Still hurting 13 days post surgery

My vaginal hysterectomy was on July 16. I kept my ovaries. I am discouraged because I am still hurting so much. I am almost out of the 60 Percocets I was given on the 19th. I have been very careful to only take them when I am really hurting.

The problem is I am really hurting most of the time. For the last 4 days I have limited taking the pain med. to only when I need to sleep. I have a low grade fever (99. ) every night.

I called my gyn office and have an appt tomorrow. I hope he finds what is wrong, and can fix it. Or is it normal to still be hurting this much 13 days after surgery?

My DH was very helpful for about 5 days. He did dishwasher dishes, and laundry. Now, those are my responsibility again. Should I tell him I need help?

I sure do want to feel better.

Thanks for listening.

Yes, tell him you still need help loudly! He'll get the message sooner or later.

I would definately see what the doctor has to say tomorrow, he was very generous in giving you so many pain pills. My doctor gave me none, just put a 2-3 day pain patch on me right after the surgery and disharged me within 24 hours with no additional meds, could have used them too. He is so "anti" narcotics, it is unbelievable, anyway, I am sure that plenty of other sisters have had intense pain this long.

Go to the purple buttons at the top of the page and click on the search button and enter "pain duration" or "recovery period" you'll be taken to threads that will discuss your problems. Also, there was recently a thread about an unsympathetic husband hopefully you'll be able to find that one too. (it was about two or three days ago).

Best of luck and and tell your dear husband that he is getting from one of your hystersisters.

LSH 7/19

Dear Punkie,

Welcome to Hystersisters!! I'm glad that you found us, and very glad that you have an appointment to see your Gyn. I had a TVH, with repairs, and except for discomfort from the repairs, I don't remember being in actual pain for very long at all.

Please read the post-op hints that are found here http://www.hystersisters.com/dirpost.php and tell your husband that you have had major surgery and should not be doing very much yet.

Please let us know what your doctor tells you.

's

Karen

Hi Punkie, First of all, I want to welcome you to Hyster Sisters. I'm glad you found us. You do need more help. Doing too much this early in your recovery can lead to aches and pains and even possible complications. If your pain is severe, please don't hesitate to give your doctor a call.
In the meantime, here is a list of Toonces Do's and Don't for Post Op ladies. Please try to follow these for the first 6 weeks or until you've been cleared by your doctor to resume activities.

Toonces Do's and Don't's List for Post Op

-Picking up pillows and repositioning them…..allowed
-Turning on dishwasher AFTER SOMEONE ELSE HAS LOADED IT…..allowed
-Changing roll of toilet paper…..allowed
-Flipping on lightswitch…..allowed
-Folding laundry…..allowed
-Taking short, easy walks and gentle stretching…..allowed
-Lifting the remote control…..allowed
-Asking others for help...allowed and encouraged

X – Vacuuming…..NOT ALLOWED
X – Sweeping or Mopping…..NOT ALLOWED
X – Carrying laundry across house to washer…..NOT ALLOWED
X – Lifting, Bending, Reaching, Driving…..NOT ALLOWED
X – Lying around the house all day doing nothing…..NOT ALLOWED (see above)
X - Bending to access oven or empty litterboxes....NOT ALLOWED
X - Going to Wal-Mart for some bargain shopping....NOT RECOMMENDED
X – Pushing a shopping cart….NOT ALLOWED
X – Sitting for prolonged periods of time i.e. at computer….NOT ALLOWED
X – Opening windows, particularly the hard-to-open ones….NOT ALLOWED
X – Making other people’s problems your own…..NOT ALLOWED
X - Picking Tomatoes, Weeding, and other such nonsense...NOT ALLOWED

Take care!

Hi Punky,

I was taking my pain pills up until my third week. I did reduce them to morning and evening use though (and when I needed them if I overdid it). I also had the low grade fevers you mentioned n the evenings. Those finally went away a couple of days before my third week. My doctor told me not to worry unless it went to 100 plus and I was to call them if it did. I always had the feeling that they were hormone-related.

My surgery has been three weeks today and I'm feeling MUCH better. I'm still taking it pretty easy and my husband s still helping me a lot. So, yes, tell him that you still need some help! You want to make sure you recover properly!

Good luck!

Karin

Even though I had TAH not a TVH, I think it is very normal to be feeling quite a bit of pain at 13 days post-op. Are you combining your Percosets with other pain relievers? My doctor let me combine them with Tylenol if the pain wasn't quite as severe in order to make them last a little longer. I used up about 50 Percocet in 2.5 weeks, then was switched to 30 Tylenol with Codeine which I still take mainly in the evening when I realize that I've overdid during the day.

Don't be afraid to discuss your pain with your doctor but you may get a similar response as I did that its normal. My family doctor said "I'm sorry that someone didn't explain to you that surgery hurts" when I complained to him. I was ready to punch *punch* him after that comment!

Becky

and I'm still taking Tylox about everyday. I do use them sparingly, but I find when I get moving around more than usual, or go to town or do a whole lot, I need them. My hyst was abdominal though and I had other things done too.

My sister had her hyst done a few months ago, and she started running a low fever when she ran out of her pain meds. Our ob/gyn told her that not taking the pain meds when you need them could make you run a fever. I didn't know that until he told her that. So he gave her another prescription.

Be forewarned, if you call your doc and tell them your temp is 99, they'll more than likely say, "that isn't a fever". Now, I totally disagree with that because when my temp hits 99, I start aching all over, my head hurts, I freeze, and my eyes burn.... so I don't want to hear from them it isn't actually a fever until it reaches a tenth above 99 or whatever their guidelines are.

Call your doc, tell him your hurting and you need more pain meds and don't worry about taking them. If you need 'em, take 'em. And be firm about him giving you more if he's one of those docs that's stingy with pain meds.

bekki

all is well. I took a copy of the Post Op do's and don'ts for recovery activity. He read them, and agreed, but wanted to know that I am active. (Not laying in bed all day). He examined me inside and out, and said there is no sign of infection. GOOD!

He also wrote a perscrip for 30 more Percosets, and told me to be good to myself, (don't over do). Another piece of good news is that he could tell my ovaries are working because my vagina is a rosy color.

He was relaxed and talked to me. All in all it was good news all around.

Also need to let you know that my DH is being very good to me. My DD (22yrs) that still lives with us helps if I ask. (She doesn't just do it on her own.) But, I asked her this morning to unload the lower rack of the dw, and I unloaded the top rack. That way I didn't have to bend.

I also read the Post Op do's and don'ts to DH and DD.

My DH stress level has just gone sky high. Our Blazer conked out Sunday night when he was going to come home from work early because I started crying when he called to check on me.

He got the okay to leave, and the Blazer wouldn't start. He had to be towed home. It is just a fuel pump, but the repair costs almost $500.00, and he had to borrow a car from my parents. Their car ceiling touches his head (he is tall), and he has a herniated disc, and the car seat is uncomfortable. Mostly he is without HIS vehicle. Thank goodness we should get the Blazer back tomorrow.

Just told you the Blazer saga to let you know that DH stress level is up, so he is grumpy. And since his stress leve is up so is mine.

My Dr. visit relieved a ton of stress for me though. I was really afraid he was going to tell me to tough the pain out, but he didn't. I don't have and infection, and I get to have pain relief. Good , Good, Good.

Thank you everyone, you advice was very helpful, and comforting.

hahahaha I hope you know that all us post op princesses will be sitting above a mirror tonight... trying to decide EXACTLY WHAT SHADE our vaginas are!

hahahaha *still laughing at that visual*

Seriously, that's interesting and I had never heard it before. I wish I knew that doc's exactly "color scheme" so I could figure out "where I am" on the ovary-working scale.

Goodluck and glad things are going better!

Bekki

Bekki:

I was thinking the same thing. I'm wondering if that rosey color goes for us on HRT too!

Becky