Upcoming 7/30 hysterectomy: Is the pain after different than cramps? I hope so!

I’ve gone in a short year from refusing the idea (after 10 years of outright ignoring/denial) to last month fearing what I know now is inevitable to this weekend yearning for my scheduled date to get here.
I. Am. So Tired. Of Hurting.
I seem to sleep well but am tired all the time. Is this from the almost constant crampy pain? I can’t take ibuprofen too often due to stomach issues or Tylenol or tramadol due to liver issues.
PLEASE tell me I’ll feel better after. I had a bad knee scoped a few years ago and the pain after was still better than before. Will it be like that?
Also I keep reading and being told I’ll feel “so much better after”. Is that just in my lady bits or all over? If all over, what specifically?

	Quote:
Originally Posted by BlossomEndRot I’ve gone in a short year from refusing the idea (after 10 years of outright ignoring/denial) to last month fearing what I know now is inevitable to this weekend yearning for my scheduled date to get here. I. Am. So Tired. Of Hurting. I seem to sleep well but am tired all the time. Is this from the almost constant crampy pain? I can’t take ibuprofen too often due to stomach issues or Tylenol or tramadol due to liver issues. PLEASE tell me I’ll feel better after. I had a bad knee scoped a few years ago and the pain after was still better than before. Will it be like that? Also I keep reading and being told I’ll feel “so much better after”. Is that just in my lady bits or all over? If all over, what specifically?

I went to the surgeon today for my six week check up and he told me that my uterus had been three times bigger than normal and took up the entire abdominal cavity and was pressing on my bladder and bowels, so I feel a lot better in those respects, my abdomen is much flatter and I am still excited about not having my period. I did feel a bit achey and period-like aches in the latter weeks of recovery but it was quite bearable and actually usually disappeared with a bowel motion I can't comment on whether you will be pain free forever but from my experience I do feel recognisably better in many ways!

I’m one week post op today. I had TLAVH last week and I’ve only needed one ibuprofen the last three days! The type of surgery you have will affect your recovery, and every person recovers differently. Listen to your dr and follow ALL restrictions and guidelines. Make sure you stop taking any anti inflammatory meds two weeks prior to surgery! Also go ahead and make sure you have a heating pad, stool softeners, comfortable clothes for afterward. You’ve got this!

The pain during recovery can be pretty intense, but that will go as you heal. I'm now 6 months out and I still get some pains, sometimes crampy like a period, sometimes sharp like having a UTI, but as Blossom said they quite often mean it's just time to go to the toilet! And they certainly don't last as long as period cramps, it's hours at most rather than days.

You asked about the rest of you and that depends so much on you really. I never liked periods and was on birth control and of course now I no longer need that. The difference coming off it was amazing, I felt like I connected back to myself and my emotions again, and not having to plan my life around periods and random spotting was a weight off my mind. So it's not just feeling better from the pain being removed, you could find there are other things that change too to make you feel better.

Check our "Friends Without Faces" forum for a recent thread entitled "Things To Look Forward To," in which I've included a few observations on how things have improved for me since my surgery; perhaps one of our hostesses will be along soon, and able to gove you a link. Best wishes for a successful surgery and a smooth recovery!

Hi BlossomEndRot -

Pain after surgery is different for everyone. Some women experience little to no pain, while others experience high levels of pain. I had a TAH BSO and had moderately high levels of pain. It was controllable with narcotics alternating with Motrin. After about 5 days I was off the narcotics, and taking Motrin only for another 2 weeks.

I felt a ton better afterwards! I had more than just the hyster done, and I was in significant pain afterwards. But it was a pain that represented healing, not a worsening condition, so I "welcomed" it. For me it did not feel like menstruation cramping, but more like a bruised soreness. There was also gas pain and pain with bm, but again, it signified healing rather than a worsening condition. I got a cold after about a week and had a cough with that. That was the worst of all the post-surgery pain! I needed OCT pain relievers consistently for about 3 weeks, narcotics for about 4 days.

I think I was unaware of how negatively the bleeding and pain affected me. After the surgery my spirit was so much lighter, and I felt so happy to be getting better.

Constant bleeding also causes iron deficiency which causes fatigue and depression naturally follows.

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Originally Posted by One more voice I felt a ton better afterwards! I had more than just the hyster done, and I was in significant pain afterwards. But it was a pain that represented healing, not a worsening condition, so I "welcomed" it. For me it did not feel like menstruation cramping, but more like a bruised soreness. There was also gas pain and pain with bm, but again, it signified healing rather than a worsening condition. I got a cold after about a week and had a cough with that. That was the worst of all the post-surgery pain! I needed OCT pain relievers consistently for about 3 weeks, narcotics for about 4 days. I think I was unaware of how negatively the bleeding and pain affected me. After the surgery my spirit was so much lighter, and I felt so happy to be getting better. Constant bleeding also causes iron deficiency which causes fatigue and depression naturally follows.

Yes! That is exactly right! I also felt that the soreness was appropriate to the healing that was happening and that my body was getting better in the long run. That is really well explained, I think, from my experience too, to think of the surgery and its recovery as part of the healing rather than a trauma on the body. Everyone's experience is different of course, but I like the way you envisage it.

The only pain I had after my dvh was menstrual type cramps. I had adenomyosis so I was used to pretty severe cramping. My whole body felt better within weeks!! Being anemic I was always tired and didn’t realize how much it affected me until I wasn’t anemic anymore. No period is fabulous!!

	Quote:
Originally Posted by BlossomEndRot I’ve gone in a short year from refusing the idea (after 10 years of outright ignoring/denial) to last month fearing what I know now is inevitable to this weekend yearning for my scheduled date to get here. I. Am. So Tired. Of Hurting. I seem to sleep well but am tired all the time. Is this from the almost constant crampy pain? I can’t take ibuprofen too often due to stomach issues or Tylenol or tramadol due to liver issues. PLEASE tell me I’ll feel better after. I had a bad knee scoped a few years ago and the pain after was still better than before. Will it be like that? Also I keep reading and being told I’ll feel “so much better after”. Is that just in my lady bits or all over? If all over, what specifically?

I had a vaginal hysterectomy in 2002 and was surprised when my doctor didn’t send me home with a prescription. She told me to take Ibuprofen and call if I need something stronger. I don’t remember how much Ibuprofen I needed but it wasn’t much because the pain was nothing compared to the cramps I had lived with for years. My worst discomfort was from gas so be sure you stock up on something to help with that. It began 2 or 3 days after surgery and lasted 4 or 5 days.