5 weeks post-op and frustrated

I know the little twinges and pulling feeling is normal due to muscles growing back but this is getting a little frustrating. I have been having the worse bladder pains after going to the bathroom and at times the pain goes into my back and side. I had a urine test done on Monday at my primary care doctor's office he was checking for a UTI. and it came back clear. and I have a sharp pain that runs from the right side of my pubic bone up into the area of my incision that is constantly aching and at times very painful. So I was talking to my ob/gyn's nurse today about another matter with the premarin and asked her about these pains and she said well that's not good being this far out from surgery. Especially with the pain that goes into my back. She asked if I wanted to come in tomorrow and do a urine test for a UTI and I told her I already had one done less then a week ago so she scheduled an appointment to see the doctor on June 7th and if the pain gets worse then I am to go to the ER..
I guess I'm just frustrated and had to vent. I feel like I've hit a brick wall...

You have absolutely done the right thing by alerting your and being checked for a UTI. 5 weeks is still very early in the healing process especially since we are not considered to be "healed from surgery" until the 6-12 month mark.

Is there a chance you could be overdoing it a little in some way? Around this time we kind of start to mentally feel better and kick up the pace a notch. Please pamper yourself and as your doctor's office recommended, get yourself to the ER if the pain gets worse before your scheduled appt.

Keep us posted on how you are doing!

Pain is frustrating and not knowing why the pain is going on is even more frustrating. I've been finding that if I do too much I end up with twinges in the areas you describe. It is NOT easy to back off and not do things when you feel as if you can do them. Maybe a little more rest for you? Is it possible that the way you're sleeping could be contributing to it? Sometimes if I have been sitting in a particular chair too long I have difficulties.

I hope that if things get any worse you'll go to the ER. Keep us posted!

Thanks for the replies. I appreciate all the support. I don't think I've been over doing it but then again who knows. Yesterday I only did dishes and today I slept most of the day. I woke up last night because of pain in my abdomen that was making me nauseous and had to take some motrin to ease the pain enough to get back to sleep. I've actually had to take a vicodin a couple of times this past week because the cramping was so bad. and I haven't taken them since oh about 5 days post-op. Being a single mother with a 15 year old at home sometimes I forget that I am still healing.

It is hard to remember we're still healing, huh?
Just a thought. If you don't feel better by your next appt., ask for an u/s to check for a hematoma. Hematomas/Seromas are just a collection of blood or fluid that's common after abdominal surgery, and can put pressure on on bladder, nerves, bowel, etc....
Most docs just observe them and the body absorbs the fluid over time. In any case, if that's what it is, you'll know and not assume the worst.
I continue to have left sided pain and it was discovered that I have a hematoma/seroma (they can't tell which) deep in my pelvis, behind my colon, in front of my spine, putting pressure on nerves and overall a pain in my a$$. literally.

IF that pain gets severe and you run a fever. Call dr or go to ER.

While some sisters are incredibly lucky and feeling wonderful after a few weeks, others like us take longer to heal. Take it easy. Hope you are feeling better soon.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by eyesofbloo It is hard to remember we're still healing, huh? Just a thought. If you don't feel better by your next appt., ask for an u/s to check for a hematoma. Hematomas/Seromas are just a collection of blood or fluid that's common after abdominal surgery, and can put pressure on on bladder, nerves, bowel, etc.... Most docs just observe them and the body absorbs the fluid over time. In any case, if that's what it is, you'll know and not assume the worst. I continue to have left sided pain and it was discovered that I have a hematoma/seroma (they can't tell which) deep in my pelvis, behind my colon, in front of my spine, putting pressure on nerves and overall a pain in my a$$. literally. IF that pain gets severe and you run a fever. Call dr or go to ER. While some sisters are incredibly lucky and feeling wonderful after a few weeks, others like us take longer to heal. Take it easy. Hope you are feeling better soon.

I will keep that in mind. I sometimes wonder about the problems on my right side.. It may be a coincidence but at 4 days post-op my doxie jumped right on the incision and to this day the area where he jumped on me is tender. I have asked my doctor about it twice now and both times he said it was scar tissue. But should it be tender to the touch? and that is the same area where the incision was having problems healing and I eventually had to go into the office and have a stitch cut out that came through the incision.
I guess this is another reason I'm frustrated.

I saw my primary care doctor on the 1st of June and he said the urine test for the UTI came back clear so that is not the cause of the bladder pain. He asked if I was still having the pain and I am but it's not as bad as it was a week ago so I told him I was thinking about cancelling the appointment with my ob/gyn scheduled for June 7th and he advised me not to do that. I am now being monitored due to my blood pressure being high at that visit also. It was 150 over 95 and my pulse was 97 so I now have that added on top of everything else. Geez I swear when it rains it pours.

Becca,

Did you mention the tender spot (if its still tender to the touch) where your doxie jumped on you to your primary? That is something that I would mention especially if things are still giving you problems and you've had changes with such things as your BP.

About 3 days post-op my cat decided (in the middle of the night when I was dead asleep) that my tummy needed fluffing. I was pretty sore for a few days, partly because I sat up so fast. It went away after about a week, but it also wasn't concentrated in one spot.

Hope you get some good news from your Dr on the 7th!

Ya know I forgot to tell my primary doctor about the tender spot on the incision. He would have told me to talk to my ob/gyn about it though. I am wondering if my blood pressure is going up because of the premarin that I am taking?? I guess I should start my list of questions to ask on Monday. My main problem(s) are having to hold my stomach when I stand up because of the bladder pain and I get pain in my lower back that radiates into the butt and then I start having what feels like menstral cramps. and the newest is sharp pains that shoot from the cervix area into the lower part of my upper abdomen on both the right and left side. I hope he tells me it's just part of the healing process and that it's not the endo. acting up that he left between the bowel and cervix. I was having problems remembering if he told me it was adhesions that was holding them together or the endo. and my daughter told me he said the endo. But he told me at 7:30 am the morning after surgery so I was still a little out of it. But he's never mentioned it since then so I don't know what to think. Why would he perscribe premarin, even in a low dose, knowing that there was endo. left behind? He did wait about 4 weeks before giving it to me so hopefully the endo. had time to die off since I don't have either ovary.

I had my appointment today and at this point he wants to wait and see if the pain goes away on it's own. If I am still having pains in another month then he will send me for an ultrasound.
He's also putting me on a higher dosage of premarin because I am still having hot flashes.