My 4 week appointment tomorrow (11/3/09)

I had my LAVH on 10/2/09. I still have both ovaries. There was a small cyst on my right ovary - but he was able to simply remove the cyst and keep the ovary. He thought I had 2...maybe 3 fibroids on my uterus. Told me before they took me back to OR that I'd be back in 1 - 2 hours....tops. There were EIGHT fibroids, one of which was the size of a softball! And the procedure took a total of SIX hours, that's not counting recovery. Can't believe 4 weeks have already gone by so quickly. I have my first "official" post-op appointment tomorrow afternoon. I'm a high school teacher and before my surgery, I told everyone that I'd be back in 3 weeks at least. Boy, was I wrong! I ran a fever for a solid week at the 2nd week - doc had me come in and they couldn't get a vein to draw blood to check for infection...so he put me on Cephalexin for a bacterial infection just to be on the safe side. I slept sooo much for the first 3 weeks and last week I started getting up and about a little more. I started having pain in my right side and was tender to the touch behind my ribs. I went BACK to his office (did I mention how wonderful my doctor is? ) He gave me Lortab and sent me for an abdominal/pelvic scan to rule out kidney stones, gall bladder issues, and something else. The scan came back showing NO abnormalities. He told us it was probably a pulled/strained muscle.
My kids are emailing me, texting me, sending me cards, I even had a couple of them come see me at the hospital! I love my kids!
I was doing so good, I think....and then Friday (10/30) I drove to the pharmacy to pick up my medicine and to get out of the house. When I came back and pulled into the garage and parked the truck...I carefully turned to get out of the truck only to step in a small puddle of water in which I proceeded to slide all the way out of the truck to the garage floor. I now have bruises all the way down my left side... looks like Van Gogh or Picasso tried to create a new masterpiece on my heinie. Ouch! My back aches from my shoulder to my waist on the left side. First, I have to check out the right side and everything turned out okay.... then I go and screw up my left side right before I go for my first "official" post-op appointment!! I am so worried. I really feel like I need to get back to work. I do miss my kids and I feel bad for the substitute teacher. She says she is doing fine and he primary concern is that I get the proper healing time that I need. She is doing a great job with the kids... but I hate to be an inconvenience to ANYONE. I've been teaching over 20 years... and my husband and I have no children of our own - so I guess I get more attached to my students than the average teacher. Some of my kids come from rough backgrounds and call me "mom" ..... I just don't know what to tell the doctor tomorrow (of whom I have had a very good relationship with and he has helped me so much).
I guess what I'm trying to say is - this was my VERY FIRST SURGERY. I had never even been put to sleep before! (I'm 43 years young). So I don't know if he will "ask" me what I think I should do or if he will "tell" me what I should do. If he asks me or tells me that I can go back "whenever"..... I'm really going to be torn between going back and staying home a little longer to be SURE I've healed properly. My substitute had a baby one year ago and had to have a c-section. So I believe her when she says, "You're probably going to need more time than you THINK you'll need to really recover." I have an extremely low threshold for pain....I panic when my pain meds get low and I will even let myself suffer a little bit to try to save my pain medicine. Is it obvious that I am new here???

I have read some of the forums and you guys are good! I appreciate all the information I have received just from browsing mainly in the Post Op Support section. I thought I'd post something tonight for advice at my appointment tomorrow. My DH has even taken off from work to go with me. He took off 2 whole weeks after my surgery. He almost never takes off from work.

What kinds of questions do I need to ask my doctor? I cannot stand to wear anything except my pajama pants or jogging pangs with elastic waist and drawstring. We don't have a strict dress policy at the school, but I can't see myself getting by with pajama bottoms!

and no, I didn't call the doctor when I fell out of the truck Friday afternoon. #1, it was after office hours and #2, I really didn't feel like I hurt anything internally (except my pride). It did JAR me a bit....but that day was exactly 4 weeks after the surgery....almost to the hour too! They brought me to my room around 3:00pm at the hospital on Oct. 2nd...and I hit the garage floor around 5:00 pm here at home on Oct. 30th. Talk about tricks and treats before Halloween! ugggh!

I guess I just want to know anything I might not think to ask when I go see him tomorrow. I've pretty much decided from reading different threads that sex is OUT of the question for at least 3 or 4 more weeks. Hubby is so patient and understanding.... the idea of "hurting" me totally turns him off - so he probably won't even want to for longer than that!

So any advice you can throw my way will be greatly appreciated. Just the basics: I teach high school, I miss my kids, I worry about being an inconvenience, I'm not sure if I should insist on going back to work asap, and what are some specific questions that I should ask my doctor tomorrow? Should I be more worried about that fall than I am?

Hope everyone has a good night.... keep the good advice and support coming.... you are helping more people than you realize!

Even without the fall, I can only say that you have one chance to heal. So take as long as you can. I'm so sorry you fell. That sucks for you.

Take care,

If you have any hesitation - take more time to recover! As soon as you return to work, you will be viewed by your colleagues & students as fit and well enough to work & thrown full speed back into everything. You might be ok for day one, and maybe even day 2, but then you have to go back .... repeatedly! Rest while you can, to make sure you can give them back 100% when you do return!

Amen! Both ladies are so on point . . . you have to take care of yourself first and foremost. If you need more time off, then so be it, take the time off.

Ladies! Thank you so very much for your advice and encouragement! That was my first post here on Sisters and I told my DH..."It will probably be a day or two before I get a reply. There are sooooo many threads and posts and questions...No one will look at mine." Thank you so much! This is the best website. I read so many things before registering... now I am so glad that I did finally register!

You are so correct on returning to work. While I "bragged" that I'd be back in 3 weeks, I am now a much more humbled 43 y/o!! Maybe if my procedure had not taken SIX hours...maybe it would have been different. But you never know.

And if I go back, I know the administration will look at me and say, "Good grief....she was off for 4 or 5 weeks....that "should" be PLENTY of time to heal!" And what is NOT to my advantage is we have 4 principals...2 male and 2 female....this is my disadvantage => while both of the 2 female principals are well older than me (10 and 12 years older) - NEITHER has had a hysterectomy.

My colleagues, on the other hand, are VERY understanding. I have received so many emails, text messages, cards..... all telling me to NOT worry about ANYTHING AT WORK....to focus on healing properly so that when I am able to return, I won't have to go back and forth if I'm not up to par. These dear ladies have all had some type of hysterectomy procedure - thus, the caring and understanding attitudes and telling me to NOT worry (I'm the very worst worry wart on this planet!) about things at work.

But I really worry about my kids getting what they need (I teach special ed....mostly learning disabilities, emotional/behavioral issues, mild MR... the kids who are in some regular ed. classes and some resource (sp. ed.) classes). I wouldn't worry so much if the state had not recently (last year) implemented a brand new math curriculum. Guess who teaches math?? Last year, I was a co-teacher in a regular ed. class that had regular ed. and special ed. kids mixed together. The pilot year was a blow-out...oh my, it was horrible. I begged to stay with the first year Math class just to have some familiarity. Administration had other plans and moved me up with those kids to the second year of the new Math. I love it! It is so much better....so much easier to teach and the kids KNOW me because they had me last year (most of them anyway). And last year, I had all co-teaching classes whereas this year, I have 1 co-teaching class and 2 resource (my own) classes. I don't worry about the co-teaching class - but I do worry about the 2 resource classes. It's not the substitute AT ALL... she is probably a better teacher with the math than me! But I KNOW those kids and they know me. And I can "read" into their text messages.... they like the sub, but they are really missing me. And like I said, some of them do not have such a great home life or any kind of support at home. It just makes me sad. Makes me want to open up a can of whoop butt and get those parents in line. Can you see what a big worry wart I am?!!! My DH has this saying, "If she doesn't have something REAL to worry about, she will create something!" But he loves me anyway for some reason.

Again, thank you for your replies....I was so tickled when I saw 3 replies to my post last night! You are all so dead on about everything. I know whenever I return to work, they will look at me and say to themselves, "Okay, she's back... she can get things rolling and we can move forward!"
Not to say that the sub has held the kids back... totally the contrary. She has done a magnificent job with them!
Maybe if I go back dressed in some "nicer" pajama bottoms..... that's a thought. Kind of along the lines of a thread/post that I read about don't be afraid to dress in your pajamas and wear a robe all day.... once the "household" sees you dressed in your "regular" clothes - they think you're "healed".

You know what? I still don't even fully understand what all happened in my procedure. I knew my uterus was coming out...but I didn't understand about the cervix and closing all that up inside. I think I have my tubes. I know I have my ovaries. I would guess if I have my ovaries that I have my tubes?

I forgot to mention that I'm deaf...I lost my hearing when I was 6 and have worn hearing aids and read lips since that time. There were no "special ed. laws" when I was in school. The very first law was passed when I was in the 2nd grade. So my "special help" came from my parents and a handful of teachers who LOVED their jobs and their kids, regardless of their "flaws."

My doctor talks a little fast and kind of mumbles - that's his flaw. lol. So DH goes with me because he wants to know what's going on and so that he can relay to me anything that I miss. But you know how men are.... they don't always remember everything.

The more I think about it.... the more my gut instinct is I need a little more time. It's a very torn feeling. I hate this. And my job is very stressful. The way I love my kids is almost like a double-edged sword. I bet if I didn't love them so much and vice versa - I wouldn't be having this torn feeling. If I didn't know anything about how they've been doing and receiving their sweet, thoughtful text messages....I would probably be better off. Now I know why most teachers separate themselves so drastically from their students. I have wanted to be a teacher since I lost my hearing years ago. I wanted to give back what all of those wonderful teachers did for me... they gave me hope and saw ME...NOT MY HEARING AIDS.

Everyone knows I'm going to the doctor today. Even my sub sent me a text (which is RARE!) at 7:10 a.m. saying very simply, "Text me as soon as you know what the doctor says." But over the weekend and yesterday, it was .... "Don't worry... please take care of yourself! You need to heal properly and completely! I am fine...I can keep going... that is not a problem. Just take extremely good care of yourself, etc." So that text message threw me off. Ugggh!

Do you think the doc will do a vaginal exam today? It was 4 weeks on Friday.... so I'm actually at the 4.5 mark. I'm thinking he might especially since I fell out of the truck. I hope I don't get fussed at for not calling him or the on-call doctor.

I should have started using this weeks ago!! It makes me feel better to hear from others and to put my feelings, worries, concerns in writing. But I was so tired the first 3 weeks. I slept so much! It was unreal. I was honestly too tired to get up and sit up long enough to type emails like this.
Thanks again....you guys are great!!

Glad you're here. Remember that if you go back to soon then you won't "be there" for the kids in that scenario for much longer (if you get complications from doing too much too soon, you'll be out much longer.)

It's great to be able to come to a place like this and ask questions and vent, isn't it? I think this site is heaven-sent! ;-)

Hang in there,

It is most definitely heaven-sent!! :-)

Well, not going back to work yet. He took a "peek" (and it did not feel good at all!) and was shaking his head as he stood up to say, "It looks 'okay', but it is not healed up enough for me to release you to go and be up and about at work. Let's set up your next appointment for 2 weeks." So there we have it.... doc didn't ask - he TOLD ME.

And to beat it all - I am so accident prone here lately! I don't know what's wrong with me! I slipped in the bathroom after I had gotten out of the shower when I bent over to get the hair off the shower drain in the tub!! I told him about this and the other fall on Friday. He said he didn't see any bleeding - but to be on the watch for any bleeding and any abdominal swelling. I landed on my knee and he said he could tell it was already starting to bruise. Said that I probably pulled a muscle or more than one. He knows I've really been working hard to take it easy - so the banging around will probably bring a few days of soreness.

My right knee swelled up after surgery for some odd reason....and thats' the knee that I landed on after my shower. Hubby has banned me from having anything to do with the area around the tub/shower - except to use it strictly for that purpose - to take my shower and to call for him when I'm ready to step out of the shower.

Yes, it is really good to have somewhere to go and share, vent, and read about others experience.... even try to offer a little encouragement here and there.

I'm sad to not get to go back to my kids as soon as I would like - but you are right. I won't be much good if I'm there a few days and end up in worse shape than I am now which might cause me to be out even longer than I would if I took care of myself NOW.

Thanks again for being so thoughtful and offering encouragement and helping me maintain some sanity here.
c6g14

Anytime! I totally understand about the gratitude for this site and it's women. I love it here. It helped me through my first few months so much.

I am glad to here you have another couple of weeks off because 'you were told to' - even if you do miss the kids!

Take it easy on yourself and no more 'trips'! All the best!

I'm a teacher too, luckily my principal had the same surgery about 12 years ago and is very understanding!