bowel function, and warm flashes?

Are there such things as warm flashes, instead of hot flashes? Once or twice a day I start sweating and feeling pleasantly warm for no reason. It feels lovely as I tend to run cold. Could this be hormonal? Should I contact my doc? Surgery was 9 days ago; I kept my ovaries but know they could "sleep" for a while.

Also, when does bowel function typically return to normal? I'm drinking lots of water, taking short walks, resting, taking stool softeners & psyllium, & eating fiber. I'm regular, but the BMs are a bit hard & uncomfortable, and I don't want to bear down this soon after surgery.

Thanks!

Melissa

Hi Melissa,

At 9 days, there is often some hormonal settling yet to do, even when you've kept your ovaries. My hormones didn't feel "settled" until about 5 weeks, when my hot flashes stopped. It sounds like your "warm" flashes are a blessing for you!

As for bowel function, this can also take some time, and everyone is a little different. For me, it took about 4 weeks for things to work fine without stool softeners. Are you taking the maximum dose of softeners allowed by your Dr.? I wasn't at first, but when I did, it made all the difference. Then I slowly tapered off with using them.

Not only were your bowels totally shut down with anesthesia, but they are also settling into a new location inside you, so they may be sluggish for awhile. Moderate walking and drinking plenty of water will help, too.

My very best to you...

Dear Melissa,
Around 10 days post op I had a few nights in a row of waking up several times feeling uncomfortably warm but not sweating (I'm usually cold too).
I wondered if my ovary was napping and worried if I'd be able to have a good night's sleep again.

Fortunately though, I've been sleeping fine for the past several days. Now I think my body was in the process of adjusting to the missing parts--and/or hormone levels were fluctuating with my cycle. If I end up with only a few nights of flashes each month, I'll count myself fairly well balanced hormonally.