How can I find my old pictures?

[The Dogmother]

See if you can go back on short hours at first too; even after being off for ages and resting, you'll still get tired quickly as the anaesthetic can take up to 3 months to get out of your system.

 

Get taking the Arnica a week before the op.

[Goosey Lucy]

I seem to remember my mum taking peppermint oil to help with wind...not sure if this was due to the op or just her

 

I hope it goes well for you there's lots of fantastic advice here (as always).

[Willow]

I gather wind is often a problem although I don't remember it being a particular problem personally. My biggest problem was the amount of weight I put on immediately after when I was relatively inactive

 

I agree with the phased return. I returned to work at about 2.5 months because the colleague who was covering for me got desperate to take his motorbike and ride out to the oz outback by himself with no one talking to him . And even though I was working from home and doing reduced hours it was hard work. I wished I'd taken longer off.

 

Despite all the mention of tiredness and pain relief I did feel so much better afterwards And for 24hrs (before the swelling settled in) I had a flat stomach after that swelling and above mentioned weight gain meant I lost it but it was nice while it lasted.

[The Dogmother]

Wind is mainly a problem because of all the furtling around in yer guts - they scoop it all off to one side while they operate (or so one of the nurses told me). Moving around helps this, as does the mint tea. I found that lying on my back with my knees up and rolling them to one side, then the other helped to get it moving.

 

The ward I was on had a little courtyard, so as soon as they took all the drips out and let me up (I'd had an epidural), Phil came to help me shower and I tottered around the ward and out in the sunshine, just take it slowly and move as much as you feel you can. Everyone is different and you need to take it at your own pace.

 

If you have any drug allergies, make sure that they know... I kept my Medic Alert bracelet on, plus wrote on my arms with a permanent pen, but some daft relief nurse still managed to give me codeine (not so bad as morphine) when I was too drowsy to check and I had a pretty nasty trip

 

Oh, and LURVE those DVT socks!

[Snowy]

Wind tends to be more of a problem if you've had a laparoscopy because they inflate ( ) your abdomen so they can look around. On the ward we used to give patients a ginger cordial diluted with warm water. It worked miracles and we often had the patients in hysterics on the night shift after a round with the ginger - hilarious to see all the genteel lady patients having belching competitions!

[Willow]

Wind tends to be more of a problem if you've had a laparoscopy because they inflate ( ) your abdomen so they can look around.

 

Ah that makes sense, mine was abdominal and I have such an impressively long scar I don't suppose they had any problems poking around. Despite the length my scar is so neat I remember being really pleased after the op when I realised how neat it was

[The Dogmother]

I have to say that my scar isn't so neat. They went in by cutting out the old c section scar, but the new one was stitched very tightly and as a result is uneven and lumpy.

[Joojoo]

Just wanted to wish you all the best for your op. I'm sure it will be life changing for you, for all the right reasons. I know a few ladies who've gone through it and the difference it's made to them has been amazing. Just remember to look after yourself and give yourself the time to recover properly. We will have to come up with a "not to do" list for you

 

xx

[Chunkin]

This forum is amazing - I feel so much better informed now. And especially thanks to Claire for the links (spent a few hours avidly reading).

 

Have now made arrangements for my son to be looked after at home before and after school for 6 weeks. Before hearing from all of you I thought I'd be doing it myself in less than a fortnight

 

Am in two minds though whether I want my daughter to come and stay with her two year old. She was absolutely my worst teenager and I'm not sure I'm over it yet even though she is now in her 20s!!

 

Thanks everyone

[Willow]

Have now made arrangements for my son to be looked after at home before and after school for 6 weeks.

 

Excellent decision !

 

Ladies make the most of the rest ! I actually enjoyed myself recovering as it's the only time in my life I've had that much time for me. I had the only manicure of my life just before going into hospital (although sadly the nail varnish had to come off ebfore the op ) as I knew I wasn't going to be doing any housework for a while

 

Unfortunately becuase of the renovations stage we were at the desks were in our bedroom and my husband worked at home for a week with the noisest keyboard in existence. I wish now I'd been a bit more selfish and given him an ultimatium of either he moved the desk out of the room or didn't work.

[The Dogmother]

Chunkin, good call there.

 

There will be days when just getting out of bed of a morning is hard, lifting a heavy child will be out of the question, so light mothering duties only.

 

Thankfully, Rosie was able to mostly look after herself, and was briefed on what to do if I had a bad turn. 2 weeks after the op, I was carefully walking her the quarter mile to her old school.

 

Phil came to stay for 10 days after I came out of hospital and was wonderful at nagging me to take it easy.... I'm just not used to other people doing stuff for me!

[Jules.]

Claire there are soon to be " fitness to work" notes instead of sick notes from the GPs, so perhaps your GP could put you on shorter hours for a while if that would help after you op?

[Willow]

When you come to return to work ask to talk to occupational health and work out a phased return to work with a review halfway through that phased return to check it's not too fast. Generally you don't get the option to say later 'oops that was too soon and I need more time' so take your time before the return.

[The Dogmother]

If your employer has a more formal approach, that's a good idea.

 

I just took it as it came, and ended up doing 2 weeks on 10am-4pm with an hour for lunch, then going back into full time. Also think about how you get to work - do you normally walk? Will you feel able to walk/travel that distance when you intend to return to work? Can you get a lift for the short term?