Help .starting to panick over hsyerectomy recovery time

[Mo819]

So im early 40s and due to medical issues im going for a hysterectomy on monday.
Im not worried about the surgery its the recovery after i have 3 children that need me fighting fit .my husband can only get 2 weeks off work i dont drive and its a mile long walk to the school. So hopeing to hear from other ladies who have had this do you think ill be ok to walk after 2 week ?

Honestly? No.
The advice I was given was not to lift anything heavier than a kilo (about the weight of a mug of tea/cofee, or a small plate) for a full 6 weeks post op.
Not to attempt anything more strenuous than a gentle shuffle round the garden for the first couple of weeks, and absolutely not to strain anything so your muscles can recover.
Call on friends, family, parental leave and anything else you can do that you can fully rest during the 6 weeks.

Hope the surgery goes well.
I had a hysterectomy plus pelvic floor repairs in June. I would not have been able to do that after 2 weeks, but from what I have heard others would be fine, though taking it gently. So it's entirely possible you might be ok. But you also may not be well enough. I had a UTI needing antibiotics and had had quite extensive repairs so lots of stitches which was uncomfortable. I had no energy for the first couple of weeks, although it was also a heatwave so that didn't help.

If you are otherwise fit and healthy and recovery goes smoothly you might be ok to do it. I know someone else who had hysterectomy without all the additional repairs and was up and about a lot quicker than I was.

Good to have a back up in case - can someone else walk the kids to school if they are walking their own kids and passing your house on the way?
Can you train the kids to do all the lifting (laundry, heavy pans, shopping etc) while you are recovering?

Good luck

I could walk after 10 days a fair distance and had a radica openl hysterectomy which included ovaries and lymph nodes removed If it's keyhole surgery then recovery should be faster

I didn't stick to the guidelines around recovery after my total abdominal Hysterectomy - I couldn't, as was on my own with 2 x 5 year olds - and I totally screwed up my recovery and ended up with long-term mobility issues.
Not trying to scare you, but just get as much help and support in place as you possibly can, as I wouldn't wish what I went through on anyone.
💚

I had a hysterectomy a few months ago and ended up back in hospital at day 6 post-op, not back home until day 11. There’s no way I could have walked that far at two weeks. Obviously you may fare much better but two weeks is still very, very soon. It was 4 weeks before I could do moderate walks without being exhausted and in pain. It’s a much more major surgery than many people realise. If at all possible organise more help for after your OH returns to work, at least with the school runs. And definitely get the kids to help with lifting, bringing you things, etc.. if they’re old enough.

Could you speak to school? In some circumstances, they can help with getting the children to school. I think.

I recovered quicker than expected ((keyhole surgery) but you do have to take it slowly. No lifting anything heavy such as kettle, hoover or iron, and build up the walking gradually.

I think you’ll be able to do light duties around the house after two weeks, but a two mile walk, on top off getting the kids ready, will be a push. Tiredness was quite a big factor after the operation.

What type of surgery is it?

I had robotic laparoscopic hysterectomy (removal of uterus, cervix and fallopians tubes) and was back to walking 2-3k gated a week and back up to 5-6k walks after 3. I was slower but could manage it.

Is it keyhole ? Makes a big difference. I had keyhole and the recovery was straight forward. I spent a week on the couch but was back in work after 3 weeks I think. Jogging at 6 weeks. But the first week doing nothing was crucial. My section was way worse .

I had a total hysterectomy-so including removing ovaries - via keyhole and recovery was faster than I expected but I wouldn’t have been able to do a 2 mile walk after 2 weeks. After about 4 weeks I managed it but it wiped me out and I couldn't have done it day in day out and get kids ready for school.

For me the immediate surgical menopause was probably worse than the surgery recovery itself but both caused insane levels of tiredness. You really do need to take it easy to recover.

I’m a lone parent so I understand it will be hard with 3 kids once your husband is back at work but honestly, you have to call on friends and family at times like these. Get your kids and partner to help as much as they can.

Are you having open or keyhole? I had an abdominal open hysterectomy 7 months ago due to fibroids and there’s no way I could’ve walked that far after two weeks, after three weeks I was just about managing my school run that is 5 mins walk each way. I was shocked tbh as I’m someone who is very fit, walk 15,000 steps on average each day, think nothing of just going for a 5+ mile walk and thought that would help but it didn’t!
It was the exhaustion as much as anything, but I physically just couldn’t walk that far. It is major surgery and even with laparoscopic there is still a lot done inside. Good luck.

I had an abdominal hysterectomy when I was 36. The Consultant told me to go for a walk every day. He said one of the reasons it takes so many woman so long to recover is because they are told to literally lay around and do nothing.

I was up and walking along the corridor the morning after my op and I managed a shower. I was only in hospital 2 nights.

I am not sure how far I walked each day but I am pretty sure I could have walked that 2 weeks after my op.

I had an abdominal hysterectomy and felt so much better within a couple of days. At 5 days I was unloading the dishwasher. At 7 days I was driving ( automatic car). I probably shouldn't have been but my Mum had a fall and I needed to go to her. At 2 weeks we had family of 10 for Xmas Dinner. At 3 weeks I went to Old Trafford to watch Man U and had to climb the terrace to our seats but I was fine.
I realised I had been so unwell prior to surgery but had just tolerated my symptoms and with hindsight I should have seen my GP sooner.
Wishing you a good, speedy recovery.

Oh yay, the post surgery “I recovered” olympics.

The recommendation is for six weeks of taking it easy. That is in place given the many years of follow up information from patients and is an average. Sure there will be a few who jump straight out of bed and run a marathon on day two, but for every one of those there is someone who at 6 weeks is still struggling. The vast majority of people would struggle to do what you are suggesting. Nobody knows which type of person you will be. If your husband won’t work something else out, I’d be organising someone else to do the school run, or organising a taxi.

I'm sure your consultant thinks he is so much better than all the others. But what he was telling you is standard advice after most surgeries. I don’t think the vast majority of Consultants are telling their patients to lay around and do nothing.

When mine gave me advice, it came from a woman’s perspective. Take it easy, rely on friends and family to do the strenuous stuff, someone else can lift the washing baskets for a few weeks. In her experience, the reason she saw women taking longer to recover was because they were doing housework after a couple of weeks. As she explained, you can see how the outside is healing but it’s a major surgery and the inside takes much longer to heal.

I had a laparoscopic-assisted hysterectomy with oophorectomy so key hole incisions but everything removed vaginally (including my cervix). I couldn't have walked two miles at two weeks, everything felt a bit like it could fall out ! But I could have got a taxi I reckon, at a push. So if you can afford it, that might be an option.

You definitely shouldn't be driving 7 days after abdominal surgery. Your insurance wouldn't cover you for that. I was told to wait for six weeks by my consultant.

You get one chance to recover from this surgery, OP. I’m scheduled to have an open, vertical op in the next couple of months and I am expecting to be off work for at least 12 weeks. I’ve been told to expect 5-7 days in hospital post-op and then DH is taking 2 weeks leave. My Dad is going to help for a week after that and then MIL.

If it's an open surgery, please don't overdo it. Get some help. My mum had an open, radical hysterectomy and didn't take the advice. She then developed an incisional hernia and had to have more surgery to correct it. That was like being back to square one and a second recovery.

No lifting, no hoovering/sweeping, no supermarket trolley pushing, lawn mowing. Walking but not too far, having plenty of rest.

He was meant to be one of the best consultants in the country and I thought he talked a lot of sense.

Most of the women I know who had a hysterectomy did more or less nothing for weeks after the op and they all took ages to get over it.

My consultant said it was important to walk every day if I could. He also said although not to hoover or lift anything heavy I should be doing some light housework which I did.

Three weeks after my op I went to the British Grand Prix and camped for 4 days and did quite a lot of walking around the circuit.

Of course we are all different but it is quite possible that the OP will be fine and able to do the walk to school

My MIL is a lot older than you and was fine after 2 weeks. Everyone is different tho. Assume the worst, hope for the best and get as much help as you can . Wishing you well

I’m the same, drove after a week as I felt fine (not hysterectomy but invasive stomach surgery) I shouldn’t have done but it’s so hard when you’ve got shit to do

I had an abdominal hysterectomy at 36. The first week was very uncomfortable but after that felt better quite quickly... with the result that I thought I was fine to go back to work (as a school TA) after 6 weeks.
I was stupid!
While I didn't do any noticible damage, the exhaustion was unreal, and I had 4 primary aged children to look after so it really wasn't ideal.

I think a walk that long will wipe you out tbh, even if it's done laporoscopically , it's a major op and the anaesthesia will wipe you out too.

Two weeks fter mine (keyhole) I was able to walk a reasonable distance without pain. And I was on holiday in the USA walking miles a few weeks after that. Don't stress it, you'll be fine.

I was driving 6 days after mine.

Insurance covered as long as you could do an emergency stop.

I was in and out of hospital the same day with my hysterectomy. Advances in surgery mean not everyone is so incapacitated after them now.

o took longer to recover form my c section as that was a cut and stitch job and still drive to the hospital after 7 days for the staples to be removed.

it’s not about it being a competition but sometimes peoples circumstances mean they have no choice to focus on being able to do these tasks.