rolly polly

Hey there to all who have lived or are living in my shoes. I had a Hysterectomy on Oct 5th. Only have my cervix and a 7 in incision left. The first four days in the castle are vague (but i washed up alone and dressed on the second day)with so many drug pain meds can't re call much. Coming home on the 9th was not bad....lot's of sleep. I thought it wasn't bad.I've had previous three Laparoscopy surgeries. This one not the same . Voiding 25cc/50cc q 6 hrs not fun. Solid foods made me naseaus. Threw up finally on Thursday. In pain bloated still. Had a BM for first time yesterday . Good feeling but still very bloated and pain. I try not take the Ibu and Tylenol w/ cod...but i need it. What are the common signs and symptoms. I saw Doc as an ER visit in office on friday b/c of the voiding issue. Did an ultrasound. Bladder fine, maybe spasm from anesthesia... did see some bleeding/fluid, said it was normal. I have not even spotted, My hemo is 8.6, run 10.4 to 11.6. Is this common?

Hello there, BVPOK. My, it sounds as if you have had some better days. I don't have many suggestions for you, but I have a couple of questions that might help us work through some of the issues. Have you been prescribed a stool softener? My surgeon prescribed colace, which worked very well for me. I took it once in the morning and one toward evening, and it really helped me out. After the first week, I had some nausea. I think this happened because I was drinking too many fluids and didn't need the colace any more, so I stopped the colace and things went along more smoothly. I do think I had a terrific response that lasted really for months, from anesthesia. I normally don't take drugs of any sort, OTC or anything. My surgery was over 6 hours, whereas they said my kind of surgery should have been three to three and a half hours. So they kept me in twilight for a long, long time, and I imagine that didn't help any.

Are you in the clear, do you think, from the anesthesia (are you no longer foggy brained, if you know what I mean)?

I wish I had suggestions for you. They suggest that bleeding is relatively normal, but if it keeps up, perhaps put a call in to your doctor's office.

I hope things improve for you really soon and hope, too, someone comes along who can help you out with the numbers you are asking about. Warm good wishes to you today.

Hi BVPOK

It sounds like what you're experiencing is pretty normal. You're just a week out of surgery. Don't be so hard on yourself. The anesthesia penetrates your muscles and takes a long time to expel. All the pushing around your ogans experience puts them in a state of shock, and takes them a while to recover. A catheter is very disruptive to the nerve endings so voiding can be weird for a few weeks. As for your blood counts, it's a bloody operation and a drop in your numbers is normal. Your counts will come back up. Try to focus on rest instead of the numbers. Let your doctor worry about those.

Your pain and bloating is perfectly normal too. Gas-X might be helpful for the bloating and pain. A stool softener is very helpful too. Don't be afraid to take those pain meds. You don't want the pain to get ahead of you. It's not a cop out to take them. The more relaxed you are the more rest you'll get, and the more easily your body will heal. That's your job right now.

Many women complain of a loss of appetite for a while after surgery. That's normal too. It will come back. Just make sure you're keeping up on fluids to stay hydrated and to help your body flush itself out. Unless you experience heavy bleeding, heat and discoloration at the incision, or fever you're probably doing just fine.

Remember you're the princess right now. Let yourself be pampered. You deserve it. Rest and relax. Peace to you!


Tracy

BVPOK,

My gyn/onc said I should expect bleeding and if it is anything more than a normal period to call him. I also had my surgery on October 5 and I just started spotting yesterday, I am not concerned at all, my regular gyn told me that I should expect bleeding between weeks 4 and 6 when the internal stiches start to dissolve.
My incision is still oozing which I was told is normal and I go see my gyn again on Wednesday (he is going to get sick of seeing me) but he wants to make sure the incision heals properly, well 1/2 of it is all closed up and looks really good the other side is not healing the same way.
Remember that codiene can bind you up so if you are not going to the bathroom that could be part of your problem, luckily I am doing fine in that department. I am taking 1 stool softener a day and I use fiber sure so I am moving right along.

Hope this helps
)

Thanks so much for all the comments. It is helpful when you are not alone. I think i might still be fuzzy(mythinking). My bleeding is internally. I have been going to bathroon pretty good now. My belly i guess is just sore and "huge". I should have also mentioned that i just had a total thyroidectomy due to cancer back in April. I go to the Cancer Ctr for Iron infusions, so the concern for my blood is a little different. I asked the Doc he said the surgery was easy and there was hardly no bleeding. So my concern is then bleeding inside is normal?? I guess it could be!? I'm glad to have your support. It really helps.

Oh my incision is just huge. We spoke of a bikini 3 in and it's a bikini 7 in. My stitches are inside as well. I will be praying that yours heals well. Last thing you want are kiloids or infection. I've been going to Bathroon fine now. Thank the lord. My worry is my huge belly and really the bleeding internally. i have not had to use a pad not once(yet). The ultrasound showed blood inside.
Thanks for your support. This really helps calm me. I call the Doctor for eveything....they must think i'm nuts.

Thanks dearly. The Lord hears my prayers when i ask "does anyone know what i'm feeeling". Do you think it's too soon to fly? i have an emergency and might have to fly. How long before you where able to do at least half of what you normally do? I see yours was a few months ago. How do you feel now? Any different as a woman or anything else?
May you all be blessed!!

The bathroom issue has been resolved for now. I know that pain meds can do this to you as well. I will give the doctor a call tomorrow again!! LOL How long before the swelling goes down? I can't fit into anything...
Thanks for all the good wishes and it's a God send to be able to chat with people who really know how you feel and can give non dr related advice based on their experience.

Thanks for asking. I feel great now. It took a long time though. It was a good three months before I really started to feel like myself again. I had plenty of help so I could really rest. At this point I'm so happy that I had it done.

The bloating lasts a while. I used to put ice packs on my belly for 20 minutes a few times a day. It was very soothing, and helped quite a bit. It was also very pleasant in the hot summer weather. I don't know if I'd be so thrilled right now as the weather's turning much colder here.

As for the flying issue, you'd better check with your doctor on that one. Just the walking in the airport alone might be too much at this point. You definitely can't lift a suitcase, and sitting for a long period might just set you back. Give your doctor a call and get a professional opinion. You don't want to do any damage that can't be undone. I hope everything's ok.



Tracy

BVPOK~~~ Are you still sick on your stomach? Tylenol w/ cod makes me sick after about 3 days of taking it. My bikini cut ended up being almost 12 inches long. Today is the 14th day since my surgery and so far I feel GREAT! No pain at all. (I heal fast though) My doctor had to spend over a hour cutting out scar tissue he said had turned to stone before he could even get to where he needed to go. Maybe having 2 C-sections has helped me deal with my pain? I go for my post-op app. this tuesday.

Good luck and give your body time to heal.