Hysterectomy?

L

Lisa11

Cathlete
Hi everyone - I would love to hear from any of you that have had a hysterectomy what your recovery experience was. I have to have an abdominal hysterectomy in January. I'm keeping my ovaries so I don't have to worry about menopause yet, and I'm an OR nurse so I know exactly what is going to happen in the operating room, but I'm getting really anxious about recovery. Of course I'm freaked about not being able to exercise intensely for six weeks. I have heard from other people everything from it was no big deal to it was really hard, but I haven't talked to anyone who exercises and I'm hoping being fit makes recovery a little easier? I'll take any advice you have.


Thanks!

Lisa
 
Hi Lisa,

I had a complete hysterectomy 3 1/2 years ago. It was done vaginally. For me, the actual surgery was not all that painful. I stayed in the hospital one night and after discharge I only used tylenol for discomfort.

The first week I felt very "tight," it was difficult to stand up straight or sit upright too long. But, by the end of the second week I was dying to work out. I really felt ready and I wanted to "listen to my body." My surgeon absolutely refused to give me the okay to do anything other than walking. Her reasoning was that even though my "fit" pre-surgery body felt ready to get back into working out, my newly stitched "insides" had not healed completely enough to exercise safely. I, of course, did not listen, I am a personal trainer and felt I knew my capabilities. Um, not so much! After two weeks of moderate, low impact stepping and light upper body lifting, I hit a major brick wall. I spent the 5th and 6th week recovering not from the surgery but from starting my exercise program too soon.

I was terrified of losing all of my endurance and strength. I was so wrong. Take the time to heal. Don't worry about slipping a notch or two in your fitness level. Once I had completely healed I recovered my fitness loses in about 6 weeks. Now at age 49 1/2 I am still going gang busters with my workouts. I had major issues with HRT, which you won't have to deal with.

Be good to yourself, let your OR-nurse-self overrule your fitness-self. Don't listen to your body, listen to your surgeon. Once you get the okay to start working out, then you will know how to proceed.

I would never have agreed to allow a training client to start working out so soon after surgery.

Hope this helps somewhat. I know I was very frustrated because I could not find any one to talk to who was an advanced exerciser and had been through a hysterectomy.

Take Care,
Debbie Russo
 
Thank you Debbie, that does help a lot - especially since I had it in my mind that I could probably start back to low impact stepping and upper body after about two weeks! I will follow your advice and listen to my surgeon:)

Thanks!
Lisa
 
my mother had a complete hystorectomy 5 years ago. The surgery itself was not the problem, it was how she was thrown into menopause so quickly since they took everything. She wishes still that she would have kept her ovaries. Anyway, she had an abdominal surgery. She was sore and it took her about a week to be able to stand up staight b/c of the staples and stitches in her stomach limited her to stretch all the way up. She said the staples made a burning sensation but she wasn't in too much pain. I wish you luck. If you have any questions you would like me to ask her let me know.
 
I had and abdominal hysterectomey. I kept my ovaries also. The first day was the most difficult and every day after was easier and easier. I felt much better by the end of the first week. I was pleasantly surprised improving that quickly. Being fit will make your recovery easier but give yourself time to heal completely.

Best wishes - Sandi
 
I had a laproscopic hysterectomy and kept my ovaries. I had an overnight stay in the hospital and then went home and promised myself that I would follow my doctors insruction to not exercise (anything more than easy walking and absolutely NO weight lifting.) It was the NO weight lifting that really made me nervous, but I wanted to heal completely so that I could go back to the exercise and lifting that I love! I was worried that I would lose significant strength gains and that it would take me a long time to get my cardio endurance back. BUT, I behaved myself and took the 6 weeks off (nothing but walking around the house for the first two weeks and around the block for the next 4). After 6 weeks I started with some of my intermediate Cathe workouts and dropped the level of weights that I had been lifting and slowly worked myself back. Because I was in shape prior to my surgery and the fact that I gave my body the 6 weeks it needed to heal itself (inside and out) I was back in pre-surgery shape in no time. By 4 weeks post surgery I was back to my old self! Honestly, the hardest part of the recovery was not being able to drive for a couple of weeks. My abs also made a nice recovery, much easier after my hysterectomy than after my c-section.
Don't worry about your recovery time, just listen to your body, don't push and everything will heal and you'll be back to your old self in no time! :) :)

redrocks
 
Annette Bethel

Thanks for addressing this! I am scheduled for a MEA on Friday. However, they did find fibroids and a cyst on my ovary, non cancerous, and I had also thought about hysterctomy. The clincher is my insurance next month goes to 80/20 and there ain't no way in you know what my common in law husband will pay for this. So I will have to stick with the MEA for now. But that does give me an idea how long I will be out of commission. Thanks again, Annette
 
Annette Bethel

Thanks for addressing this! I am scheduled for a MEA on Friday. However, they did find fibroids and a cyst on my ovary, non cancerous, and I had also thought about hysterctomy. The clincher is my insurance next month goes to 80/20 and there ain't no way in you know what my common in law husband will pay for this. So I will have to stick with the MEA for now. But that does give me an idea how long I will be out of commission. Thanks again, Annette
 
Annette Bethel

Thanks for addressing this! I am scheduled for a MEA on Friday. However, they did find fibroids and a cyst on my ovary, non cancerous, and I had also thought about hysterctomy. The clincher is my insurance next month goes to 80/20 and there ain't no way in you know what my common in law husband will pay for this. So I will have to stick with the MEA for now. But that does give me an idea how long I will be out of commission. Thanks again, Annette
 
Hi Lisa! I had a total abdominal hyst 5 years ago when I was completely UNFIT. I was in the hospital 5 days (I had cervical cancer, and they also removed one ovary and my appendix.) I remember walking 2 houses up the street and it was so hard, I didn't do anymore walking and kept on with my unfit lifestyle.

A couple years ago, I had a procedure to lift my bladder and they went through the same incision. I was in the hospital 3 days, so it was still pretty major. But I was a Cathe-ite by then and that made all the difference in the world! I followed the dr's orders, but was so antsy to get moving. I kept to walking, increasing my distance every day, making sure it was safe.

Although the exercise was not intense by any means, just the walking kept me fit and my body was totally ready to jump in after the 6 weeks. I maybe had a 2 week adjustment period after that, and then it was full throttle. You'll do great!
 
Thank you everyone who has replied, I'm really feeling a lot less freaked out after reading your replies:)

Lisa
 
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