Adominal Pain from surgery

I had surgery on the 30th of March. Dr was going to do simple laproscopy to take out my ovaries and tubes due to high risk of ovarian cancer that runs in my family. I am 52 and have not had periods for 7 years so dr felt I was past menopause. I finally agreed to do the surgery as it was supposed to be a simple procedure with only 4 small holes in my stomach. Surgery did not go well. Dr ran into too much scar tissue from my tubal ligation, excessive bleeding and my blood pressure dropped dramatically, that Dr had no choice to cut me open. I now have a 5 inch cut from belly button down. I have been reading the other posts and now know that the swelly belly is common so that problem is now solved for me. BUT has anyone have these weird bumps on several places near their incision. ALSO, how long will this incision hurt. I tend to sit and walk with my hand holding my belly all the time.

I planned on going back to work next week on Monday. I work in a local county human services agency. Is that feasible or will that be pushing it. I do not want to go through anything like this again so will listen to what others have to say. I see Dr this Friday so will see what he thinks also.

Any advice wilk be appreciated.

Judy

In my opinion you would be pushing it. I think the normal recovery time for surgery like that is 4-6 weeks. I am sure your doctor will tell you whatever is right for you.

dear patty...i had my 2nd abd. surgery on march 22, partly using the vertical incision from the surgery on feb. 19, plus another incision continuing above my bellybutton to almost my breastbone! i ended up getting a skin infection in the midpoint of the incision, had the staples taken out a few days early to examine, now i have fluid leaking. not to worry, it's been looked after.

i did ask the surgeon after the first surgery what those hard lumps were...well, i can't remember what he told me, but normal! after the first surgery, i too, walked around holding my belly plus i would hold a pillow over it. i took the pillow wherever i went, in the car, to the dr., to the hairdresser, etc. to protect my tummy. the pain was almost gone after 4 weeks...i didn't need painkillers after getting home from the first surgery.

the second surgery...more pain, longer recovery time, still hurts a lot after almost 3 weeks and i'm still taking narcotic painkillers. i'm happy to say, though, that i am finally feeling on the mend the last 3 days. each surgery different, everyone heals differently.

i think it depends on how you yourself feel and with your dr.'s advice about going back to work so soon. please continue to protect your belly until it feels better and rest. healing takes place when you rest. i also heard that if you overdo too soon after this kind of surgery, it can cause adhesions to form. have a good talk with your dr. on friday. hope you're drinking lots of water and walking around the house as well...you probably don't need or want complete bedrest. good luck.

Had a TAH/BSO on March 7th. My incision is a bikini cut that goes from one side to the other. It has been over four weeks and I will get incision pain on and off. I also have the lumps. Was told nothing to worry about. My doctor told me I could not lift so much as a pan for 6-8 weeks. I think you would be rushing it to go back to work. Even though the outside looks healed, it takes a long time for the inside to heal. Like you, I also have the swelly belly. Regular clothes are still not comfortable to wear.

I'm starting my fifth week post-op (TAH) and I still have periodic "twinges" and pain around the incision. My back pain is worse, though. I've been dropping by my office a few hours a week just to check my mail, messages, etc and even though I only do it for an hour or so on MWF I have to rest all day on TTh to recover. For me, it's being on my feet or sitting for too long that leads to discomfort. Mostly because my abdomen begins to swell and this puts pressure on everything. My advice is to listen to your body. If you feel too weak and are still in pain, give your body more time to heal.