10 days post successful Da Vinci surgery

I am 57 years old and I had my surgery on 2/17/10 and couldn't be more pleased with my recovery process. I had a complete hysterectomy, due to heavy bleeding, endometriosis, fibroids and ovarian cysts. I feel great! I spent the first night at the hospital, and I am glad I did. I wanted someone else to be in charge. They removed my catheter at 4:00 am and got me up walking. About an hour later I was able to empty my bladder on my own, so I was good to go home. My doctor recommended taking two Senakot tablets daily and bowel function returned on day 3. I have 4 small incisions, which have healed nicely, and the bruising around them is almost gone. For about a day and a half I did have gas pains that settled in my rib cage, shoulders and neck. I took Gas-X and my pain pills and that took care of it. I didn't need to take anything after that because I had no pain. I was very surprised by that. I also had no bleeding and just slight swelling. The swelling was gone by about the 4th day. I hosted a 60th birthday party for my husband on day 6. I did manage to stay on my feet for the duration of the party. Up until that point, I had been lounging around in my pj's. I also was able to go back to sleeping on my stomach, my favorite position! Today I drove myself for a pedicure, and felt fine. My post-op appointment is on Tuesday and I expect to be told I am ready to resume most activities. I know I still can't lift heavy things or work out yet, and I expect I will still have some residual fatigue as my body continues to heal. One reason that I attribute my success to is that in the last year I have lost 25 pounds. I did not know at the time that I would be having surgery, but I can't help but think I am more comfortable as a result. I would recommend getting in your best shape if you have the opportunity to in advance. (I am not a work-out fanatic, I just eliminated sugar from my diet, but that's another topic!) Good luck to anyone about to have the precedure.