Upcoming hysterectomy 1/25: Can someone please tell me what to expect after surgery? And how is the sex?

Hi I'm new here and really nervous about my upcoming surgery. Can someone please tell me what to expect after surgery? And how is the sex? Sex always hurt me and I'm hoping that will change

Hi, every patient is very different, so it's very hard to tell you what to expect. My LAVH was December 7. My incisions never hurt at all. I had a lot of abdominal and pelvic pain deep inside. I also had vaginal pain and soreness. I needed to stay on top of my pain meds as directed by my dr. A heating pad helped my belly and ice helped vaginally. Now I am 6.5 weeks and feeling pretty good.

We were cleared for sex earlier this week. I was REALLY nervous. I was pleasantly surprised that I had no bleeding, no pain, and no discomfort of any kind. It did feel a little weird though. It felt tighter in there. I'm attributing that to some swelling and nerves. I think it will get better with time. I'm still early in the recovery department as far as sex is concerned.

Hi Ericapaige -

All of your nerves, feelings and emotions are very normal. This is a difficult surgery to digest an process, and alll of the unknowns just make it worse.

Everyone is different with recovery. But, you should plan on weeks and not days. This is MAJOR SURGERY, and no matter how they enter your tummy you will have much healing to do. You will not be bed ridden, and you will be able to do minor items around the house. But, you will be resting much of the time. You will also be doing frequent, brief walks as these help you heal. You will need to plan on taking time off work. How long depends on how fast you heal and your job duties. Again, plan on weeks and not days.

Sex after surgery is also different for everyone - once you are released (usually you are restricted from any sexual activity for 6 or 8 weeks). Some say it is better, some say worse, and everywhere in between. From the posts I have read for women who experienced painful sex before surgery reported much better sex after surgery as the pain was gone. I hope your result is similar.

Thank you for getting back to me I appreciate it.
How are you feeling? I know I'm going to want to stay in bed and not do anything I just have to change that mindset. I have low tolerance of pain so I'm worried about my pain level. I'm not in any rush to start having sex that's for sure. That must have been nerve wrecking for you. How are you feeling emotionally? My friend doesn't want me to do it she told me her mom went crazy afterwards. Like that is something I want to hear. oh did you get a swollen. Belly? So ice and heating pad is the way to go. We're you nervous to go to the bathrm? Txs for taking time out and reading this. Hope you feel better

	Quote:
Originally Posted by jps05959 Hi, every patient is very different, so it's very hard to tell you what to expect. My LAVH was December 7. My incisions never hurt at all. I had a lot of abdominal and pelvic pain deep inside. I also had vaginal pain and soreness. I needed to stay on top of my pain meds as directed by my dr. A heating pad helped my belly and ice helped vaginally. Now I am 6.5 weeks and feeling pretty good. We were cleared for sex earlier this week. I was REALLY nervous. I was pleasantly surprised that I had no bleeding, no pain, and no discomfort of any kind. It did feel a little weird though. It felt tighter in there. I'm attributing that to some swelling and nerves. I think it will get better with time. I'm still early in the recovery department as far as sex is concerned.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by Ericapaige Thank you for getting back to me I appreciate it. How are you feeling? I know I'm going to want to stay in bed and not do anything I just have to change that mindset. I have low tolerance of pain so I'm worried about my pain level. I'm not in any rush to start having sex that's for sure. That must have been nerve wrecking for you. How are you feeling emotionally? My friend doesn't want me to do it she told me her mom went crazy afterwards. Like that is something I want to hear. oh did you get a swollen. Belly? So ice and heating pad is the way to go. We're you nervous to go to the bathrm? Txs for taking time out and reading this. Hope you feel better

I'm feeling great now. Early on, I did want to stay in bed or on the couch. I got up to walk every hour to avoid blood clots and gradually build up my stamina, but I did rest a lot. I think my body needed it. I did have swelly belly for almost 6 weeks. I was lucky in that I didn't have any gas pains or problems with constipation. I know a lot of women do, though. I would be sure to ask your doctor what he/she recommends for treating that before you leave the hospital. I was nervous to go to the bathroom at first.

My hubby and I tried intimacy again. This time I wasn't nervous-and it was perfect!

Emotionally I'm doing fine and I definitely haven't gone crazy, ha ha.

Thank you ladies for taking the time to answer questions, share tips and ease our minds. I feel much better after reading this post.
Hope you continue healing and feeling better. My upcoming surgery is on February 8.