Hyst on June 21st questions.. what is normal? advice?

Had my hyst on June 21st. Back home and feeling tremendously better than I was pre surgery. I had a huge amount of pain before surgery. Everyone keeps telling me this will make recovery a breeze?

I've been off work since 5/3 due to extreme pain. We found out I had cervical cancer. I had everything removed except ovaries. I'm 37 yrs old. My doc sees me for a follow up in two weeks.

How normal is it to go back to work in two weeks? My belly is very swollen and sore right now of course, but I can't imagine even sitting at my desk for 10 hr shifts right now!

Anyone have any tidbits of advice they'd like to pass on about what to/not to do post op to make this recovery go as smoothly as possible? I know there will be hiccups along the road, but you all have the tried and true experience which is something the docs can't give me. How it really feels!

Thank you all so much in advance /hugs!

Hi Cathomoss, each person heals and recovers differently. My best advice is to not let anyone pressure you into rushing your recovery. Your recovery is your own and you will get to where you need to be when you need to get there. I do think that doctors are not realistic in the recovery times that they give us. I had a TAH and although my recovery was fairly easy, my pain was manageable and I was released for all activities, but sex at 4 weeks, sex at 6, I still got tired a lot of days after. I was able to do more but I eased my way into things.

Check out the link for hysterectomy checkpoints. It gives you a reasonable expectation of recovery broken down into weeks.
https://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/view_pst.htm

I want you to keep in mind that although you are feeling good on the outside, your insides are still healing, so try to take it easy. It's really easy to overdo things and prolong your recovery.
You want to make sure to drink plenty of water, eat plenty of fiber, take your pain meds as scheduled, walk a little each hour that you are not resting and rest , rest , rest. No lifting, bending, pulling and pushing. Always listen to your body. It generally lets you know, if you've done too much.
I hope this was helpful to you and I pray that you have a successful recovery

Lots of ((HUGS))to you