had 6 week post op appt today and really need advice!!!

Hi Sisters!
I am 5 weeks and 5 days post op today. I had my "6 week post op" this afternoon. First off, I waited over an hour because my doc was behind because of a surgery complication from earlier in the day (totally understandable and I was willing to wait . But when he finally came into the room, he was SOOO rushed and I had my paper in my hand that had about 10 questions on it. He looks at it and says "OH what is THAT?"
and I said "my questions"... and he goes "well you can ask those while I do your exam!"

So here I am laying on my back feeling like a complete idiot. He says "Hmmm... still see 2 stitches in your vaginal cuff so no sex untill 8 weeks post op, and then after that your husband can only pentrate 3/4 deep for another MONTH".............I was like "are you serious?" Girls... I have never heard of that!!! But then he goes on to tell me I am healing up nicely and I look great!

So my list of questions was things like, how much can I lift, can I start vacuuming, how much bending is ok, can I just be normal now and resume all activities---- general things like that. He told me I can only lift half of a laundry basket full until it doesn't hurt anymore. Only vacuum 1/2 a room per day until it does not hurt.

I told him I am still sore and I want to take 8 weeks off. I have a very physical job which requires 8 hours on my feet, lots of lifting and TONS of bending. He said "well ok I will write you a note to give you 8 weeks off but I am NOT dealing with short term disability for you".... I was shocked. He refused to submit anything to keep my short term disability pay going. He says I cannot do all that is required at my job so I need the 8 weeks off, but he won't write that to STD for me? He said they are sticklers and unless you have a MAJOR setback they typically pay for only 6 weeks off. Ok... I am PAYING my employer to HAVE short term disability benefits. I felt as though it is his job to submit that paperwork. He said he does not get in the middle of it after 6 weeks. Those were his exact words. He said I could essentially go back to work light duty but since there is NO light duty at my job I need 8 weeks off. I don't see why that is so hard for him to help me with..... geesh.

And also, shouldn't I be able to resume ALL normal activities at 6 weeks? It just seems weird. My appt was so rushed. He did not go over pathology with me at all. He just handed me the report and also handed me my surgery report. He did not go through ANYTHING with me.

He took my left ovary due to endo... but when I read the surgery report it said it was covered in endo when he took it out.... but the pathology report came back that there was NO endo INSIDE the ovary.... so it makes me wonder if he should have left the ovary in? I just don't know.

I have never felt so rushed... I feel like this is major surgery and he should have devoted 30 minutes of his time to me. Not just 10 min. The internal exam was rough too.... and I am laying there thinking if he can poke and prod like that..... then why do I have to wait 8 weeks for sex and then another 4 weeks with it only 3/4 of the way in?

I guess I am just frustrated. How about you ladies? What did you do at 6 weeks? Did you resume all normal activities? Sex? Vacuuming and all household chores? Did you return to a job on feet for 8 hours and lots of bending and lifting????

Thanks....

I did everything plus work 12 hour days of lifting and bending at 5 wks I was cleared for sex but waited out of fear. If you have stitches I can see waiting for sex and I'd rather wait than worry about 3/4 way in and going too far. What do you do, get out your ruler? That's crazy. But the STDis thing is unfair. Sounds like he was in a bad mood. His instructions made some sense since a lot of it was just hold back if it hurts. But the sex part----3/4?? That's a tough one to figure.

So sorry that you had such a bad experience. I have my 6 week check up tomorrow & was hoping for STD extension of a week or two for similar reasons. Since MD was having such a bad day today, would speaking with his nurse tomorrow & pleading your case for extended STD benefits be possible. She might champion your cause

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Originally Posted by veronalady How about you ladies? What did you do at 6 weeks? Did you resume all normal activities? Sex? Vacuuming and all household chores? Did you return to a job on feet for 8 hours and lots of bending and lifting????

Although my written post-op instructions I was given at the hospital by the nurse upon my discharge said "no vacuuming for six weeks " I milked the "no vacuuming restriction" for many months so that my husband would do it!

I have a sedentary office job so I was able to slowly ease into my work duties at just a few weeks post-op, but if I was employed in a physically-demanding job like climbing electical poles, unloading trucks or stocking shelves in a grocery store it would have been more than six weeks before I was able to return to work in my former capacity.

I think many of these things depend on the type of surgery, age of the patient, general overall health at the time of surgery and other factors including unforseen recovery issues. All patients are unique and please don't put yourself into a category in which you do not belong based on your own circumstances.

Hang in there and I hope that you are feeling better soon.

I hate it when the doctors treat us like that. I also think you should call the nurse & say that you understand he was rushed yesterday but is there anything she can do to help you? I have left my doctor appointment with only have my questions answered. Maybe the nurse would be nicer to ask? If you still have stitches I would wait until you know you are all healed up. Best wishes to you!

I asked him how will I know if I am healed at 8 weeks since I am not seeing him again and that is when he told me only 3/4 penetration for a month. He told me that he will not support my short term disability because I could technically go to my job and be on light duty and I told him there is no light duty. Then he replied with saying that short term disability would just find a way around it and make my employer find light duty work for me!! Not sure if that is 100% true. I honestly have to say that my doctor's nurse is very unpleasant-- always short with me and not very approachable. O had two surgeries almost back to back (laparoscopy for diagnosis) then the hyster and she has been difficult to talk to the whole time. I wonder if my primary doc could help??? My surgeon said he is releasing me from his care at this point so I guess I would need to see my general doctor now?? Ideas?

Also can I resume normal activities?

I went back to my family doctor after the 8 weeks because my gyn went out of the country & I didn't feel his partner that looked at me really cared. My family doctor was much nicer & took time to explain everything I had a question about. It is worth a try.

I'd def touch base with your primary care MD. I hate that they're giving you a hard time. After hearing your story, I've decided that my primary care doc will be plan 2 if I get negative feedback tomorrow. Funny that my new years resolution this year was simply to listen to my body. It lead me to finally addressing uterus issues, thus the hysterectomy. I'm following my resolution in my recovery and my body says it's not ready yet. If I'm denied STD extension by all docs, I plan to go out on FMLA leave unpaid for a week or two. Keep us posted, good luck, and continued healing

I did not have STD, but my Dr. let me decide when I felt I could go back to work. I went back after 7 weeks with many restrictions. My Dr. said if I could not follow the restrictions I could not go to work for 12 weeks. They even suggested 1/2 days. I am a special Ed teacher with a very physical job (lifting students, changing diapers) etc. I did not think 1/2 days was a good option. My Dr. was very nice and she was glad I had a list of questions and was glad to answer them. She has not released me yet. I go back next week. It seems like you sould not be released until you are healed. I did have alot of additional surgery. My other surgeon released me at 7 weeks, but he knew I was still under care of primary surgeon. i would definitely call Dr. office and if that did not work call primary Dr. Your work will not let you come back if they don't have light duty job. Maybe STD will continue without the Dr. doing anything. Good luck. If you are paying for the insurance then they should keep paying you.