I wish I knew what was normal

It is now 19 days past my vaginal hysterectomy, I'm new to the forum so i've not shared my story up to this point however i would like to sometime and see if anyone can relate. anyway I had my hysterectomy on the 17th. was in the hospital for 5 days and was sent home with a cathater and 3 days later had my first b.m. I thought I was going to die, thought sure those stitches was going to burst open but they didn't. now to bring us up to present day I still have a fair amount of pain sometimes a dull ache sometimes a stabbing pain, the cathater has been out 8 days now but I still hurt when i pee the doctor says there is no infection but has put me back on pain med. Is it normal to still need pain med? They say walking is the best thing you can do but it just makes me hurt and I'm very tired. I went to the grocery store on thurs. and I didn't think I was going to make it besides the pain I was hot then I was cold I don't know what that was all about, the doctor says my hormones should not change .and I'm anemic (low iron )so maybe that is slowing my healing down I don't know but I just don't feel very well if anyone has any imput or can relate in anyway I would like to hear from you.

Welcome, NorthPole. I wore out very quickly at 2-3 weeks. I did not need pain med very much after the 2nd week. your strength will return, but take it easy. also, don't over do it. I remember going to the grocery store at 4 weeks and pushing the cart myself because nobody was here to help me. I was in pain that night and several days later. Give yourself time to heal. You have tons of stitches inside of you. I am 9 weeks post op and I still have days that I am worn out. They say it takes 6-12 months to get back to normal. i can't wait, but I am afraid to know what the next 10 months hold. I hope they are better than the last 2 months.

I don't think there is "a normal." Each one of us seems to heal differently and you just need to give yourself time. I had a vaginal hysterectomy on June 9 and still have pain, though no longer bad enough to take any medication, except for Advil here and there. Today was my first attempt at the mall with my DH and I only lasted about 10 minutes. I've been to the grocery store but only for very short trips, and even then,with my DH. I'm not driving yet- I tried but it seemed to cause pain so I decided to wait awhile. Like you, I was anemic and am thinking my blood levels aren't back to normal yet. I also get very tired and have to nap every day, even though I was never "a napper" before this. I can now walk around the block, but if I overdue, I hurt. You have to give yourself a break and just relax and give your body the time to heal that it needs. I'm guessing that you'll feel better in a week or so. That's when I started to see a real difference. Hang in there!

I am anemic too, my doctor has me taking ferrous sulfate twice a day to help. I sure wish doctors gave us a better idea of what we are in for, I for one was told that his secretary returned to work 1 week post op! There is NO WAY I could!! Wishing you a speedy recovery.

Yeah my dr. told me he knew of some teachers that he had done the TVH on and they were back to work in a week! My aide kept telling me that too. they were NUTS! i wasn't ready to return at 3 weeks. Thank goodness I teach so I have another 6 weeks off.