Hi Matron,
Mulling over 'light duties' , love my job but worried over long term effects. My Sister thinks I should look for other work she suggests something like a call centre, never been any good on a phone, even when I worked in office hated phones.
What would be maximum weight in litres and in killos that I would be able to bear over longer term? Also what would be the maximum length of time I could be on my feet at work without doing any more long term damage.
My work will review situation in 3/4 weeks time and I would like some idea of where the line is drawn when given advicery of 'light duties'.
Daughter has warned me that if I submit GPS letter advising light duties only they would be able to dismiss me. If this happens will need to look for something else but not sure what I would be able to do?
Phyl x 😕😕😕
Don't want to push myself to quickly or too much and find myself back waiting for more surgery, think last time knowing that prolapse was still there I knew sooner or later would need redone. This time knowing it's all good don't want to damage surgeons good work.
X
I think you have to be especially careful phyl because you've had a previous repair, if I remember rightly and if your consultant recommended light duties and absolutely no heavy lifting at all then you have to go with that advice but how are you going to go through life not lifting? It's unrealistic. I think anyone following a repair should be cautious for the first 16-18 months anyway but after that lifting should not be an issue unless you are told otherwise so as long as you lift properly (bending your knees) you can lift anything that you are comfortable with. By that I mean anything as long as you aren't struggling with the weight. The surgery now is performed so we can get on with normal day to day life. The sutures used are stronger and we expect a repair to last much longer than originally said that is over 10 years. HRT can help in as much as it protects the repair by building up the vaginal wall which is why many Urogynaecologists now recommend Vagifem pessaries which dissolve in the vagina therefore working where it really matters. It's hard to know how your repair will cope with lifting but it's rare nowadays for a woman to be told she can only cope with light duties for the rest of her life, that's not what this operation is meant for, it's for you to return to normal. After 18 months I was lifting heavy grandchildren and still do.
Hi Matron thank you for your reply,
What are the pros and cons of vagifem pessaries?
Phyl x
As we get older and reach the menopause the vaginal wall starts to atrophy (thin) and in some women (myself included) it becomes exceptionally thin so by using something like Vagifem it helps build up the lining of the vagina. Some Urogynaecologists like women to use it for a while prior to a repair, I did for about 4 months as this helps the repair to "hold" ie it makes the vaginal wall stronger. Because of this I still use the pessaries as recommended by my Urogynaecologist. It's a small dose of oestrogen but very little gets into the bloodstream because it dissolves and "coats" the wall of the vagina. The cons are like any HRT you can't use them if you've had breast cancer, thrombosis etc. It's also useful for vaginal dryness and for women who are menopausal who have pain during intercourse as well. Hope that helps but if someone has had 1 failed repair I know in my area it would be prescribed as long as there aren't any contraindications x
Is there a cancer risk then?
I have an underactive thyroid and take 150 mcgs of thyroxine, would that prevent me from being prescribed vagifem?
X
I've just double checked the literature and it can be used if you have an underactive thyroid but you have to be monitored more closely. What that means exactly I'm not entirely sure but your GP should know. The risk of cancer is minimal and only if there was family history because very minuscule amounts of the hormone goes into the bloodstream.
Thank you Matron,
Think I will make appointment with GP to discuss the possibility of giving this a try. I do already think my repair is stronger than last time, but would be good to have a little extra back up.
Last time round I was making lots of smothers and shakes with lots of pineapples, crushed almonds and coconuts as there meant to be good for ligaments and tendons.
Think vagifem sounds more promising!
Hope you have a good weekend ,
Phyl x☺
Hi Matron ,
Whatever happened to Welshgirl, she just disappeared off the radar, hope she is well and progressing.
Phyl x
I don't know. I was thinking the same. She sometimes messages me but not heard anything recently but I'm sure Gillian keeps in touch with her x