Healing Quickly from Laparoscopic Hysterectomy

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Today is my two week surgery-versary so I thought an update would be in order.

Notice the lack of ‘How to’ in the title, but you may glean a few tips if you find yourself facing a similar procedure. I’m not a medical professional, but I am married to a nurse and I have a lot of nurse friends who aren’t shy with their opinions and advice.

I based my recovery expectations on having nursed my wife (whoa, meta) back to health after a similar procedure a couple of years ago. She had a pretty rough re-entry, with just about everything that could go wrong, doing so. I figured I’d have a smoother time, but I wasn’t expecting the healing process to quite as well as it has.

If you’re just tuning in, here’s a timeline of posts on how I got to this point.

Dr S. told me after the procedure that she had filled my insides with fluid during the procedure, because she read that it helps with pain. During my overnight stay in the hospital, I stuck to morphine because I found it made me less loopy than oxycodone and induced pleasant sleeping conditions.

When I went home, I switched to one oxy every 3–4 hours. I’m not shy about my love of good pain meds when I truly need them. Thanks to my regimen, my pain was never above level 5 out of 10, and mostly it hovered in the 1–3 range. I was able to stop taking narcotics after only 48 hours. Considering I had five holes in me, and the doctor spent several hours rummaging around my insides, I was pretty pleased.

There’s a well known axiom that people will tell you if you’re in recovery from any sort of major procedure: keep your drugs ahead of your pain.

Less well known is the equally important mandate: keep your stool softeners ahead of your narcotics. Your bowels will already be cranky from being shoved around and narcotics act like a giant dam for regularity. If you ignore this important fact, you WILL regret it.

I took two Docusate pills and one dose of Miralax per day for a couple of days after I stopped taking oxy and didn’t have any issues except gas pains.

For the next week or so I switched between Ibuprofen and Tylenol, and then just Tylenol after the Ibuprofen started to bother my stomach. After 10 days, I stopped taking all pain medication.

Support Group

I can’t say enough how helpful it was to have several awesome friends bring us healthy, homemade meals during the first week. Jess took time off work to take care of me for the first four days, but not having to cook or forage for food on top of caring for our three cats, keeping me on track with meds and general house stuff, was so great.

Among the bounty was minestrone soup, turkey soup, couscous with veggies, special delivery of my favorite sandwich from Grand Central Bakery, a yummy lentil dish with salad and roasted squash and home made pumpkin bread. I won’t lie, I kind of wished I wasn’t healing so fast so people would keep bringing us yummy things.

Rapid progress

By day 3 I could reach my feet, which meant I could dress myself, shower on my own and generally get around pretty steadily. Day 4 was my last chance to get out of the house before Jess went back to work so we took a field trip that ended up lasting five and a half hours.

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Won’t be needing these anymore! Donated to SMYRC

Other than walking a bit slowly, out on the street, I was able to pass for a regular person who didn’t have a bunch of holes in them.

We went to the Apple store, checked out the Christmas three in Pioneer place, had lunch at Veggie Grill and then had drinking chocolate at Cacao and finished it all off with some time at Powells. I was exhausted when we returned home, but pretty darn pleased.

Really the worst thing that happened due to my recovery period was this:

On day 8, I left the house on my own for the first time and took the bus to see a fabulous show featuring a few friends. The return trip would have involved a long wait in the cold or a long walk so I called OnStar AKA Jess and she was kind enough to pick me up for the last leg of the trip.

Taking it easy

After Jess went back to work, I did spend several days relaxing pretty hard. I started a good book, revamped my blog and made another loaf of pumpkin bread after begging the recipe from Charity.

I uh, borrowed one of those warming blankets from the hospital and spent a lot of time carrying it around against my stomach, which helped me feel a bit less like my guts might fall out when I inevitably coughed or sneezed. I named it binky. Heating pads were also incredibly helpful. We have one that you can heat in the microwave and it has straps so I could wear it on my stomach.

I was pretty functional, but still moving carefully. Eventually I only used my binky at night to ease the jolt of waking and forgetting until I moved that sudden movements weren’t a good idea.

Giving my body what it needs to heal

I take 9 pills in the morning and 6 in the evening.
20131218-004115.jpgAlthough I started a bit late, I have been taking a lot of vitamins to speed things along even further. This regimen is a combination of recommendations from my acupuncturist friend and the Wound Healing and Nutrition.pdf at the end of this article

Chores creep back in

As soon as I could bend over and pick things up without too much trouble, I started to take over some of the lighter chores again. According to my release instructions, I wasn’t supposed to lift anything over five pounds for six weeks, but that still left a lot of things I could do to help out.

The turning point

A couple of days ago, I reached a point where I no longer winced when I bent over to tie my shoes. Tomorrow I have my first post-op checkup and I expect to pass with flying colors. When friends mention their surprise at how well I’m moving, Jess snorts and says, “She’s fine!” so I guess that means all official sympathy for ‘my condition’ should cease now.

People keep telling me how great I’m going to feel in a few weeks when my iron levels recover from a year of almost constant bleeding. I can’t wait.

As of today I’m officially cleared for driving. I’ll be happier when I’m cleared to get back on my bike, but that may be a few weeks yet. In the meantime, I’m officially back to work since I really have no excuse, and suddenly I’m busier then ever.

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Science is awesome.

I’m still amazed that an entire body part came out of a few tiny little holes. SCIENCE IS AWESOME.

I’m looking forward to a healthy 2014 and getting back to regular exercise and activities without fear.

UPDATE January 5, 2015

I got the following email from a reader this week:

I read your blog and wondered now that some time has passed how you are doing post hysterectomy?  I was wondering how your body is doing, and how you feel regarding the hysterectomy now that time has passed. When researching it feels that everyone posts immediately after surgery but not 1 to 2 years after to discuss how they are feeling.

That seems like a pretty reasonable request so here’s an update on how I’m doing a year+ post surgery:

In a word: great.

In my particular situation, I didn’t really have the choice between a myomectomy and a full hysterectomy. I spent three surgeries trying to toss just the bathwater and it didn’t work. However, I decided when I was about 9 years old that I didn’t want kids, and I’ve never wavered from that decision so I was just fine having the whole works removed. Not to mention there are other ways to have kids if you’re really set on it.

I was also lucky that I only had my uterus removed and kept my ovaries so I didn’t have to deal with sudden onset menopause, which I’ve been told is not very fun at all. The result is that I have zero regrets, I feel great and generally think it’s the best thing since sliced bread to get an early reprieve from dealing with my period every month, especially on camping trips!

The one and only downside, and it’s a pretty tiny one, is that I still have the normal hormonal ups and downs of PMS, but I have no concrete way of telling when it’s coming. I could probably track my moods with my old period app to have a better idea, but I just don’t care that much. Generally, it hasn’t been too bad, although last week I could definitely tell I was a little bit off-my-rocker for no good reason.

If I had a time machine, I would go back to February 2013 and save myself the trouble of all those extra surgeries. But overall I’m thrilled with how things have ended up.

270 Comments


  1. Your uterus. ..did not come out of the holes!!!!! It was pulled from your vagina. !!!@@@

    Reply

      1. I just gas the same surgery dobe this past Friday , also with the 5 incisions. Everything removed except ovaries. Unfortunately I have not been as lucky as you were as my pain is terrible!! My hemoglobin went to 7 so I had to have a blood transfusion and was released after 2 days on hospital. I am taking Percocet every 4 hours like clockwork to try to control the pain to a level of 5 out of 10. I was so happy to see your blog and to be able to read about someone else’s experience close to mine. Hopefully my pain gets a little better by weeks end. My post op visit is scheduled for one week from today. Thanks again

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        1. I had my surgery on Friday and to is Wednesday I’m still feeling a little weak plus I’m having minor pains.I received three incisions and they hurt a little but I think that my recovery is coming along nicely.

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          1. I have my surgery on Friday also. Today I started to have sharp pains and stomach is a little blotted.


        2. I recently had the same surgery ( 8 days ago ). I must say, I am doing VERY well. I can’t believe how little pain I’ve had post op. My two week checkup is in a few days and I’m prepared to ask my surgeon if she really did the complete surgery! Lol
          In five days I was able to drive myself shirt distances. My only difficult had been with the constipation. That had gotten better and I’m now going like I should . So far, no regrets doing the surgery.

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          1. I’m having surgery in four weeks and I admit I am having anxiety over it. At 40, I don’t mind having it out but I get anxious thinking about the post op period; the pain, missing work, not being able to have sex ( yes, I worry about that too) and generally how well will I recover. I am just overall anxious and I have no clue how to calm it down.


          2. Hi Kay. How did it go?


          3. I have endometrial cancer and having a total hysterectomy. I’m terrified because years ago I had a substance abuse issues. Sober for years. I was told by the oncologist that I will only get to have Motrin post op..I’m terrified. I don’t want pain meds to go home with. Not do I take anything for the pain I’ve had for a year. Does this sound normal to not have pain control while in hospital


          4. Same here !!?


      2. I saw the dr. This a.m. and she said there are 2 procedures. She suggested the vaginal surgery. She said that it should be about 70 -75% chance of taking care of this and everything would come out through the vaginal area ,recovery 2-4 weeks. This has been really helpful thanks

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        1. I had the surgery 1week ago today. Got The five bandages one fell off already appears to be well. My most complaint is the gas I stopped taking the narcotics three days ago no pain pills at this time I’m eating les going from pillar to post to sleep nevertheless the pain has not been as bad as it has been said to be. My surgery was five hours something happened that they had to do something else while in there I’ll get the report on January 13. I am 73 years old I want to drive to the stor and bank but my daughter is a 24 hour guard on duty. Smile. Today I feel ok, I do a lot of crying tho. Be blessed!!

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      3. Lol. There is a laproscopic process that also involves vaginal removal of the uterus. But they are distinct from one another.

        Ppl are super funny sometimes.

        Good blog. Entertaining.

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        1. Yes , I just had the surgery one week tommorow it was laproscopic and I had three incisions and they went through belly button and yes the body parts were removed them through my vagina. I am feeling week and hot and anxious still but I know GOD will bring me through . Thank GOD for a wonderful OBGYN and a Surgeon.

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          1. Hi I have my surgery this wensday. A full hysterectomy. I have uterine cancer. I I joy reading your story’s


          2. Hi Katie,

            I’m so sorry about your cancer. Best wishes for a full recovery!


          3. I had mine done laproscopic August 31, 2016. Today, Monday, September 5 is the first time I have been out. Slow moving, but it felt good. My abdomen area is still feeling funky, but other than that, I am doing ok. I have anxiety so the day of surgery was a lil crazy. My boyfriend is an EMT and he has been amazing!


      4. I just learned I have a HUGE tumor in my uterus and have the same procedure scheduled in a few months. My surgeon explained the process to me pretty well. I was told the same as Kronda. They will cut pieces of the tumor and uterus and remove in pieces thru the small incisions, just as they removed a tumor and an ovary with DNC in 2006. They do not take it out thru the vagina. They merely hold steady or brace your uterus threw the vagina. I had a very quick recovery time in 2006, and if I had known I would be done having kids then, I would have done this surgery sooner. I will follow some of your tips for this next surgery! Thanks so much for sharing your story Kronda!

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        1. It depends on if they believe it’s cancer how they remove it. If they believe it has cancer cells they do not want to remove from your vagina, potentially spreading cells.

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          1. After your recovery, did you experience any issues concerning sex with your partner?


      5. Since you did not remove your ovaries and do not have periods, do you have any hormone issues like excessive hair growth (more testosterone)? I need to have this done but I have been putting it off for years because I’m scared the hair growth will be uncontrollable. Do you take hormone replacement pills?

        Reply

        1. Hey Tabitha,

          No, since I still have my ovaries, I don’t have any hormone issues. I just have to guess when I’m ‘PMSing’ (crabby, hungry) because there’s no physical marker. Other than that, I’m all good. I don’t take any pills (that’s the point of keeping your ovaries) and I don’t have anymore hair than I used to. Hope that helps!

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          1. I was told that if you keep the ovaries in,you can still bleed. There is a big site when you google, ” still have periods without uterus but have ovaries ” these women still bleed!!


          2. If you keep your ovaries you have a chance of getting ovarian cancer my nana got very painful and very deadly what outways what never can tell


          3. With keeping your ovaries where you emotional at all after


          4. Yup. Still have moody periods during the month, just no way to track them now. Small price to pay for not bleeding all over everything.


          5. Hello Kronda, I just had a partial hysterectomy on February 20th. Everything was going well until I decided to drive a week later. We have speed bumps where I live and I also stay upstairs in an apartment complex. Long story short, I started having a lot of pain in the lower abdomen area and the doctor told me that there was a lot of swelling where the uterus used to be. He also told me that an abceses was forming, but they caught it time by giving me antibiotics through an IV. I’m normally heal pretty quickly, but I’m still not feeling my best. Do you think that climbing up and down the stairs is making me feel worse? Thank you.


          6. Just read your blog and thank you. I felt a bit abnormal for feeling so normal. Lol. I go for my 2 wk post OP tomorrow. My stomach still feels hinky and its ups and downs but I stopped meds after day 3. How long before your incisions were healed and sans glue or strips over it? Did you experience vaginal dryness afterwards? Only thing that has been troublesome for me are headaches, which have died down a bit but when I would sit they would be bad and lying down sometimes was just as bad. From what I have read this is due to spinal anesthesia. Anyhoo, this was great to read even though you have had this years ago at this point.


      6. I am having a larascopy hysterectomy on Sept 29, 2016. The doctor is going to look at my ovaries and determine if they should be removed. I have really bad endometriosis and I’m done having kids. I’m so nervous. Reading your blog helps. I just hope the recovery process is quick. I have 4 boys 5 years old and under. The doctor is keeping me overnight and it’s close to the weekend so I will have the weekend to get help. But come Monday I’m on my own. Hoping I can keep my ovaries due to my mom getting breast cancer from the estrogen medication she took after her surgery. I’m a nervous wreck and it’s not for another week.

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        1. Angela, good luck with your surgery. Is there anyone who has a flexible or schedule or maybe is retired that you can have come help out on Monday?

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        2. Hi there. I had a total laparoscopic hysterectomy on Sep 15, 2016. I had an endometriosis adenocarcinoma (a uterine cancer). I am 57 years old. I was so scared they would find that the cancer had spread once they “went in”. The surgery went great. The dr said the cancer was confined to my uterus and pending pathology results to confirm this, I may not need any further treatment! It is 5 days post surgery and I am feeling wonderful!, I am a heavy woman so was worried things wouldn’t go as planned. I am a little slow walking and have a tiny bit of pain near my lowest incision but other tan that feel about 98% normal. I feel like I can do everything but I have been warned that it is important to rest and take it easy. You don’t want to tear anything inside (internal sutures)!!! So I am sure yiur surgery will go great! I am thinking of you!! ?

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          1. Thank God I read your post. I am a heavy 60 yr old woman with same cancer. I wish you would read tgis and tell me how you are.


          2. Hi Cheryl just read your blog about hysterectomy l am 3 weeks into my recovery from the same surgery with the robot for the same cancer too in my womb it was refreshing to read your words on your recovery I feel pretty good just abit of constipation had my follow up appointment yesterday and the all clear its gone from a grade 3 to 1a so happy with my result I have an appointment in couple of weeks as to whether l want braka therapy to mop up any thing that may be left lurking about so I have opted to have that would be interesting to hear how you are now regards Helen..


          3. Thank u , I was just diagnosed with the same cancer. I am going to have the surgery in 2 weeks. Reading your post make me feel better. God Bless us all.

            Joanie


        3. I just had Laproscopy hysterectomy of Oct. 11th. I was able to keep my ovaries. Just do exactly what the Dr. Tells you. I am a 62 year old RN. I have that mentality of I can do anything. Proved myself correct. Surgery on Tuesday home on Wednesday road trip with my husband on Thursday 5 hours. Rested on Friday. Another 3 hour road trip on Saturday. Doing great 8 days post surgery. Just take it easy and let me know. One thing I did do was take Miralax 3 days prior to surgery and daily still. Your stool will be 3 to 5 days after surgery. Finger size. Your bladder will need to be emptied often but it gets better. 6 weeks off work sucks though. Take care

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          1. Just wondering when I’m allowed back to work. I had laproscopic vaginal hysterectomy 2weeks ago I feel fabulous no pain relief for 4days now I’m vacuuming and doing housework Aldo walking half hour a day


          2. Sue, that’s a question for your doctor.