Re: It's Not Happening!-To Mind, Maur, Jen, Cheryl

[Guest guest]

Hi Dawn,

I had written:

> >You will

> >almost certainly need someone to be with you or at

> >least close-by for

> >the first week or so if possible.

And you asked:

>

> Mindy-What is the reason that you say this? Why won't

> I be able to fend for myself?

This is based on my experience; I know that others have felt able to

cope alone after being released from the hospital. I found all I

could really manage the first week or so was very basic things-

getting in and out of bed (mostly staying in), using the bathroom,

eating. I needed help with preparing (or obtaining) food, any

household-y tasks, picking up things from the store, etc. When I

developed a medical complication, I needed someone to take me to the

doctor. Do you have friends/ relatives who'll be checking up on you,

bringing food, running errands, etc? If so, you should be fine. For

the first few days, it's just nice to know someone is available if

you need them.

-Mindy

[Guest guest]

You're welcome. I was surprised when my doctor told me that lifting my

daughter would be OK. I had been a member of this group for a while, and I

knew several women were told they couldn't lift much. My doctor said he

doesn't place many restrictions on myomectomy patients. That fit with his

approach in general--he's an ob/gyn who's affiliated with the midwife group

I saw for my prenatal care, and he very much believes in empowering women

and intervening only as much as necessary.

Cheryl

At 04:54 PM 3/14/2004 -0800, you wrote:

>Wow-about your 20 pound daughter-that has me

>baffled. I have been told that nothing heavy should be

>lifted for SIX WEEKS!

[Guest guest]

Let me reiterate the advice you're getting.

If you're having abdominal surgery, that is MAJOR surgery and has a

MAJOR impact on you, both phyiscally and mentally.

Of course, everyone is different. But it will be far better for you to

plan very minimal activities after you get out of the hospital

(especially if they kick you out in 3 days or fewer) for at least a

week. You probably won'wt have energy to do very much and they won't

want you picking up anything.

In my situation some years ago, I was in the hospital 3 days, then my

folks drove me to their house about a 3.5 hour drive away. The drive

alone exhausted me.

If you don't have friends nearby the hospital with whom you can stay,

you might ask about residential hotels in the vicinity and a visiting

nurse service (hospitals usually have " social workers " who deal with

this kind of thing).

See if you can manage that (I don't know if insurance would cover it,

but certainly worth checking) for a week before you fly home.

S

> Mindy, Maureen, Jen, Cheryl-Thank you all for your

> responses to my post (individual response to yours

> below). You all contributed valuable information and I

> would love hearing more from others on my original

> post as well!

> Thanks, Dawn

>

> >You will

> >almost certainly need someone to be with you or at

> >least close-by for

> >the first week or so if possible.

>

> Mindy-What is the reason that you say this? Why won't

> I be able to fend for myself?

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Dawn

Yes you should definitely have someone to come and

stay with you for one week preferably two post-myo or

if this isn't possible you could go to stay with

relatives/friends.

I had my myo just over 5 1/2 weeks ago and in UK they

keep you in hospital for 5 days after the op to keep a

close check on you. After this I stayed with friends

for 5 days which was a really good idea as it forced

me to rest and to be waited on! Otherwise I would have

been tempted to do all sorts of things that I

shouldn't have been doing.

In UK you can't drive for 6 weeks post-abdominal

operation and I'm glad as I haven't had the strength

or been up to it yet. If you do drive before this- if

anything happened,you wouldn't be covered by your car

insurance in UK. The great thing about not being

allowed to drive is it means that you take regular

exercise which is really good to help with your

convalescence. I'm trying to increase my walking a bit

each day.

All the best

Sue