Still having pain 10 months out?

Hi guys,

I haven't posted in awhile , but wanted to get some feedback from anyone with a similar experience. I had my TAH in July 2007. In the past couple of months, I seem to be having a low, deep ache in my pelvis. It's not my colon...I can't figure out what it is. Its right along where my incision was. Advil and a heating pad seem to make it go away, but it's consistently there, expecially late in the day and even early in the a.m. before I get out of bed. Anyone else had this? Should I be concerned or am I really still healing this far out?

Thanks guys!

HI Lisa,

I have the same thing going on as you. For a couple months I had no pain or ache at all in the pelvis area, so for it to come back concerned me. My dr. thinks it's scar tissue. Sometimes I feel a pinching feeling along with that low, dull pain, but more often it's just consistentm as you mentioned. I'm more aware of it when my body is quiet, like evenings and early AM before I rise.
Supposedly it can take 12-18 months before nerve endings and healing settles down.
Seems so long, but hang in there! It doesn't hurt to go to the Dr. and get checked to ease your mind, if nothing else!

Robbi

Hi Robbi,

Yes, I did the same thing...seemed like for awhile I had no problems at all, but these past couple of months I've noticed this. I do have my one year check up coming up so will probably mention it then, unless it gets worse. Man...this process really takes awhile!

Thanks!

Otessa -

I dealt with this for months. My ovarian function seemed to agravate the situation so Dr put me on BC pills. They worked fantastic but after 2 months I had to come off due to high blood pressure (its returned to its normal 115/78) and it just got rapidly worse.

I scheduled a lap as I just couldn't see continuing in almost daily pain without at least seeing if I could get some relief.

Well my 20 minute 'look and see with possible scar tissue and endo removal' turned into a 5+ hour surgery with an LSO. Dr said scar tissue had wrapped around ovary in thick bands and inside the bands was a contained infection. She was just stunned with what she found, she hadn't even sought permission to remove the ovary and thank god my mother and I had had that conversation the day before and she was persistent that this is what I would have agreed to (they were going to have to close me back up, I had a 4" incision by this point, and go again at another time if they couldn't get consent) and that my Dr would accept her consent when DH said 'I can't make that decision for her'.

Its just over 2 weeks, and I am feeling pretty good. I still get real achy if I am on my feet too long. Dr has me off work for 6 weeks. I thought that was too long, now I don't know...

Honestly, accept for recovery where they were having trouble getting on top of my pain, my pain Post Op wasn't that much worse than it had been most of the month before - I just had better drugs for pain management.

Best wishes in your journey,

Julie

The thing with me too that I haven't mentioned is that I feel like I have a bladder infection, on and off, for the last week or so. But I have no fever or anything. I sort of feel nauseated though. I may wind up at the doctor sooner rather than later I guess...it doesn't seem to be getting better, that's for sure. My ovaries don't hurt at all though...did yours Julie?

Lisa -

I only had the ovary pain in the past month. Makes me wonder if the infection, which wasn't indicated by blood work, was 'new'.

I did have abdominal swelling, bladder discomfort (not quite feeling like an infection, just not quite right), gas in the evening, I was often queasy and then like I said, that last month ovary pain. Honestly, when I went searching for answers, I scared myself into a cancer panic since these all reflected on ovarian cancer as symptoms.

I wish the BC pills would have worked, it did seem to be my answer. Since that didn't work, I wish I had done this months ago. I let fear and hope that this would resolve itself allow the pain to go on far too long. Ofcourse, that is all hindsight now.

Julie

Julie,

Did you have endo before your LSH? I had no endo at all so I don't suspect that. I have however had the bladder discomfort (which seems to have gone away now), like I said, and I have felt queasy a good bit. Tonight my lower back and below my incision is really hurting. I wish I had a pain pill to be honest. I have a mom who is quite the hypochondriac and that's my biggest fear...turning into one myself. I tend to go the other way and try to really ignore stuff. This is SO frustrating!

Lisa -

I didn't 'know' I had endo until my hyst (which was an abdominal as it was converted). I had wondered and with the minimazation of pain after I had the Lupron injection, I wasn't surprised when my Dr said I did have it.

I grew up in a household where no one took even aspirin. I learned in the last year or so that was because pain pills of almost any level are 90% ineffective on my mom and heavy duty stuff she's allergic to so she never saw the need to have them in the house. So I used to feel 'weak' taking anything. I have so gotten over that.

I have about 12 of my vicodin left. I have 4 in the bottle and the other 8 stashed. Kind of makes me sound a little nutty but I want them if I really need them but I don't want them out and available.

Hope your continuing to feel better.

Julie

This is just the conversation I needed. I am sceduled for a exp. lap on Wed. 27th I have had severe pain on my right ovary I know for sure I had two cysts on my right ovary last month (dr. did ultrasound) he put on BC but I am not able to keep them down, they seem to make the nausea a lot worse. I have given the dr. the okay to take the right ovary if needed, he removed the left for the same reason during my hyst. in Dec. My Main question I guess is What is the Recovery time for the Ovary being removed? I have been having a lot of pain in my abdom., lower back, nausea, head ache , thigh pain, knee pain in short I am miserable!!!

JNC -

I am so sorry for your pain, I went through that for most of 8 months and the last month was absolutely the worst. Dr I think thought I was overly sensitive, until she got in there.

Here's what I was told with regards to recovery.

2 days if they just look around maybe take a little endo or scar tissue.
1 week if it is a simple excision of the ovary
2 weeks if it is complicated by heavy adhesions.
4 to 6 weeks if they have to open me up.

They ended up with the last due to heavy adhesions and an ovary removal. At even 3 days, I was feeling pretty good. I just was released for driving and think I have been over doing it. I'm going for a latte this morning and then I resting the rest of the day. I think I could return to work in another week or so, so like 4 weeks, but boss had made several comments pre-op that I didn't do anything (but calls me to complain he can't get his job done as he's stuck in 'details' (hmmm my job). Plus he told me the day I went out he was going to quit and my being out 'would leave a big gaping leadership hole in our dept so he didn't care if I stayed out 90 days'. Well he's changed his tune about quitting, sadly, but really I no longer feel any hmmm ... I'm at a loss for the word right now. I've told a trusted Sup if he were to quit, to call me. But his final comment was we didn't appreciate him and we could all kiss his .... So nope, not hurrying back.

One other thing, except for recovery, my pain Post-Op was never more than it was at its worst Pre-Op and usually better.

Julie