vacation

My family has planned and already paid for a vacation to the beach....before I found out last week that I would be having a hysterectomy on June 8th. I know this sounds petty...but I really want to go. The doctor has said I may feel like it, but I'm more interested in the experiences of other ladies. It's a long drive, but the most activity planned is walking down to the beach and plopping down in the beach chair. I'd love to hear your opinions and feelings.

Thanks,
jodycolleen

Hi Jody, You don't say in your post when your vacation is scheduled for. It would make a lot of difference in how you feel if you are 3 weeks post op compared to 6 or 7 weeks post op. When is the vacation?

Our vacation is planned for 4 weeks from the date of my surgery. Actually, we would be driving on the 4 week "anniversary".
Thanks for your response.

Well, First I would certainly check with your doctor. It would also depend on the type of surgery you are having. TAH or TVH both have a lot of internal sutures, but the TVH doesn't have the abdominal insision to worry about. I made a couple of 4 hour trips, one at 3 1/2 weeks and I personally did fine. I even had to do the driving on one of them. I didn't try to lift anything, or do anything to hard. I had a very easy recovery and wish you the same, but you don't want to over due it. If you have to travel a long way in the car, I would advise that you stop regularly and walk around and stretch. I know that helped me. You will hear from many other sisters I'm sure. Some who might have tried it, (I think I would have) and others who wouldn't have been able to at all. I just think we all heal differently and have very different levels of tolerance to the discomfort. I am at 13 weeks now and am planning my summer vacation as we speak. I wish you luck with your surgery and hope you get to go on the vacation if you're able.

Jody,

You didn't say how long the drive would be. My 6th day post-op, my doctor let me ride to our timeshare at the beach (2 hour drive).
He even kidded that he might need to come to the beach to check on me - just to make sure I was doing okay!

The ride might not be as difficult for you as the walking down to the beach (depending on how long the walk). But plopping in the beach chair sounds good (just remember to plop gently!) You'll probably want one of the "chase lounge" types that you can recline in. Remember: sitting is considered an activity!
Good luck with your surgery and hope you feel up to enjoying your vacation!
Dianne

Jody - I had tah/bso March 2000 and there's no way I could of done that at 4 weeks post. NancH is right...we're all different and you probably won't know until after your surgery. Be flexible!!!! If you don't feel like it can the trip be postponed???

I'm having a TVH (keeping ovaries) on 6/11 and our family has had a cruise planned for over a year! I will be "cruising" at 6 1/2 weeks, and believe me, having a great vacation will be what keeps me from overdoing during my recovery!!! I also plan to do a lot of reclining on those deck chairs!!!

Good Luck on 6/8!

Kathleen

I had a TAH/BSO, and I think I would have been OK at the beach at the 4 week stage. That was about when I started to feel human again, and had to remind myself that I was still healing. If you go, just remember that you need to spend most of your vacation relaxing, and not doing the other things we all like to do on vacation.

Thanks for all the words of encouragement. I think I'm going to try it. All I plan to do is sit in the beach chair and watch my kids make sand castles. My husband has promised that I don't even have to cook! I'm going to look at it as my treat for being a good patient.