Upcoming hysterectomy 9/16: Post op pain

Hi all. I'm having a TAH on the 16th. My main concern is post op pain. I had both my children vaginally so am a bit nervous about the abdominal incision and the pain afterwards. Can you use stairs when you return home after surgery?

Thanks!

I came home the same day as surgery and climbed 2 flights of stairs without any problem. i did do it one step at a time with one foot then the other to the same step, not alternating feet. Very slowly. I didn't have to do stairs again for awhile. As for pain, my Dr gave me a nasal pain reliever, can't recall the name, but it worked extremely well. You always want to stay ahead of the pain. Take your medication on time and don't skip a pill. Its harder to kill it when you actually let yourself start hurting so just stay on top of it and it will be ok. You will need to take things slow and rest as much as possible. Its very important to give yourself time to heal properly.

I don't know if this is normal or not, but I have had very minimal pain from day one. (I had a SAH.) I chose to do things a bit differently and had a spinal with IV sedation instead of a general anesthesia. I've had other surgeries with a general, and this was by far a better experience. I kind of enjoyed going into post-op and surprising everyone by being awake! I was given a pain pump there, but thanks to a nurse's mistake, it wasn't working, nor was the issue discovered for my first 3 hours post-op. (My doctor was livid, but even so, I wasn't THAT uncomfortable.)

The morning after surgery, the pump was discontinued and I was given percocet. However, my blood pressure was too low, so they cut my dose. Again, the pain was tolerable. I was up, dressed, and had make-up on and the nurses were asking where "the patient" was.

I'm 2 weeks post-op now, and I just keep thinking how easy it was. I saw my surgeon last Thursday and he said my scar is already fading! He couldn't believe how quickly I'm healing. I don't have steps, so can't advise you there, but I would ask your doctor. If you can avoid them, you may want to. I bought a belly binder and also got one from the hospital, but only used it the day after surgery. (For me, it caused more discomfort.) I do advise MANY pillows if you intend to sleep in bed. If we would have had a recliner, I would have definitely chosen that instead. (Side sleeping was a no go for week one.) Best of luck to you!

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Originally Posted by goobina67 Hi all. I'm having a TAH on the 16th. My main concern is post op pain. I had both my children vaginally so am a bit nervous about the abdominal incision and the pain afterwards. Can you use stairs when you return home after surgery? Thanks!

I had a TAH too and was also very concerned about pain having 2 (very easy) vaginal deliveries. My friend who had 2 c-sections said the hysterectomy was way worse. I think time (or age) has clouded her memory.

During prep they gave me a naproxen because it helps with pain levels after the surgery. When I woke up the nurse asked me "what level is your pain?" I told her "about a 5". So she dosed me with morphine. A few minutes later she asked again and I was at a 2, I told her I could handle more pain than that so she cut it back a bit. The first night I only hit the morphine pump twice (was able to every 8 minutes). They were giving me Tylenol and Aleve. I was at an acceptable pain level for laying still but didn't want to get up. To do that I had no choice but to use my morphine.

The morphine made me nauseas, sleepy and dizzy so even when I was using it I still didn't want to get up and walk. My luck I would fall on my face and the nurses made themselves scarce so there was no one to help me around. So I kept hitting that button when I was able and stayed to my room unless my husband was around. By day 2 I got off the morphine, just taking Tylenol (650 mgs) and Aleve and felt much better.

When I went home on day 3 they first forgot to give me my pill before I left so the 30 minutes on the road was a little painful (bring a pillow to put between you and the seatbelt). Then I had 2 flights of stairs waiting for me. I took them slow but it didn't hurt to do them.

My instructions for pain relief were 500 mgs of Tylenol every 4-6 hours as needed. That's what I did and it was fine. Yes, something stronger would have been nice, but taking Tylenol really does take the edge off without making you feel great. That was probably best for me because if I felt great I would have started doing stuff around the house.

Take your meds on schedule, don't wait until you need them for that first week. If suddenly you need to pee you don't want to wait 30 minutes for the meds to kick in. Pressure from the bladder hurts the incision. I was able to taper off the pills at 10 days and haven't needed any at all in about 10 days. Remember too you're recovering from major surgery and even if you feel good you shouldn't bend, twist or lift anything. Just stick to walking short distances, from your recovery corner to the washroom, bedroom or kitchen (no cooking). I had my husband put all the food I like on the top shelf of the fridge so I wouldn't have to bend to reach it when he was at work.

Things get better bit by bit daily, but noticeably by the week. Week 3 and I feel great. Able to do some things for myself. I feel like I could do it all, but I still tire quickly so spend I help out with things I'm allowed to do in the mornings (prepping meals while sitting, I can wash a few dishes, start laundry, fold clothes), then relax with my feet up the rest of the day.

I really had no pain to speak of. I was kind of shocked about that! They had Tylenol and Toradol in my iv instead of narcotics which was great as I didn't have all of those narcotic side effects. They took the iv out later that night, and I never took anything else afterwards. Went home the next morning feeling good.

The nurses in the hospital kept asking me if I had any pain. I kept telling them no. They started to look suspicious. Finally I said, I've got some soreness and twingey-ness, but no real pain! That seemed to satsify them. :-)

I was off narcotics by the time I left the hospital on the third day after surgery. After that I just took OTC ibuprofen, pretty regularly the first week, occasionally the second. I never had any real pain at all.

Stairs: A railing is a must. Have one installed beforehand if necessary. Don't carry things when using the stairs. You need your hands free to help keep your balance and possibly take some of your weight on the railing. Take the steps slowly. You may find it easier to place both feet on one step before attempting the next step. Don't be afraid to use the stairs as necessary, but don't make unnecessary trips.

Thank you! This is very helpful. We have a 2 story house, and I want to recover in my bedroom upstairs the first couple of days Thank you ladies for all the pain control tips, I feel more at ease reading your posts.