Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Pelvic Floor Surgery Tidbits

Now that I'm 7 weeks post-op from my pelvic floor repair, I'd like to share a few things that helped during my recovery. It's not a lot of tips, but a few that may help some others.

1) Don't believe everything you read online. Everything I read suggested recovery would be horrible. Other than being tired, drained, and somewhat painful for the first week, it wasn't SO bad.

Now do remember, I didn't have a hysterectomy. Just a rectocele and cystocele repair.

2) Have what you need close by. Remote control, tissues, water, snacks, phone and charger, heck, even a laptop. Pills if you don't want to get up and to take them. Pillows and blankets nearby so when you're cold you don't have to reach far.

3) Things I bought (or had) to help and let me be clear - I have no affiliation with Amazon for these products. These are just things I thought would be helpful and were.

Perineum bottles - Something like this. I had leftover ones from childbirth.

Perineum ice packs - You can buy disposable ones or get them from the hospital if they give them out, but I found these on Amazon and really liked them.

Bedside table/tray - There are a few different ones. I liked this because it had the lip and things wouldn't roll off, however it does bother me when I'm typing on my computer.

Reacher - This helped me picked things up from the floor or reach things farther away when I didn't feel like moving.

Maternity underwear from the hospital - I asked for extra, they gave me some.

Sitz bath - Don't use until your doctor tells you it's okay. I don't use the bag. I just fill it up with hot water and sit in it.

Stool softener - Follow your doctor's orders. Something like these. I bought mine at the grocery store.

4) Let other people help. Spouse, children, mother, anyone around. Have them take care of other children, have them go to the store for you, have them clean, help with homework, have them cook you dinner. Yes, they will get overwhelmed. But this is what you do on a daily basis. Let them experience it. It won't be forever.

5) Take your recovery and return to life slow and easy. Start with one thing, then add another, and so on. I'm not 100% yet at 7 weeks post-op, so don't expect to be either. To me, this felt a lot like childbirth, and that took me a good 3 months to recover from. So that's the time I'm giving it. Then I'll try to get my act together a little more.

I hope this helps at least one person prepare. These things really helped my recovery besides pain pills.

Feel free to ask any questions.

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