LAVH: Upcoming hysterectomy 11/6: How Long to Stay Off Work?

Was pondering a answer to a question I was asked by the lady in our departments administrative office today as to, how long would I be taking off from work.? 4-6 weeks or longer? As my name is FireLady22, my current occupation is a 15yr veteran Firefighter. I drive the Fire Engine, so I am not running into a house fire much. I know everyone heals at their own pace, but was wondering was anyone else faced with having to go back to a strenuous job? And any tips on easing back into strength training to get back into shape.

Hi FireLady22 to HysterSisters!

Everyone does heal differently, but with a strenuous job like yours I would definitely err on the long side.

From the posts I have read of women who are nurses, nursing home attendants, movie stunt individuals, etc. they were looking at 8 weeks or so. I assume you just cannot ease into your job - you have to be there 100% when you go back to work. Talk to your doctor and see what he or she advises.

In my case, I had a TAH BSO, and I could not lift more than 10 lbs for 6 weeks, and 20 lbs for 8 weeks. I went back to work to a moderate stress desk job after 3 weeks, but could only handle part time work for another 4 weeks. After that I could do full time, but no over time. I slowly moved back into my life after that, but lacked stamina for months.

I was just talking to another sister the other day who mentioned that her insurance would not allow her to drive until 7 weeks after surgery. I assume that she was talking about a regular car. Maybe one factor you need to look into is, what does the insurance policy on the fire engine say about people driving it after having major surgery?