SAH/BSO - 6 weeks post op, doing well, some tips - Hystersisters Hysterectomy Article

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SAH/BSO - 6 weeks post op, doing well, some tips

SAH/BSO - 6 weeks post op, doing well, some tips

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I had my subtotal abdominal hysterectomy on 11/30. Both my ovaries were removed. I am now on HRT, since 2 weeks post-op.

I was six week post-op yesterday. The first few days in the hospital were rough because of not only the pain, but the discomfort trying to get up and about. I was in the hospital for 3 days. One extra day was due a low grade fever. I was able to have a BM on day #3 with the help of a suppository. I fortunately haven’t had any constipation problems since surgery. However, the gas pains were bad the first 2 weeks and I had the most pain just before a BM in the first 2 weeks that was worse than any pain during my whole recovery. The incision pain isn’t so bad as the internal belly pain. My belly is still sore and tender though it gets better every day.

Pain medications – I took my own Motrin in the hospital. They did give me Percocets a few times in the hospital but mostly I took my own Motrin because the nursing staff was awful to deal with. I was so thankful I brought my own. My doctor prescribed 50 Percocets after my release from the hospital. I took all of them the first 2.5 weeks post-op. The first two weeks home I took 2 Motrin with my 2 Percs. That helped mostly. I did not take medication in the middle of the night and was able to sleep through the night almost every night. It was just difficult getting up and off the sofa or out of bed. That got better and rolling out of bed to a chair set next to me helped greatly. At 3 weeks post-op, I called for a refill on the Percs for an 8 hour road trip for Christmas. I could not have taken that road trip without being on Percs every 4 hours!

I did have lots of nausea the day of surgery from the PCA pump. I stopped using it because of that. They had given me 3 doses of anti-nausea meds. To me, it wasn’t worth the fear of vomiting (with an incision!) so I stopped hitting the pump the night after my surgery.

My belly swelled a lot at midday into the evening. I wore lounge pants mostly, cotton with drawstring pants. I lost a few pounds and at week 2 I was able to wear some low-rise jeans. I could only wear them for an hour or 2 like when my friend came to take me to lunch. My belly still swells but only at night and not every night. It gets better day by day.

I came back to work 2 days ago. I have a desk job so it is not so bad. The first day was fine at 8 hours work. The second day was 7 hours and I got very tired. Today is okay but I’m sort of tired again like I need a nap. I am wearing lose clothing because my belly gets so sore from things rubbing on it. I’m on lifting restrictions from my doctor.

Sex has been attempted and was successful!! Ha. It was a little painful the next day, but not too bad. I think I was sore mostly because it had been a while since we had intercourse. We did have “outercourse” at 3 weeks post-op. It was actually very nice.

I’m on HRT since 2 weeks post-op. It took about 10 days to get relief. The hotflashes were moderate but are now under control. I haven’t had one since last Friday, after putting on my 3rd patch. I stopped taking my herbal supplement (cohosh) since it wasn’t doing any good. The moodiness the first 2 weeks was, how shall I say, nightmarish. I’lll not go without HRT!! I felt my life was over and felt very regretful over the surgery until I got on the HRT!

I do not regret the surgery and my energy levels are back to normal. I would suggest and recommend the following:

Do not take guff, crap or grief from the nursing staff. YOU are the client/customer!

Take it easy the first few weeks but do walk a little every day. I did walk around and do a little more than I should have but I feel it helped me get my energy level back. I refused to lay on the couch day after day. I had to do little things like dishes for a few minutes to get back into the swing of things.

Take your medications as needed. You need them to recover.

Get the answers and information you need from your doctor. Press him/her for the info you need, be it on the telephone or at your appointments.

Read up and educate yourself on all there is to know about your surgery, HRT, vitamins, good health, etc.

Listen to your body. If you feel twinges of pain, take it easy – sit or lay down and watch TV or take a nap.

Keep a plain old chair next to you on the sofa or in bed to roll out onto to get up.

A friend from this website recommended to me the following: keep all your meds, vitamins, etc., in a basket. Take it upstairs or downstairs wherever you will be. I also kept a note on the counter reminding what time I took what medications. I was afraid I’d take too much!

I hope this post helps those that are preparing for surgery. You can email me if you have any questions!

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Find A Doctor Near You

Iris Orbuch, M.D. 202 Spring Street 2nd Floor New York NY 10012 212-343-3040	Kym Boyman, M.D. 1775 Williston Rd., Ste. 110 South Burlington VT 05403 802-735-1252	Molly Senokozlieff, M.D. 9279 A Medical Plaza Dr. North Charleston SC 29406 843-569-2900
Aileen Caceres, M.D. Center for Specialized Gynecology/Florida Hospital 410 Celebration Place, Suite 302 Celebration FL 34747 (407) 303-4573	Christopher Stroud, M.D. 11123 Parkivew Plaza Drive Suite 101 Fort Wayne IN 46845 2609695071	Mayra J. Thompson, M.D. 5323 Harry Hines Blvd Dept OBGYN Dallas TX 75290 214-645-3888
Debra Richardson, M.D. Gynecological Oncology Clinic - SW Med 2201 Inwood Road Suite 106 Dallas TX 75390 214-645-4673	Jon Nielsen, M.D. 9825 Hospital Dr. Suite 205 Maple Grove MN 55369 763-587-7050	Byungyol Chun, M.D. Northern Essex Women's Health 360 Merrimack St Entrance G Lawrence MA 01843 978-557-9060

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