hi ladies as the title states I have my op booked for Tuesday. Starting to feel a little worried..do you have any advice on post op? Should I invest in a rubber ring or anything to make sitting more comfortable? Should I expect to be able to use stairs straight away? Should I avoid anything? Many thanks 
Hi.Dont worry. I am 10wks post op after A and P. I am in uk and stayed in hospital 2days.I am 51. Please remember every one heals at different levels and ages.I am encouraged by lots of posts and also frustrated with myself at how quickly some people are well quicker. I bought a ring after 5wks and found was useless as put pressure on back passage.Others have found very useful. If going through it again I would buy lots loose dresses with no gathering and more long t.shirt or night shirt. I still struggle to sit squarely and wear even loose trousers or joggers. My stomach was tender for quite few weeks and couldn't wear elastic on it. I didn't have a lot of bleeding after the op so sanitary towels that were longer rather than thicker were better. I also found they irritated me a lot and so after 3weeks just put a bath towel on the bed and lay without any underwear. Look out for infection. I had one after 3wks which cleared up quickly with antibiotics. I have read some hospitals give these out on discharge from hospital but not mine. There was no follow up appointment for me so check if u can have one. These are just my experiences. Keep us informed. Hugs jill
I never used a special pillow. I was super sore the first 2 days and couldn't brave the stairs but was fun after that. I was just super slow when I did. You should be fine. Just take things slow and when you feel good, still rest as it can set back your recovery I found. Hope that helps. Best of luck!
I would definitely get a ring pillow. I have an inflatable one and it's really helped. I'm 3 wks out and I'm still using it. Be sure and rest after your surgery. I thought I was resting enough then after about a week went out for about 4 hours to lunch, grocery store, home depot. Afterwards, started bleeding like crazy for a week. Had to lie flat for that week. It can be very deceiving-you feel pretty good and it's so easy to overdo it. I was ok w/stairs but everything you do takes an effort so use your energy wisely! Good luck to you!
Depends what sort of surgery you are having. I lve in the UK and had a mesh inserted through a bikini line cut for my bladder prolapse and ovaries removed, so no bleeding or discomfort from sitting. I am now 12 weeks post op but did have and still do have a lot of discomfort. Just take things very easy, no lifting or carrying. Let the housework look after itself. I found that as long as you are fed and clean the housework really doesn't matter. Just let your body heal. I had to climb stairs three daays after my op as I live in a flat but didn.t go out for a few weeks afterwards. I think you will know when your body is ready to do more. Walking does help even if it just around the rooms in your home. I didnt drive for six weeks but everyone has to go with how they feel. Definately wear loose fitting trousers or skirts and baggy tops to hide any tummy swelling.
I wish you well in your op, take each day as it comes.
Follow your surgeon/nurse's advice about when to resume normal activities after the surgery. I agree with the other posts - every person and every surgery is different. I was in bed for two weeks. Was so weak it was hard to even take a shower without a nap afterwards. It will be a good time to coddle yourself - or have someone else give you lots of TLC.
I see many have not had a follow up appointment. I'm surprised at least for rectocele repair like me - ask for a follow up visit if they don't schedule one.
Best wishes for quick healing!
Hi there
Firstly, I've found this forum so incredibly helpful - kept me sane in my first few weeks! I'm now 6 weeks post surgery for posterior, anterior and bladder repair - and a mirena coil for good measure.
So - rubber/inflatable ring...I didn't have one and couldn't think of anything worse! I didn't do any research prior to my surgery. The way I describe the experience post-op is it is just like giving birth. Some women breeze through it, others like myself, take every drug on offer. You'll know roughly where you fit on that scale. If you've birthed vaginally, did you use a rubber ring then? If not, I'd suggest starting without it - someone can always duck to the pharmacy for you. Honestly, you will most likely spend a lot of time in bed sleeping for the first week or two. Then, graduate to the lounge with some cushions.
What else shouldn't you do? Don't freak out. Know this: your vagina is going to be incredibly swollen for a good couple of weeks afterwards. I still have some stitches.
My physiotherapist has told me never to do another squat for the rest of my life, a little over the top if you ask me, but I understand what she is saying: the surgery will strengthen your internal muscles, look after your pelvic floor.
Make sure you get yourself some Movicol (that's what it's called here in Australia) sachets. And, make sure you drink them. Have a bowel motion is not pleasant for the first few days, do yourself a favour and make it as easy as possible,
Most of all, relax. No matter how sore you may feel, every day is another day closer to full recovery. Take the opportunity to watch crap TV and do nothing for once, the opportunity is unlikely to present itself again for a while.
Wishing you a speedy recovery.
Thank you so much for your reply Gill, really great insight! I hope you are well on the road back to normality I will check re follow up appointment as it didn't occur to me to ask at my pre assessment appt. thanks again, hopefully chat on the other side!
Hi, im almost 6 months post op with a hyster as well. My advice would be to get to your gp asap and ask for movicol( can be bought over the counter but more expensive than script charge). It comes in sachets which you can increase the dosage on. Start taking as soon as you get home as hospital does not give any laxative and these soften motions, waiting until you desperately need to go is too late as it makes you feel uncomfortable to say the least, i know from bitter experience.
jills advice is also sound. Also i found that as a side sleeper wedging a pillow under my tummy also eased pull pressure. I felt fine after my op and was raring to go in my head but believe me even a slow trip round the garden 4 times a day at first was hard going, you just dont realise how much it takes out of you. Take it slowly, your body will tell you what its ready for.
Hi. I am now 7 weeks post op - vaginal vault repair and posterior repair. I am 57. Only real issue was constipation! Have Movicol sachets ready and take one on first night after op and then take as many (up to 4 allowed) as you need so you can go to loo with no effort at all. I am now very proud to be only taking one a day! I got tired easily so did virtually nothing for first two weeks but read and watched tv. I was back in my jeans within a week, my tummy never swelled, I never needed a rubber ring and I drove after 5 weeks. In fact I forget most of the time that I had anything done! I don't lift much at all though. The world of sex has not been entered yet (excuse the pun) but that is next on agenda!! Few glasses of fizzy needed I think as a bit nervous. Go into hospital with a positive attitude, arrange for help at home, buy a good book and remember nothing lasts for ever. My op seems absolutely ages ago. Good luck.
In the UK i was given a bottle of movicol liquid and a box of fybergel sachets to take home. They gave me 4sachets and 3liquid a day in hospital. I worried as suffer with constipation anyway. They said may not go for 5days due to anaesthetic. Went after 3days.found the laxatives and stool softener gave me painful wind so stopped it after a week. Ask for some to take home. Are you in uk
Thank you for your reply yes I think 'rest' sounds like a great piece of advice!
Oh gosh.. Hope your ok now! Thank you so much for sharing your journey so far.. Everyone keeps mentioning rest and so I will certainly try my utmost! I think I will invest in a ring pillow just to be prepared! Did you just buy a children's/swimming one or is there a special medical one?
Thank you very much for your reply. Yes, I too am in the UK. (Dorset) I am also having a mesh. I was a little sceptical at first but my consultant was very reassuring. Thats interesting re 12 weeks.. I Had in mind that by then I'd hopefully be on the way back to my old self! I hope your discomfort starts to settle soon.. The things us women go through hey!
Thank you for your reply! Yes, everyone's recovery varies so much! I will certainly mention a follow up appt as a few people have said about that. I hope your recovery is going well
Wow! Mirena too! It did cross my mind to do that at the same time -.ive had 3 mirenas and loved them! Was lucky to have no bleeding the entire time!
I've had both a natural birth and an emergency section, I didn't use a ring but I did struggle to sit after my natural one. After reading another reply I think I'd like to be prepared just in case!
haha yes re crap TV! I'm going to invest in Netflix whilst I'm off work!
Thank you again for sharing your experiences
Thank you for your reply! Yes good call re laxatives.. ,! How are you feeling now, 6 months on? Would you have it done again if you knew what you know now?
Wow, sounds really positive! The tiredness and constipation seems to be common amongst the other responses. Thank you for sharing your journey and best of luck on the sex front 
Hi Jazz, I have just returned from my surgeon's office. I will be 6 weeks post-op tomorrow. I had a hysterectomy with anterior and posterior repairs. The bladder also needed extra work so there was some resection involved. The surgery was almost four hours. I was in hospital overnight and came home the next morning at 6 a.m.
The main advice I would give is to do nothing post-op without asking a doctor - period. Also do avoid getting tired. If you are fatigued, rest. We are all so different and our surgeries are different as well but I think we all get very tired easily in the first while - length of time is very individual.
I have been extremely lucky. But I must say, I would not have mentally survived if I hadn't found this forum. I still need to say thanks to everyone who helped me during those early days - quite depressing when you don't know if something is normal or not. When I asked the surgeon today why I wasn't told of the possibility of the constipation. swelling and urine leakage, she said that for every person who has these problems, there are 100 who don't. They don't want to tell patients everything that could go awry because for some people, they would have all the problems! I still think it would have been nice to know in my case but that's their position.
I was uncomfortable for the first week and the cushion helped not at all. Sitting on one "cheek" and then the other helped but not dead on my butt. Stairs were slow but not a problem. I am in Canada and the Movicol is called Lax-a-Day here and in the US - so depends on where you are what you need to take. I wish I had known about taking it BEFORE surgery. It is pefectly safe and some people need to take it the rest of their lives. There are no side-effects and doctors have no issues on your taking this "forevery if you have to". My only problems have been with constipation and urine leakage post-surgery. I also had fairly significant swelling - I had no underpants that fit! My daughter had to go buy some for me 2x the size I normally use. I was told today, this could take another 6 weeks to completely clear up. So do get a few loose items which you MIGHT need post-op. I would have preferred shopping for myself - the underpants my daughter got are hideous! Mercifully, some of my own are starting to fit.
Insofar as the leakage, it is getting less and less and she thinks it should disappear in the next week or two. The constipation is still with me and although the Lax-a-Day helps, I still need to take a gentle laxative called Senakot. She told me to continue this for the next 3 weeks and then see my family doctor if I am not back to normal when discontinuing the Senakot. I can take the Lax-a-Day forever. There are other prescription medications which will help if this has not cleared up on its own by then. Also starting today, I am doing the Kegel exercises but NOT trying to stop/start urine while voiding and NOT doing the exercises while sitting on the toilet. Some people are told to do these exercises much sooner than at 6 weeks and to do the start/stop thing. So repeat message: ask doctor before doing anything.
We sure are all different. I am 71. I started driving rural roads and to a small town 2 weeks post surgery; driving to the city at 3 weeks and returned to work at four weeks. I slept longer for the first 3 weeks - about 9 hours per night. I don't nap. I am now back to my normal 7 hours per night. I have also been given the green light today to lift as much as I used to. I can also vaccum, cut grass, do anything I used to do pre-surgery - yea. Someone in this or another related forum asked about a sore inside their vagina post surgery which they described as "boil-like" - sorry guys I can't remember who. The doctor said if this happens to me, I should call her office right away because the tissue in some people is very tender for up to 6 months post surgery and that is a sign of the beginning of an infection and antibiotics are needed. Hope whoever had the problem is still reading the posts in the forum.
So good luck and don't worry. You can't have any idea whether you will be a fast or slow healer - either is perfectly normal. For some people, it can take 3-6 months and for others lucky like me 3-4 weeks although they don't want you to lift anything heavier than 10 lbs for 6 weeks either ways. That was my killer. I can now put the hamper back in the bedroom where it belongs, do laundry normally, hang clothes on the clothesline, take the garbage to the road in one trip, etc. And there is no further follow up except with my family doctor re the constipation and with her if the urine leakage does not clear up.
The only thing to avoid is fatigue. If you are tired post-op, rest. Rest as needed for all of us is a must.
Good luck and keep in touch. Let us know how you are doing.
Nickie
Yes am in the UK - Dorset. Will definitely ask for laxatives as most people have mentioned it. Not heard of movical but hopefully they will give me something!