LAVH 3 weeks post hysterectomy: Low energy and tire easily

Hello. I'm three weeks post-op and really feeling great (laparoscopic incisions help the healing go fast). However, by afternoon I'm exhausted - bone tired. I practically feel like I've actually had no surgery, yet I HAVE to have a nap in the afternoon. I am 50 and the mother of triplet 17 year olds that I homeschool, but my kids really are quite easy. I'm not used to being this sleepy in the afternoons every day. So, I guess my body is still healing on the inside? I kind of forget about the surgery I had and I tend to do my normal activities, maybe I'm not giving myself enough time to COMPLETELY heal?

Hi and welcome TMRoy5!

You hit it on the nose. While we are all healed out the outsides our insides are still healing. Our insides can take a few months to completely heal from this major surgery. I had a TLH myself and at the beginning of the 4th week, I was back at work part-time. After those 4 hours at work, I went home and fell into bed and took a 2-3 hour nap! Even when I went back to work full-time, I still took naps after getting home. The frequency and duration of the naps decreased as my body got used to everything.

If you have not been released by your doc for all activities, be sure to follow any activity restrictions. The key at this point is to listen to your body. If your body is telling you it's tired, it's time to get some rest and either put your feet up or take a nap. It needs that energy to work on healing your insides. The fatigue will ease, but it will take some time and patience. The fatigue can come back when you think you've gotten over the hump especially when you have increased your activites by quite a bit.

Hang in there!

Thank you for your reply. It's always good to have back-up support from others who have gone through the same thing. BTW, total nap time today. Lol.

I am 3 weeks post op tomorrow and going back to work - my concern: I am still spotting "fresh" blood if I do anything............I went grocery shopping/walked 2 miles today. Right now -spotting pretty heavy............ ugghhhh is this normal?