Any first day/ week back at work after hysterectomy stories?

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Originally Posted by Leahmangle Oh my goodness.....4 weeks does not sound logical!!! I am so sorry that is all you will be allowed......I am 6 weeks out and started back today post TAH and hernia repair. I am a recovery nurse and today was a lighter than usual surgery schedule, and it was exhausting......I really don't know how one prepares for the physical and mental demands of work. I walked daily for 6 weeks and thought I was in decent shape......I guess not. Tomorrow is a 10-12 hour day and I am literally nauseous just thinking about it. Good luck to you!!

Hey,
How is it going? I am totally with you in spirit. I'd be nauseous too-just thinking about that makes me want to disappear into the ground!
Please don't overdo it!

I'm not going to lie....it was a little rough....But I survived!! My lower back is killing me and I'm exhausted and swollen. I work with the surgeon who did my surgery and he was operating today. He checked on me multiple times and even helped me push a patient on their bed to their room. I was very fortunate to be able to text or call him throughout this recovery period with any questions or concerns I had. But wondering if I should have asked for an extra week or two off........Anyways,,,,hope you are recovering well without any problems.[BQUOTE=Blot;4756721]Hey,
How is it going? I am totally with you in spirit. I'd be nauseous too-just thinking about that makes me want to disappear into the ground!
Please don't overdo it! [/quote]

That is terrific! My coworkers have been splitting my classes all this time, and I will still have to depend o them a lot. Thank goodness for coworkers!

A couple more weeks would have been nice. Exhausted and swollen. Everyone has been helpful. It can be done.

LotusFromMud,
That is so wrong that FMLA can dictate your "healing time" to your doctor. I hope you can gain some strength before you have to go back. Even the stress of planning and all that goes on through the day can't be good for you if you're not ready. Are you, by chance, close to retiring? (You mention being very veteran.). Maybe this lousy situation might be a reason to consider it if it's possible for you.

Fiona, unfortunately I am still 5 years from retirement. In my state, teachers do not contribute to SS and pay a fairly high percentage to retirement so I haven't been able to accrue my own retirement fund. Pension monthly payments don't become even close to enough until you are about a year from retirement - retire before then and you get very little. I've worked over 30 years so I'll crawl into my classroom if I have to in order to get to full retirement.

I am, at this point, very disenchanted with the medical system. I, thankfully, had one of the most skilled gyn/onc surgeons in the region. But she saw me at 2 weeks post-op, never did an internal exam, looked at my incisions, told me she was sure I would be up to going to work by 4 weeks, and released me with no future appts. I know a year from now, when this is all over, I will be grateful that I had such a skilled surgeon. But for now, she is difficult to get through recovery with. My only alternative is to take the oxycodone in school if needed for the pain and get rides to and from work, which thankfully a family member has volunteered to do. It's just sad that the law and medical community force people back to work when they are not ready in order to prevent "malingering."

I'm sorry that you have so few options. I still think it should be up to your doctor and on an individual basis, of course. I'm also a teacher and found the first few days back very tiring, and I even felt "ready" to go back. Best wishes to everyone here as you adjust to going back to work!

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Originally Posted by Fiona55 I'm sorry that you have so few options. I still think it should be up to your doctor and on an individual basis, of course. I'm also a teacher and found the first few days back very tiring, and I even felt "ready" to go back. Best wishes to everyone here as you adjust to going back to work!

Is there any special advice you can give?

One thing that helped me was I went back on a Thursday so I only had 2 days then the weekend to start. The kids were great, happy to see me, and some were a little quieter than usual, which was ok! I kind of felt like I was coming back from a (long) winter break, Once the day starts I think you'll just fall right back into your routines of the day. It may hit you that you're tired, but I would guess you just have to keep going! Maybe plan for some simple or carry out dinners if you're on your own? My sub had left a couple days of plans and did a ton of grading, so I didn't have to worry about that at first. Are you feeling ready to go back physically?

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Originally Posted by Fiona55 One thing that helped me was I went back on a Thursday so I only had 2 days then the weekend to start. The kids were great, happy to see me, and some were a little quieter than usual, which was ok! I kind of felt like I was coming back from a (long) winter break, Once the day starts I think you'll just fall right back into your routines of the day. It may hit you that you're tired, but I would guess you just have to keep going! Maybe plan for some simple or carry out dinners if you're on your own? My sub had left a couple days of plans and did a ton of grading, so I didn't have to worry about that at first. Are you feeling ready to go back physically?

I do think I am ready to try. I'm walking over 2 miles a day (most days), I've been using my binder less and less, and actually drove for almost an hour today (round trip) without my pillow!

I forgot about how everything falls into place. Thank you for reminding me. And, I usually stay so busy that I don't have time to worry about how I feel very much. It took such a big shift in thinking to take it easy and recover that I'm struggling with letting that go!

I'm planning to leave early as long as I can, so for the first week or so, I'll be working 7-1:30 instead of 7-3:30 or later. I think that, and lots of motrin and ice packs will help.

I forgot how fast life in the classroom moves, and I think that will help the most!