To ask, if you’ve had a hysterectomy...

[FlyingPandas]

...what made you feel better in the initial recovery period? What helped? What’s best avoided?

I’m looking for little gift ideas for my lovely DSis who went in for surgery on awful fibroids today but has ended up having a full hysterectomy (long story - probably best thing in longer term given her health issues but traumatic in the shorter one, she is mid 40s and has never been able to have DC).

I want to put together a little gift box for her of mini treats and general bits and pieces for her recovery period. Thinking of stuff like nice handcream, magazines, a bit of luxury, something to make her smile, maybe some small treat foods (or will she not feel like eating treat foods?) ...not sure what would be best. Shameless AIBU post for traffic.

Any suggestions gratefully received! Thanks in advance.

Audible subscription is good, also if she doesn't have it Netflix or Britbox for a couple of months?

Amazon voucher for books, kindle etc.

Some indoor light hobbies, e.g. knitting, crochet, jigsaw, adult colouring books.

Treats should be in moderation, as she won't be physically active for a while weight gain is a possibility....though fruit and/or flowers would be appreciated.

Just seen update....blimey she's lucky!

I had mine 6 years back also for huge fibroids (7 month pregnancy sized) . Keyhole was available then but not for fibroids the size I had!

I couldn’t have keyhole either 😭
Your bowels are so bruised, it can take weeks for them to recover
Bless her

Lovely idea might sound odd and not be her thing at all, but you know hose fiddly toys you get for kids, I always find myself playing the with children's when they leave them laying around, just something to do with your hands whilst watching tv.
Oh and chocolate, all the chocolate!

On keyhole I felt amazing afterwards. I had mine done that way. Was amazing instantly loosing nearly a stone and the pain. Felt like a new woman.

Hope she has a speedy recovery. They will ask her if she wants some movical, I'd suggest avoiding that as it tastes good and ask for the lactulose solution.

Doesn't taste good*

@Canigooutyet that is so reassuring to hear, thank you. DSis has been struggling with the fibroids and endo and general discomfort and pain for so long. She is feeling positive at the moment. I think she has had so long to grieve the fact that she’ll never have a baby (this has been a very long painful road for her) that actually the finality of the hysterectomy is almost a relief at this point, she can draw a line. It’s great to hear that you felt good after the keyhole surgery.

@mangozesty omg that’s a great idea, I shall get her one of those poppet toys that all the kids are raving about

So many great ideas. Thank you all!

How about a book of draw tickets with IOUs written on them?
Along the lines of:

Take you out for a tea / coffee (whichever she prefers).
Cook a meal for you.
Help you wash and dry your hair. (?)
Cinema visit.
Clean your house.

You get the idea. Small things that you can do to help her or make her feel a bit better when she's ready. You know her better than me, and what you're able to do.

Sending her an afternoon tea would also be a lovely idea.

Peppermint cordial and one of them rectangle microwave hotties that she can drape on her sore shoulder. Magazine that doesn’t have much reading in it/concentration needed like Hello or something. A nice drinks bottle to put her cordial in. Dry shampoo. Hand cream.

@FlyingPandas mine was also keyhole. The pain does lessen remarkably quickly. The pain from the gas they inflate you with so they can see inside is agonising & the morphine causes horrendous constipation, as does co-codamol if she’s been given that so the sooner she can manage on just paracetamol the better tbh.

I too had the relief of finality of my hysterectomy after multiple ivf failures and losses but it does still occasionally hit me, she may get the occasional wobble about it all. You sound like a lovely supportive sister so I just thought I would mention that.

The best tip I read was to do a gentle 5 minute walk every day the first week home & to add 5 mins each week so that, by week 6, I was walking 30 mins a day. It helps keep muscle strength, you lose muscle tone really quickly doing no activity so, despite the temptation to just lie down & recover, I got out every day. I was soon pain free & back at work.
I hope she has a speedy recovery.

[quote Heyyeahyouwiththesadface]@FlyingPandas mine was also keyhole. The pain does lessen remarkably quickly. The pain from the gas they inflate you with so they can see inside is agonising & the morphine causes horrendous constipation, as does co-codamol if she’s been given that so the sooner she can manage on just paracetamol the better tbh.

I too had the relief of finality of my hysterectomy after multiple ivf failures and losses but it does still occasionally hit me, she may get the occasional wobble about it all. You sound like a lovely supportive sister so I just thought I would mention that.

The best tip I read was to do a gentle 5 minute walk every day the first week home & to add 5 mins each week so that, by week 6, I was walking 30 mins a day. It helps keep muscle strength, you lose muscle tone really quickly doing no activity so, despite the temptation to just lie down & recover, I got out every day. I was soon pain free & back at work.
I hope she has a speedy recovery.[/quote]
I had a full abdominal hysterectomy and had absolutely no pain whatsoever after. Didn't need any pain relief at all. I was up and showering and walking the morning after the op

I realise everyone is different but I am just saying don't assume the op means pain afterwards.

My surgeon told me to walk for at least 10 minutes for the first week and then increase every day after that. I went to the British GP a couple of weeks after my op and was walking quite a lot. We were camping and went for 5 days.

You do need to listen to your body but I do think being active helped me recover very quickly. I was back at work in 5 weeks and could honestly have gone back before then.

I may have sat on the settee more than usual but I certainly did not feel the need to lie down.

colouriing book and coloured pencils :)

@Backtoreality1

colouriing book and coloured pencils :)

My obsession with adult colouring books started with my hysterectomy

Just popping back to the thread to update: I’ve been to see DSis today and she is doing really well, and she loved her goodie box!

In case anyone reads this and finds it useful for future ideas, this is what I put in the box:

• soft fleece blanket and a small microwaveable hottie cuddly
• bar of her favourite childhood chocolate
• bag of her favourite childhood sweets
• packet of Simple cleansing wipes
• small ‘pop it’ fidget thing
• two individual portions of nice vanilla cheesecake (she and her Dh absolutely love cheesecake!)
• two little mini bottles of red wine for when she’s feeling better (she and her DH also love red wine )
• a book on knitting with some pattern ideas as she loves knitting.

Thank you all for the brilliant ideas and again, to anyone either going through this currently or who has been through it in the past. I am still in awe of the doctor who managed to remove a football sized uterus via keyhole surgery!!

Oh and peppermint tea bags, forgot to mention those! Although DM had also brought her peppermint tea bags so that made us laugh. At least she’ll have plenty of peppermint tea