts on the post op board will be regarding issues that fellow sisters need to bounce off others and compare notes. People having smooth recoveries don't have much to post or compare. I posted a question just to find out how long my tummy would be tender, but other than that, I haven't had much reason to post a topic. So remember that when you visit the post op board. And for the most part, just stay on the pre op board until you have a reason to post or reply on the post op board!

As far as the pillow thing, I found a great little pillow, about the size of an airline pillow and it was quite firm. I really liked that for under my seatbelt, holding against my tummy when I had to sneeze, under my knees when sleeping and behind my lower back in some chairs. The firmness worked very well for me. I've seen a post about those new really squishy pillows you can find at Bed Bath and Beyond or Linen's N Things. Those might work well too.

Good luck -
Lisa

I had an uneventful recovery. I am eight weeks post-op and my life is back to normal. I have less pain now then preoeratively. Make sure you have a pillow for the ride home. I used regular bed pillows. I kept one on my stomach most of the time when I was on the sofa because the dog without warning would jump on my lap.

Best wishes.

Sue

Hi , I'm 11 weeks tomorrow and have had a good recovery, no constipation, sleeplessness, infection or more than mild pain.
I know that somethings are out of our control but my advice would be Do all the right things, meaning resting alot , drinking lots of water , eating good healthy food , limiting your activity to short walks , putting your feet up, leave the house work if someone can't do it for you it'll be still there when your recovered,when the ladies on this wonderful site say "you only get one chance to heal properly" they mean it. I went back to work at 6 1/2 weeks and exercise 4 times a week , building up to doing normal things is better than jumping whole hog back into it and paying later. I've managed to shed a few more kgs , swelly belly hasn't been bad , only very occasionally , I've found hot days the worst for it. I'm on HRT and feel fabulous ,my moods are very even and I feel the best I've been in over 15 years , so no regrets here , just remember this is major surgery so treat it accordingly , go into it feeling confident in your Dr of choice and stay positive ,put yourself first and take all the time YOU need to heal properly as some recoveries are fast others slow.This is the best place to come when you just need to vent or be with other sisters who understand what your feeling.
Best wishes for a good surgery and great recovery
Wendygai

For success stories please visit Princess Stories (click here) which are just that - chronicles of the journey leading to the decision to have a hyst, the hospital experience, and recovery and Beyond the Land of Hyster (click here) which is where members who are long time post op come back and let us know how they're doing months and years after their hyst.

Those are the two places where Princesses should be posting their stories so others can easily find them, rather than on one of the support forums where they drop down pretty quickly and become hard to find.

Im 8 weeks yesturday post op. Im doing great,fabulously actually. I've not had any pain at all, since about day 12, that was my turn around day. THings have been back to normal at 2.5 weeks. Driving, housework, vaccuming, even mowed the lawn at 2.5 weeks. AT 7 weeks I was outside raking up all the leaves. I painted my kitchen at 5 weeks. No problems, with pains headace,sleeping, pooping. THings have been excellent.

I did't use any pillows at any time, other than at night to cover my tummy from my cats who like to sleep on me nightly.

I think becasue of my two c sections I had enough experience to know what I could and couldn't do.

Only a couple days into recovery, but so-far-so-good here! The days leading up to it were far, far worse than the last 2!

mlweeman, you have a very good point. One of the best things I found for me was reading the "Beyond" posts - found them to be very encouraging looking out further ahead. Also - getting my mind off w/non-hyst & lighter posts in "friends w/out faces" and "memorable messages"

This was my first surgery & the anxiety was consuming at times (LOTS of time.....) - My family was supportive & helped put a lot of thought & preparation into getting the house ready, so that is also a load off my mind. I am very thankful that all has gone well & so far so good in recovering.
The wealth of info & experiences from this site helped me feel so much more prepared - and continues to do so!
Stay as Positive as you can ! & good luck!