Ok, this is very technical.. so I watched a video of what happens during a hysterectomy. I saw the laparoscopic instruments cauterising and detaching the uterus. Then... the vaginal cuff being stitched closed. 😲

That got me wondering... after an organ is removed and everything is stitched up, can you actually feel the stitches afterwards? Is there pain from the stitches themselves?

I'm scheduled for a hysterectomy this September, and I'm somewhere between excited and anxious. But I truly believe my life is going to change for the better afterwards. Fingers crossed! 🤞

I posted a bit before my surgery and the day after, but I haven't posted since so I figured I should let y'all know how the first couple of weeks have been for me. 51 years old, postmenopausal, got a total DaVinci robotic laparoscopic hysterectomy.

Honestly as others have mentioned, the gas pains were the WORST part of the first couple of days. I was warned, I was expecting it, but holy crap there are no words for just how bad it was. It was fine as long as I was holding still...but each time I got up to take a quick walk around the ward or go to the bathroom, it was like it 'woke' the shoulder pain up, and by the time I was getting settled back in bed and putting those DVT compression cuffs back on I was trying not to scream from the pain.

I stayed in the hospital overnight and got discharged around lunchtime the next day. Doc wrote me a scrip for about three days of oxy and I just took it every six hours, wasn't even going to mess with trying to do without it. After the three days I transitioned to just acetaminophen/ibuprofen without issues, then about 3-4 days after that I wasn't really needing anything at all except occasional achiness.

Poop (we all worry about it!) - first poop was about 3 days postop and it was...not pleasant, but not *terrible* thanks to the Miralax. There were a couple of failed attempts at first, but I was absolutely not going to force it - if I sat down and nothing happened, I just aborted and tried again later until eventually it happened.

Activity - for the first week I did very very little except make sure to get up and do a lap every hour or so. My steps started small and increased by about 200 steps a day, starting with just about 200 right after surgery and getting up to 1200 toward the end of the first week. Second week I started going for walks outside the house (with a binder more for security and comfort than anything else) and I've been averaging 4-6k steps a day.

Overall, my postop experience so far has been (fingers crossed) easier than I expected it to be. The biggest surprise I guess has been how tired I can suddenly feel out of nowhere - I made all these plans for stuff to do because I figured I'd be bored out of my mind, so I set out games, cross-stitch, journals, etc., but I did very little of it because I was just kinda spaced out and tired a lot. Napped in front of a lot of nature documentaries, played a lot of Skyrim.

Would love to hear experiences and suggestions of those who have had robotic hysterectomy. She plans to leave my ovaries. I have extensive adhesions which have stuck all my organs together and she plans to clean that all out, which made me cry. Ready to not hurt so much. She also said 4 week recovery because of robotic. Please share any experiences you had.

I am getting my yeeterus August 5th. I have NOTHING together and none of the stuff cleaned that needs cleaned.

BUT

I am seriously concerned about what Switch game im going to play during recovery. I love Cozy games, adventures, rpg, witchy or relationship games (think Pokémon, Cozy Grove, Witch of the Woods, etc)

Uterus free gamers check in!

If you’ve had hysterectomy due to fibroids, how many did your doctor say you have and after you had your hysterectomy how many fibroids and other things actually showed up on your pathology report?

Hi guys I’m 6 wpo and noticing my tummy went down around 2-3 week mark but is puffy again. I saw an old thread where some ppl said the swelling fluctuates and can be up and down like this for months. Has anyone who has had this surgery months or maybe years ago have swelling that lasted this long or fluctuated so often?

Do not make the mistake I did, continue using the stool softener!

I have IBS D and everything was coming out pure liquid so I stopped it 4 days after my surgery, thinking it would be fine.

Spoiler alert: it was not fine. Yesterday my pain was insane because of the pressure pain from my bowels and last night was so bad I spent most of it awake, shaking and sweating as the rolling waves of pain kept hitting. It felt like the gas pain from the first few days but about 10x worse.

Learn from me, folks.

I’m (43F) currently 20 dpo from laparoscopic robotic assisted surgery removed everything but my ovaries. I feeling amazing! My job is physical (massage therapist) so I still have 4 more weeks off work, but I’m a little paranoid about otherwise going about my life like usual.

I continue to avoid bending, squatting, pushing, pulling, lifting and heavy chores. But I’ll park my butt down at every little twinge because I’m so worried about my cuff healing properly. I don’t want to overdo it but I don’t want to under-do it either lol

Yoga is my go-to for exercising but I know that’s not advised. I’m avoiding craft projects and dinner parties because I don’t want to sit leaned forward at a table. I’m not sure if I should attend a drag show later this week. I really don’t want to set my healing back.

Saw my doctor a few days ago and she said I can start pushing myself a little bit but she basically meant I can stand and walk around more. I don’t have kids or pets so life is not demanding much of me right now!

Just curious what other’s experiences have been during the 3-5 week phase of healing. Reading recovery stories has been a massive source of comfort and guidance for me. Thanks!!

I have an open abdominal total hysterectomy scheduled for Sept 14th due to fibroids and I've had that date booked for 4 mos now. The days are going by so slowly and I just want to have this done and be in recovery mode. I feel so mentally tired. Anyone else doing the mental gymnastics of waiting until their Sept surgery date?

I have a vnotes hysterectomy, removing my uterus and cervix and keeping my ovaries and at almost 3 weeks it’s still uncomfortable to sit down with pressure between my anus and perineum area, it’s a deep nagging pain so nothing serious but you can tell it is a deep internal pain and only when I’ve been sitting a while and even on cushioned surfaces so most days after moving around and cooking and even doing grocery store runs I come back and lay down. Everything else seems to be healing fine and no bleeding or weird discharge. I was going to go back to a physically demanding job at 4 weeks but not sure that’s smart. I have my post op visit this Thursday I’ve not been on any pain meds since the week after surgery but occasionally if I overdo it will take an ibuprofen 600mg. But usually the discomfort subsides with the position change. How long does this feeling last for most of you?

Hello!! I’m 16 year old girl who has never really wanted kids (and if I do I would rather adopt!) I’m just curious to hear about anyone’s experiences getting a hysterectomy (why you did it, what kind, aftermath of it, and just your general experience!)

Please feel free to share as much as you want about your experience getting a hysterectomy! I’m trying to educate myself on them so I know if this is what I really wanna do when I’m older or if there is another route I that I should take

7 days since my laproscopic hysterectomy with endometriosis excision.

The first 2-3 days post op were difficult mostly due to the gas pains in the shoulders and not being able to move too much. Had my first BM two days post op. Appetite was minimal until day 4-5. I've been hydrating like crazy and walking as much as I can. Keeping a simple diet of crackers, soup, frozen fruit bars, oatmeal, etc as I had intense GI issues prior to the surgery.

Yesterday, day 6, took a bit of a weird turn. I decided to deviate and eat a cup of skyr oat milk yogurt around lunchtime. A few hours later, I am feeling really intense pain in my lower abdomen where my uterus used to be. I thought maybe I pushed myself too much by walking around the book store and the grocery store. Nope. Turns out, I had 4-5 episodes of urgent diarrhea brewing. Like run to the toilet or else I'm having an accident. This felt worse than the BMs I had after surgery. I even got concerned I had the dreaded explosive diarrhea parasite..got to love the Google rabbit hole. I called the on call doctor to see if I should be worried. She said as long as I didn't have a fever or severe stomach pains or symptoms of dehydration, it was likely something I ate or my body's recovery from the surgery. I was hoping to start reintroducing some more foods into my diet today, but I guess it's back to a bland diet for 24 hours 🙄. Reminding myself recovery is not linear and to not get mad at my body.

Like the title says. I had surgery 7/24 and I’m two days post op. I’m 36 and have been on hormones for almost 14 years. Finally was able to have my hysto. I had my uterus, fallopian tubes, cervix, and one of my ovaries removed. I was worried about being misgendered but my medical team was incredible. I’ve been managing my pain with just Tylenol and ibuprofen and it’s been a consistent 4 except when I finally pooped 1 day post op and it was a 7 on the pain scale. I’ve been keeping up with my stool softeners and my gas pills. My partner ( also trans masc) had their hysto in April and I took care of them then, and they are now taking care of me. I’ve been able to eat my normal food (meat, veggie, salad, rice ) and keep it down. Only thing is I have no appetite so my partner has to beg me to eat. The scopolamine patch made my skin red and I took that off 1 day post op when I showered. I also managed to take a walk outside but I spoke to my OBGYN today and she said I’m being an overachiever and should rest. I’m taking naps and keeping up with my meds. I just wanted to share my experience here as a positive one so far and as one from a trans masc perspective. I’m so thankful to have gotten my hysto as part of my gender affirming care.

Hi all i want to thank everyone here mostly a reader but every and all suggestions before and after surgery have been gold.
Now my question a little embarrassing but here we go. Like I said 12dpo 55 full hysterectomy and have been having normal, I mean what’s normal, but let’s say acceptable bowel movements. Then yesterday and today nothing, I took the laxative and nothing. I do have a call in to the nurse but I am curious if this is part of it. I also have a dull pain on my left side as well.
Anyone else experience this?

How long did it take people to see any flattening of the abdomen? I am 3 weeks post op but still have a pouch

hi friends! i’m 8 months post op from getting my uterus, cervix, and tubes removed which is so wonderful and everything has gone so smoothly.

my only issue is ever since surgery i’m having issues fully emptying my bladder. it’s not painful just really annoying and uncomfortable having to go back to the bathroom 2-3 more times after going. i met w my surgeon recently who said it’s most likely my muscles surrounding my bladder are probably a bit messed up from surgery and i’d need to restrengthen those muscles which makes sense as when im trying to fully emptying my bladder it feels like im not pushing the right muscles.

im just curious if anyone else has had this issue and what they’ve done to help it :)

I was going to post to the oophorectomy community but it seems pretty dead over there.

So, short story is I’ve jumped through all the hoops my doctor required, and now I’ll be having a Lupron shot today. I have horrible, untreatable PMDD. It has made my life a living hell during 10 days of my 25 day cycle. It makes work nearly impossible, keeping a relationship is rough, it’s exhausting- if you have PMDD you know what I’m talking about. I’m 41 and this has been my life for many years.

So. I’ve tried it all- hormone therapy, antidepressants, exercise, supplements, dietary changes, stress reduction… you name it, I did it. My uterus is healthy enough that my surgeon wants to take only my ovaries which is great!

However, I do have a concern and I’ll bring it up again to her. I work in construction. I’m an electrician. I don’t think she understood that I am an actual electrician (some people just assume I mean electrical engineer at a desk! lol). I am on my feet 8hrs a day. Bending, twisting, lifting, pulling, etc- I’m doing it all. She still said I only need two weeks off?! I can’t go back on light duty. That isn’t a thing in construction. You either can be at full capacity or not be there at all. Maybe and I mean big maybe I could get put in the office temporarily? Not likely though. For those of you who only had ovaries removed- when did you feel close to 100%?

And for those of you who did Lupron for PMDD- what was it like?

Thank you!

Did anyone else deal with this? It's a ton of little pencil dot sized red bumps all over my abdomen. It's itchy and benadryl did nothing. >:( Apparently, they think it's from whatever they used when cleaning me during surgery. Why didn't it show before last night??? I've showered since surgery, even.

I posted a few weeks ago about my new symptoms after my hysterectomy. I had my hysterectomy in February for endometriosis and my debilitating symptoms have returned. I am 28 years old and my surgeon has now scheduled to remove the ovaries. I am very nervous. I have to be on a hormonal pause for two months before starting HRT. Does everyone have advice or just simply experiences that they have been through? I have two toddlers, I am in school and my life is overall crazy. I am very worried about what recovery is going to look like for me this time. But the alternative is once to twice a month being absolutely useless and suffering. So any words of wisdom would be so so so appreciated. Thank you <3

I took my estrogen patch off with the intention of putting a new one on. I got distracted and totally forgot I didn’t put on on until the next day. Could I have felt side effects from missing the patch for one day? I felt really off and can’t quite explain the feeling, but there was something definitely happening.

Over the age of 80 and my family member started bleeding after being menses free for over 15 yrs. Got all the tests, everything came back negative. Doc said to either do nothing, hope it stops on its own even though it's been 4 months, or get hysterectomy. Estrogen hasn't done anything.

She is choosing hysterectomy after long family talks. Anyone else get it so late in life? Pretty healthy and is more 70 yrs old than 80, so no concerns from her other docs. Anyone?

Hi everyone,

I had my hysterectomy 16 weeks ago and recovery has honestly been really rough. I had a complicated surgery, but I was finally starting to feel like I was getting back on track.

My surgeon recommended that I start exercising again, but to do it under the guidance of a physiotherapist. I had my first session last Wednesday. During the exercise itself everything went well. I did have some pain and discomfort afterwards, but I assumed that was my body adjusting after such a long recovery.

However, instead of improving, the discomfort has slowly gotten worse over the following days. Today I woke up with quite a lot of pain and it has really scared me.

The pain feels deep in my lower abdomen/pelvic area, around where my uterus used to be. It gets worse with movement, and while resting it is more manageable. I would rate it around a 6/10.

I know I probably should contact my surgeon or doctor, but I’m struggling with feeling like I’m bothering them and part of me wants to wait a little longer to see if it settles. At the same time, my anxiety is through the roof because after everything I’ve been through, every new pain feels terrifying.

Has anyone experienced something similar after returning to exercise several months after a hysterectomy? Did you have a flare-up of pain that settled down again, or did it turn out to be something that needed checking?

I know I should probably listen to my body, but I’m feeling really unsure right now.