DvH: ok to squat down? drive car?

After DvH: when is it ok to squat down to pick up something? When is it ok to drive again? I have been off pain pills for 2 days now. I have a doctor's appt in a week that I need to drive too.

I had an SAH, so the experience was somewhat different. My dr told me that the first time I could drive was to my 2 week apt. Since I wasn't on anything stronger than ibuprofen, I did get clearance to drive a few days earlier. However, I found that I couldn't turn enough to see when backing up. The other test is that you have to be able to stomp hard on the brakes for accident avoidance.

I don't think squatting is a good idea. As other people have said here, you have a large number of internal stiches and you don't want to pull them by twisting or straining. I bought a grabber so that I didn't have to bend. I also grabbed things with my toes. Anything that fell on the floor for the first few weeks that I couldn't pick up with the grabber stayed there unless someone else picked it up. That wasn't a problem because everyone wanted to make sure I didn't hurt myself. I did kneel down on the floor using my quad muscles and a cane after the second week, but you do want to avoid using your abdominal muscles.

I drove at about 3 weeks after a TAH/BSO.
The criteria for driving, according to my hospital booklet, is once you have a completely clear brain (some people are still a bit foggy for a while after anesthetic), and once you can make sudden movements without pain (e.g. you may have to brake suddenly). Maybe practice down your driveway.

I DID squat! A LOT! I asked while still at the hospital, and they said as long as you keep your back straight and just use your leg muscles and your arms (to pull yourself up), rather than your abdominal muscles.
I do have strong leg muscles from up-hill walking (pre-op.!) and cycling, and I found squatting (as prescribed) to be pain-free and very useful. Just be careful, if you do squat!

I did have a reacher-grabber, and used it sometimes, too.

I had a DvH with BSO and could not use any pain meds after surgery-allergic to them. I asked my doctor at about 1 1/2 weeks out and she said that if I could do it safely and normally without pain then it was ok. It was much harder than I thought and I could not do this until at least 2 1/2 weeks. Having to be able to make sudden moves was really hard as was being able to use force to stop my car. How far is your doctor from your house? I would practice on the driveway, ask your doc and if necessary find someone to drive you.

I had dvh and was able to drive at 10 days post op without any problem. This was my docs recommendation at pre-op. It was fine, although I didn't drive any long distances, other than post op appts that were about 20 miles away.