Me again!!!

WHAT is "swelly belly"?????? (Just doin' my research!!)

hey chopem!! Glad to see you back and doing your research. "Swelly belly" is when your abdomen (belly) swells after you have your hysterectomy. Some women have worse swelling than others, but is primarily due to inflammation and trauma from the surgical procedure itself but can hormones can also play a role. It can also depend on which type of hyster you have

Hope this helps.

Kamee (aka other crazy fulltime mom sales woman-Ha!)

Hey Girl - I emailed you alittle while ago!! Thanks for the response!

How long does it last?

I'm sure you're gonna get a lot of responses to this one, since we all seem to have it. I was unprepared for this part of the recovery. Prepare for loose clothing the first few weeks!

I had a TAH two weeks ago, and immediately got the swelly belly. This can last for some time (weeks/months??). The reason, as I understand it, is from the swollen tissue inside, which just takes time to heal. Also, a friend of mine says air is pumped in through the incision to inflate the , so it's easier for the doc to work. Since this air is not IN the intestines itself, it can't escape easily, and tends to stay in the body longer. I am not medically qualified to say this is exactly what happens, or that every doctor uses this method, but boy, it sure felt just like that at first. It is improving though, thank goodness!

Well, at the risk of not really answering, it's different for everybody and can also depend on your post op activity. For example, yesterday I tried to pick up around the house and do some laundry, etc and today my belly is more swollen. Kind of like any other injury that's not healed, the more you push it, the more it hurts and swells. Hope this makes sense.

I'm going to read your email-be back in a few. Keep asking questions-it really helps (at least it helps me) to have all the facts!!!