TVH 3 weeks post hysterectomy, weepy, in pain, anxiety and blah..

20 days post op here. After making it through a terrifying incident with sever constipation and bowel impaction issue days 5-7 post op, I was feeling great! Didn't even feel like I had surgery at all. No spotting, no pain, was on cloud nine! Then I went back to work at desk job on day 14. Still felt fine that evening. On day 15, at office, starting feeling really bad after sitting for 3 hours. Burning, stinging pain in lower vagina, felt like something was up in there and lots of pressure. Cut myself down to half days at office day 16 to last Thursday. Symptoms just got worse, so stayed home on couch rest from last Thursday afternoon till today. Still same, burning, now stabbing also pains, pressure and when I stand I really feel like something is there fixing to come out. Similar feeling as if a tampon or something is there. I am not leaking urine or having any bleeding. Very slight pink tinge every now and then on TP. Given that there is no bleeding or leaking urine or anything else, my doctors office was unconcerned that there was any urethra, rectal or intestine prolapse. Not concerned of vaginal cuff tear either.. I on the other hand am very concerned! I know my body, I am not a wimpy person at all, 4 totally natural child births and I actually have been told I have a very high pain threshold. Something just doesn't feel right. This burning and stinging as if a babies head is going to crown, along with the stabbing pains going down my vagina all the way to the front outer tissue, could this possibly be normal? I understand, nerves were cut and must heal, sutures are dissolving, ligaments repairing but really? And the post op recovery times vary so much. Maybe I am being just a big, weepy baby today.

At 3 weeks... you're still early in recovery. Plenty of Sisters have shared that the 3rd week is like taking a step back - especially as pain meds get out of our systems and stitches start to dissolve. Our doctors release us anywhere from 4-8 weeks, but that's when they have no further follow up with us. Full healing takes 4-6 months, for some longer.

Going back to work often brings on fatigue, swelling and pains when we thought we were doing pretty good. All those symptoms are our bodies' way of saying "Slow down, Sister." We still should be adhering lifting restrictions, and many of us still can't push-pull (think vacuuming, pushing a grocery cart) or bend properly. See Hysterectomy Restrictions. At around 5 weeks, I was going to use the heavy duty stapler at my office to staple a credit card bill together. Getting the stapler down from the shelf was nothing, but PRESSING on it definitely brought on a couple of zingers. I called for a coworker to do it for me - she'd had gall bladder surgery the year before and understood. We laughed about it!

It helps to understand healing. We tend to view healing as the scar tissue which first formed getting stronger over time, but that's not the case at all. Instead, earlier scar tissue gets replaced throughout healing by newer scar tissue, and the earlier stuff dissolves. That's when we're likely to feel twinges and zingers. It's also when we're more susceptible to stretching or rupturing something. Too, if we've stepped up our activities, our internal incisions might be letting us know they're there.

I did not have the sensation you've mentioned, but I've read more than a handful of threads where Sisters said they felt like they had a tampon up there. Some had their doctor's check and the consensus was swelling. The fact that you're not bleeding is a good sign. However, if you feel like something else is going on, don't hesitate to push a little with your doctor.