Anyone have any tips for slowing down?

Been one week,
I have done so much reading about all this im worried im going to start imagining things wrong.....
I feel good and have to stop myself from doing what I shouldnt.
A few times now im finished bending or picking something up before i realize what im doing. I was in so much pain for so long before I just always worked thru it.Then I freak and worry i am hurting myself.

I know you only have one chance to heal right the first time.

Anyone have any tips for slowing down???

Good for you! You are wise in wanting advice to help you slow down and recover. You are right, you only get one chance. There are no do-overs. I didn't take nearly enough time off, and I regretted it. I guess I wanted to prove that I was strong and independant. Turns out I was just stubborn and unwise. Here's what I learned:

1. Accept all help offered and ask for help outright. Split the work up into little tasks. Ask one person to make a grocery run and someone else to help with a load of laundry. Your friends and family love you, and they really do want to help.

2. Resting is your job right now. Invest the time it takes to recover now, so you don't end up having lingering health problems over a much longer period of time. Your body needs that rest, and if you don't give it that in larger blocks now, your body will demand it later and for longer.

3. No one ever died from a sink full of dishes and an unvacuumed carpet. Stuff will wait.

4. Others will pick up the slack when they need to. And conversely, others will let you overdo it if you don't look out for your own needs.

5. Think long term. Your long term recovery and health are much better off if you take it easy right now. Rest is a lot less effective if you only take it smaller chunks after you've tired yourself out by overdoing it.

6 No guilt! Just remember, everyone who loves you and counts on you will be better off if you take good care of yourself.

Oh, forgot one more piece of advice. Buy a "reacher." You cab get them in any store that sells products for people with disabilities. Agood full service pharmacy will often carry them. They're pretty inexpensive. A reacher is a simple device that helps you pick up stuff off the floor. Worth it's weight in gold!

Hi. I too, have always lived through the pain. I had been full of endo since I was a teenager and chronic pain was part of that. I am now 3.5 weeks post-op, and thought I would be cleaning windows by now...lol

Because of all of my problems, I wanted to prove to the world that I would have a "speedy recovery" and was therefore not imagining my "endo" pain. Unfortunately do to excrutiating groin pain from a bladder lift during surgery.. irritated nerve... that FORCED me to be laid up. Probably a good thing...

Even though you have always lived through the pain, listen to your body now, if it is in ANY pain, then you need to go easy... 8 days after? What I have learned on this site is that is way too soon to be doing anything but "chillaxing" and NOT feeling guilty about it. There is a reason we are off work for 6-8 weeks. I am certain the fatigue will set insoonand when it does, LISTEn to your body... relax... you just had major surgery, even if we think we should be fine, our bodies need the time to heal.

Let your family "pamper" you now... and most importantly, may YOU allow yourself to be PAMPERED!

If your family and friends don't get it... let them read some of these posts and they soonwill.

Good luck and hang in!

I'm 4 weeks post Op and have the same problem in that I keep doing things and then thinking that I probably shouldn't have.

I think the best tip I have is 'slow down doing everything' - that way you give yourself time to think before you do and give others the time to realise you are 'in recovery mode'. I did learn not to pick things up and others soon got into the habit of me not doing everything I used to.

I now have a different problem - I don't know how soon I can do all the normal things I can't do at the moment. Eventually I must be able to do strenuous exercise, heavy lifting, ride horses, snowboard, swim, have sex, etc etc - but what is the right time for each of them?