Should I take all six weeks?

I am tough and I want to get back to work. I take my work personally and I feel a great sense of ownership of the work and the team that works for me and with me.

I have thought about trying to go back after 4 weeks because this week I have made good progress in healing. But it is not consistent. My surgery was 12/9 and it is 12 days post op. Today I got my staples out and I am sore. There is a 5 inch section in my 10 inch incision that cut across my deep stretch marks from when I had my daughter. And they hurt. Tonight I am sore, but yesterday I felt great.

There is no question that the healing progress seems to go in spurts and it is important that we don't overdue anything. One lady that was in the pre-op lab testing waiting room was talking with me. All the folks in the room were scheduled for surgeries of some sort. So we got talking. She said that she is having a hernia operated on because she had a hysterectomy and did to much and developed a hernia. And now that has to be repaird. She said, whatever the doctors tell you, listen to them, she didn't and she was sorry. And she said, she needed the full 6 weeks, in fact, she felt alot more like herself at 8 weeks.

I will play it by ear. Some days I feel much better and other days, it feels like I get a rude awakeing reminder that I had surgery, big surgery.

Take it easy. I am, the work will always be there and if you were hit by a truck, they would hire someone else. We have one life to live. Live it, and heal.

Now lets see if I can practice what I preach.

I too had thought I would only take 5 weeks. At 5 weeks I would run out of sick days and it would be costing me big money. Well, I went back at 6 weeks. TH\hanks for the advice ladies. It was hard even at 6 weeks! Thank goodness I am a teacher and I am on a 2 week Christmas vacation right now.

The thing you have to rememeber is physically you will be feeling better but it's your stamina that will make you miserable. After about an hour or two I'm exhausted. But the end of the day I'm a mess. Then the aches and pain start after the exhaustion has hit. I will take a day or two perhaps but it will come. That's when you can hurt yourself like the others have pointed out.

If you have the ability to take the time, take it. Remember once you go back it will be almost impossible to go back to off work. It might look bad for you in your employer's eye. Also remember it's your Dr. that has to give you a back to work clearance too. How does your Dr. feel about going back early? I found that my Dr. would rather extend my off work time rather than shorten it.

My post at this point is a broken record...

But yes, by all means, take the six weeks!

Take the 6 weeks! I had my hyst on Oct. 10, 2005 and after Christmas shopping all day yesterday AND wrapping presents my tummy was pretty sore...I took ALOT of time to rest heal and recover...this is major surgery, and hormones need to be balanced out etc. Take some time for you...you'll be glad you did!

Someone mentioned that they had mental effects - disorganized & forgetful. I was told this is a side effect of the anesthesia, and I had a problem with it for several months! So be aware of this, ladies, especially when you are driving. One of the best things I did was make a copy of my car key at the hardware store for about a dollar. I keep it in my purse in case I lock my keys in my car......and I have used it twice!! The copy does not have the $80 microchip in it that the key from the dealer has, so it won't start the car, but it will unlock the door!!

I think the thing that everyone needs to remember, and I need to tell myself this too (I am almost 2 weeks post op) is that with a hysterectomy, recovery often is amazingly great considering the size of the surgery and the incisions, and what is done. But you can't let that fool you.

When I was getting pre-op blood work done, there were other people in the waiting room that I wound up talking with, just to pass the time. A women next to me told me that she was going to have surgery to fix a hernia. She told me that she got her hernia because she had a hysterectomy and did to much during the recovery and she developed the hernia. She is sorry. I was also told by a nurse at my doctors office that when she had her hysterectomy, she looks back and reflects that her doctor told her to take the full 6 weeks. She said to me, her advise is, everything that your doctor tells you - follow their orders. That means nothing in the vagina until the doctor sais it's ok and don't do to much.

I am making GREAT progress, however I know I have a ways to go for healing. I could be out and going somewhere with DH or doing something simple int he house, and then BAM all of a sudden, extreem exhaustion. Or my internal stitches or muscles start to hurt when I do to much.

Everyone heals at a different rate so therefore, my suggestion based on my experience so far is, listen to your doctor and LISTEN to your body. It does tell you when enough is enough. Don't push it beyond that point.

For example, I am an avid animal lover and DH and I have 8 almost 9 fish tanks. And my smallest 30 gallon saltwater reef tank had not had a water change in almost 3 weeks. I did the water change, but I was exhausted after that. Pre-surgery, I could do 4 or 5 tanks in 1 full day. I just don't have the stamina or energy at this point and bending hurts. I can go up stairs facting straight now, but bending over to pick something up is still a tough one for me.

Overall, I am pleased with my healing, but once I go back to work, I know I will jump back into being a work-aholic. Even though I have a valid reason for the disability, hysterectomy is no small matter by far, I still feel bad for the office.

I also have a great boss. He is willing to work with me so that I perhaps work for a short period of time from home if getting into the office and working at the desk all day is to much for me.

Some people say that if you have an office job where you are at a desk, is easier to go back to work. I think in some ways yes. But, think about sitting for 8-12 hours a day. For me, sitting for long periods of time hurt. I feel a stress pull on my stomache muscle and my incision line. I have a long way to go before I could sit for a full work day in an upright position.

I can't predict when I will feel ok to go back to work, but I sure know that I will make very sure I am ok before I do. And you can only judge that when the time approaches. My doctor feels the 6 weeks is perfectly fine considering the surgery and that is it TAH. I have heard that the lapscope surgery, healing and recovery time is faster, but I don't know if that is true or not. All I know is that my incision is a good 10 inches long, I had 18 staples and my body reminds me of that several times a day. I am getting better steadily, but I take it one day at a time.

Sorry for the long winded post, but I thought my sharing might be worthwhile for some.

My motto, heal and take whatever time you need to do it. For many, 6 weeks is far from unreasonable. Once you go back to work, you can't say, uh oh - I need more time. It doesn't fly.