Swelly belly pain and balancing HRT after hysterectomy

Hello,

It's been 11 weeks since my TAH and although I still feel tired at the end of the day I can see its slowly getting better.
I'm struggling with weight, I have not been able to lose anything for the last for weeks that I've been on plan (weight watchers). Also, before my surgery I had a little pouch but nothing that sucking in would not take care of it, now even when I suck it in I still look about 3 months pregnant, 5 or 6 when I don't which is very depressing. Most days at the end of the day I feel pain in my belly, above the incision, it's not the actual incision but the hanging skin/pouch, as anyone experienced this? I'm considering a tummy tuck as I don't know if maybe my muscles need to tighten up.

Also, I'm on the Climara patch and for the last week or so all I do is want to cry and I feel sad although I'm on Cymbalta for depression, I was taking it before surgery and it was working well. Now I'm not sure if I need to go see my family doctor to adjust cymbalta or my OB/GYN to adjust the patch, I'm on 0.5 and I hot flashes are almost gone, I have one here and there and very low intensity.

I know that I need to be patient and this is a long recovery, but it's hard to go out and put a smile on my face when all I want is stay home and cry and sleep all day...

Anyone?

I hear you. I thought I'd never lose the swelly belly. It still comes and goes. I'm taking a mild anti depressant too. I've been on it a long time but I know the pain meds threw me off balance. ,My regular doctor adjusted the dosage and it's working better for me now. Tomorrow will be 7 weeks for me. Its been a roller coaster. The sheer exhaustion was hard to deal with. I'm still napping every day. I also completely lost my appetite, so I lost weight.

It IS a long recovery but its so worth it. No more pain every month.

I hope you begin to feel better soon, hang in there hun, Hugs, Lisa xx

Hello,

I can totally relate to what you've written. I'm 8 weeks post op and I can too see some improvements but still get tired. I don't need to nap now but I need to go to bed much earlier than usual in the evenings and get generally tired more easily. I still have a huge swelly belly and since starting HRT I've put some weight on and it doesn't seem to com off. My metabolism is generally very slow but since the op it seems much slower My mood is quite low too and I feel like crying most of the time. I suffered from depression in the past and had been on anti-depressants but not lately, so I'm too unsure whether I should speak to my gynae to get HRT changed or to my GP to see if I need anti-depressants again.

I'm sorry if I can't give you much advice but I wanted to let you know that you're not alone and there are other women on here feeling pretty much the same. I am sure we will all see the benefits of this op soon, though it is difficult right now.

Healing Hugs.

Thank you both for your kind replies...

I think I will call my ob/gyn tomorrow and see what she says. I just thought that after the surgery everything was going to be over, but I guess now I need to find a new normal.

I hope it all goes well for you. Let us know how you get on once you have been/spoken to your gynae.