I had a complete abdominal hysterectomy almsot 10 yrs ago and it was not bad at all.
I do believe recovery is a lot about your attitude, your overall health, etc. I'm not one to lay around. I followed Dr orders but I was at a track meet watching my daughter 3 weeks post surgery.I couldn't drive for 2 weeks which was the bummer.
At the time, my hubby was in outside sales and on the road a lot, as in 2-3 nights a week. My M. did come to get daughter to/from school and some other household things. Hubby and M. were with me the day of surgery but I stayed at the hospital alone at night. My hubby never missed his regular schedule of being on the road 2-3 nights a week. The hardest part was getting around the me not driving and that was not fun but not detrimental to our schedule.
I only had 1 really bad day of pain and it was the day the morphine pump was removed but I adjusted and went home the next day. I only took pain meds as prescribed by my Dr because I prefer not taking any Rx but the thing to make sure of was to stay ahead of the pain.
I went right on the HRT patch at the hospital and have been ever since. I never experienced weight gain, swelly belly, etc and my sex drive skyrocketed.
I'm in the best health ever and SO happy with my decision. It was the best thing I ever did.
The hardest part is waiting until the day of surgery and all the worries that come along with that and not being able to drive for 2 weeks.
The website www.hystersisters.com has a lot of info pros and cons regarding the surgery and it helped me with a lot.
No one can tell you haow your personal recovery will be. I am a firm believer in positive attitude and I went in with a good attitude and with the outlook of I am not staying down for long. Follow Dr. orders. I was in good shape when I went into surgery as far as health, weight, exercise as well.
I did not tell the school or many neighbors what I was doing because although I appreciate them helping out, there were people in my neighborhood who were going through cancer, etc and needed assistance a lot more than I did.
I did not view my surgery as a crisis, I viewed it as a new me and I LOVE the new me.
EDITED PER YOUR REVISED QUESTION:
1. Back to normal as in everyday activities and no hold ups from Dr as far as exercise, etc........... about 6-9 weeks. I was walking through the hospital halls the next day.
2. No I did not "need" help but it was very nice that my M. was here for a couple days to make sure I was settled in to my routine before she left. The help she gave was basically getting daughter to/from school a couple of days, basic household chores so I didn't have to do it for a few days.
3. No moodswings whatsoever, I went on the HRT patch at the hospital and have been on one since. I've never had a hot flash or mood swing and it has been almost 10 yrs.
I repeat that my surgery was the best health decision I ever made for myself and I have no regrets whatsoever.