New Here Entering Week 4 post hysterectomy - still having pain, falling out feeling... frustrated

Hi all,

It will be 4 weeks this Friday since I had my surgery. I had my uterus, cervix and tubes out, but kept ovaries. I had one very large fibroid and had to go the hysterectomy route after trying D&C and ablation for heavy bleeding and being anemic. I am 52 and raising two teenagers on my own. My mother was able to help me for a week, but had to fly home because she is getting cancer treatment. My father lives nearby, but we are not close.

I have to sit a lot for work and can’t afford to take much time to rest as I don’t get paid. I only took one week off since I had to use PTO. I have a boyfriend, but we don’t live together.

I am still experiencing pain and find walking and lying down better than sitting. I sometimes get bad tailbone pain if I sit too long, so I got a special cushion that helps a little.

I take Advil and Tylenol, but lately not as frequently as would help. Advil PM helps me sleep. The heating pad has been a lifesaver. I want to get another I can heat in the microwave so I can fall asleep and not worry about scalding myself. I can’t bend at the waist yet, which is very frustrating. I can’t clip my toenails or get anything off the floor. I am a stomach sleeper, but still must sleep on my back.

It sometimes feels like everything is going to fall out of me if I move wrong. The surgeon said my uterus was large, so maybe my recovery will take longer? I had robotic laparoscopic.

He also said my outside incisions healed well and I am due for my 6 week appointment in just over 2 weeks.

I got my period at 10 (tmi sorry!). I have a history of very heavy periods.

Lately, I’ve felt depressed because I don’t feel like I’m making much progress. It is also difficult to explain this to teenage boys.

I am super paranoid about Covid and my son has to go to school Thursday for a test (they’ve been attending from home). I got my first Pfizer shot yesterday.

I am sure there are other women who’ve had to do this on their own while being the breadwinner. It is tough!

I appreciate all the helpful information here and look forward to getting to know everyone!

and

Everything you describe for being in Week 4 tracks - from pain manageable with Tylenol and Advil, to the falling out feeling; from the emotions to not being able to bend. If you think your healing is going slow and you should've been back to normal by now... the best thing you can do is adjust your expectations. Many of us had a large uterus for whatever reason - that's less of a factor than what was done internally. You not only had organs removed, you had 5 sets of ligaments and many blood vessels cut in order for that to happen, and everything was either stitched or cauterized. All those internal wounds and soft tissue trauma take time to heal - many weeks, even a few months for 100% healing, and 4 weeks is still smack in the middle of it all. I didn't even turn the corner on feeling human again until week 4 - my surgery was laparoscopic and I retained my cervix, and it was all textbook.

Alternating Tylenol and Advil is what many of us do after we're off of narcotics. The best practice is to take them regularly and at an effective dosage. I took 1/2 of my 800 mg prescription ibuprofen and alternated with two 325mg acetaminophen.

I think returning to work after one week is not making it easy on you (I returned after 15 days, didn't need to and would stay out longer if I could hit the rewind button). Your body is trying to heal and is using all of its resources to do so - rest is the best thing you can do for healing, but you don't have that opportunity. When you get home, rest 30-45 minutes before doing anything else. Keep extra activities to the bare minimum, such as taking your son to school for his test.

Your boys are teens and they can help with household tasks. You don't have to go into super detail about your procedure with them if it's awkward, but they can certainly know that you had a lot of internal incisions which were cauterized and stitched, and you'll be out of commission for a while. Even when you're cleared by your doctor, you'll likely find that you can't dive back in to where you were pre-op - your body will let you know if you're doing too much, and it's important to heed the feedback.

Since you've just joined us, you might find these resources helpful in knowing what to expect during these first weeks:

• Hysterectomy Recovery Videos on the Recovery Splash page, particularly for Weeks 3 & 4
• Hysterectomy Checkpoints for a week-to-week guide (you can sign up to receive Checkpoints in email, too)
• Can I Rush 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 Mar 08-14. Recovery Threads are wonderful for getting support, comparing notes, encouraging others, and keeping one another company.

It's a longer journey than most of us expect, but know you're not alone.

Thank you very much for your warm welcome and support!!!

	Quote:
Originally Posted by Cleona68 Hi all, It will be 4 weeks this Friday since I had my surgery. I had my uterus, cervix and tubes out, but kept ovaries. I had one very large fibroid and had to go the hysterectomy route after trying D&C and ablation for heavy bleeding and being anemic. I am 52 and raising two teenagers on my own. My mother was able to help me for a week, but had to fly home because she is getting cancer treatment. My father lives nearby, but we are not close. I have to sit a lot for work and can’t afford to take much time to rest as I don’t get paid. I only took one week off since I had to use PTO. I have a boyfriend, but we don’t live together. I am still experiencing pain and find walking and lying down better than sitting. I sometimes get bad tailbone pain if I sit too long, so I got a special cushion that helps a little. I take Advil and Tylenol, but lately not as frequently as would help. Advil PM helps me sleep. The heating pad has been a lifesaver. I want to get another I can heat in the microwave so I can fall asleep and not worry about scalding myself. I can’t bend at the waist yet, which is very frustrating. I can’t clip my toenails or get anything off the floor. I am a stomach sleeper, but still must sleep on my back. It sometimes feels like everything is going to fall out of me if I move wrong. The surgeon said my uterus was large, so maybe my recovery will take longer? I had robotic laparoscopic. He also said my outside incisions healed well and I am due for my 6 week appointment in just over 2 weeks. I got my period at 10 (tmi sorry!). I have a history of very heavy periods. Lately, I’ve felt depressed because I don’t feel like I’m making much progress. It is also difficult to explain this to teenage boys. I am super paranoid about Covid and my son has to go to school Thursday for a test (they’ve been attending from home). I got my first Pfizer shot yesterday. I am sure there are other women who’ve had to do this on their own while being the breadwinner. It is tough! I appreciate all the helpful information here and look forward to getting to know everyone!

I'm very sorry to hear that you have quite a bit of pain and may be lacking some support at home or near home. Having this procedure during COVID is definitely complicated and creates even more stress.

I am also a stomach sleeper and found a body pillow helped. I could lean/lay onto it to be more comfortable, overall. I have only recently had a break from the bloating and started to feel comfortable sitting up for longer. In my case, they went hand-in-hand.

I just wanted to reach out and say hello. You're the sole breadwinner, so I hope that you are able to cut yourself some slack. Don't be hard on yourself if you aren't where you think you should be. Everyone heals differently and has different responsibilities. Whatever you can do (or better yet, ask your boys to do) to be more comfortable and rest well at the times you can will definitely help. Your boys might feel good about helping you more, if they aren't already.

Be well!

Thank you! Yes, Covid has elevated everyone’s stress to a whole new level. I get groceries delivered and ask my son to unpack them, then am always freaking out about his hand washing. I’ve had a lot of other stress like my Father divorcing my stepmother of 20 years (now dating her friend), my mom selling my childhood home, then getting cancer, then my ex mother in law just passed over Easter. I was also told that they will be making us physically go back to work in May and that school opens up fully brick and mortar again in the fall. Not to mention I’m trying to get my oldest signed up for his first year of college as he graduates this year.

Wow that is crazy it’s no wonder I haven’t been able to heal faster! I think my major mistake was not taking at least two full weeks off at the beginning. I find sitting to be the absolute worst.