1 - 2 days

• You are still likely to be in hospital with generalised aches in your abdomen and perhaps some shoulder pain.
• Moving in and out of bed may be sore.

• Get up and move about, get yourself dressed and eat and drink as usual.
• You will feel tired and perhaps feel like a sleep in the afternoon.

No

3 - 7 days

• Your pains will slowly be reducing in intensity and you will be able to move about more comfortably. You will still tire easily.

• Continue as day 1-2
• Go for a short walk in the morning - no longer than 10 minutes-then go home and rest. You may want to go for another short walk or two in the afternoon. These movements help keep the joints and muscles supple

No

1 - 2 weeks

• There will be less pain as you move more and more and you will find your energy levels slowly returning.

• Build up the activities you do around the house. You are encouraged to go for longer and more frequent walks during the day but to still rest after each one.

Not just yet

2 - 4 weeks

• There will be even less pain now as you move more and more and you will find your energy levels returning to normal.
• You should feel stronger every day.

• Build up the activities you do around the house to pre-operative levels. You are encouraged to go for longer and more frequent walks during the day and to perhaps limit your rest period to one in the afternoon.
• Further work on the knowledge that you’ve gained and aim to make those lifestyle changes permanent.
• Talk to your doctor about going back to work.

Yes, possibly on reduced hours or light duties at first. Most people will be back to full-time work after 4 weeks.

6 weeks

If you haven’t had any complications from surgery, you should be back to your full range of activities. You may still feel easily fatigued and need to rest more than usual.

If you haven’t had any complications to do with your surgery, and you’re still off work, it’s possible that you’re feeling anxious about returning to work and could do with a bit of help from your GP and your employer. Talk to them both about a gradual return to work.

If you’re off for too long, there’s a risk of developing problems to do with anxiety, isolation, and lack of confidence. These could affect your quality of life in the long term. Talk to your doctor about how best to avoid this becoming a problem for you.

Yes