Recovery Progress Reports for Hysterectomy dates Dec 06-Dec 12,2021

If your hysterectomy was between Dec 06-Dec 12,2021 this is the place to post your progress during your hysterectomy recovery.

If you have a question about your hysterectomy recovery, please start a new thread to receive answers and support for your concerns instead of including the question in your update! There is information on how to start a new thread in this link: New Here? or you can use this link: Post a New Topic in the Post-Op forum.

Post how you are doing here when you are home and well enough to sit a few minutes at your computer.

We hope you are recovering well with plenty of rest and water and a bit of walking. Don't forget to pamper the princess!



How to use the Recovery Progress Reports thread:

• 1. This thread is for the purpose of sharing updates on your recovery as you heal from your hysterectomy.
  
  
• 2. Generally, ONE or TWO posts on this thread per member/per day is adequate to share your daily progress and to share encouragement with your surgery week Sisters.
  
  
• 3. Remember to start a new thread on the Post-Op message board to ask your questions.
  
  
• 4. The Progress Report threads now begin in our special forum for all Hysterectomy Recovery Reports and will remain there for you to always find your discussion.
  
• 5. Remember all the love and support you got here as a pre-op member? Now it's YOUR turn to give back to the women in the Pre-Op Hysterectomy Support forum. Extend your hand and your hugs in replies to our pre-op ladies in waiting. This will complete our circle of women helping women!
  
• 6. You can also share support and experiences with post-op members in all phases of recovery in the Post-Op Hysterectomy Support forum by replying on the new threads they create.

• 7. We invite you to upgrade your membership - to Upgraded PLUS membership. Learn about our Upgraded Memberships.

Congratulations, surgery is finally over, welcome to the other side!
I am honored to be your Sunshine Sister. I am here to support you, provide information, and encourage you throughout your recovery. This is your thread for sharing with and caring for your kindred sisters and for yourself.
Feel free to share or ask questions about anything that comes up, I don’t think there are any TMI subjects here. Also, if you need a cyberhug or words of encouragement just let us know.


I truly believe that Recovery is an investment in your future and all the things you are looking forward to doing and accomplishing.
Recovery is different for everyone and while there is no normal, one size fits all, we will all have similarities to share. Please listen to your body and heed any warnings such as pain and GO SLOWLY. This is your main responsibility for the upcoming weeks.
Some helpful initial guidelines:

~Follow your Doctor's orders and limitations
~Drink lots of water and then drink more

~Walk a little each hour that you are awake–for now a trip to the kitchen, bathroom or around the house is plenty
~Be kind to yourself
~Take it slow. Accept help from family, loved ones and friends
~Take your pain meds as directed, it is easier to stay on top of pain than to wait
~Eat healthy stomach friendly food, Protein is essential for healing, fiber is important for avoiding constipation
~Protein drinks are great especially if your appetite is off
See you when you are ready. Sending you all positive thoughts and !

24 hours since came out of surgery. I had a laparoscopic hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy.

I am in good spirits and adjusting to how the pain is limiting my movement. I find changing positions the most challenging.

My appetite is good and in ways better than before. I think the stress prior to the surgery expressed itself that way (my surgery was rescheduled 2x).

	Quote:
Originally Posted by PotionLerberg 24 hours since came out of surgery. I had a laparoscopic hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. I am in good spirits and adjusting to how the pain is limiting my movement. I find changing positions the most challenging. My appetite is good and in ways better than before. I think the stress prior to the surgery expressed itself that way (my surgery was rescheduled 2x).

Glad you are doing okay!

I had my laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy yesterday. Of course, I ended up starting my period the morning of surgery. Like, couldn't it had waited 3 hours, lol.

Everything went pretty well. I was fine until I had to scoot over to the OR bed. Then panicked and starting crying (totally not like me). Everyone was so kind and supportive. The surgeon reminded me this was the best choice.

Everyone kept saying I would need to stay overnight, but my doctor and I agreed I could come home, thank goodness!

Honestly I think I expected so much discomfort, but in reality it is quite tolerable so far. Slightly worse then my normal menstrual cramps and pressure. I do have lots of abdominal swelling and still some umbilical bleeding. I am using an ice pack which is helpful. Worse then incisional discomfort is the discomfort during urination - they put in a foley cath during surgery and my bladder is not happy about it, lol. My shoulder hurts also, I'm assuming its gas pain from all the air.

Overall, I do think it was the right choice. I think I probably had more symptoms then I realized.

Wishing you all peace & love.

I would've posted prior to my procedure nut my son was hogging the computer with his school project. I'm 52 and had a full hysterectomy primarily because of pelvic pain for 2 years that went undiagnosed during Covid. I saw a couple of different drs who suspected fibroids, did ultrasound and then wanted to do hysteroscopy ( I had uterine ablation 15 years ago after the last of my 4 c-sections) and other various tests but I didn't feel comfortable having them done by nurse practitioners instead of drs which is what these other practices were offering. Finally found my new doctor who recommended full hysterectomy just based on my mom's ovarian cancer. Sadly she died at the age of 72, 15 years ago. My new dr also saw on my ultrasound that I had fluid in my c-section scars so he suspected adhesions and possible bladder issues like a fistula.

Just arrived home and I'm doing well. There were no complications like bladder issues but apparently I did have considerable adhesions, one that went all the way from my scar and attached itself to my bowel. Dr reported that this was likely the cause of my pain. My fibroid wasn't very large and was inside my uterus.

So now that I'm home the laparoscopy gas pains have hit. I'm learning quickly to get up and walk. Some things that stand out to me about the experience:

-Hospitals are very over-crowded where I live which is probably because so many elective procedures are finally able to be scheduled. I was my drs 5th hysterectomy and didn't go back until 7 pm. It was hard waiting. When I got to recovery I never left. They didn't have any rooms for me so they converted an area in the recovery room into patient rooms. It was nice not being moved when I was in pain AND I had a private nurse all evening. She was pretty terrific.

- I took my friend, Mr Blue (my body pillow - who my husband is jealous of) to the hospital and he was faithful companion all evening. When they finally got control of my pain (about an hour after I woke up with dilaudid), I slept a little bit tilted on my side against him. They also gave me versed which helped knock me out. I requested nausea meds every chance I got even if I felt the least bit nauseous

-I got a (TAP) belly block which they also administered before my surgery. They gave me versed for this and I think I should've requested a heavier dose. There were parts that were uncomfortable (not terrible) and I think I was just to scared to sleep, so they should've knocked me out more. IMO,

- Because my surgery was so late and my husband was kicked out of the hospital after he got to see me in recovery, I had him get me a subway sandwich while I was in surgery and put it in my bag to go with me in recovery. I had it for breakfast around 6am this morning and it was amazing.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by pixie77 I had my laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy yesterday. Of course, I ended up starting my period the morning of surgery. Like, couldn't it had waited 3 hours, lol.

Pixie77 - isn't that just typical?! One last period to remind you how inconvenient that are lol (well, were I suppose now!)

I had my surgery this morning about 9.30am - all went to plan. I woke up in recovery needing a wee, and it was agony - was told by my recovery nurse and consultant that my bladder had just been emptied so it wasn't possible. A kind nurse in the ward scanned my bladder and it was full, so I was a lot better after it was emptied again ha ha!

The gas pain has started now - and for some reason it hurts to pass wind! Like when it's all gathering in my belly it hurts and is really uncomfortable.

I've been sleeping on and off all afternoon, so now it's 12.30 at night and I'm wide awake!

Pain wise - I'm really sore. Like a post above (I'm really sorry, I forgot the posters name!) I'm finding it difficult to move to get comfortable as it's painful, but im still at the hospital so move different parts of the bed every now and again to see if it helps!

Hope everyone is feeling as well as they can given the circumstances! Looking forward to recovering with you all

Sisters!


So glad to see you checking in and sharing your experiences, I can tell that we are going to have a great group supporting each other. Sorry I didn't get to reply to each of you individually as you posted but I was at urgent care with a UTI- did not take my own advice and stay on top of my water intake for sure. Oh the joys of being a woman
For those with gas pain from laparoscopic surgery, GasX plus a heating pad on your shoulders and/or upper back is really helpful. Also as SusieQ said, walking will help, just try not to do more than about 5 mins per hour for the first few days. Most of the gas that was pumped into you will dissipate by the 2nd or 3rd day.


Also here is an article you may find helpful Getting In and Out of Bed after Hysterectomy


PotionLerberg, nice to meet you, great that your appetite is back, stress does wreak havoc on our bodies. Waiting is hard enough without having the date changed twice! I found getting up to use the restroom was challenging the first few days, so I had a chair by my bed so I could use the back of it for leverage when sitting up and getting back into bed.

pixie77, bladder pain and spasms are very common after surgery due to the catheter and the fact that the bladder had a front row seat to all the action. Try and drink as much water as you can, helps flush everything out. Also, try to avoid caffeine and anything acidic I cried the whole time I was in pre op (not like me at all), thank goodness the doctors and nurses are used to this. Emotions have to get out I guess, plus you can always blame it on your period deciding to put in a last appearance

Susie Que, Great to meet you also! So sorry about your mom, I am glad you found a doctor who listened to your family history. Were they able to remove all your adhesions? Love your Mr. Blue- he will come in handy the next few weeks esp if you are a side sleeper, such a great idea that I just ordered one online.


EndoSuckss, happy to see you again! Our intestines are moved/pushed around during surgery and it does take some time for them to settle down. GasX would likely help you as well, my surgeon gave me a prescription but you can buy over the counter. I am sure you will feel more comfortable when you are home in your own bed or recliner and can use pillows to help out. Are you being released soon?

You did it ladies, here's to a healthy recovery, try and rest

Hello all my fellow-week sisters!

I had a total hysterectomy via laporoscopy including removal of my left (only remaining) ovary and fallopian tube this morning, 12/8/21.

I was super stressed out when I got there. My check in time at the hospital was adopted to be 530am, which meant leaving my house no later than 430am. I decided to just stay up all night rather than risk over sleeping, as I'm known to be a heavy sleeper. I had everything packed and ready to go... got on the road as planned, got halfway to the hospital and realized that I had left my wallet at home! So we turned around and I called to make sure they knew I was coming but was going to be 30 minutes late. They were very understanding, thankfully, but still...I hate being late, especially for something as important as this!

Everything went super smoothly. The preop nurse was very attentive to my needs and accommodating to my other medical conditions. The surgical nurse was the same one from my dnc on 10/20 (they needed to biopsy my uterus to double check to make sure there was nothing precancerous, as my body could not handle 2 major procedures if they later found they needed to remove my pelvic lymph nodes), and she remembered me so it was nice to have someone familiar with me, aside from my surgeon.

I don't even remember the first phase of recovery, which is amazing for me, as I typically have a rough recovery experience due to my chronic pain condition. My recovery nurse was super sweet and personable, and very patient with me. We shared pictures of our dogs and I felt great.

I was discharged by 1pm. I think I was over-prepared for pain, as I was expecting to be in a ton of pain, based on all the stories I had heard and my mom's own experience... I just feel like I have a bad stomach ache from a gas bubble. I've been able to stay on top of my pain medicine. I'm getting ready to take my last dose for the night and go to bed. I've used a stuffed animal turtle and one of the pocket pillows from the hysterectomy store throughout the day. The stuffed turtle I got from a couple of my (now former) coworkers when I had my partial oopherectomy in 2015, so he's gotten great use!

I hope the rest of you are healing well! Thank you for sharing with us all and thank you to our sunshine sisters who are supporting us as well. I think knowing that there are so many others who share similar stories and advice has helped this experience be better than I had hoped.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by Myssa119 Hello all my fellow-week sisters! I had a total hysterectomy via laporoscopy including removal of my left (only remaining) ovary and fallopian tube this morning, 12/8/21. I was super stressed out when I got there. My check in time at the hospital was adopted to be 530am, which meant leaving my house no later than 430am. I decided to just stay up all night rather than risk over sleeping, as I'm known to be a heavy sleeper. I had everything packed and ready to go... got on the road as planned, got halfway to the hospital and realized that I had left my wallet at home! So we turned around and I called to make sure they knew I was coming but was going to be 30 minutes late. They were very understanding, thankfully, but still...I hate being late, especially for something as important as this! Everything went super smoothly. The preop nurse was very attentive to my needs and accommodating to my other medical conditions. The surgical nurse was the same one from my dnc on 10/20 (they needed to biopsy my uterus to double check to make sure there was nothing precancerous, as my body could not handle 2 major procedures if they later found they needed to remove my pelvic lymph nodes), and she remembered me so it was nice to have someone familiar with me, aside from my surgeon. I don't even remember the first phase of recovery, which is amazing for me, as I typically have a rough recovery experience due to my chronic pain condition. My recovery nurse was super sweet and personable, and very patient with me. We shared pictures of our dogs and I felt great. I was discharged by 1pm. I think I was over-prepared for pain, as I was expecting to be in a ton of pain, based on all the stories I had heard and my mom's own experience... I just feel like I have a bad stomach ache from a gas bubble. I've been able to stay on top of my pain medicine. I'm getting ready to take my last dose for the night and go to bed. I've used a stuffed animal turtle and one of the pocket pillows from the hysterectomy store throughout the day. The stuffed turtle I got from a couple of my (now former) coworkers when I had my partial oopherectomy in 2015, so he's gotten great use! I hope the rest of you are healing well! Thank you for sharing with us all and thank you to our sunshine sisters who are supporting us as well. I think knowing that there are so many others who share similar stories and advice has helped this experience be better than I had hoped.

Hi Myssa,
Wonderful that everything went smoothly for you, thanks for checking in. Sleep well my dear.