Exactly 10 weeks post op

I had my post op follow up appointment with a consulatant yesterday. My fibroid mass was 1.34 kg ie 3lb ( weight of a COOP small chicken), and thankfully was free of cancer and so were my ovaries.

The bruised nerve probably came from the operating table. If it has not healed by 6 months time, I will need to see a physiotherapist but the doctor did not think this would prove necessary. I have found a slight improvement - don't take painkillers every night now.

Extreme caution is advised on playing the tenor horn as I could split the abdominal sheath, a layer of cartilage which had to be cut to remove the womb. This takes 4 to 6 months to heal. So I now realize something that I have not found by reading, that there is a second phase to the healing - a phase in which I need to strengthen the muscles but not strain them. So I am playing for 5 minutes a day, not high and not loud. In the New Year after 4 months I will begin to extend my range. I am really disappointed as I thought I could go back to where I left off after 6 weeks, but it is not worth taking risks and at least I will be able to get back to it eventually.

The gap where my womb was will gradually be filled by my bowels!

I have been buying big packs of fresh orange etc and overstretching what I should carry. I should build up to 15 lbs gradually and avoid straining my muscles as the bottom line. A colleague who had a split sheath as a result of pregnancy is going to show me some exercises. Pelvie floor exercises are a daily regime too.

The consultant said I would not get any serious menopausal symptons now. This big worry has proved unfounded. I drink decaffeinated tea and coffee - maybe that has protected me from serious hot flushes ? just a thought.

Week 9 starts Sat Oct 5

Reviewing the last week, I soon adjusted back to work and planned to stay at home evenings. I work 3 days spread over 4 as the travelling is over an hour each way by train and foot. I was tired by the end of my week, but mainly because of the nerve pain which kept me awake and woke me early.

The vaginal disharge stopped on the Monday. It had started 2 weeks 6 days after my operation.

I understand I can lift up to 15 pounds for the next few months, then after 6 months up to 30 pounds and never more than that, if I want to avoid prolapses. I am building up my swimming gradually- 20 lengths then 24 the next week and also the horn now up to 7 minutes. I need to do the same with the lifting - gradually build up the amount to 15 pounds.

I thought I would be keeping up this blog to relate how I adjust to the surgical menopause, but so far no adjustment has been needed as emotionally I have remained on an even keel and perhaps once or twice a day feel a warmness - but nothing much.

Pelvic floor exercises are on the menu now regularly and I think the stress incontinence has improved, butI have not dared to go without pads yet. It is lovely being half a stone lighter.

Week 8 starts 28 Oct 2006

Back to work at last. I went to work on Wednesday after exactly 7 weeks at home. For the first 6 weeks I had been perfectly content at home, concentrating on getting better but I was ready to return after that and get hold of the big picture again, rather than being the centre of my own universe! I was out of the house from 7.15 to 16.15 on Wed and Thurs and Thurs I had to go for a rest and watched telly all evening. Next week I will be doing my four days and intend to stay at home in the evening. I imagine it will be at least 10 weeks post op before I am fully operational.

On Friday Oct 27 I had my last visit to the health clinic about my wound. The granulation had subsided and a scab had begun to form. I can go swimming again in a week's time. Yippee!

So the only thing to get back now is my tenor horn playing and the brass band. What a pity I will miss playing in Brassed Off. I thought once my insides had healed that I would be able to pick up the horn where I had left off, but no. I wouldn't dare tackle the higher notes which put great pressure on abdominal muscles. I have started doing 5 minutes a day with easy pieces. The hysterectomy forum is so helpful. I asked if I was being too cautious, and 2 singers replied (one from Minneapolis - I am from West Yorkshire) advising me that cautious equals sensible.

Week 7 starts Sat Oct 21

How much is now back to normal? I did my first drive on Saturday Oct 21st 6 and a half weeks after my op. It was no problem at all. I had contacted the insurance company as the hospital advised, to check on their cover and asked them to put it in writing. Their reply said they would give me permission based on the doctor's agreement. So I had to pay £10 for this. The doctor did say that the 6 week rule is historical and gave the impression that people drive when they feel fit enough. This does not feel secure enough to me and I am glad I have something in writing.

My insides now feel normal, but despite losing half a stone my stomach is now bigger than before when it harboured fibroids the size of a 5 month foetus. I can now wear my support tights if I cut the welt down as far as I dare. I still have a very slight discharge. I have been asked to keep my wound dry for a few days so that the bit of foam put there to apply pressure to deal with the granulation can work. Paracetamol at bedtime are still needed for tne nerve or muscle pain in my right buttock. During the day my awareness of it varies and no medication is needed.

Returning to work after 6 weeks would have been too early, but another week and I will be ready. What a surprisingly positive experience this has been. A chance to catch up with friends and family, regain my piano skills, knit a toilet roll holder dolly etc. There are just 2 things remaining to win back. More next week!

Week 6 starts Oct 14

This is a review of week 5. Progress can be judged by the fact that I was away at a conference in Newcastle and staying with my husband's mum. I didn't drive though. Have you noticed that whenever you mention to someone elderly that you are recovering from a hysterectomy the person frowns, looks concerned and says "You be careful. Don't be doing too much." Immediately you feel guilty and cast your mind back to when you picked a pencil from the floor, picked up something weighing a kilogram etc. Historically, years ago you would have spent 10 days in hospital. It was not unusual to have 2 weeks in a convalescent home following that. Modern husbands have superseded the need for that as they are able to take over running the household.

I must be really famous - my seventh bouquet arrived last week. The givers did confess that they had been given them and decided to pass them on to me, but it is definitely the thought that counts.

Medication. Lactulose is taken sparingly at one dose every 2 or three days when necessary. 2 Paracetamol are needed at bedtime to deal with the nerve/muscle pain in my right thigh. I hope that walking will be helping this and I have been doing 20 to 30 minutes twice a day. My back itself is much less stiff. My wound has been overactive and produced too much new tissue, which should sort itself out. I thought 20 dressings would be far too much but just the right amount I estimate now.

Doctor. She agreed that I could go back to work at the beginning of my 8th week after my operation. I realized that a week earlier would mean pushing myself too much to be ready.

Week 5 begins Sat 7 Oct

Regard your recovery time as a gift - a time to pamper yourself, listen to your body and think about YOU. There is no virtue in pushing yourself and the more you rest the sooner you will recover. This permission to be absolutely lazy comes from the Hysterectomy Association and is superb advice.

Where am I now on the recovery journey? I still have a little vaginal discharge. My wound is not completely healed so I change the dressing every day and visit the nurse weekly, but it is not infected and progress is there albeit in slow motion. Yesterday I had no back ache or internal discomfort and lifted a toddler on to my knee as I had completely forgotten the operation. No damage done fortunately.

The pain in my relapse subsided with rest by last Tuesday, but I have taken a couple of painkillers at night as I have been uncomfortable. How I envy my husband who can turn over in bed easily without it being a major upheaval.

Will I be back to work after 6 weeks? My relapse taught me that I need to keep an open mind. I would need to be able to sit up for 6 hours. I cannot imagine that this would be back ache free.

I need suitable clothes. Though I have lost half a stone my stomach is swollen and cannot bear any tight fitting trousers. I have tried my clothes and found some which will do.

I am building up the walking now to twice 25 minutes (as a guideline) and walking up stairs normally. There a 3 flights of stairs at work and no lift. This week I am seeing the doctor to discuss going back. I wonder if 8 weeks is more realistic?

Week 4 begins Sat Sep 30

It is really helpful to have a good getting out of bed and off the sofa technique. I wish I had perfected mine from the start.

Pull your knees up so your heels are against your bottom, and turn over on your side at the edge of the bed. Slowly move your knees and legs over the side so they act as a counterweight as you push up with your arms as you sit up.

To sit up in bed, pull your heels under your bottom and push hard into the mattress with your feet and hands. ( See page 27 of 101 Handy Hints for a Happy Hysterectomy).


All my flowers have died at the same time, a sign that it is time to move on and begin to think towards going back to work. However, I have a set back today - a pain in my lower right abdomen. It feels as if I have pulled something, yet I haven't knowingly done so. Could it be bending down,albeit with knees bent, to pick up a coin, or coming down stairs in the normal way too quickly, or putting the empty wheelie bin back in its place, or trying to wear my support tights or a combination of all these things? I have decided to consolidate rather than try to move forward until it settles down, and cut out bending etc. Hopefully on Monday I will be able to progress again and increase my walking.

On the positive side, the nerve in my right leg is much better.