4 months post op and incision still hurts

Hi all!!!
I am four months post op and I have to say that I feel wonderful. I guess I did not realize how bad I felt for so many years. I have lost 30 pounds since my surgery!!! BUT...I have a couple of problems. First, my incision and the area around it still hurts. It does not hurt like it did after the surgery, it just feels real sore. It hurts on the outside. It does not hurt more to sneeze or cough. It is sore to the touch. The other problem is that I can not sleep at night. My Doctor gave me some sleeping pills about a month after the surgery, and they worked for a little while, but I did not want to depend on them to sleep, so I have not gotten any more of them. I sleep for about an hour and a half at a time. SOOOO....I am very tired. I came back to work part time after only two weeks, and full time after six. Probably was a mistake, but really did not have much of a choice. (have to pay bills somehow)
But even with these two problems, I still feel great. I think losing the weight helped a lot. I feel good about myself for the first time in years. I still have about 20 pounds to go, but I am getting there.
Looking forward to hearing from those of you who may have the same problem with the incision.

Lots of hugs to all!
Kim

Hi Kim

I had my surgery the day before yours! My incision still has areas I think of as being "tender" --- but not "real sore". I'm sorry you had to go back to work so soon after your surgery!

About the sleeping --- I saw that you kept your ovaries. Have you had any other types of symptoms that might indicate your ovaries are "sputtering"? Sometimes it takes them a while to get working after surgery, and this could definately impact your ability to sleep through the night.

Maybe you should call your doctor and see what s/he has to say?

Sorry I can't be of more help!

By the way, congratulations on the weight loss! You should be very proud of yourself!

z

Hi there,
Glad that you are in general feeling well!

I do still sense my incision at times, even now at about 6 months post-op. There are definitely days when I can forget that I've had this surgery, but more often something else will irritate my incision area and remind me of it. Sometimes, it is sitting in a certain position for too long; other times, it seems to be certain fabrics or tight jeans that irritate that area. Some days my incision looks quite red and feels sore by the end of the day. I think it just takes a long time for it to heal completely. My abs are stronger than ever, and I'm very active so overall I feel great, but that area is definitely still sensitive. I can relate to what you're saying, but I do know that I have healed very well according to my doctor, so I assume it just takes time!

About the insomnia: i have also experienced this. I slept very soundly for a couple of months following my surgery, but then began to have problems again. I reduced my caffeine and alcohol intake, get plenty of exercise, and we moved our bedroom to a quieter room in the house. I was still having trouble. So..even though my doc said it wouldn't make much difference, i switched to taking my estradiol pill in the evening. That seems to have helped. If I get everything right--little caffeine/alcohol, quiet cool bedroom, no big evening meal, exercise, and estrogen in early evening--then I might still wake up a couple of times but I have no trouble falling back asleep. But when one of these things is out of whack, I wake up....I have just decided to accept it.

hope this helps somewhat...

I had my surgery 5 weeks ago today. I feel ok, but my incision is sore too. I would like to recommend wearing a light panty girdle while you are at work. I read that this would help and it really did. My incision hurts ony around my belly button but this really helps it. By the time I get home, I am ready to shed it but it is great at work. Good luck!!

Hi

I am almost 10 weeks post op on Monday and still have tenderness around my incision and some wierd pulling and twinches once in a while. This I believe is due to the nerves growing back together in there and the internal sutures dissolving. I have been back to work full time since 5 weeks post op and have problably overdone it a couple of days and my body tells me when I have.

As far as the sleeping problem - I too have been having trouble sleeping. I kept my ovaries too and thought that they were "sputtering" like gustogal mentioned. My doctor ordered bloodwork to make sure they were working as well as my Thyroid. The results showed they were both within normal limits which was a relief but still had problems sleeping. My doctor prescribed Ambien 10 mg and I took it at bedtime for a week then weaned off it. I am sleeping about 6 to 7 hours a night without it now. Before I took the Ambien, I was lucky to get 2 or 3 hours sleep on on off. It is worth a call to your doctor.

By the way, congratulations on losing weight! I have lost almost 70 pounds since March and definitely feel much better. Keep up the good work!