travel & work restrictions?

Okay ladies, I hope you can help me out with more of your great advice! I am scheduled for an LAVH next Thursday morning. If all goes according to plan, I'll be in the hospital for one night. I was told recovery would take a week. Now, after reading all the discussion threads, I'm wondering.

Work: since I teach online classes, I figured I could work from bed or the couch with my lap top as long as I take it easy for a week or so. Do you think this is reasonable?

Travel: four weeks after the surgery my family and I will attend my brother's wedding - that means flying from Austin to Seattle, then driving to up to the border near Vancouver. Surely after four weeks, this will be do-able, won't it?

I would really appreciate your feedback. I go back and forth between thinking I will bounce right back in less than a week , and thinking I should re-evaluate my expectations .

Hi!

I had my LAVH 3 weeks ago and am just now starting to feel like me again (with less pain and misery of course! LOL) Although it's different for everyone, I don't see any reason why you wouldn't be able to use the lap top. I used my DH's lap top for the first week because I was too uncomfortable at the computer desk.

As far as traveling, that's entirely up to you and your recovery. My family and I had planned a trip to Galvelston (I just wanted to go to Moody Gardens ) and we would have left this past weekend. I was soooo not up to it. I've just started driving again yesterday and took two short trips ~ won't be doing that again for a couple of days. Amazing how the little things can really wear you out! And I never realized how much you use your stomache when you drive.

Best of luck to you and I wish you a speedy recovery!!

I had a TAH instead of LAVH, but I believe there is still a significant healing time -- you still have all the internal stitches, even if there are only small external incisions. And surgeons tend to get fixated on the incision, rather than the overall health of the patient. So sometimes their estimates are not helpful.

Part of the reason it is hard to answer is that people are different, and surgeries are different, and recoveries are different. What was your experience after your C-sections? It doesn't guarantee a similar experience, but it might give you an idea of whether you tend to be a quick healer or not.

However it sounds over-optimistic to expect that recovery will take a week. You will still be dealing with exhaustion even if you are one of the lucky ones whose pain is over by then.

Your milage may vary, but I'd assume at least two weeks before you are in the mood to do anything, and then I'd assume only part-time, even if you are working from home on the couch. Many of us end up with fuzzy brains and lack of concentration due to the anesthesia.

As far as the travel goes, I don't have a clue. I'm 4 weeks today, and would not want to take a trip like that, but some people heal faster.

P.S. My recommendation is to arrange to have a recliner armchair to work from-- you will find this easier and less painful than working from either a bed or the couch.

I had my VH on Friday 6/27/05, spent one night in the hospital and then was working from home on my laptop on Monday. Did a little at a time. It wasn't bad at all.
Then 10 day's later I had liposuction on my abs, thighs and knees. That slowed me down a bit but still worked from home.
Stayed home for 3 weeks total and then went back to work and I am doing fine. Get tired in the afternoon on some days but then I just go home and lay down. The drive the first week back was a little hard just because it felt like my stomach was wiggly but I also drive almost 40 miles to work. I kept a pillow in the car to hold in front of me when I was on the surface streets. But, now I don't even need that.
I started reading this site a couple weeks before my surgery and got nervous about time off work because I originally planned on only taking two weeks. The doctor told me once he released me to drive it was up to me if I was ready to go back to work. He said most people take off 4-6 weeks some even 8 but it all depended on how I felt. There was no way I could sit home for 4 - 6 weeks unless I was in real pain. If I didn't have the lipo I would have been back to work after two. I just figured I really beat up my body with both surgery and needed the extra week.
With all that said I would think you should be fine with your plan.

That is very difficult to answer. I had a TAH and at 4 wks post op, I still felt like crap!

As it has already been stated, everyone heals differently, no two surgeries are the same, and from reading the posts here...the range is wide open!

With the advice of your dr. and depending on how *you* are feeling, I think you will have to make that decision about travel after you have had your surgery. There is no way to predict how you are going to feel or how quickly you will heal.

The part about working from home is probably do-able...just don't try to do too much too soon. Your body needs time to heal. Get lots of rest and your body will thank you for it later!

Good luck and best wishes on a speedy recovery!

Thank you, thank you! It is reassuring to hear from everyone. The closer the surgery gets, the more I appreciate the support we have here!

Hi, everyone is different so I can only share my own experience. I had a SAH on July 1st and started working from home on my laptop July 5th . Only did it for a couple of hours at a stretch and took a nap everyday. Being able to do some work was actually huge benefit as I was bored stiff.

This week (week 3), I started going into the office part time and feel fine. But my job is totally sedentary.

On travel, I'm not going to do it for 6 weeks primarily because I just don't see how I can avoid some amount of lifting my luggage. Even pulling it up onto a curb could be bad. I don't think I would have any problems sitting on a plane.

Hope this helps, good luck with your surgery!

Judy

Sunflower, I had a TVH and will be off 6 weeks, but offered to keep up with my work e-mail. I have my laptop on a stand next to my bed, so I can easily go online and read/answer e-mail without even getting up. But a couple of cautions. First, while a LAVH is less invasive and generally has a quicker recovery time, I don't think being full swing, even from home, within a week is realistic.

I am at a week right now, and I still need to rest a lot and nap whenever I get drowsy. Also, I'm discovering that my mental sharpness is not totally there; I accidentally sent an e-mail to the wrong person today and don't always have a good concentration level. I am really glad that whatever I do right now is voluntary and that I am not really obligated to do any serious work.

I would really try not to commit to anything important for 3 or 4 weeks if you can avoid it. But as far as the mechanics of getting online and off from a bedside laptop, that's definitely no problem.

P.S. I would consider the travel very iffy, just because travel can be so exhausting. If you do go, you should not be lifting anything, not even a carry-on bag. Remember that your long-term recovery and freedom from pain and adhesions could be jeopardized if you overdo it.

Thank you! I knew I would feel better once I had feedback from the HysterSisters.

I guess I'll play it by ear, and give my students a "heads-up" about my situation. Fortunately my schedule is such that I can hold off grading papers, exams, etc. until my head has had time to clear.