exercise painful 15 months post op

It's been 15 months since my LSH. I am 43 years old. I had a lot more pain and discomfort than I was prepared for. The surgeon said I could return to work in one or two weeks. I did return to work in a week, but I wouldn't recommend it. The LSH was done outpatient. Bladder pain for 3 weeks, bowel pain for 4 weeks, chronic low back pain for 4 months. Extreme fatigue. I used to be very active but now feel like a big old lump. Of course, that means weight gain, too. Sex causes cramps now. The doctor said that's because of having orgasms and didn't seem surprised. I used to be able to do light aerobics, but kept delaying getting back into an exercise routine because it hurt and I'm so doggone tired. Since I started to have a little more energy after a year, I tried exercising again. Still hurt. Tried again a few weeks ago and I took it easy and didn't push myself - only about ten minutes of bouncy-jumpy exercise. I had pain for two days afterward. Serious pain, like pain that woke me up when I rolled over in bed because I felt like my insides were ripping apart. I had an LSH because of a significant amount of endometriosis, including adhesions on two places on my bowel, and serious cramps and bleeding. Six months after the surgery, I learned I had developed cysts on both ovaries. I had pain from my lower back to my thighs. I took herbs for the cysts and that went away, but I would like to get back in shape. Exercise would help my state of mind, too.

Before my LSH, I read about other women who were jogging a few weeks after surgery. Who are these women?? And what's wrong with me??

i am sorry u r going thru so much, maybe the boucny thing was a little too much, maybe u should start with walking on the spot or something not so vigorus, jumping does sound a bit much, what about swimming is there a group u can start like swimming areobics, excellent workout yet ok on the body, i am 8 weeks post op and i can't imagine jogging, its painful running about the house playing with the dog, so now i stand and throw her toys for her, she still plays, i take her for nice walks, and i walk as fast as i can, but no jumping, in fact i might look into swimming myself, hmmm...anyway some may think wow its been a year u should be fine but everyone is diff, just take it easy and find slow non bouncy ways to slowly get back to urself and u might find the rest comes back too, i find the more i sleep and do nothing the more tired i get so i make myself do something each day....hope it helps i am brand new at all this. but i thot i would try.....Lyta

I don't know what the cause of the cramping after sex would be...could your doc. mean your cervix is causing a cramping feeling for you from orgasm? If it did not cause this sensation before, I guess I would be confused about that too.

As far as that much pain after exercising, could be endo that was left, could be old adhesions, new adhesions, new cysts on ovaries...jeez, I'm not a mediclal professional, so I guess it could be so many things.

If you feel like your doc. isn't taking you seriously, maybe it's time for a 2nd opinion (if you feel like that's appropriate.)

Take care,

:season:

Go get yourself a Wii and a Wii fit board along with the Wii fit game. This set up as been a life saver for me. It has yoga, and strength training, and balance games, it helps with your center of balance. It also has a walking thing on there. Its all way easy on the body. And its fun. I keeps track of your progress which is nice, and if you get the Wii fit plus game it has a section on there that can help target specific areas. I have lost like 5 lbs just in a matter of weeks with mine.
Also maybe you need to find a new doc and get yourself checked out to make sure the everything is ok. Take care hun

I second the recommendation to get a second opinion. I would seek out a gyn specialist if available, perhaps not just a general Ob-Gyn. In my area, we have Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill available - both have Gyn surgery specialists and pelvic pain specialists that can trouble-shoot issues. Seek out a teaching/university setting if you can, even if it means a little bit of a drive. It might be worth it.

(I had my first open Gyn surgery with a well-respected Duke Ob-Gyn the first time, but then switched to a Gyn surgery specialist for the subsequent 2 surgeries. Personally, I am glad that I did!)

Ob-Gyn docs are sometimes like family practice - jack of all trades... They do a lot of things well, but you might need a more focused specialist now.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions. I did have a really good, highly respected, highly recommended surgeon. I bugged him so much after the surgery, he probably thinks I'm mental. Basically, I had a lot of endometriosis and he said it will keep coming back. He did offer to remove my ovaries, but kindly let me make the decision to keep them. I just can't see removing a healthy organ. When I complained six months post op about daily pain, he attributed it to the endometriosis. He's a surgeon and he probably expects me to keep having surgery to whittle it away, but I don't want to.

I understand. that is a very tough choice to make. Hang in there.