swelly belly

How long does this swelly belly last? It's been 11 days since my surgery and I still can't fit into any of my clothes! I went out yesterday to church, wore a stretchy skirt, but I walked around holding papers in front of me so no one would see my belly, lol. I am feeling pretty good overall, but my back hurts after walking around because of the swelly belly, and soreness of heaviness feeling in my abdomen.

I'm 20 days post op and still have swelly belly. I use the binder which helps, especially if I'm going for a walk.

You are only 11 days post op?

You have a long way to go. Your doc didn't explain this might happen and how long it might last?

I had TAH and my swelly belly lasted about 5 months.

Don't worry, it will go away on its own. There is nothing you can do to make it go away. You've had major surgery, had your uterus removed. There was lots of trauma done in there even though you had TLH.

I'm over 9 months post op and still swell a little when I workout.

Keep in mind, the better you begin to feel, the more you will do and it will cause you to swell.

Give yourself plenty of time to heal internally (6-12 months).

It'll be ok.

My swelly belly started going away after about 2 weeks. Everyone is different. I learned that the more you rest (aside from walking), the more it will go away. Try not to bend and move your abdomen around so much. You need to let that area heal. Just do your walks. That's what I did and started to notice a difference after a few weeks. Everyone is different so don't get too frustrated. It will go away after a while.

I feel like I failed biology, but why does this happen even months after the surgery???

The swelly belly is a useful reminder that you are still healing, and you need to take it easy for a while.


After 6 months a lot of the healing has taken place, and in my own case, my tummy feels pretty good now. After doing too much physical labour, like blitzing the housework, I get the reminder from the hardering of the tummy that I need to rest now.

Often surgeons, and this site agrees, that healing can take up to 6 months.