How long is it till you can bend over?

I was wondering how long it takes to be able to bend over after the surgery. I have bad knees and can't squat. Surgery is set for Wed 6/14 and I will be having arthroscopic knee surgery 7/14 I will be having a TVH or TAH (Dr. will decide at time of surgery) also BSO & Sling procedure due to enlarged uterus, fibroids, heavy bleeding(cronic anemia) stress incontinence. I'm cleaning my house today and trying to get everything together. The lists I have found her and reading all of the posts from my sisters have been a great help! I'm still very nervous and teary and can't wait till it's over. Good Luck to all my Sisters in Waiting your in my prayers! Wendy

oh Wendy I can understand totally!! try not to stress out about the house, I always say the same dust or a little more will be there tomorrow so i will clean it then...what's most important is that you get better!! I am sure it will take awhile before you can bend...but like I said, don't stress, it's all going to be OK. Trust me I walk around teary eyed about his surgery too, but today I'll try to keep a stiff upper lip as the British say. Sending hugs and good wishes your way.

you can bend, but you sure won't want too! depending on how you heal, it will be at least two weeks. get an ezgrabber (Wal-mart, almost any drug store) and test it to make sure it's long enough LOL

I have two, one that goes to the floor and one that doesn't!

try to stay busy and keep your mind from thinking ( I know, easier said than done) Hang Tight-you're almost there!

Wendy, bless your heart. That's alot of surgery in a short period. If you are able, I highly recommend getting one of those grabber things. Boy I wish I had one. I"m 11th post op day & still cannot bend & don't see it happening anytime soon. The squatting is not good either, I think it pulls & strains more stuff in there than trying to bend. I'm not sure what the time line is. Just expect to have the "dropsies" for the first few days. I still have junk all over my floors, every room, from my dropsies. If you will be alone after the castle, make sure whoever brings your groceries does not put things on the low shelves or the low door shelf of the fridge. I also put all my recovery clothes in one dresser drawer at elbow height before surgery. And before surgery, put your shower products up high so you won't have to bend to get them. A shower is exhausting enough without trying to pick up a shampoo bottle with your toes, lol. Good luck hun. It will be over with before you know it.

Hi Wendy,
I posted a thread to this effect in the post-op boards because I thought I would be in more pain, and wasn't. There were a good number of the sisters who did not have too much trouble bending post-op. I had TVH and kept my ovaries.

The bending issues seemed to come in where there were laproscopic punctures or abdominal incisions (completely understandable.) Some of the punctured princesses referred to getting monkey feet and how we got so good at picking things up with our feet. EZ grabbers are another option (I bought one pre-op, but have never used it.) The other thing the princesses referred to was hairy legs. (I recommended not using the EZ grabber and a shaver at the same time-- LOL!) So get over the idea of being hairy now, unless you decide you are going to wax, in which case do it in plenty of time pre-op so that you do not increase your risk of infection and screw up your surgery dates. Check with the doctor's office, since you are only four days out.

One last thought for household set-up was in this whole hairy leg discussion (we are definitely on the bored side-- LOL!) was to set up a shower stool for yourself. With the anemia that many of us have post-op, the energy drain of taking a shower definitely merited having some kind of back up in the shower.

Good luck! You, too, will soon be a punctured princess! No more lady in waiting!!!! See you on the other side!
Barb

Hi Wendy ,
I have the easy grabber and still use it. I could pretty much bend over and pick things up off the floor after surgery...but it wasn't comfortable. Life is just a lot easier with the grabber thing.

Are you absolutely sure you want to have your knee surgery only 4 weeks after your hysterectomy? Maybe it's doable if you have a TVH, but please leave your options open in case you dont feel up to having the arthroscopic knee surgery so soon after the hysterectomy. I'm 3 1/2 weeks out and doing well, but I couldn't imagine having knee surgery next week.

Good Luck!
Lori