Need answers please

Okay, this may seem like a repeating question and I apologize. I am 19 days now post op with a TAH and I thought by the third week, I am supposed to be feeling better. Well, my only problem right now is that I cannot for the life of me walk normal yet without having to put my hand on my stomach to keep it from hurting and pressure. If I take my hand off, there is absolutely no support and thus, I get the shortness of breath because my abdominal muscles cannot "carry" the load. I am told my shortness of breath is coming from this - that my ab muscles are still "raw" and cannot carry my whole body. When I go sit down or lie down, I have no breathing problems.

My question is, when exactly did you all start to walk normally again without the pain and pressure from the abdomen? Did you all have that loose, falling off painful feeling from the tummy? Please, anyone who is now fully recovered tell me I'm going through a normal phase because I'm so depressed.

3 weeks was a very difficult time in my recovery also. I felt like I should be feeling better and I'd get glimpses of it every now and then only to fall backwards into the dispair of ever feeling good again. I think I'm 9 weeks out, I've stopped counting, and am feeling whole again. Doctors say that at 6 weeks most are fully healed internally but I was still feeling it in my tummy when I walked so I was still walking slowly. Now I've got pep in my step and my stride is back to normal. I'm not feeling much of anything in my tummy at all. Feels so good to get back to normal. It'll come to you too...just be patient.

Hello, MoonlightLady!

I'm at almost 13 months post op, having a TAH in August 2005, so I know what you're going through. To me, you sound completely normal and on schedule. For the first month or so, I felt like everything would just "fall out" (it didn't!). I stooped over, afraid to straighten up too much. I did much better wearing the abdominal binder for the first month or so. After that, I wore my Spanx (microfiber-type panty girdle). I just felt better having a little extra support. I because extremely impatient at the soreness. Even after going back to work at 6 weeks, I caught myself grabbing my belly when I sneezed because I was still a little sore.

I promise it eventually goes away. At 2 months post-op, I drove my sister to Kentucky in my new convertible (stick shift...) and handled the trip just fine. As long as you're not having severe pain and your incision is healing nicely, it's just a matter of waiting. Rest as much as possible and don't overdo things too soon. When you're used to being active, the extended recovery tends to make you depressed, especially when you think you should be back closer to 100%.

I wish you the very best! We're here for you!

I am at 7 weeks in my recovery. Weeks 3-4 were really tough for me, I had the problems you describe...then all of a sudden I started feeling better.

My colleagues told me I stopped walking like a penguin at 12 weeks. I said, "thanks, guys." lol It gets better. It really does.

I agree with cabin....the belly binder is a life saver. If I don't have it on, I totally notice the difference.

Dear Moonlightlady,

You did post before, about pain and about breathing problems, if recollection serves. Two things come to mind about your situation, but I'm also wondering if it might be time to put in a little call to the dr's office to talk with him/her or a nurse set up to address post-op questions. That is, after all, what they are there for.

The two things that come to mind: Perhaps your pains in the abdomenal area are adhesions that have occurred as a result of the surgery? I wonder if you might think of doing very, very small stretches on your bed, on your back. Lie down and just stretch out each limb (taking one at a time), beginning with your arms. Just extend them a bit. Don't tense them or extend too far, just far enough till you feel a stretch occurring (almost like the feeling you might get with resistance training) -- just to the point where you feel aware there's a stretch taking place. I might suggest that you do this maybe three times a day, in sets of three, in the morning, mid-day, and evening.

The other suggestion is that perhaps your pains in the abdomen are preventing your standing up straight. Though it might hurt at first, maybe think of trying to stand up with your back against a wall or the edge of a door portal (the frame of the door). Just snuggle your back right up against the wall or doorway, using the flat surface to help you determine if you are standing straight. For many of us, our butts will prevent our full backs from hitting the flat surface. So what I'm suggesting is, again, a long, slow stretch of your back into the wall a bit. Sometimes strengthening our back muscles can relieve the pressure we feel in our abdomens. Don't do this if it really, really hurts. But if it hurts only slightly, it really could be that your back muscles need some strengthening, to take the pressure off the abdomenal walls.

My primary suggestion is to call your dr's office, because this has been happening to you for awhile. And then, if things seem to be okay for you, from the dr perspective, maybe think of performing stretches on the bed and then against the wall.

Best wishes to you on your continued safe recovery.

Thank you SO much for your advice. I immediately started doing the exercise where I put my back against the wall and tried to walk with a straight posture and I'm happy to say that it's working. At first it really takes some getting used to as I tended to stoop over so much during these last few weeks, but once I got the hang of it, I was okay with it. It is now going to be my regular exercise to help strengthen my ab muscles more.

Thanks for giving me such wonderful feedback and please remember that if you have any more advice you'd like to give me, I'd be more than happy to receive it. I have also done the stretching exercises on the bed and I find that I am able to stretch my arms with no problem. It's just a matter of walking and getting used to in that position.

I am forever grateful.

Thank you for the inspiration you've given me. Reading what you wrote only makes me want to fully recover more.

I loved reading what you posted and was especially happy when I read the part where you said you promised it will get better eventually. I guess I am feeling so low at this phase that it was hard for me to feel confident about getting better again. This site has really helped me a lot.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by MoonlightLady Okay, this may seem like a repeating question and I apologize. I am 19 days now post op with a TAH and I thought by the third week, I am supposed to be feeling better. Well, my only problem right now is that I cannot for the life of me walk normal yet without having to put my hand on my stomach to keep it from hurting and pressure. If I take my hand off, there is absolutely no support and thus, I get the shortness of breath because my abdominal muscles cannot "carry" the load. I am told my shortness of breath is coming from this - that my ab muscles are still "raw" and cannot carry my whole body. When I go sit down or lie down, I have no breathing problems. My question is, when exactly did you all start to walk normally again without the pain and pressure from the abdomen? Did you all have that loose, falling off painful feeling from the tummy? Please, anyone who is now fully recovered tell me I'm going through a normal phase because I'm so depressed.

I am 4 weeks today and I still "waddle". My gait is picking up, as my coworkers are pointing out. BUT, I still support my belly a lot and to sneeze or cough???? THAT HURTS! I still feel a lot of internal pressure in the area where I think the cuff must be. My left side is uncomfortable and I'm having trouble sleeping due to that when I turn over, combined with the hot and cold flashes....I'm beginning to think that this whole menopause thing was created by a man to make us miserable after the periods quit doing it..