11 Days post vaginal hysterectomy: walking and Kegels?

Hi there. I had a vaginal hysterectomy. Wanting to know how long till i can start walking and what distance is acceptable? Also when can i do pelvic floor muscles? I still have a fair amount of pain and having a lot of trouble with using my bowels even though I'm using stool softeners and laxatives. I am petrified i will strain too hard and cause myself more damage. I have had a few ups and downs but generally managing ok apart from stuggling with fatigue all day and insomnia at night... I'm a new member to this site and hoping to find info to set my mind at ease..

I had an abdominal hysterectomy so different from yours, but the internal healing is pretty much the same.

I did short walks from the start, inside to begin with, then down the path, then along my road. Just progressing slowly, always heading for home before I started to feel tired. I think lots of short walks are more beneficial than one long one.

The best way to avoid straining when using the toilet I found was to raise my feet slightly - this made it so much easier. I used a couple of large books to rest my feet on.

Everyone recovers differently- don't compare yourself to others and think you're under-achieving. We all get there in the end!

I started walking the day of my surgery and walked more and more each day. If you haven't started yet, start now! When you start to get tired, rest and then once you get your energy back, walk some more. My dr told me I should be walking a mile by the one week mark, I actually easily exceeded that goal. Walking will do a lot to help the bowel issues, and the tiredness as well. Good luck!

The nurses had me up and walking the first day after surgery. I did my first walk outside on my first full day home, four days after surgery. I walked around the block, went home, rested and felt good. So I went back out and walked around *two* blocks. That felt good too!

There is no set distance that's "acceptable" for you to walk. The general rule of thumb is that you should be able to go for a walk, rest and then feel refreshed. If you rest and still feel as if you got hit by a truck, you walked too far.

It's better to start off with a few/several short walks a day rather than one long one. You may find that your body wants to walk more slowly and/or with shorter steps than usual. That's fine - don't push it. *Do* stand up straight, without hunching.

Stick to flat ground until you're walking really comfortable. And make shameless use of benches, retainining walls, etc. if you need to sit down and rest. :-)

Re: kegels, ask your doc.