25 days post hysterectomy - I feel like my recovery is going very slow

Hi, I'm Megan. I'm new here and I have to say, it's so great to be among ladies that have knowledge of this life changing surgery!

I'm 25 days post op and in pretty moderate pain right now. I had my uterus, cervix and fallopian tubes removed laproscopicly.

I feel like my recovery is going very slow. I'll have about 3 or 4 good days where I feel better and more energy and then, BAM! I'll go for a walk or try and sit down and the pain just lays me flat on my back for days. I can feel the internal stiches when I sit and substantial pressure on my bladder. I had some bleeding out of nowhere 2 days ago that was alarming but it has turned into spotting. I don't know what is normal.

I have my follow up on Friday. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

Thanks!

Megan

Hi Megan

I’m nowhere near as far along as you. I had my surgery Monday. An abdominal hysterectomy with tubes, cervix and uterus removed. It’s Thursday today, I’m still in hospital. Yesterday felt quite good but today doesn’t feel as progressive, it feels like an effort to get up and go to the loo or for a walk around the room. So I would say as far as having good days and bad days at day 25 post op - it’s got to be some kind of normal? Are you perhaps doing too much?

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Originally Posted by Megancarling Hi, I'm Megan. I'm new here and I have to say, it's so great to be among ladies that have knowledge of this life changing surgery! I'm 25 days post op and in pretty moderate pain right now. I had my uterus, cervix and fallopian tubes removed laproscopicly. I feel like my recovery is going very slow. I'll have about 3 or 4 good days where I feel better and more energy and then, BAM! I'll go for a walk or try and sit down and the pain just lays me flat on my back for days. I can feel the internal stiches when I sit and substantial pressure on my bladder. I had some bleeding out of nowhere 2 days ago that was alarming but it has turned into spotting. I don't know what is normal. I have my follow up on Friday. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Thanks! Megan

Hi Megan,
I had the exact same procedure about 4 days after you. Having to same experience where I'll make slow, but steady improvement over 4 or 5 days, and then wake up in pain and have a day or two of constant zings and cramps and soreness. I think I'm taking it easy, but while a bit of walking and activity around the house is okay, sitting for more than 20 minutes is really uncomfortable. I took someone's advice from here to sit on an icepack when I'm sitting and that helps a bit. No bleeding at all yet, but I"ve heard from my doctor and from these forums that bleeding in week 4 is super common as the internal stitches are dissolving. I feeling very similar to you and I think this is all pretty much the healing process, though get frustrated after many good days to be in pain all day suddenly when I don't feel that I've done much. Laying on the couch every few hours seems to help keep the bad days down, though it's been hard to remember to do that when I'm feeling good on the good days. The Olympics has been helpful, as I'll try to take breaks around the times in the morning, afternoon, and evening when the new events are on as a reminder. I get anxious on the painful days thinking I've done something terrible to my insides, but reading these posts make it seem that most of us are experiencing the same thing, so I find that helpful.
Happy healing!

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Originally Posted by HeatherinCO Hi Megan, I had the exact same procedure about 4 days after you. Having to same experience where I'll make slow, but steady improvement over 4 or 5 days, and then wake up in pain and have a day or two of constant zings and cramps and soreness. I think I'm taking it easy, but while a bit of walking and activity around the house is okay, sitting for more than 20 minutes is really uncomfortable. I took someone's advice from here to sit on an icepack when I'm sitting and that helps a bit. No bleeding at all yet, but I"ve heard from my doctor and from these forums that bleeding in week 4 is super common as the internal stitches are dissolving. I feeling very similar to you and I think this is all pretty much the healing process, though get frustrated after many good days to be in pain all day suddenly when I don't feel that I've done much. Laying on the couch every few hours seems to help keep the bad days down, though it's been hard to remember to do that when I'm feeling good on the good days. The Olympics has been helpful, as I'll try to take breaks around the times in the morning, afternoon, and evening when the new events are on as a reminder. I get anxious on the painful days thinking I've done something terrible to my insides, but reading these posts make it seem that most of us are experiencing the same thing, so I find that helpful. Happy healing!

Thanks so much for your experience! I am watching the Olympics as well! I also watched le Tour de France. I've been reading and writing, cooking a little and resting.

My hubby is stationed in Korea, so I'm flying solo on this.

It sounds like I am on track. I have not been patient at all with this recovery!

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Originally Posted by Lellsus Hi Megan I’m nowhere near as far along as you. I had my surgery Monday. An abdominal hysterectomy with tubes, cervix and uterus removed. It’s Thursday today, I’m still in hospital. Yesterday felt quite good but today doesn’t feel as progressive, it feels like an effort to get up and go to the loo or for a walk around the room. So I would say as far as having good days and bad days at day 25 post op - it’s got to be some kind of normal? Are you perhaps doing too much?

My first walk was interesting...I bled all over the hallway! This young sailor was my nurse and I asked him to help me put on a new pad
He put my underwear on sideways!

I am doing too much, it sure feels like I could do more. I am a very active person, so this has been hard to just rest. Good luck on your healing! You got this

and

Not being more healed at 25 days... tracks! While not "fresh out of surgery", you're still very much in the middle of initial recovery. It helps to understand what went on in surgery, and it's major surgery even if you only see a few incisions externally (you don't mention your surgery type). You've had ligaments, blood vessels and connective tissue cut as well as organs removed, and anything which was bleeding from the procedure has been stitched or cauterized. All that internal trauma takes time to heal, and recovery really does have to be thought of in terms of many weeks. Healing itself comes in stages, and the body's chemistry signals when the next phase begins to focus on that phase. Meanwhile, we start to feel better, do more, and find our bodies object because they're still healing. That's often why it feels like 3 steps forward, 2 steps back.

Accept that this really is going to take 6-8 weeks until you're released, you'll have peaks and valleys in how you're faring, and it'll likely be more weeks or months until the last annoying twinges and fatigue go away.

The pressure is from internal swelling from all that trauma. I had swelly belly; other women feel the "phantom tampon". Sometimes it's just a regular day which leads to that, other times we've stepped up activities. Build in rest breaks, even as you start doing more, and if you do too much, pull back and rest for a day or two.

The spotting and bleeding can start or come and go at any time during these initial weeks, even if you had none earlier. Internal stitches start to dissolve, those living tissues start to take over, but are still raw. Also, doing more can increase bleeding. The general guideline is if you're filling a maxi-pad in an hour, that's an emergency. Bleeding when you wipe, bleeding which can be contained in a mini-pad or panti-liner, and spotting are pretty typical. Just monitor.

You might find these resources helpful in knowing what to expect during these first weeks:

• Hysterectomy Recovery Videos on the Recovery Splash page, especially for Weeks 3 & 4
• Hysterectomy Checkpoints for a week-to-week guide (you can sign up to receive Checkpoints in email, too)
• Hysterectomy Recovery Tips
• Do This - Not That: Hysterectomy Recovery with additional links

I'd also like to invite you to connect with your Recovery Thread for women who had surgery the same week as you at Recovery Progress Reports for June 18-July 04. Recovery Threads are wonderful for getting support, comparing notes, encouraging others, and let's you know you're not flying solo after all.

Hi how are you? I had an emergency total abdominal hysterectomy and ooporectomy ( not sure on spelling, lol.) on Sept 5th. What are zings? You wrote it your post. I feel I'm doing pretty good, only take Advil like every 12 hours, constantly walking or taking steps. I can't sit still for long. I get bloated pretty easy and as the days get later my belly gets uncomfortable esp twds dinner time. Its def still swollen! ( I heard 4-6 weeks) I just can't wait to be normal, again, lol/ fully recovered!!! Happy recovery and stay safe.

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Originally Posted by Megancarling Hi, I'm Megan. I'm new here and I have to say, it's so great to be among ladies that have knowledge of this life changing surgery! I'm 25 days post op and in pretty moderate pain right now. I had my uterus, cervix and fallopian tubes removed laproscopicly. I feel like my recovery is going very slow. I'll have about 3 or 4 good days where I feel better and more energy and then, BAM! I'll go for a walk or try and sit down and the pain just lays me flat on my back for days. I can feel the internal stiches when I sit and substantial pressure on my bladder. I had some bleeding out of nowhere 2 days ago that was alarming but it has turned into spotting. I don't know what is normal. I have my follow up on Friday. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Thanks! Megan

Hi Megan,

I can relate, I did not really start feeling better until the start of my 6th week. I felt like something was wrong with me because others were doing so well so quickly. I didn't have good days, I had good hours
This is normal!

I had my first in office checkup yesterday, once I found out things were healing correctly it did help with my recovery, in that I am not as freaked out every time I have a new pain. Hopefully your checkup Friday will ease your mind as well.

Everyone does heal at their own pace and it is so hard to just rest and recover. I try to remember that recovery is an investment in my future.

The fact that you are doing this without your husband nearby has to be difficult. Glad you found this great site for support and information.

Sending you cyber hugs

Ooops did not notice I was replying to an older post, my bad

	Quote:
Originally Posted by Megancarling Hi, I'm Megan. I'm new here and I have to say, it's so great to be among ladies that have knowledge of this life changing surgery! I'm 25 days post op and in pretty moderate pain right now. I had my uterus, cervix and fallopian tubes removed laproscopicly. I feel like my recovery is going very slow. I'll have about 3 or 4 good days where I feel better and more energy and then, BAM! I'll go for a walk or try and sit down and the pain just lays me flat on my back for days. I can feel the internal stiches when I sit and substantial pressure on my bladder. I had some bleeding out of nowhere 2 days ago that was alarming but it has turned into spotting. I don't know what is normal. I have my follow up on Friday. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Thanks! Megan

I am 4 weeks 4 days post op today. Everything you explained feels like the same way for me! It’s very frustrating. I have a good day and feel like I’m making progress then the next day is terrible. Pains go away, new things start. I still have bladder pressure and go to the bathroom a lot. Today seemed better today for my bladder but now I feel like that phantom tampon feeling again when I sit. It’s so uncomfortable. I agree, this is a very slow recovery process.