Scheduling Question - wk of 11/26, better by Christmas? (kids mentioned)

Hi Ladies,

I had my appt with gyn today. I have adeno and am post novasure ablation by 2 1/2 years with increasing bleeding again, pain, and bladder issues.

Was given the option of maintaining the status quo (advil/pain pills), lupron injections w/ progesterone pills, or a LAVH.

I have been reading about the Lupron all day and really want no part of it. I already have anxiety/depression problems, and have a breast (benign) lumpectomy, occasional migraines, hypothyroid, and asthma. Playing such a crazy hormone game sounds like a bad idea, even if my breast surgeon would allow it (which gyn wanted to talk to if I considered that route).

So, I am going to call tomorrow and schedule my LAVH. I'm actually really excited about the idea of just being done with this. It's been ruining my life for the last 7 years in differing ways, and I just need to put this all behind me.

So my question for you ladies is, if I schedule a LAVH for the week of 11/26, provided I shop on Black Friday and do all my wrapping, decorating, etc. that weekend after Thanksgiving, do you think I can be relatively back up to function by Christmas if I lay low through end of November, early December.

GYN said they usually book 4 to 6 weeks out and I'm in two 5Ks and a swim meet the week of Thanksgiving, I'm just wondering if end of November is cutting it too close to the holidays. I have a 7 and a 9 year old, so Christmas is a big deal here.

I really don't want to push it off to January/February because that's another 4 cycles worth of pain/pain pills, and I am more prone to depression in the winter so I think major surgery with that would be a bad mix.

Thoughts?

I guess it depends on what you mean by "function". I had a TAH BSO, so I cannot speak to a LAVH. But, for me just 4 weeks after surgery I still needed lots of rest and help around the house. I was barely able to muster 4 hours of work a day at a desk job, and even that was TOUGH, TOUGH, TOUGH. I was still shopping with a cart, and was not really in the mood for much family activity.

Everyone is different, though it might be better to do this after the holidays when things have settled down.

If you shop, wrap and decorate all before surgery and don't have to go visiting people outside of your home you should be able to swing it.If your just planning on hanging around your own home with your children, and not planning on cooking a huge holiday meal for a zillion relatives,maybe. I had daVinci and at 4 weeks I was just starting to be able to have the energy to fix my hair and wear make up and piddle around in the kitchen just a little. I was very very tired still and even an hour of activity wore me out. You won't be up for any shopping or huge meals. Activities outside your home may be difficult to swing too.

I think everyone recovers differently. I also had a Davinci, and I was feeling about 50% back to normal within a week. I started driving two weeks afterwards. Every day I would force myself to get out a little bit, just walk around a store with a cart even if only for a half hour. I was napping a little bit, but wasn't as tired as I thought I would be. I was back to work at my desk job at 4 weeks, and felt pretty good. A little sore when sitting for too long, but overally good.

If you get as much done prior to surgery, and aren't going to be hosting at Christmas, I think you could probably swing it. I wasn't able to lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk for at least six weeks, if not longer.

Depends on how you heal and what you have in mind, a family day, or hosting a huge event. I could have done it but I had a very easy recovery. If you cook a big turkey you'll need lifting help but that's a minor glitch. Everyone is different but if you don't go too wild, I think it's do-able.

I had my LAVH on Sept 6th.....I returned to work after 10 days.....although, I still took it slow....I left early a couple of days and then even took a whole day off the following week when I felt I may have overdone it one day. But, overall, I was very very pleased with my recovery period. In fact, there were times I felt like maybe I hadn't even had a hysterectomy when I compared my situation to others on this site...so, it is very true that everyone heals differently.

I will say that I had very little pain around the two small incisions I had. I had no bleeding from the incisions nor my vagina. My biggest fear came with the thought of my first BM...haha...and even that was not bad.

So, as long as you get your shopping and wrapping completed beforehand and do not plan on doing a lot of entertaining during the holidays, you should be fine. But, just remember to rest when you can and do not over do. Even though you may not feel pain on the outside, your body is still healing on the inside.....

Be sure to have a good surgeon....!

Ok, thanks ladies. My OBGYN's office called today and said 11/28 (which is right in line with what I was thinking) so I will be the first surgery of the day there.

My in-laws do fly in for the holidays, but they stay at a hotel. My husband usually cooks the turkey for big holidays if we have one, or we do soups, or I can even have my parents bring the food as they live close by. So while I do "host," I don't really do much, it's 10-12 people, and I can always do less. I just didn't want to be in a situation where I was lying in bed upstairs by myself, while my kids opened presents because I was in too much pain to come down.

I guess I'm in for Black Friday shopping this year! LOL

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Originally Posted by cathb911 If you shop, wrap and decorate all before surgery and don't have to go visiting people outside of your home you should be able to swing it.If your just planning on hanging around your own home with your children, and not planning on cooking a huge holiday meal for a zillion relatives,maybe. I had daVinci and at 4 weeks I was just starting to be able to have the energy to fix my hair and wear make up and piddle around in the kitchen just a little. I was very very tired still and even an hour of activity wore me out. You won't be up for any shopping or huge meals. Activities outside your home may be difficult to swing too.

I agree with Cathy. I had a LAVH 7 weeks ago. At 4 weeks I wasn't doing very much and still needed a nap! If you are planning a big family celebration that you have to do the work for it will be hard but if youve got lots of help and you can rest you can still have a nice time. The thing about hysterectomies is everyone is completely different inside and a healing. Listen to the sisters on this site and not the doctors..they generally tell you you will be finecwayvearlier than you actually are!!! Having said that some sisters are back to work at 4 weeks. All the best with your decision

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Originally Posted by mlc03 Ok, thanks ladies. My OBGYN's office called today and said 11/28 (which is right in line with what I was thinking) so I will be the first surgery of the day there. My in-laws do fly in for the holidays, but they stay at a hotel. My husband usually cooks the turkey for big holidays if we have one, or we do soups, or I can even have my parents bring the food as they live close by. So while I do "host," I don't really do much, it's 10-12 people, and I can always do less. I just didn't want to be in a situation where I was lying in bed upstairs by myself, while my kids opened presents because I was in too much pain to come down. I guess I'm in for Black Friday shopping this year! LOL

Perfect! If you get the parents and hubby to handle all the meal prep and clean up, you'll be fine. You won't be stuck in bed at all. At worst you'll be sitting in the recliner por on the couch watching your kiddos open presents and watching everyone else prepare, serve , and clean up the meal/mess!! Good luck with your surgery and better get busy shopping and wrapping!!