Another question...

I have noticed in some posts, some women allude to it being difficult to sit after their surgery. Why is this? Is it because of the insisions or because of being sore ... ummm... elsewhere else...

Carol
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LAVH/BSO on March 31

Sitting puts a lot of upward pressure on your internal stitches. Whether a TVH, LAVH, or TAH, you have literally hundreds of sutures holding everything in place. In addition, with a TAH, sitting can put pressure on the abdominal incision as well.

So, sitting is an activity that should be limited for a while.

s,

Lisa

Hi Carol In a lot of cases, it's those of us who have had A&P repairs who have a hard time sitting... I had to sit on a donut pillow for six weeks following mine last year.

By contrast, I had a second vaginal surgery a few months later to remove an adhesion, and after that one I really didn't have much trouble sitting. I used the donut for a few days but then was fine.
s,
-Linda

I had my TAH/LSO on 3/19 and have found that sitting somewhat reclined (reclining couch) with a body pillow wrapped around me feels wonderful.

Sitting 90 degrees (forget a church pew or a straight backed chair) would be a drag and cause lots of pulling (like bending at the waist).

I am finding my body tells me what it likes -- I am sure yours will too

- Diana

does the hospital give you a donut when you leave?
my doc didn't mention having trouble sitting. I figured with a TAH, sitting wouldn't be a big issue.

My hospital didn't give me a donut after my TAH. I think with a TAH, you may not need donut pillows - I didn't. Sitting with a TAH puts more pressure on the incision, but you're not so sore in the vaginal area, as you might be with a vaginal hyst.

But a tummy pillow is another matter. You will definitely need a small pillow to hold against your incision when you cough, laugh, sneeze, stand up, sit down, etc. (You can use your hands too, just press them against the incision when you need to.)

I actually felt pretty good sitting... I computer with a laptop on a coffee table, sitting on the couch and leaning forward to type....my elbows resting on my knees which are spaced about 2 feet apart. I haven't had a problem and have felt no pain while doing this....and I have done it for hours on end some days.

I did find that first home from the castle (at 7 days post op) I had a really hard time sitting upstairs at my desk and desktop computer. The sitting straight up is most certainly harder than the leaning forward sitting.

that's good to know. I have a tummy pillow. My doc said I can work from home part time after two weeks. I do computer work too. It sounds like that may not be unreasonable. I'm going to try to work for a couple hours at a time, take a break, work etc..

I had a TVH, and never had any pain with sitting. I spent most of my time sitting to read, or go online, play the piano, when I wasn't up and walking around. I was even sitting up in the hospital bed the first night, around 2:00 am playing my GameBoy. They wake you up so many times, it's impossible to sleep! I think I napped once or twice the first couple of days, but after that was in my bed only to sleep and only at night. But then again, I had no pain except for the initial recovery room, and had a very easy recovery.