TAH What Can I Do That Won't Be a No-No?

I had my surgery (TAH) on June 6th and it's been a ride for sure. I'm doing better in some ways than I thought I would, but so tired of hurting and feeling like my incisions are going to pull out.

I am taking it easy and not overdoing it by no means. The most I did was go to the doctor's office not quite a week after and had my staples taken out.

I was hurting so bad after that trip (the staple removal didn't hurt, it was when the nurse laid me back flat on the examination table and left me there for a long time until the doctor finally came to look at my incision) that I was crying and had to take way more pain meds.

I'm trying to get out of bed the proper way, drinking tons of water, had a bowel movement with no issues about 6 days after surgery, resting but also trying walk around the house at times, etc.

I'm getting impatient because although I was told that my incision looked better than any that they had seen in a long time, I'm still tired of the sensation that I am pulling out stitches when I am walking around or sitting down (walking around is worse).

I finally got my Hyster Sisters pamphlet in the mail (I ordered it a few days before surgery and couldn't read it for a long time) and I'm following the rules, but so tired of the pulling sensation. I'm NOT overdoing it by any means and otherwise I'm doing well.

I had the terrible gas issue after surgery that was and from time to time is very painful as it feels like it Is pushing on my incisions, but doing way better now than I was after surgery.

I'm afraid to bend over so have been having some back spasms (using a heating pad) and don't want to do anything to set me back so being very cautious.

I know my surgery is going to take longer to recover from since it is abdominal, but I'm losing my patience.

I am wondering what is safe for me to do at my home that won't set me back? Can I fix my own sandwiches and small things like that? Can I bend over occasionally but not too much? Can I do small things like that?

Also any idea on when the pulling sensation goes away?

My surgery was a bit different from yours (davinci) and so far I don't feel a pulling. I do fix snacks and such, but I try to get what I can done once I am up. So if I have to use the potty, I will take care of light things at the same time and do a lap or so around my house (my place is really small) to keep my blood moving. I haven't bent down to pick anything up yet, I have my 12 year old help with that. I don't think I could quite handle that at this point. I need to eventually try the steps up to my house. I have been a prisoner since the surgery LOL.

Thanks for your reply. I rely on my husband and kids for most things that require too much effort and they have been great about it, but I admit that I do get tired of relying on them for so much. I want to be independent, LOL.

It actually felt great to ride to the doctor's office because I feel like a prisoner as well. I've only bent down once and that was to get my small lightweight stool to put my feet up on.

I was very swollen from all the i.v. fluids when I got home (actually had gained 10 pounds from them) but now the swelling is gone and part of that is due to drinking so much water and elevating my feet.

The pulling sensation (sort of like your muscles are stretching) is driving me nuts though and I know I haven't walked around the house quite as much as I probably would have had that not been an issue. I keep a small pillow with me always and press against my incision with it, but still have that "tightening" issue when I get up and move around.

Everyone's experience is different, and over-doing it is never a good idea, but based on my own experience in recovering from a TAH, I would respectfully suggest that you may be being a little too cautious.

I was up walking laps around the ward by Day 2 in the hospital. I had to be really, really cautious when standing up and sitting down again, but once in motion, I got along fine. My body at that point wanted to do short steps and go slow, so that's what I did.

The thing is, I *did* have a pulling sensation in my belly. I took it to mean that I was asking my belly muscles to do something, i.e., hold the contents of my abdomen inside. This is the first and gentlest task you ask your belly muscles to do after abdominal surgery: hold your guts in while you sit upright, stand upright and walk.

Any time I started to move in a way that seemed about to cause actual *pain*, I stopped and found a different way to move. Pain is not a good thing! But the pulling sensation? It's a caution sign, not a stop sign.

On Day 4, the day after I got home from the hospital (carrying 15 lbs of water weight that departed over the next few days), I went outside and waddled slowly around the block. It felt good. A few hours later, I went back outside and waddled slowly around two blocks. That felt good too.

By the end of the first week, I'd lost the waddle (due mainly to swollen labia, which, bleh!) and my strides were almost their normal length, albeit slow. On Day 13, I walked 0.9 miles to a local clinic to have my staples replaced with steri-strips. It took me 14 minutes.

The only issue at this point was that walking was giving me a stitch in my side because my diaphragm wasn't getting as much support from my belly muscles as it was used to. Deep breathing exercises, focusing on breathing out from my belly, helped with that problem.

The past few days I've been working on adding steep hills to my repertoire, since it's hard to get very far around here without encountering them. I walked 5 miles yesterday, including a couple of hills.

And yes, I'm still aware of a bit of pulling in my belly while I'm walking. If I think of how my belly feels now, think of how it feels when I'm doing stomach crunches and then try to move those two feelings into the same mental space, my body screams at me: no, no, NO!

So, no stomach crunches yet, no backpacks full of heavy groceries, etc. But walking is certainly go! I'd've gone right bonkers if I'd had to spend the past two weeks sitting around the apartment.

Thanks for your input. I definitely don't want to under-do it either. I've been walking in the house but not outside as it has been super hot and humid (I live in the south) and the weather has been rainy too. We had a major storm and lost power the other day which was terrible since I couldn't use my heating pad or get cold water to drink, etc.

I'm not lying in bed all day by no means (that would be beyond boring, LOL) but not doing as much as you have for sure. I'll definitely do more walking, but just find it hard to do it for a long time due to the pulling sensation.

It feels like my stomach is going to burst at times although I know intellectually that it won't happen.

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Originally Posted by SC/NCGal ...I'll definitely do more walking, but just find it hard to do it for a long time due to the pulling sensation...

My first week when I couldn't walk too far, I was doing 2-3 short walks a day - one in the morning, one in the afternoon, some days a third in the evening if I was up for it.

As for the weather, we've had as many rainy days as sunny ones, but since I don't drive, I'm used to throwing on weather-appropriate gear and getting out. Certainly, though, we don't the heat and humidity you're having to deal with. :-(

I feel lucky to be going through my recovery at this time of year, when everything up here is blooming. I'm sure this would be more difficult in January!

I had my dr order me a binder so it helps me with the pulling sensation you're describing. Walking is the best exercise you can do right now. Yes you can make your own sandwiches and light meals. I was able to walk around the castle less than 24 hours after my tah. It took a lot of convincing of my family to let me go outside (I live in the city on the 10th floor) for a little while. I'm a single parent of 4 kids, which means I was home alone during the mornings. My kids made sure everything I needed was at a reachable level, my juices was in small canisters and that lids weren't to right for me to open. Just remember everyone recovery is different and their rate of healing is different (my dr said mine was faster than he had ever seen)....wishing you a relaxing recovery.

The pulling sensation may last for quite some time, and it's just what it is. I tried a little to straighten up while walking in the hospital but only a little. Try it once in a while, and just do what you can do. I would caution against over-doing it too soon in the walking, though. My doctor's paperwork said you should "push" yourself a little, but I think I pushed myself too much right after being released from the hospital (I probably walked about a mile and a half over that first day out, too much and too tiring). Took staying flat with only a few turns around the castle over the next couple of days to get back on the path to recovery. Listen to the videos on HysterSisters: Week 1 and 2 - rest, rest, rest. I know you are eager to progress, but each of us has to take it at our own pace and what is right level of walking or exercise for one may be too much for another. Standing up to make a lunch or very light activities should be okay, though. Take it at your own pace and you'll get there.

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Originally Posted by Beachy1 ...My doctor's paperwork said you should "push" yourself a little, but I think I pushed myself too much right after being released from the hospital (I probably walked about a mile and a half over that first day out, too much and too tiring)...

To me, walking a mile and a half on my first day after being released from the hospital would have been like trying to walk 20 miles as my "normal" self! :-) A week later, no problem, but those first few days were all about shorter, more frequent walks. I think that helped me build up to the longer walks I'm doing now.

Thanks so much for the replies. I don't want to over do it as I have fear of adhesions especially now that I know that my left ovary was adhered to my colon (in the back).

I don't want to be a slug either but don't want to overdue anything since just going to the doctor on my 6th day out from surgery completely wore me out.

I won't feel guilty about making myself lunch or something similar then. I'm 9 days after surgery now and it's getting a little easier each day, but I suppose I'm getting impatient and bored and ready for more improvement.