Recovery Progress Reports for Hysterectomy dates Mar 01-Mar 07,2021

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Originally Posted by SmokeFan14 I've been feeling the same. Achy, sore, puffy.

Yep. I changed pants today because mine felt too tight. I’m super sore right on my hips. I’m barely doing anything, just walking and standing outside some while the kids play. I decided to have a margarita and now I’m super tired. I haven’t been sleeping well, hopefully will sleep good tonight.

It’s such a relief knowing I’m not feeling worse by myself!

I keep thinking shouldn’t I feel better and shouldn’t I need less pain medicine but this aching is driving me insane.

Hi Ladies, I am sorry to hear everyone's feeling achy, sore & puffy. During my recovery I found around week 2 I wasn't in very much pain, but I was terribly, terribly uncomfortable. My clothes bothered me; sitting, standing & lying down all made some part of my body ache; everything I tried to do to occupy myself (housework, hobbies, reading) was unsuccessful. I didn't think I needed my rx pain meds because I wasn't actually in pain. But out of desperation I tried them and found I felt sooo much better! I was finally able to rest comfortably. An alternative to pain meds are a heating pad (alternate between your tummy & back), a warm shower, an ice pack on your abdomen, or an abdominal binder.

Ladies, it does get better!

Some of you may be wondering: How Much Walking/Activity Should I Be Doing?
This is the hard part of recovery... balancing enough activity without doing too much. It takes some trial and error sometimes. And as we heal we often have steps forward and steps backward which can make our activity level even more challenging.

Walking Post Hysterectomy

Start slow and work up gradually. If you feel you can walk to the end of the street, try this and see how you feel the next day. Walk the same distance a few days in a row before increasing, then stay at that distance for another few days. Often we don't know we've done too much until the next day, so this will give you time to see if it was too much. Avoid uneven footing, hills and snow/icy sidewalks for now. Carry your cell phone in case you walk too far and need a ride home. Remember you need to get home before you tire, so turn back towards home when you still feel ok.

Hi everyone!
I had a LAVH because I had pre-cancer atypical endometrial hyperplasia so last Thursday had everything taken out, Uterus, cervix, fallopian, and overies. It was a shocker, I'm 51 and have 2 sons, 13 and 17 and a supportive husband. What I'm feeling surprised by is how tired I still feel if I do too much or the pressure that I feel down below if I walk or sit or... too much. I'm having a hard time listening to my body. I drove for the first time today because I was feeling better, not so tired. I don't have too much soreness in the inscissions these days. I don't think I'll go back to work until maybe the end of this week ( I work for a university and from home currently) but don't know what my focus energy level is. How are other people thinking about work? I'm glad to find this group!

I think it is really hard to watch the rest of the family do everything. Makes me feel wimpy, but after overdoing it on Friday, I know that resting and taking it easy and SLOWLY walking and getting back to being around more is what is needed. Remember to be kind to yourself! Hard to do I know!

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Originally Posted by cynniboo Hi everyone! I had a LAVH because I had pre-cancer atypical endometrial hyperplasia so last Thursday had everything taken out, Uterus, cervix, fallopian, and overies. It was a shocker, I'm 51 and have 2 sons, 13 and 17 and a supportive husband. What I'm feeling surprised by is how tired I still feel if I do too much or the pressure that I feel down below if I walk or sit or... too much. I'm having a hard time listening to my body. I drove for the first time today because I was feeling better, not so tired. I don't have too much soreness in the inscissions these days. I don't think I'll go back to work until maybe the end of this week ( I work for a university and from home currently) but don't know what my focus energy level is. How are other people thinking about work? I'm glad to find this group!

I had my surgery on the same day and feel quite similar. I'm 41 and kept both my ovaries, but I had an LAVH. I keep playing my drs words in my head - on the outside it doesn't look like much, but you still had a MAJOR surgery and you won't be able to heal without adequate rest...I was wondering about driving because she didn't say anything about that, but I can tell you my focus/brain power endurance is low. I can do little admin snippets (I own a forest/nature school), but anything requiring actual brain power is hopeless. I'm just on Advil and Tylenol so I can't blame the pain meds, but I just can't sustain my smart thinking for long. I plan to go back to work next week more regularly, but hoping to break it up into smaller work stints. I won't be back on site with the kids for another 3-4 weeks though. Rest up and I'll try to do the same!!!

I am officially 10 days post op and the past 2-3 days I have felt so much better. My belly swells a bit throughout the day, but incisions look good and I've had next to know spotting since day one. I have general discomfort in my lower abdominal area and the insides still feel out of sorts, but no pain really, I can't nap during the day, but I take a lot of breaks to lay down when I'm feeling tired and I usually hit a wall around 5pm. I'm sleeping well at night and generally feeling stronger. I also wear a binder for a portion of the day and really like how it feels.

I am finding it really hard to avoid doing my normal day to day things around the house with/for the family. I can tell they think I'm 'better', so the post about staying in your PJs is resonating! It's just hard not to help when I'm feeling like I can, so I'm keeping it to the bare minimum. I've been SERIOUSLY CRAVING SALT, so I came on here to see if anyone has been experiencing the same, but haven't found anything yet.

Rest well all!

That’s exactly what I’m feeling. Feeling good enough to help more around the house, and only having some swelling and pain. My hips hurt and have a little pain and tugging on the incision, but Tylenol helped with that. I’m not getting as tired as I expected, still have trouble falling asleep, but I always have. Totally craving salty things!! Eating a pile of salty ranch saltine crackers. I think I’m eating from boredom too.

Good evening Ladies & a big welcome to cynniboo! Thank you for joining us here!

forestspirit: Your doctor's words are so true! It doesn't seem like major surgery when we may only have tiny incisions (or none at all) but we've still had a lot done inside us! And it's no exaggeration to say the choices we make during recovery can benefit or hinder us for many years to come.

The general timeline for hysterectomy recovery is 6 weeks. Some women are cleared to return to work earlier, and some later. I was cleared at 8 weeks and even then I only worked part time for the first few weeks. Our body is in charge and will decide when we are ready to do all the things!

• What’s Allowed After Hysterectomy?
• Do This – Not That: Recovery
• Can I Rush Recovery?
• Why Can’t I Vacuum?
• Housework After Hysterectomy

Keep up the great healing Ladies! Rest, water, walk, repeat.