Post surgery expectations

Hi NoniK,

Welcome to our board. Did you have laparoscopy surgery are abdominal? I had robotic assisted laparoscopy and it took about 3 or so weeks for things to start settling down. I had the occaisional sharp pains still 2 years post surgery. Things seem to have settled in for me now. I haven't had the sharp pains for a couple of months. My surgery was July, 2015. I encourage you to call your doctor if you are not feeling "right". Better to double check than ignore things.

Please come back and let us know how you are doing.

Love and Hugs,

Cindi

NoniK, I would start by suggesting you call your doctor's office and tell the issues you are having.  None of us are doctors and everyone responds differently based on a whole list of factors.  

I take a probiotic from Plexus (I have a friend who sells it)...I had previously purchased one at Whole Foods but I like this Plexus one...no gas issues and it keeps me feeling good.

i'm 53 (was 52 when I had the hysterectomy) and fairly active. Up until the pain from the uterus (we thought it was fibroids) I was doing spin classes 4-5 days a week and practicing yoga 3-5 days a week. During the weeks leading up to my hysterectomy I was bleeding a lot and it wasn't comfortable to do spin and I cut back on my yoga. I had to wait 6 weeks post-op to return to spin and yoga but as soon as I was cleared I went back to it. Because of chemo I had weeks where I only felt up to spinning 1-2 times a week and others maybe 3....as for yoga I gained weight (thank you chemo steroid) and pretty much didn't practice until May.

I have an easy job....I work in the drama department of a high school. I make costumes and assist the director so I was able to return to work because I mostly just sit.

I didn't have any issues with breathing...did your doctor have any idea why it hurt? I used that plastic breathing apparatus after surgery but found I didn't need it after a week or so.

Don't mark your healing compared to others----we all heal differently. I probably returned to work too soon and I'm a stubborn sort of woman. I actually am finding it almost harder to recover from my hernia surgery 3 weeks ago than the hysterectomy even though the hernia was laprascopic robot assist and the hysterectomy is a very long vertical incision. 

have you tried sleeping a little propped up? Like a hospital bed? I bought a wedge pillow and it kept me at an incline and it was more comfortable that way...

I am a nursing student, and we can’t stress enough how important it is to use your incentive spirometer.  This will strengthen your diaphragm and other breathing muscles, plus it will help to prevent fluid build-up in your lungs.  If at all possible, do your spirometer each time you sit up, go to the bathroom, etc.

Also, if you have an abdominal binder, this helps to hold “things together”.  I received mine at the hospital the day after my surgery.  You can purchase one on amazon if necessary.

I looked an incentive spriometer up. I forgot I had to use one after my myomectomy. I guess that's common with abdominal surgeries. It was annoying, but I did do it.

I AM hoping that when they take stuff out, if they could move my prolapsed bladder up too. I would be so grateful!  

Thank you for the tip about the binder as well. Now I'm thinking of a giant hernia ... wait ... maybe it's not that different. How long should you wear one?

I've had cancer surgery twice, in 2010 and this year.  The second time, I had chest pain after surgery.  I was taken for a CT scan of my chest while still in the hospital to rule out a pulmonary embolism (clot).  It was negative.  To be honest, I didn't do the spirometry thing as much as I should have.  I ended up with pain at the base of my lungs that was getting worse after I'd been home a while.  I went into the ER and went through a work-up (EKG, x-ray, another CT scan, arterial blood gases, etc.).  That found nothing, and I was sent home with a diagnosis of non-specific chest pain.  After that, I got to thinking about how when I worked as a coder in the ER, I used to see the diagnosis of costochondritis pretty often.  I googled it and decided that was most likely what I had.  It went away after a month or so.  I had abd. pain for a long time after each surgery and could hardly get out of bed, but I had pretty extensive surgery each time.  The first time, I had cancer surgery and had my gallbladder and appendix removed.  The second time, I had cancer surgery with two resections, one for the cancer and one for my intestines that had grown into the mesh from my incisional hernia repair 5 years earlier, along with a "replacement" of my abdominal wall with mesh.  I would guess it took about a month to a month and a half for my abdomen to settle down.  I was told to take Colace stool softener, which I did for a long time, but now, I don't need it any longer.  You may have some irritable bowel syndrome.  I'm not sure where your twitches are, but I wonder if they might be from an electrolyte imbalance (calcium, magnesium, and/or potassium).  I have supplemented with potassium and have a lot fewer cramps and twitches in my extremities than I used to have.  I'm on both a prescription potassium pill and a small supplement that's over the counter.  The prescription one is much more effective than the other one was, although I take both now, and I'm in the correct range according to my oncologist. You may want to see if your doctor thinks you should be tested to find out your levels of your electrolytes.  Also, I have twitches more frequently when I don't get enough sleep, so that's another possibility.  I know I had a lot of trouble sleeping after my first surgery.  I started taking Melatonin to help me sleep, but instead found myself waking up with horrible nightmares of people dying right in front of me, so I got off of it.

I got this one on Amazon. It was a lifesaver;  cheap and washable, too. After trial and error, I came to prefer the ones with addition straps so you can get a custom adjustment. I wore it for a couple of months after surgery.

https://www.amazon.com/Healthcom-Abdominal-Comfortable-Postpartum-Maternity/dp/B01AW5HKY6/ref=sr_1_15_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1512853042&sr=1-15&keywords=abdominal+binder&th=1

Hi NoniK and welcome! This board is full of wonderful ladies and you will never lack for support. I had a robotically assisted radical hysterectomy with removal of both Fallopian tubes and ovaries along with dissection of sentinel lymph nodes on 27 December so I am nine days post-op. The first three-four days were the worst b/c I had to have a Foley catheter and had trouble passing gas and bowel movement. I still need a stool softener but am getting around ok. More tired than usual -- I also take a daily nap but then struggle with insomnia at night. I also have weird twinges and pain in my hips, which is strange because both are artificial implants. It has been crazy cold on the East Coast though so maybe that has something to do with it. My incisions hurt and anything with a waistband irritates But I think that is normal. I never had lung pain and echo others in urging you to talk with your medical team. I slept semi-reclined on a couch the first few days that I came home so maybe that helped. I'm so sorry you are uncomfortable and hope you feel better soon and recover fully.