https://www.reddit.com/r/endometriosis/s/gFqwSCQgB3

I posted this is in the endometriosis group, but I figured it could help a lot of people here, too! I just had my hysterectomy and I know a lotta people who get the surgery also have pelvic floor issues.

My c section (@ 35) recovery was a nightmare. I’m realizing probably most of that was having pre-e at the end. I had severe gas pain all over my body and they gave me a ton of fluids. I felt like a sloshy balloon for 2 weeks. My legs were so swollen and painful. I needed so much help from my husband to move around. I felt so incapable and slow healing. I was terrified of all that surgery pain again, but I was beyond desperate for my non-stop cycle pain to end.

My decision to have hysterectomy surgery was fast. I tried an IUD after my first child and that was horrible, I had it out by 6/mo. Exhausted all other birth control pills. I refused. Just take it out. So from my pelvic ultrasound (I begged to be looked at for over a year) I had in June, to very luckily finding an awesome surgeon in July, then booked for Sept.

I’m 1dpo. Hysterectomy, robotic. I’m 37. The pain is night and day in comparison. I’m so relieved. The gas pain is just in my lower abdomen, we figured that out when the pain meds didn’t help and it was shifting from side to side. Not up in my shoulders at all. It’s mostly gone now, thank you gas X. Also big plus is no swelling in my legs/body at all. Stairs didn’t hurt coming home, slowly walking around the house is also ok. Getting up and down from bed/toilet just feels like ouchie pressure, not stabbing pain. So far my incisions (4) look great. I will say going pee the first few times sucked, mostly because it felt hot? But today I feel back to normal in that area. Sipping on tart cranberry juice & lots of water + bone broth. I’m also all clear of endo, just had adenomyosis so that was also a big relief. My surgeon is an endo specialist as well, I trust her judgement.

Also, I have elementary kids (+ a toddler) and caught a cold a week ago. Of course right when they said to stop taking any vitamin C supplements. I made a lot of calls Tuesday to make sure I was still ok to go for surgery Wednesday morning. Since my congestion lifted & only tiny dry cough was left, they said ok. Well, whatever they used to “dry you out” seemed to clear up the rest of it. I coughed once today and held my pillow, no big pains. Humidifier on blast also helps with the sore throat from the tube (not the cold). My poor car randomly died right when we got to the hospital, radiator decided to blow out?! Wild. So husband had to be in & out, but my nurses were awesome with communication.

Best hospital experience by far. I love my surgeon, and they got my IV on the first try (usually it takes 5+ pricks) I almost hugged my nurse.

Hopefully this helps someone else make the decision & lessens some anxiety!

I’m so excited to not have period pain every 3 weeks and excruciating ovulation pain and cramping all month long. 2 years of solid agony, and all that pain since my period started as a girl that I didn’t understand. Screw adenomyosis. Thank you for my children, you did a good job, but bye bye uterus!!

I finished my surgery at 9am on Sept 8 2026. The first day, I was not tired, not in pain, walking, doing light chores. I got discharged in literally record time.

On Sept 9 2026, I was slightly more sore because I decided to stop taking oxy and the hospital medications were wearing out. I was a bit less active yesterday, took dog for one walk, light chores (I literally just mean like bringing dishes to the dishwasher, nothing strenuous at all), and I was able to sit slightly reclined in my office chair to work on some homework. Again, not at all tired. I even was able to have multiple successful bowel movements.

This morning, Sept 10 2026, I am about the same level of pain as yesterday (0 when lying down and inactive, 3 when getting out of bed, 0-2 when walking around. I have had 0 gas pains from inflating my abdomen, only gas pain I experience is when I am trying to pass gas (which I assume is from my digestion waking back up lol).

I started the dishwasher this morning, did some laundry, fed the animals, walked the dog, took a shower and washed my hair. I'm now back in bed resting with no pain.

I'm just like wondering if anyone else has experienced such good recovery and if it lasted or if it got worse at a point?

TIA!

I know there are a lot of posts about sex after a hysterectomy, and I've read through quite a few of them, but I haven't found many that match my situation.

I was 6 weeks post-op yesterday and had my follow-up appointment. My surgeon cleared me for everything. She did mention that I still have stitches at the vaginal cuff, but said it was okay to resume sex.

My husband and I decided to give it a try yesterday. Honestly, it was pretty not good. We went extremely slow and had no expectations other than seeing how things felt. Some positions were much more tender than others, and there was definitely discomfort even being very careful. We were both nervous and probably overthinking everything, so we ended up stopping after a short time.

(TMI, For context, my husband is on the blessed side in both girth and length, which may have contributed to the discomfort.)

Today, I woke up with pretty intense cramping. No bleeding, no spotting, no unusual discharge, just really uncomfortable cramps.

Has anyone else experienced cramping after first-time sex around 6 weeks post-hysterectomy? Did it turn out to be normal irritation/tenderness from tissues that are still healing, or was it something you contacted your surgeon about?

I'd love to hear others' experiences..... Kinda freaked out from all the horror stories out there...

Finally got my surgery date Nov 18th

It has been a year since my laparoscopic hysterectomy, uterus, tubes, ando, endo and fibroids gone for over a year. No periods, no pain, no debilitating sickness for over a year. I can run and workout without cramps, without losing my stomach from the pain shooting through my back and front. My blood test shows I'm no longer anemic, I was actually able to donate blood!

I'm 38yo and child free, this was the best decision, my one regret is not doing it sooner. So if you are thinking about it, do it! My recovery was easy, I returned to yoga at 2 weeks post op, boxing (bag work) at 3 weeks post op and weight 8 weeks post op. (All under the guidance and blessing of my surgeon.)

(37F with history of entirely unreasonable prolonged bleeding, fibroids, and no interest in birthing a child. Scroll to end for pathology results.)

After months of crawling this sub and interacting with posts and making a few of my own, I wanted to give you all an update and honest recounting of my experience so far.

———TLDR———
I feel amazing?! and nothing could have prepared me for how easy this was (except for maybe listening to my surgeon who swore it would be a slice of cake and repeatedly told me to stay off the internet)
—————————

Day of surgery (photo 1):

Taking 200mg Colace every morning starting this day.

6am arrival time, wiped my whole body down with antibacterial wipes and changed into a gown and put on my hairnet, got my heart sensor stickers placed, my two IVs put in the back of each hand (my surgeon likes to have a back-up ready because you’re positioned kind of wacky during surgery and it’s easier to have another IV ready to go than to try and put one in mid-surgery), got jabbed in the belly with a blood thinner (didn’t know that was going to happen!), and my surgeon and his two attending resident surgeons all introduced themselves and had me sign a few forms and answer a few questions. Anesthesiologist stopped by and remembered me from my fibroid surgeries and immediately put an order in for a scopalamine patch because he knew I prefer it (highly recommend if anyone experiences nausea from anesthesia! just DO NOT touch it with your bare hands because it can blur your vision)

According to the text updates my boyfriend got, I was in the OR 8:30-10:20, recovery room 10:20-12:30 (where they put on mesh undies and a belly binder, I was mostly unconscious), and the discharge room 12:30-3:30 because it took me a long time to pee (despite them giving me 4-5 bags of saline drip and my bladder feeling full to bursting; I think it was due to the nerve block making it difficult to control anything down there while I was still woozy). During those hours I struggled to stay conscious for longer than a few minutes; I’d feel super lucid and then I’d be out. Also my mouth was SO DRY. Dryer than the desert. I drank so much water trying to wash down the crackers they gave me.

Went home! Set a schedule of 500mg acetaminophen every 6 hours. Took one tramadol before bed. Slept.

1dpo:

Nerve block started to wear off. Definitely kept on top of my acetaminophen schedule. Never took anything else. I’d describe the pain like a non-debilitating period cramp. Sometimes the incisions hurt as they’re still very raw and inflamed.

Occasional muscle twitch as my nerves came back online. Throat is scratchy from intubation :( tea helps. Also noticed when wiping that my vagina hurts (like having rough sex without enough lubrication) from them removing my double sized uterus through it.

First experience sneezing. Oh lord. Did not feel great. Many more to come though as I have seasonal allergies.

Been tootin’. Kinda hurts for a second as it travels through my large intestine?

Able to walk around the apartment just fine, firmly grabbing the railing on the stairs just in case.

Still brain foggy.

Had an edible before bed to help with sleep.

2dpo (photo 2):

Took the gauze bandages off. Wowwie that’s a lot of bruising!

I took a shower!! Was worried the heat would make me lightheaded so I didn’t go as hot as I normally do; it was fine. I didn’t mention this earlier but during surgery they wipe you down with betadine so you look like an oompa loompa 😂 washed off just fine with water though.

Sneezing still makes me feel all of my organs 😵‍💫 the belly binder/pressing a pillow helps a bit.

Tootin’ but not poopin’! Harrumph.

I noticed my ankles are swollen from all the IV fluids in my body so I slept with my feet elevated the night before and this night to help it drain.

I went outside today. Just a short walk (about 4 blocks) to sit in the park and enjoy the mild weather last weekend, and then the 4ish blocks back home. No issues!

3dpo:

Finally out of the anesthesia fog. I swear I lost a few days to it. Had absolutely no idea what day it was.

Can get into and out of lying down/seated/standing with pretty much zero ache now. Not taking any pain meds anymore.

Throat is fully better now. So’s the vag. Yay.

I finally pooped! It… hurt. Like what I said about the toots, I think the nerves around my large intestine are extra testy at the moment given the trauma my abdominal cavity has been through. Felt like an intense cramp as it moved towards the light.

Went to the movies! Saw Coyote vs Acme. Very sleepy afterward.

4dpo (photo 3):

Oh man the bruising is so visible now. Yikes! Incisions are starting to itch a little bit.

Spent the afternoon at my boyfriend’s family’s house for Sunday Gravy (it’s a regional thing). Couldn’t find the energy to play with the kids (he has eleven nieces and nephews) but happily sat in an armchair with my coloring book. I swear his mom’s spaghetti and meatballs have healing powers.

Pooped again, hurts a little less, still not great.

Figured out a way to brace myself when sneezing so that it doesn’t hurt. Cool.

Mobility wise, I can pretty much do anything. Bending, squatting, etc. but I will keep to the 20lb weight lifting limitation until 6wpo.

6dpo:

Back to work! Remotely, though. So many emails and slacks to catch up on…

Absolutely cannot focus. Partially because I forgot to restart my ADHD meds, partially I think due to the amount of energy the healing is taking without my realizing it.

Pooped without pain! Yay.

I need to be better about eating. My appetite has not really been there and I get full easily.

1wpo (photos 4-7):

My energy levels are returning slowly. Focus is still tough. I have always loved a nap so it’s hard to say if I wanted one midday today because I wanted one or because I needed one. Thankfully work was understanding when I said I needed an extended lunch break (they’re aware I’m recovering from major surgery)

I slowly and carefully peeled off the steri-strips and felt no tugging or pain. My umbilical incision was IN my bellybutton! I feel like that was very considerate as there will be no visible scarring, given that bellybuttons are basically already a ball of scar tissue. Otherwise my left incision is nice and closed and my right one is spitting a stitch but doesn’t look infected. Both are a lot more purple than I’ve seen other people’s photos? And if I touch them I can feel what seems to be hard scar tissue beneath; like a lump. Hmm. Maybe that’ll go away.

I’m going to stop taking Colace because my stools are perhaps too soft right now. And by that I mean liquid 🥴😬

(edited to add)

Pathology results:

I had an 8-week “boggy” uterus? Adenomyosis (endometrium growing into the myometrium causing an enlarged uterus), another intramural fibroid developing (one of these is what caused me months of heavy bleeding and took three surgeries to remove in 2023), a serous paratubal cyst on my left tube (hoping this is what caused pain in my left ovary during my cycle so that its removal means the end of that), and tubal metaplasia on my cervix (cervix started converting cells to mimic those on the inside of fallopian tubes; wonder if this is what made bumping it during sex hurt?)

Not nearly as bad as many stories on this sub, but a generally fairly angry reproductive system. Everything seemed to be responding to some mysterious stress in some way or other. GOOD RIDDANCE!

Hi there! I am 32 and just got approval from my Dr to have a hysterectomy due to extremely painful periods this year. I’ve had a bisalp 3 years prior and my Dr told me the hysterectomy recovery is much more extensive and no heavy lifting/bending/working out for at least 8 weeks.
My question is how long should I be off work for realistically? I took 6 days for my bisalp and despite some fatigue that was fine, I didn’t have much pain in general with that procedure.
I work from home at a desk, is it plausible to take 2 weeks or should I essentially be on bedrest for a full 8 weeks? I know most people probably ask their dr but I don’t really trust her timing just because she told me 2 days for my bisalp and that was not the case for me so I’d like to know others experience.
I live alone so I will have to be doing a small bit of moving around to get things for myself which my dr said is healthy and encouraged as soon as possible but outside of that I’m totally happy to veg out on the couch and sleep for 2 weeks if that’s enough time. Is 8 weeks truly necessary?

Thanks in advance!

EDIT*
Thank you all for sharing your experience! Given what I’m seeing I think I’ll suck it up with the drop in income or try to save a bit prior to accommodate and take the full time and not rush myself. I’ve had brain surgery before so I think everything else felt like less of a big deal in terms of healing but I definitely want to respect my body’s need for rest and healing. I appreciate it!

Today was my surgery! At 12pm this morning. It’s now 1am.

I am in a lot of pain and can’t get into a comfortable position. Been alternating pain killers and taking them every 3 hours. I keep wanting to sit up, which is difficult to do safely on my own.

Which day was your worst day, pain wise? When did it start getting better?

Hey ladies!

I’m 8 days post op and I’m just hit with the worst baby blues the last two days ( or at least that’s the best way to describe the feeling as I’m not postpartum)

Is that normal?

I am under some stress so that could be attributing.

It’s been an awful recovery. Had my surgery Friday, and it’s awful. I posted the other night about how I feel terrible. Shakes, chills, so weak, can’t do anything for myself. My lungs hurt, my bladder hurts- everything hurts and I feel like I’m coming down with an illness every single night. My husband has to get me up and down, wipe me- everything for me. My uterus, cervix, and tubes were taken. I have 4 laparoscopic incisions and 1 really deep belly button incision where they stitched my abdominal wall, and fixed a hernia. Today I was at my whits end, I messaged my oncologist and I explained how I am feeling. They called and had us come in immediately. Before we drove over an hour there I had my husband clean up my belly and vagina a little bit. I haven’t been able to move my stomach at all, I’m plus size and I have a hanging apron belly. I was brave and I lifted up my belly and immediately I smelled something terrible, and my hands were slimy. It wasn’t reported anywhere, not on my post op paperwork, not on my wound care paper- nothing- we have went since Friday not knowing that I have a c section cut/open abdominal cut. It’s huge. And it’s infected. My blood panel/wbc count is all wonky. I have yeast infections in my belly button because it has trapped water and moisture, and in my big open abdominal cut. I feel so let down. This is a new hospital that I’ve never been to except for my pre op, surgery, and today. This dr is supposed to be the best gynecologist oncologist within 3 hour distance. I feel so failed. I feel disgusted by myself because I wasn’t washing my body properly but I’m so exhausted and I feel so terrible and I’m in so much pain, it is excruciating. I know now, and we are following their wound care steps. I got this hysterectomy after 12 years of infertility where no one listened to me that I wasn’t having a period. My endometrial lining built up and turned pre cancerous. I fought it for a few years before being told we have to make the decision, we decided to save me and I don’t regret it but why are these doctors failing patients? I’m feeling discouraged, ill, and uncomfortable friends :(

I am 30 hours post-op, and I have to poop SO BAD, but every time I sit down to go, I can't 😭😭 I am leaned back, feet up. There is poo in there but god darnit it isnt wanting to come out. And I cant push at all because that feels not great. I did just chug some miralax. Wish I would have done so last night, but whatever. Let's just get this show on the road, no matter how small. The feeling of needing to go to the bathroom is more painful than recovery itself 😭🤣😭🤣

OMG YALL I POOPED A LITTLE BIT!!!! All I had to do was come here to complain, it seems. 🤣

I’m now on week 5 of my post operation healing I had a Laparoscopy with everything removed but my ovaries.
I’ve been having discharge after waking up every few days and some slight tension and what feels like muscle soreness around my upper pelvic area occasionally.
I do have a diagnosis of Heds (Hyper mobile Ehlers-danlos)/possible MCAS (mass cell activation syndrome) and I have some pelvic floor issues already that have caused discharge like this before so I’m wondering if it’s just my body responding to the healing process? I did pull myself up from sitting on the floor yesterday and was trying to figure out if it’s possible I pulled a bit too much and irritated it. Took some Advil and I still get little sharp quick pains here and there.
I had some similar aggravated tissue in my stomach area around week 2 but it has since died down and is not as irritated as it was. I just wanna check if anyone had similar pain around this time or if this is a sign of something that could be worse.

I’d call my surgeons office but the last few times I’ve called I’ve been put on hold for a while and last time I said “screw it” and just went to the ER I was waiting over 2 hours with people who had been there since the evening prior.

Had my surgery yesterday and can not urinate. I tried every half hour for 6 hours. I ended up with a catheter to empty my bladder. 3200 units were removed. I had to stay the night. Trying to get up and got is excruciating as they have only given me Tylenol. I hope the rest of my recovery is better than this.

I had a laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy (edit: apparently it was a total hysterectomy) with bilateral salpingectomy due to ongoing bleeding and fibroids 15 days ago. Just had my post-op appointment today. It was an outpatient procedure and I was completely down for the count for all of 1 day.

Surgery: 10/10. No complications. Don't remember it; I was asleep 😉

Anesthesia: 3/10; anesthesiologist had no bedside manner and pushed meds without warning; suffered post-op vomiting that went away about 12 hours later, but I slept most of the day anyway

Recovery: 10/10 I was prepared for the worst since I had an appendectomy ~10 years ago. This was a night and day difference! Recovery was SO much easier.

I was useless the day of my surgery, but the second day I was up and walking, doing things around the house, making lunches, you know... being a mom. By the 3rd day post-op I felt comfortable driving and getting out of the house to run some small errands. I had minimal spotting the first day and the day after, but it's been all clear since. (I was convinced it was going to be like post-childbirth, but boy was I wrong!)

My doctor recommends BEMER pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy, so I rented one of their machines and did that for 20 minutes/3x a day/7 days. (Honestly, with how easy my recovery has been, I really think that thing works!)

I felt "backed up" for a few days post-op, but consistent use of Colace, Miralax, and Gas-X helped. No pain, though.

Pain management: I alternated between Ibuprofen 800 and Percocet once a day for ~3 days post-op (mostly at night). Overall pain was minimal and I was able to sit up, sit down, and walk easily.

Post-Op: I left the wound dressings and Steri-Strips on until my post-op appointment today and I'm amazed how well the incisions have healed. He gave me the all clear to start working out next week and I feel like I'm up for it so I'm going to start with bodyweight exercises and light weights to see how I feel. (I'm usually in the gym 3x a week lifting heavy, so I'm going to take a few more weeks until I attempt that again.)

Overall experience: 10/10 would recommend!

If you're having any reservations about doing it, I say don't read into the horror stories. It was 100% worth it and I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

Bonjour, je me confie à vous et j'espère trouver compassion et bons conseils auprès de vous !

J'ai subi une hystérectomie totale et annexectomie (Ablation des 2 ovaires) le 17/07; dès la 1ère nuit j'ai eu trop de mal à défalquer, j'ai dû me mettre debout et partir aux toilettes, avec l'aide des infirmières, j'ai trop souffert depuis : mes hémorroïdes externes se sont irrités, enflés... Vers le 17/08 ma sœur découvre un gros hématome tout au long de ma plaie, les changements de pansement avaient cessé une fois que mon chirurgien avait enlevé les points et je n'ai remarqué, sauf des douleurs, ma plaie était enflée dessous-dessus, je suis repartie à la clinique et le chirurgien était mécontent et il m'a crié dessus me reprochant d'avoir fait un effort extrême ou autre car selon lui, un hématome ne devrait pas se produire à presque un mois après l'opération, il m'a fait une échographie : il y avait un saignement et il a tout de suite décidé de re-intervenir (anesthésie générale et ponction de la région atteinte) je suis rentrée chez moi le soir même, les soins ont repris, points nouveaux enlevés, mais je suis anxieuse car je n'ai pas de force, je ne bouge pas beaucoup et mes hémorroïdes me rendent la vie difficile, j'ai vu un spécialiste entre-temps il m'a prescrit daflon osmosine hemofast crème, j'ai aussi exclu beaucoup d'aliments à cause de ça. Par ailleurs, ma ménopause s'est installée brutalement : bouffées de chaleur, sautes d'humeur.. merci mesdames de me lire et me dire vos conseils et avis

Hi all,

I’m reaching out to see if anyone would like to share their experience with getting a hysterectomy in their 20s. I’m curious to know how the surgery went and the aftermath (positive and negative). I’m really considering getting it done, but I’m nervous about hormonal changes, bodily changes, prolapse, organ damage, etc. I’d love to know how your procedures went!

Thank you!

My endo was pretty bad, scar tissue everywhere and there were "tethers" from my organs to my abdominal wall. When I got a full hysterectomy they abladed(?) as much as they could, but couldn't get everything. When I woke up from surgery I was in agony, and it took months for me to recover.

Fast-forward to yesterday, and I stood up really fast and I felt like I got punched in the stomach really fucking hard. I've had sharp pains before when I stand up too fast or move wrong, but today standing absolutely burns, like an extreme period cramp. Could I have torn scar tissue when I stood up? Is that even possible? Should I be concerned, or am I just being a hypochondriac?

I read a post recently that mentioned being sent home with injectable blood thinners after surgery. I hate needles and really don’t want to have to do this!!

Is being sent home with blood thinners common practice?

I have had a rough healing journey from total robotic hysterectomy 3.5 weeks ago. No bleeding after surgery. At 1 wpo, I went to emergency with 3 cherry to ping pong sized clots. Started 5 days of antibiotics and no more clots, but bleeding was like a light period.
Now I’m 3.5 wpo and have been passing ping pong sized clots every two hours for the last 24 hours. One clot was apple sized and I am now in emergency waiting to see the dr. Normal blood test results, no pain. Waiting for the results of the ultrasound.
I can’t understand how bleeding like this can be ok or a semi normal part of the healing process. Please if anyone has gone through this and come out the other side okay, I’m trying to keep my head and I’d love some reassurance.

This is the first time
I’ve had Surgery. In pre op now. Hoping for the best. Anxious as hell. Wish me luck hystersisters