TAH: Swelly Belly? Abdominal pooch?

I am scheduled for a TAH/BSO on July 23.
I keep seeing "swelly belly" and was wondering what that is. And is it permanent? Also since my uterous is the size of a five month pregnancy I was wondering if the abdominal pooch from it
Will go away? Shrink? Just trying to know more about what to expect.

I had a TAH/BSO and had two kinds of swelling as a result. One was in the first few days after surgery, when everything below my waist collected lots and lots of fluid. I came home from the hospital on Day 3 carrying about 15 lbs of water weight. Over the next few days, it flushed itself out. At that point there was no more swelling.

The second type showed up as I began to get more physically active, starting about my third week. I've noticed that by the end of the day, my belly muscles appear to be swollen. The amount of swelling is greater on days when I'm more active. It's always gone by the next morning.

Apparently this can go one for some weeks or even months. For me, it's not a major problem. I avoid wearing pants that are already tight when I put them on in the morning, because I know that they'll be too tight by evening. I just wear looser pants instead.

Can't help you with the abdominal pooch question since my uterus was maybe pear-sized. However, I can only think that removing something the size of a 5-months' pregnant uterus certainly can't hurt and might well help.

SurprisedinNB said it beautifully - swelly belly is just your abdomen accumulating fluid. I find that my belly swells more in the late afternoon/evening, and I use that time to lay down, and I find a cool pack feels great.
You may also find that wearing loose dresses helps as well. I know some girls prefer to contain the swelly belly, but there are times where it's too much to even have my underwear touch it. I really wish I would have bought some flowy loose dresses.

I too had a uterus that was the size of a 4 to 5 month pregnancy (18 x 20 cm). I had very minimal swelling and walked out of the hospital a pant size smaller in the waist. My tummy right away was significantly flatter, however, I did have a roll above the incision for about 8 months. So please don't be horrified like I was about the look of my tummy after surgery. If you didn't have a roll before, you shouldn't in the long run.

I hope this helps.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by Danni3ll3 ...My tummy right away was significantly flatter, however, I did have a roll above the incision for about 8 months...

Danni, did you have a horizontal incision or a vertical one? I'm wondering if this makes a difference in the appearance of the swelling.

I've got a vertical incision and have noticed that while the skin on either side moves freely against the muscle layer beneath, along the incision itself the skin seems to be stitched to the muscle layer.

I'm wondering if horizontal incisions are more likely to result in temporary horizontal rolls.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by SurprisedInNB Danni, did you have a horizontal incision or a vertical one? I'm wondering if this makes a difference in the appearance of the swelling. I've got a vertical incision and have noticed that while the skin on either side moves freely against the muscle layer beneath, along the incision itself the skin seems to be stitched to the muscle layer. I'm wondering if horizontal incisions are more likely to result in temporary horizontal rolls.

I had a horizontal incision. My incision initially stuck to the muscle underneath but as soon as it was healed, I massaged it to loosen the scar from the underlying tissues. Now my scar behaves like the rest of my skin.

And yes, I think you are right that a horizontal incision might be more prone to producing a roll either above or below the scar initially.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by Danni3ll3 I had a horizontal incision. My incision initially stuck to the muscle underneath but as soon as it was healed, I massaged it to loosen the scar from the underlying tissues. Now my scar behaves like the rest of my skin. And yes, I think you are right that a horizontal incision might be more prone to producing a roll either above or below the scar initially.

Hey, thanks for the tip! I'll try massaging mine too. :-)

Your pooch will go away eventually but in the short-term it may stay the same or change locations depending on where it was.

I too had a five month uterus. I'm currently at the six week post-op mark from a TAH with a horizontal incision.

The protruding ball I had just below my tummy from fibroids was gone completely when I woke up from surgery and I had a flat stomach for the first time in years but it was short-lived.

Since then I've developed mild swelly belly when I'm overheated or do too much and definitely have the pooch/shelf (like a roll) above my incision which I never had before. so in a way the protrusion has just moved lower on my body but is now a different shape and nowhere near as big as it was before.

Today I was able to lay on my belly for the first time since before the operation - the muscles are still tight but not sore anymore and the best part is I no longer feel like there is a big rock or ball inside of me pressing on all my organs in uncomfortable ways.

From everything I've read on this site though both swelly belly and the pooch go away with time which varies depending on the person. Furthermore, not everybody gets either of them.

Best of luck with your surgery.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by JuneM Your pooch will go away eventually but in the short-term it may stay the same or change locations depending on where it was. I too had a five month uterus. I'm currently at the six week post-op mark from a TAH with a horizontal incision. The protruding ball I had just below my tummy from fibroids was gone completely when I woke up from surgery and I had a flat stomach for the first time in years but it was short-lived. Since then I've developed mild swelly belly when I'm overheated or do too much and definitely have the pooch/shelf (like a roll) above my incision which I never had before. so in a way the protrusion has just moved lower on my body but is now a different shape and nowhere near as big as it was before. Today I was able to lay on my belly for the first time since before the operation - the muscles are still tight but not sore anymore and the best part is I no longer feel like there is a big rock or ball inside of me pressing on all my organs in uncomfortable ways. From everything I've read on this site though both swelly belly and the pooch go away with time which varies depending on the person. Furthermore, not everybody gets either of them. Best of luck with your surgery.

I just had to post and say "thank you". The wonderful thing about this site is you can always find someone with EXACTLY the answeryou want - mostly without having to type the question!! This covers just what I was wondering ...I'm at 5 weeks TAH and pondering theroll of skin, the "stone in belly" (reduced from rock!) and the 'stuck' scar!! Brilliant!