You know what helped my recovery? The liquid morphine. I vividly remember talking to DP about how mum was going to bring her dog up to visit in the hospital.
Herbal remedies won’t hurt to take at all though.
My top tips are:
Big pants that are as high waisted as can be.
The really thick maternity pads (they are comfier, less itchy than the thin ‘discreet’ ones) and buy extra so you can pop one on the inside of your pants over your incision, it will draw out moisture and acts as a good cushion to press on while getting up/down, coughing/sneezing/laughing ect. That was the thing that helped me the most by far.
No matter what anyone says- do not dry your incision worn the bloody hairdryer, you’ll just blow lint into it and risk infection. - lie down or laze about without pants on for 30 minutes after a shower/bath(if you’re not bleeding too much) - then pop the pad in as above.
I used cotton pads after my showers to dab the incision really gently to draw out any extra moisture too, the make up removing kind rather than balls as again, lint.
Get DP/Husband to grab a notepad and pen and record the times you’ve taken your drugs when your home. I didn’t ask DP to do this but he did it off his own back and it made a hell of a difference, he was so on top of my pain meds and I’m forever grateful as I was too exhausted, sore and out of it to have known when I did or didn’t need anymore.
Do little for the first week, the second week try and get up and make yourself a cup of tea, wander too get a snack. They say the quicker you get moving the better you will heal but don’t over do it, small is plenty - you’ll know if you’ve done too much as your bleeding will slightly increase and your incision will get sore.
niggles and twinges in your incision are normal, for months afterwards. I think mine started to calm down after about 10-12 months. Wasn’t painful but I’d get the odd twinge and wondered if something was wrong, it’s normal. Don’t panic. Any consistent pain should be seen though.