Belly Band question???

Since my TAH/BHO on 9/15 I'm still having a lot of swelly belly pain. I so want to try the band, but am afraid to put anything on my belly. I was bruised from my belly button to the incision line from the retraction used in the surgery (the endometriosis was quite severe). I'd like the swelling to go down & the pain to diminish, but am basically afraid to try it because it still hurts to touch my belly. Anyone have advice???

I went ahead and splurged and bought both the Swelly Belly band and the abd. binder for later down the road, which is going to be sooner that I thought, lol.

The SB band does give some relief from the gel. But since your incision is pretty warm, the gel part warms up soon too. I rather like it for "holding me all together."

Try putting a cool cloth on the incision. Maybe that will help a bit.

Are you still taking your meds, at least the ibuprofen. I'm still taking the ibuprofen and I haven't noticed all that much of swelly belly, but then everyone is different.

I also have been laying waaaaay back in our recliner or on a bed and just letting the incision "air out". Hoping to speed up the healing time.

Good luck!

Dee

I'm still on Motrin and Vicodin. I had my post op appointment yesterday, and the OB told me that my pain and swelling may last a while longer, but that all is healing okay (no infections, etc.). I had severe endometriosis EVERYWHERE, so he had to do a lot of moving things around and pealing things apart to remove all the endometriosis (as well as to remove all my female parts to prevent it from coming back). He said the swelling and residual pain is from the trauma of the surgery as well as from the retraction used to get to everything during the surgery. I saw the pictures, and I would not have believed a body could do what mine did without having seen it.

I may go ahead and take the splurge and make the purchase. I really expected the swelling to be gone by now (18 days post op), but it is still there. It's good to hear from people that the cool contact helps, instead of causing pain from the pressure.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by vvteacher Since my TAH/BHO on 9/15 I'm still having a lot of swelly belly pain. I so want to try the band, but am afraid to put anything on my belly. I was bruised from my belly button to the incision line from the retraction used in the surgery (the endometriosis was quite severe). I'd like the swelling to go down & the pain to diminish, but am basically afraid to try it because it still hurts to touch my belly. Anyone have advice???

My doctor gave me something like it but it doesen't wharm up or anything. I wore it for about 4 weeks after surgery. It is AWESOME!! It feels like it holds everything in. I didnt use it at first but I had the feeling everything was falling out. Trust me you will feel so much better if you use it!! It makes a huge difference!

When I am up and about, I get swelly belly. While my belly is tender (TAH Sept 17) I do use the ab binder if I'm going out and sometimes while I'm sleeping. It actually feels pretty good. The pressure is even and with less 'jiggle' it's really comfortable. It also seems to reduce how much swelling I get when I'm out.

I have found that if I lay down, either back in recliner, or on my back in bed, the swelling goes down. So I do spend a lot of time in bed. I'd rather be up and about, but I guess it's my body telling me when to rest.

Barb