Go back to work next week but I'm still in pain, is this normal?
Posted , 5 users are following.
I'm 5 weeks post op for hysterectomy, repair of the bladder with a sling and put the back end parts back in place. I can't remember the medical terms. I go back to work at 6 weeks and I'm still hurting, thats less than a week away. Why am I not healing as fast as the doctor seems to think I should be? He said I might be ready to go back to work at 4 weeks. I didn't start peeing on my own until 3 weeks. What can I do to help speed things along?
0 likes, 11 replies
sheila89754 cybelle91107
Posted
I went back after eight weeks, following a vaginal hysterectomy and a posterior and anterior repair. I felt I needed that time, six weeks is too soon, especially if you are still in so much pain. I wasn't in any pain but still needed to be careful. It seems to me that doctors give a blanket 'six weeks' off work, we're all so different and your healing is still in the very early days. Could you ask your surgeon to extend your time off work?
cybelle91107 sheila89754
Posted
I can ask him, I feel really guilty about taking so much time off work. The doctor has been a bit of a jack wagon so there is a part of me that's afraid he's going to tell me to suck it up although my husband says as a doctor he can't do that. He is going to go with me to my appointment this time, hopefully that will help me feel more comfortable. I feel awful about not going back to work on time, I really thought this was going to be easier. I guess if the doctor would have told me how bad it was I probably wouldn't have done it. I have to admit it's nice not having to wear depends all the time, at 47, that is horribly embarrassing and not at all sexy!
sheila89754 cybelle91107
Posted
Please please don't feel guilty, you've had major surgery. I really didn't appreciate this until after the operation. You must allow your body to heal, too many women do too much too soon and their repair fails. ??At 12 weeks I feel fine on the outside but inside there's still so much healing going on, insist, it's your body and it needs that extra time. Good luck. 😃
cybelle91107 sheila89754
Posted
I will, truly I don't think I have any other choice. There is no way I can drive 2 hours a day and spend 9 hours at work 5 days a week. I just don't know how I can possibly do it right now.
Tudalen cybelle91107
Posted
Hello cybelle91107
I do not understand how the medical profession still do not join up the dots. I am expecting to be out of action MINIMUM 12 weeks, and will not expect to be fully functioning ( and forever having to take care not to damage the repairs ) until MINUMUM 6 months after reading extensively this forum plus others.
Depending on the repairs it can take this long. It seems from numerous posts I have read that to feel fully like you again is around a year. It can take less time, and there are lots of posts from ladies who have had faster recoveries. However, all that internal healing takes time and feeling under pressure to 'bounce back' will not help. I think it is a good suggestion to see if your consultant will support you to get more time off.
Good luck ??
Tats49 cybelle91107
Posted
Tudalen has hit the nail on the head. So many follow up operations are due to rushing recovery. If men experienced the debilitating effects of these procedures they'd be more understanding....I'm assuming your doctor is male, as surely a woman would understand!
if you'd broken a bone in your leg, and were still not capable of walking without pain, I doubt any doctor would encourage you to return to work!
You mention driving......do remember your insurance provider is unlikely to cover you in the event of an accident if you told them you were fit to drive when obviously you're not! Imagine doing an emergency stop!
Glad your husband is accompanying you to the appointment. Good luck, and let us all know how you're getting on. X
cybelle91107 Tats49
Posted
My doctor is a man, my supervisor is a man, my co-workers are men, the people I supervise are men. As such I'm not sure why I have allowed this doctor to bully me when I have tried to explain I was in pain. I didn't think I was ready to leave the hospital and I didn't feel good at all so he cut off my pain meds until I ate some food and then as soon as I ate he kicked me out. From there every time I called the office it took days to get a call back and I have never actually spoken to him, his nurse gives me his responses and they are basically dismissive. Without this site I would have been a wreck, he didn't tell me about any of it, the feeling like my insides were coming out, the inability to sit in a chair, having to put in a catheter every time I see for weeks, the string hanging out of my vagina, the feeling that this has been a failure, every weird scary thing I had to learn about from the ladies on this site. He literally said I might be ready to go back to work in 4 weeks, if so call him he would release me, if not I would be ready in 6. I was expecting to go out to eat with my friends, shopping, social events, etc, the last two weeks before I went back to work. I literally have went out twice and was in agony during and the rest of the day. This has been far worse than he led on. And work...men don't understand, I may ruin my chance for promotion, I shouldn't but even my husband agrees its probable, I look weak because I can't just bounce back, how bad can it be after all. Well as you know, it's HORRIBLE!
sheila89754 cybelle91107
Posted
Please please dont say that 'you're weak and can't just bounce back'. As already said this is major major surgery, I am staggered how we are not given the full details of the recovery time; but I suppose we are all so different. I was feeling great straight after the operation, but at 12 weeks now realise I have a long way to go before I am fully healed and also a long time to know wheter the surgery has been successful. It's a long old haul ...
I do hope you can be signed off for longer, you need the healing time.
Tudalen cybelle91107
Posted
Ahh bless you. It is enough to have this recovery to manage without a narcissistic bully for a doctor. Good primary care is crucial. You are not weak, you are simply a human being having to look after yourself within a social system which seems not to be designed for human beings, so glad you have a lovely husband there to support you,
There is a wonderful YouTube channel called femfusionfitness - lots of great information, exercises, interviews with medical and other therapists. There are two Facebook pages worth a look, Planet Prolapse and Let's Talk about Pelvic Organ Prolapse.
I sooooo wish good information about POP and how to look after yourself to avoid it had been a major part of ante natal care and also when being taught about the changes we go through in adolescence. Ladies who have never had children have pop too.
I hope you get the support you need to recover well; if you can, see another GP!!
??
sheila89754 Tudalen
Posted
Thank you for the You Tube and Facebook links, I will follow these up. 😃
cybelle91107 Tudalen
Posted
Thank you so much for all the support and encouragement, it really helps. I will definitely check out Facebook and U tube channels! 😉