Re: Post-op questions

[Guest guest]

Hi Sue,

I was in the hospital for 2nights, released on the 3rd night,I was functioning

on my own say around the 3rd week..I had 2 fibroids removed, intramural, one was

7 cm, the other was 4..Everyone heals different,,you may have faster or longer

recovery..

Take care and good luck on your surgery!!

suepollini wrote:

As my myo date is looming- early Feb, I have 2 main questions for

those of you who have had myos:

1/ Have many of you ended up having a hysterectomy because of the

size/ position of your fibroid?

2/ I will be in hospital for about 5 days apparantly-routine in UK I

think. So what can I expect to do for myself after 5 days? I'll be

staying with friends post-op so I wondered how long I should stay

with them before returning to my own house- in other words how long

will it be before I could cope on my own? [i hope sooner rather than

later as I don't want to be burden on my friends]

Looking forward to your informative replies

Sue

[Guest guest]

> As my myo date is looming- early Feb, I have 2 main questions for

> those of you who have had myos:

> 1/ Have many of you ended up having a hysterectomy because of the

> size/ position of your fibroid?

not me.

> 2/ I will be in hospital for about 5 days apparantly-routine in UK I

> think.

yikes! Here in the US, the insurance companies want you out in TWO

days. My doctor had to fight with them to let me stay another day,

because my bowels hadn't started to work yet.

>So what can I expect to do for myself after 5 days?

well, it's all very individual. You'll still be tired and want to

sleep alot. But you should be able to take short walks around the

house (no stairs, though). If you can stay with your friends another

week, and then have someone close by who can help with any heavy

lifting of shopping bags (maybe go shopping with/for you), that should

be enough. Then you'll probably need another few weeks of quiet

activity at home.

I was able to go back to work part time after 6 weeks, but I didn't

have a lot of energy.

as we say, YMMV (your mileage may vary)

[Guest guest]

Good luck Sue!

1/ Have many of you ended up having a hysterectomy because

of the size/ position of your fibroid?

No and I think that doesn't happen too often, but they are obliged

to warn patients of such a risk. Don't forget there's a permission

form you sign at pre-op or on the day. (I signed it on the day).

These are opportunities to get reassurance about fears and

express your wishes.

2) <I will be in hospital for about 5 days apparantly-routine in UK

I think.>

I was in the UK NHS hospital from Tuesday very early on to

Saturday lunchtime and had lunch there just before I was picked

up to go home.

3) So what can I expect to do for myself after 5 days? I'll be

> staying with friends post-op so I wondered how long I should

stay with them before returning to my own house- in other words

how long will it be before I could cope on my own? [i hope

sooner rather than later as I don't want to be burden on my

friends>

You can always make some deal with your friends about how

you'll make it up to them later in the year when you're fit again.

Expect to feel like your normal self but with the abilities of an old

lady or someone with pulled stomach muscles. You may also

tire easily and some people feel emotional and/or down and

particularly after a hysterectomy. I didn't get depressed but going

through all this worry and feeling frustrated about rest and

recovery can make you emotional.

You can do anything that doesn't strain your stomach muscles or

wear you out. For instance, in the kitchen you can make easy

meals and drinks that don't require heavy lifting and a risk of

accidents. For example, spitting chip pans and heavy saucepans

of boiling water are a bad idea. Microwave meals and beans on

toast are easy. Buy smaller bottles and cartons. Avoid all heavy

and awkward lifting, reaching, stretching and pulling. Avoid a diet

that may give you constipation. You'll be protective of your

stomach area and will need to keep the scar clean. I found

showers easier than baths. Getting out of bed may hurt and a

comfortable bed will be needed. The height of what you sleep on

may make a difference to the comfort of getting in and out? YOu

can go for a walk up the road and back every day and that'll do

fine. If there's a post box or corner shop it gives you a pretext.

If you can stay with them for two weeks it will be reassuring, just

in case. You'll be able to bend down to reach things you've

dropped o that are out of reach, but other times you'll think, " Sod

it, it can stay on the floor! "

If you haven't already gone there join/look in on smartgroups UK

and Ireland, where my myo diary is posted and up dated once in

a while (search for Cat's 'myo diary' thread started in Sept 2003 ).

I go into a lot of detail about the whole exprience from pre-op

onwards.