Laparoscopic hysterectomy

[Edinburgal]

Im booked in for a laparoscopic hysterectomy. My dd is 1.5. Iv been told not to take it easy for 6 weeks and not lift etc. Will this include dd? Starting to worry!

Yes! You will be sore. I think 6 weeks is generous, I was much better in three, but I guess everyone is different. The better you look after yourself earlier, the less complications you’ll have and the quicker you’ll get back to normal

Thanks. I stupidly thought nothing heavy except dd! Im not sure how we are going to cope. I will need to ask my neighbours to lift her into the car for nursery and then the staff can hopefully take her out.

Yes it will include your DD. Literally even a full kettle will be too heavy.
Have you actually been told you will be able to drive before 6 weeks?

She can climb into the car herself, you can clip her in. But even that only after the first week!
Check your car insurance for driving!! You may not be able to for a couple of weeks

Even with laparoscopic hysterectomy it’s still major surgery. You’ll need to roll out of bed, get your toddler to sit next to you on the sofa to read and play, you won’t be able to bob up and down to the floor, or up and down the stairs.
You really will need help

Sorry i feel like iv missed key info in my op but im just suddenly panicking. Consultant said iv to take it easy for 6 weeks but i shouldnt be in any pain after week 2. So i assumed i could drive by week 3. Il need to confirm this i think.

Dh is wfh for the next 2 weeks so i can recover but then goes offshore and id assumed if i could do the nursery run id be able to rest all day. But maybe il need to see if a neighbour would be willing to do the whole run for me if i may not be able to drive and dd cant get into the seat herself.

Sounds more reasonable!

It's not the pain that's the problem for driving - it's giving your body time for internal healing as it's major surgery. An emergency stop could seriously set back your healing. Friends covered the school run for 6 weeks for me last year when I had mine (single parent) and I needed it!. If you can't get help then your DH might need to look at getting time off to care for you

I was OK to drive within a few days of having mine done & was able to do anything but lift fairly quickly, I was discharged by my consultant a week after the op.

Thanks everyone. This has been eye opening but helpful. Here's hoping for a recovery like @Nat6999

I will confirm whether i can drive after 3 weeks. If not il call upon neighbour help for half of the week and then il keep her at home and play on the floor for the other half. There are some toddler groups i could even walk to and im sure others would kind of help me out if i went to them even just to tire her out. If i was really struggling, id ask neighbours to cover the whole week, im sure they would. Dh can move the car seat into their car before he leaves.

I was absolutely fine two days after my laparoscopic hysterectomy. I could walk normally, get in and out of bed as normal, and I felt as if I'd had nothing done, really.

However, I was sensible and didn't lift or do any heavy housework for the six weeks as recommended. I did drive after a week though, it wasn't a problem.

Good luck.

@AuntyMabelandPippin wow thats great to hear. Thank you! Did you need to get signed off by anyone to drive?

I had surgery last year, it was open (a laparotomy) so more major than yours, but I was out of pain within a week. The issue is that you can't lift things because it could cause damage inside whilst your body is healing, and can lead to improper healing or a hernia. So you have to stick to the rules around lifting!!

I was told I could drive as soon as I could do an emergency stop without pain, and once I was no longer taking opioid painkillers. Nobody had to sign off on it.

Sorry, I missed this.

I'd had surgery a few years earlier and spoke to the DVLA about that as it was a foot problem and they said it was entirely up to me as to when I felt safe to drive, so I just took my hysterectomy as the same.

You'll now have people coming on and saying you HAVE to be cleared by the Consultant, but I really don't think you do. If you're not sure, ring your insurers and ask them.

Not a hysterectomy but I had my gall bladder out when daughter was 16 months. In the weeks before I taught her to climb in and out of the car seat she thought it was a great game and was easy to get her to do it once I was driving (1week) but before lifting

Hope all goes well

Any tips after hysterectomy for feeling nauseous after Ga, thanks 😊

I had a robotic laparoscopic hysterectomy in February. I went home the same evening and the consultant told me to be careful not to lift anything heavier than a smallish bag of shopping. I was pretty cautious about lifting anything for a few weeks. They also said I could drive after a week (but I left it two weeks to be on the safe side). I felt really tired after the GA and I slept a lot for a few days but otherwise I felt absolutely fine and it's been a really easy recovery. I went back to work after two weeks (in hindsight I perhaps should have had another week off).
Hope it goes well for you.

I was in hospital overnight when i had mine recently. I dont recall feeling sick after ga. I woke up quite agitated and a bit dizzy. After water and food i felt calmer. I took all the pain meds i was offered but after a couple of days i was absolutely fine and my recovery was a complete breeze.

Get some rennie deflatine & peppermint oil capsules. Take something light to eat, my goto food after surgery is watermelon & mango, I also have a bottle of freezing cold lucozade, peppermint tea is also good for nausea, so you could take some with you, I was in a private hospital & my lovely nurse made me a cup.

You can drive as soon as you feel safe, I had mine done on the Friday & drove on the Monday after. I wasn't that sore, the worst thing for me was the cut they do near your bikini line, it itched like mad. Get some arnica tablets for the bruising, I took my first as soon as I got back on the ward & my bruises had cleared within a week. I can't say I had any pain right from coming back from theatre, they did a diclofenac suppository about 4 hours after I came back, but I didn't feel like I needed it, the only ouchy thing was when the nurse took out my drain & catheter but that only lasted a few seconds. I had that done at 5.00am & I was up & dressed straight away & discharged on my way home by 8.30am.

Mention it to your anaesthetist upfront and they’ll increase your anti-sickness meds. I had mine yesterday and it really helped (and I usually feel very sick).
Peppermint after is good too :)

I am due to have mine in a couple of weeks. Any tips on what helps in the hospital and later at home. Have noted about the peppermint and arnica

@minesatea Honestly, try not to worry. I never felt any pain. It was the weirded thing getting out of bed in the hospital the next morning, expecting it to hurt but feeling absolutely normal. I didnt use arnica or peppermint etc never had any sickness or issues with prolonged bruising. Good luck.