LSH What does it mean to "overdo" it?

I had a Laparoscopic Supracervical Hysterectomy (LSH) on 2/15/11 for fibroids. I had been doing GREAT up until day 9, Thursday (2/24/11), when I think I "over did it": I had my post-op appt in the morning and I got approval from the doctor to go back to work, I went to the grocery store (I didn't carry the full grocery bags myself, but I did put the groceries away), I went to a 2 hour meeting at work, I visited some friends (showed my cool surgery photos), and in the evening I helped with dinner dishes (there were a few heavy ones).

That night, I had some internal pressure like pain, mostly left sided, and I felt sick for 2 days following. I felt like I had a fever, but I didn't. I had no energy. I felt pressure in the vaginal area that I'd not felt before. I now have a small sore on the left labia at the perineum.

I realized I should take it easy, so I have been mostly lying down since Thursday night. I feel MUCH better today (Sunday), but I am concerned I may have caused myself problems. I did talk to an on call doctor last night (Saturday), but she did not seem concerned since I had no fever.

What does it mean to "overdo it"? Could I have actually caused damage to the internal surgical site(s)?

Also, I am an active, healthy (aside from this) 45 year old, that doesn't like to sit still. My husband and others have taken wonderful care of me, but I am used to doing things myself and generally "doing" all the time. When I feel good, I forget I am not supposed "to do". I am starting to understand the "Princess" approach to recovery, but any other advice on how not to do too much when I feel good would be much appreciated

Thanks!

Hi. I had lavh on 15 Feb (which would be your 14 as I live in New Zealand) and on my Thursday was feeling great. I unpacked the dishwasher, saw the GP to have the small incision x 4 out and then did a small supermarket shop with my daughter. I also did some laundry. By the evening I was a bit sore but on Friday I felt terrible, so tired. After my shower, i was weak and everything went black whenever I stood up. Spend all day on the couch and had about a four hour nap. I also haves spent Sat and Sun mostly on the couch. So do believe what I did on Thurs set me back a few days. Will def not do that again. I have low bp and iron level as I lost about a litre of blood during surgery so that makes me feel really weak too. I too don't like to sit and do nothing but as I want to heal with no complications,will force myself to. I also read graphic stories of what can happen if the vaginal cuff tears and that scared me a lot so I am going to obey the rules and no sex or driving until the all clear after my 6 week check.

Take care and wish you heaps of strength and good healing.
Janet

sdavismrs -

Sorry to hear that you feel like you might have taken a backstep in your recovery.

You might find the "activities" tab from the Week 3 & 4 Hysterectomy Checkpoints helpful.

I know you aren't this far along but it is a good guideline. It was originally put in weeks 3 & 4 since most people were having abdominal surgeries.

Personally I still think it is a good thing to try to keep to the 8 week initial recovery timeframe. You can speed things up if your body doesn't react poorly but it keeps you from doing unintended damage.

I think in this fast paced world we don't give our bodies the down time and pampering they need. Those "I had a hysterectomy and was meeting my friends for lunch the next day ads" really do us no good because they just cause us to push and fatigue ourselves.

My gyn-onc told me with my laproscopic surgery (I had a total with both ovaries and tubes and some lymph nodes removed) that I should expect a 6 possibly 8 week initial recovery. He said with daVinci surgery that patients are usually ahead in long term recovery for the first 6 months and after that things level out from 7 to 12 months.

The more work you have done / things you had removed the longer it can take to be 100% back to normal. With surgical menopause and a few other things I didn't use the word "normal" until 11 months.

as you work your way through recovery.

G.

Hi Janetrux. Thanks so much for the reply. Though I am sad that you feel bad, I am glad to hear a similar story to mine I think I've learned my lesson too. I hope you feel better soon!

Hi Taruslady! Thanks so much for the reply! The info. you pointed me to is very helpful! My doctor was not very specific when it comes to my restrictions. He did say I could start returning to "normal" activities between 4-6 weeks. I guess everyone is different, so it's hard for doctors to nail it down for each person. He left it to me to "use common sense" for my recovery, to which my husband just laughed frustratedly. It seems that, well, I kind of lack common sense when it comes to my body. I usually just push through whatever are the body's complaints, but I know I can't do that with this recovery. It's definitely time to let it all go and not be the stong headed, nothing can stop me, stoic (stupid) woman. What exactly do I think I'm going to miss anyway? Dishes? Really? Thanks again

Welcome to the club. I went back to work this past Tuesday...desk job... I ran 1 errand each night after work, nothing requiring heavy lifting. Thursday was my downfall. All I did was put gas in the car before picking hubby up. We stopped at the grocery store after and I just walked along, letting hubby do all the work. As soon as we were in the car I took a pain med and spent the night, and all day Friday and yesterday on the sofa. I headed straight for the sofa when we got home from church today too. Took a very long nap this afternoon.

I'm back to the office tomorrow, and am hoping that I don't have a repeat performance of last week.

Overdoing it is different, I think, for each of us depending where we are in recovery and what we had done.
I overdid it Friday in my overenthusiasm to plan a nice weekend alone with my husband. I drove the kids to my mother's house and hit every pothole in the state, it seems. I did not plan on hurting so much from that, but sure enough, I was in bed and our plans were out the window. I am 12 weeks post-op, but my surgery was extensive with bowel repairs and such, so I am supposed to be more patient than I am.
My Dr. told me that pain would be my guide to knowing my limits and I have listened. No more drives to mom's for a while.
You will have to learn your limits too, but please remember that you are still in the early stages of recovery and there is a lot of healing going on. Relax as much as you can.

At almost two weeks, I'm losing my mind. LOL.

I try not..I don't, then I do a little more than I should... then I lay down for 4 hours and repeat.

I'm just thankful for a helping understanding groups of boys, Dh, the ability to sleep 10 hours and take a nap or lay down when needed.

But dang, I'M READY to rock and roll, but the body just wants to waddle.

Honestly this spare tire or swelling bothers me the most. I feel fat and tender all the time.

I was not allowed to lift anything up to a gallon of milk for 6 weeks and that got extended to 8 weeks. You do not want to bend or twist. You have tons of stitches inside so even if you feel good you do not want any of them to rip or to cause adhesions. Your body will let you know if you over do it for sure. Best wishes.

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Originally Posted by sdavismrs Hi Taruslady! Thanks so much for the reply! The info. you pointed me to is very helpful! My doctor was not very specific when it comes to my restrictions. He did say I could start returning to "normal" activities between 4-6 weeks. I guess everyone is different, so it's hard for doctors to nail it down for each person. He left it to me to "use common sense" for my recovery, to which my husband just laughed frustratedly. It seems that, well, I kind of lack common sense when it comes to my body. I usually just push through whatever are the body's complaints, but I know I can't do that with this recovery. It's definitely time to let it all go and not be the stong headed, nothing can stop me, stoic (stupid) woman. What exactly do I think I'm going to miss anyway? Dishes? Really? Thanks again

You sound like my husband and me. He told me the other day to slow down - and then called me a farm woman! I cant stand not being able to be normal and it will be 2 weeks Thursday - I am ready! My biggest complaint is the horrible headaches I get each day. My Dr called today to check in and he really thinks it is due to the large blood loss and should go away soon. Sure hope so.