Concerned about recovering while living alone

I have 2 weeks til surgery and am starting to freak. Guess that's natural. It will only get worse I'm sure. Live alone so that's part of it. Who will take care of me and my dog afterwards? Have a BF who says he'll help, but never talks about it or asks any questions. That stresses me out.
Am getting a lot of info from this website and it's answering a lot of my questions. Hope I survive all this. Big fear is not surviving the operation, if not guess I'll never know.

Hi Travie,

Your feelings are normal, the unknown is always a little scary. I felt the same
way, my DH had to work, and my DD had to go to school when I got home...

I found for myself, that I was able to get around enough to do the basics, nothing strenuous of course.

They had me up and moving around a lot at the hospital... so that helped.

It would certainly help if your BF would sit down with you and share a plan of
what his help is going to consist of.

I sincerely wish you the best.

I had a TAH, kept my ovaries....

Gen

Hi Travie and

There is an article in the Post-Op Articles archive that I think you might find helpful:

Recovering From Hysterectomy While Living Alone

It was written based on comments and suggestions contributed through the years by members of Hystersisters.com. Do yourself a favor and "take a read!"

It may help to keep in mind that, among the major surgeries, hysterectomy is one of the safest. The patient mortality rate is very, very low.

I am sending positive thoughts your way for a successful surgery and uneventful recovery!

s,

what type of hysterectomy are you having? if its one of the less invasive type, you should be fine with little help. please dont worry about not surviving...this surgery and anesthesia are very very safe. its normal to be nervous but try not to worry too much

I can't help, but want to wish you luck just the same. Had I been facing this just a couple of years ago, I too would have been coping with managing recovery and caring for my companion animals alone.

I would definately say to stock up on some items you can easily prepare to eat if not already prepared. Can you pet stay with your BF (do you think he is pet friendly? I would worry about that because that is sooo me!) or maybe a good boarding option you can check out pre-surgery?

Make sure you have all the neccesities around the house and rest, rest, rest! If the boyfriend chips in he is a keeper! ") Don't rush out of the hospital, especially if you have good insurance. Enjoy others doing for you!

Best wishes!!!

I live alone. TAH/BSO 47 years old. I had a Nurse to do the housework once a week, and shopping once a week. My BF took care of my fireplace and gave me some small companionship. 6 weeks is a long time to be asking favours, you really do need to be as organised as you can be, bf for shopping, taking out rubbish, fireplace, vacuuming if he is that type. Main thing, you must not do these things by yourself. Please read up as recommended and be organised. Good Luck!

Hi, do you have other friends who help with walking the dog? A few years ago a friend had very major surgery and organized several friends to trade off walking her two dogs for a couple of weeks.

I really feel for you! The surgery is scary, though as has been said, considered very safe. But I was all alone the second weekend and it was tough (by that time more emotional stuff than pain).

Hi, I live alone most of the time, DH is out of town working at least half the week.

I planned ahead and had stocked the freezer, shopped to make sure that the heavy things were in stock to cover at least 8 weeks and talked with my neighbours who were very supportive.

For the first 4 weeks I was either at home with friends or family around or staying at my sisters. I was able to be on my own during the day from week 2 and made my own snacks and drinks but needed help to prepare bigger meals unless the came out of the freezer and in to the microwave. By week 3 I was also up to eating out - what a great treat that was!

I went solo in week 5 and have managed fine. I can walk to the shops and pick up small bottles of milk and limited fresh groceries daily. My neighbours put out the rubbish for me if no one else is around.

I have paid for help with housework and the garden as I didn't want to impose on people too much and intend to carry this on for a few more weeks.

I don't have any animals but would be concerned if I did. Do you have any teenagers locally that could help with walking for a few weeks for a small amount of money? My sisters dog seemed to know that things weren't right with me and, although she likes to sit and jump on you, she has not tried to do so for the last 5 weeks. She is happy to sit on the floor and be petted by me, almost as though she has a built in 6th sense. I have been able to walk with her and my sister from week 2 but haven't held her lead as she tends to pull.

I hope your BF follows through and helps you out as much as he can. I got DH to talk about it by mentioning things I read on here andit helped to get him talking initially, he seemed to understand that this is major surgery quicker than I expected! He made sure that we was close to home for a couple of weeks and has arranged his diary so that he is home an extra night most weeks since.

Failing that, do you have friends or family that can help?

Wishing you well for surgery and recovery

Katy

Hi Travie,

I had my surgery one week ago, and was worried about the same stuff. I do have a BF that lives with me, but he works all the time. He has not been much help, sad to say.

I prepared for my surgery; the less you have to worry about the better you will recover. I prepaid bills and bought ahead on easy fix meals. The two greatest purchases I made was the toilet riser and abdominal support band. They are a life saver.

Sure it would have been nice to have someone around to help, but I managed and you can too. Most of it will depend on your preplanning and how quickly you recover. Getting up and walking and drinking lots of water was what I think helped me. As soon as my cathader what out, I was on the go. I napped in between walks, and kept a positive attitude. I am overweight, so this was a struggle for me.

I had a Total Abdominal Hyst (nice big cut). I was up making dinner and doing dishes on day three with little pain and lots of rest before and after. By day 5, I was folding laundry and putting it away. Obviously, the light stuff. It really is amazing how I was able to get around and do all those things. Use your best judgement, I know everyone was worried that I was overdoing it. Only you know your body that well, so you will know if you are overdoing. If I had left it up to everyone else, I would still be laying around in bed 23 1/2 hours per day.

If you get to where they are sending you home and you are still nervous, you can get the doctor to request home health care. But be careful, usually insurance will only pay for skilled nursing.

You have options and resources there if you need them. You will be in my prayers.