Do you think my recovery is too slow?

I get out of breath just walking from my bedroom to the kitchen and my whole body feels weighted down. I walk super slow and in a very odd guarded manner. It's like there is an invisible heavy cloak wrapped around me. I'm 2 weeks and 2 days post op. It's all I can do to spend most of the day sitting at the computer which is where I usually spend most of my time anyways, but at least before surgery I could get up and walk to the kitchen without feeling like I just ran a mile.

I'm beginning to think there is something wrong. Well, I did develop an infection inside somewhere and I'm on Augmentin... but I've been taking it since Saturday night so you'd think that I should be okay by now. The exhaustion is overwhelming. The spasms in my lower gut can at times be maddening. Although today they haven't been as bad as they have been.

I don't know if the pain and pressure and tugging I feel is normal at 2 weeks post op. How do you know how much is too much? I'm not in agony but it's bothersome. I had my ovaries taken out but I keep feeling pain where they used to be. I also feel cramping off and on where my uterus was, like I'm having a bad period. I'm still barely passing anything, thank goodness. Just a yellowish brown and it's minuscule. Sometimes a pinkish color but it's minuscule, as well.

My abdomen feels weird, too. I can feel things rub together in there. Picture this... two pieces of raw skinned chicken meat rubbing against each other LOL The feeling is so weird! My husband said that my guts are having to fall back into places they're not used to being, cuz my uterus was so huge before and now everything is gone.

Do you think my recovery is too slow?

I remember feeling similar sensations and when I got up from lying down, it's as if my legs wanted to shoot forward like a sort of spasm. You're still in the very early days of recovery. I'm sure I was the same at 2 weeks but I didn't feel exhausted. Maybe check your iron levels in case op has left you a bit anaemic. My iron levels plummeted on day 2 after op and I was exhausted then, but after 2 bags of blood I bounced back immediately. Maybe you need a short course of iron tablets to get you back on track. I used to feel as if there was something lodged between my belly button and my pubic bone and almost feeling as if they had stitched me too tight but it's gone now. In a week or so again you will find you are able to walk more upright which helps a great deal. Try and remind yourself to do this as the temptation is to hunch over which seemed to make it worse. Good luck it won't be long before you are feeling more comfortable.

I feel exactly the same way. The two pieces of raw chicken rubbing together is EXACTLY how my tummy feels, especially when I first get out of bed, or when I've been on the couch for a while. When I get up I can feel all the tugging and pulling of whatever is still healing in there. As far as walking hunched over...I saw my reflection in a mirror at Walmart the other day. I looked like an old lady hunched over and walking. I tried to stand up straight but it made my tummy more sore and my back even worse. My back is still hurting!! Just take it slow and listen to your body. The worse thing we can do now is to push too much to quickly. I hope you feel better soon!

You sound very normal for 2 weeks post op to me except for the extreme tiredness. I would definitely tell the doctor about it. Sospan maybe right, anemia, thyroid, almost anything could be causing it. Then again, since you have an infection, I bet that and the medicine could be dragging you down - you could google the medicine you are taking and see what the side effects are. If it gets worse, I would keep in touch with the doctor.
You are still very early in recovery so you need to keep resting and not overdoing it. I remember the pulling, tugging, burning, strange feelings inside. I had lol when I read a thread about possible rapid squirrels with chainsaws inside where our uterus use to be. Several Sisters were experiencing this problem!
You definitely don't sound like a slow recovery. This was major surgery! You must take care so you will heal properly. Best Wishes!

I am 2 weeks post op also. I get tired very easily and still walk with my tummy very guarded. I had TAH/BSO, what type did you have? If you think that there is something not healing right, call and check with your doctor, they should be able to put your mind at ease or help make it better.

quote: It's all I can do to spend most of the day sitting at the computer which is where I usually spend most of my time anyways, but at least before surgery I could get up and walk to the kitchen without feeling like I just ran a mile.
I could never have sat that long at a computer at two weeks, it would cause too much abdominal discomfort, as you describe. It wasn't until 5 - 6 weeks that I was comfortable sitting for longer periods of time like 3 hours or so.
I agree with the others re: possible anemia, get thyroid/hormones checked but also suggest that you incorporate some times of reclining in your day and see if that helps.

I didn't feel I could move normally for about a month, and even then I moved a bit cautiously at times.

I agree with websister,i cant sit longer than 45 minutes then I start to ache,maybe your over doing it with the sitting upright.Go back to your doctor just to put your mind at rest.Maybe you need Iron tablets and or stronger antibiotics.
Hope everything eases for you flower
xx

	Quote:
Originally Posted by sospan I remember feeling similar sensations and when I got up from lying down, it's as if my legs wanted to shoot forward like a sort of spasm.

YES! Exactly like that. What is up with the spasm in the muscles? It happens to me like you describe but also when I go to lay down in bed. It feels similar to that normal thing that happens to everyone... when you get an urge to lean back in your chair to stretch out your arms and back and then the feeling shoots down your entire body so you stretch out your legs, too. Like a cat stretching with a yawn?

But I'm laying there trying NOT to do it but my muscles are FORCING themselves to do it. It even draws my stomach muscles up tight. That is the part I hate the most, because I'm worried about it hurting something in there. Sometimes this involuntary spasm makes all my muscles shake. Weirdness! I just try to breathe through it and relax and I can control it a bit.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by sospan I used to feel as if there was something lodged between my belly button and my pubic bone and almost feeling as if they had stitched me too tight but it's gone now.

Yep, me too. In my lower abdomen I have the raw chicken meat rubbing together feeling and in the middle part of my abdomen it feels like a ball of cement stuck in there and in my upper abdomen it feels like I've swallowed a beach ball that has been overinflated. LOL

Several of you have commented on my fatigue and how it could be anemia or thyroid, etc. I do have a mildly under active thyroid and am taking medicine for it. The panel showed it to be "normal" but I questioned the results of 4.35 to my dr, as I had read on the internet that results differ between labs. I requested to try some thyroid medicine since I have under active thyroid symptoms. My dr indulged me, and I've felt better since starting on the medicine a month ago.

I have been anemic off and on the past couple of years but when I started taking a multi vitamin on a regular basis, the anemia cleared up. The last time I had it checked it was normal. And my dr said I had very minimal blood loss with my hysterectomy. I had an LAVH/BSO/Cervix was taken, too.

To be honest, I'm not resting properly. I need to force myself to get more sleep and to not stay up so late. The more I think about it.. I think I'm harming myself by this... okay I'll go to bed earlier tonight : )