What to expect after surgery?

I had the combined op at 39 due to 4 difficult births. I was in hospital for 5 days then, but I am sure they will get you out sooner. Do ask the anaesthetitist about anaethesia and ensure you are written up for something strong enough post op. Are you having the op through the vagina, or abdominal surgery?

You will probably come round in a morphine induced haze, which is no bad thing. You will have a catheter draining the bladder, and a drip in your arm. If all goes well that will be it, though you might need a drain if you bled during surgery. They will get you up pretty quickly, catheter and drip removed as soon as possible, and once you have had your bowels open you can go home.

You will feel exhausted, and walking 100 yards will be a huge effort, but just go a fraction further each day. No housework, don't lift anything heavier than a kettle, you are going to need help with washing, shopping, cooking etc, please accept all offers of help. You will probably be told don't drive for six weeks, but with sn automatic car you may be able to drive earlier.

You will be hit be rapid mood swings, especially if your ovaries are going too, crying fits will release tension, don't worry about them.

I have given you a realistic picture, but in 3 months you will be a whole new woman, pain free, energy back, no dragging pains. Mark the date on a calendar and cross off the days!

I wish you well, just focus on you for a bit, which I am sure does not come naturally! 💐💐💐

I have not had your particular procedures but they sound like "major surgery" to me. At age 60 , robust and fit (if a little overweight!!) I had major bowel surgery and I just wanted to mention that you should not underestimate how tired you will probably be afterwards and that this is entirely normal and you should not worry about it. For 5 weeks after my surgery I had a daily obligatory afternoon nap from 14.00 to 15:30. The theory was "I'm just going to read the paper for an hour" then I went out like a light.
Also I could not impose my will on my recovery rate for 5 weeks. So on many days I could only do what my body let le do.
Good luck. You got this ! But give yourself recovery time.

I would just reiterate the overwhelming tiredness aspect - really not something you can do much about.
Personally I have felt so much better after my hysterectomy and repair that it was well worth the six weeks of recovery. This seems to be a very common experience! I wish you well and hope that it will be your experience too.

My friend has just had a hysterectomy for vaginal prolapse. She is back to normal, except for the gym. She can do light exercises, but no weights.

I had the same op age 64. I had general anaesthetic though I could have had an epidural if I wanted. With a prolapse they do the surgery vaginally so less pain afterwards than the traditional hysterectomy. I had paracetamol and ibuprofen in hospital and for the first couple of weeks after and had minimum pain.
I stayed in 2 nights and they did not wait for me to open my bowels. I need a gentle laxative some days later for that.
I was very weak at first and could only lift a travel kettle and a small bottle of milk. It was around a month before I was able to cook a meal and do light cleaning and around 2 months before I could vacuum or go shopping.
I am single (with DS at home) and organised myself with a microwave, mini fridge and travel kettle in my room with snack type meals for when he was unable to get me food.

I needed a lot of sleep for around 2 months. I still felt more tired than normal for another couple of months. You will need to be careful about lifting for some months afterwards.
They recommend driving after 6 weeks but I don't drive so cannot comment.
I started on Ovestin a few weeks after surgery and it helped a lot. You also need to regularly do pelvic floor exercises at that stage.

Overall, pain was not issue but it did interrupt my normal life for a few months. The prolapse had severely limited my life so was very glad I had the surgery.

I had a vaginal prolapse repair in my thirties (nearly 30 years ago). I can't comment on the full hysterectomy but the nurses told me afterwards that it wouldn't have been much different and quite possibly LESS painful. All I can say is that it was quite a hard operation to recover from, in the sense that it's your stomach and you can't really lift things like kettles and definitely no small children. In fact I could not open a sash window. And don't try. My only advice is rest, rest and rest, especially the first two weeks and don't overdo it for the first six weeks. Seek help at the slightest sense of an infection of feeling unwell - that's important - and I would go back to the hospital rather than GP on this. The pain relief now is much, much better than in my day. I'd expect a catheter and drain for a day or two, but to be honest, you won't really care. You'll be glad the op is done. Good luck.

Spinal anaesthesia is all the rage and I had it (reluctantly) when I had my last knee replacement. I was in la-la land and felt fine afterwards.

What you are having surgically is classed as major surgery and as others have said, tiredness will hit you like a lead balloon.

3 months is the norm before you will feel back to normal.

6 weeks is the magic figure for driving for most surgery but as yours is soft tissue I do not see why it cannot be sooner.

You will be told the do's and do nots and you have your DH who will be cooking, cleaning and ironing.

Good luck and go with the flow as we are all different.

I had a radical hysterectomy, from which I recovered relatively straightforwardly.
I offer three pieces of heartfelt advice:
- firstly from my surgeon’s (female) secretary, the best pre surgery advice I had - take big, roomy, comfy knickers to hospital.
- secondly be really careful not to get constipated post op (I failed at this miserably)
- and finally do everything to keep your spirits up and be positive. I managed this!

I wish you good luck and a successful operation. 💐

I had the same surgery in March and had excellent results. I had the choice of general anaesthetic or spinal - chose spinal. All went well- I had a catheter, vaginal pack and drip which were removed the following morning . Discharged in the afternoon- as soon as I could pass urine! Some discomfort - took regular pain relief- and was encouraged to take short walks - and avoid constipation- very important! After 6 weeks I was referred to a pelvic floor physio who was excellent and told me what to do and what not to do- and to remember it’s not just a hysterectomy so I had a lot of internal stitches.I did feel very tired for over 6 weeks and kind family and friends helped-and still have to pace myself (I’m 74) but the benefits far outweigh that. Best advice is a booklet from POPG ( pelvic physios) called’ Fit following gynaecological surgery’ which is very comprehensive.
Very best wishes.

My partner had a broadly similar procedure. It was done by 'keyhole' surgery. Three punctures in the abdomen, no large incision. Recovery was remarkably quick. I hope yours will be too!

My Mym had the same procedures. She was, originally’ only in for the prolapse but had the hysterectomy done at the same time. She only found that out when she went for a smear. Being very hard of hearing she probably missed what she’d been told. She was absolutely fine and was only persuaded to take it easy for a couple of weeks afterwards, then back to her normal busy life.

It seems to me that now any procedure that takes place below the waist hospitals prefer to use spinal anaesthesia and sedation as less risks than with GA. If all goes well you will be out within couple of days.

I totally agree with B9exchange. Her experience
mirrors my own. Just go with the flow. Your body will tell you what it needs. In a few months you will feel like a new woman. I wish you well

Good luck and speedy recovery.
I completely agree with other advice.

Do NOT lift anything, and no housework.

You will be surprised at how much work your pelvic floor does to keep everything up and in where it is meant to be - as you probably realise with your prolapse. Try to visualise that work now before your surgery, so that you are not surprised afterwards.

Do not get constipated, please ask for, and take gentle laxatives until you are going without straining your pelvic floor.

Do all the physio exercises that the physio gives you religiously, if you do not see a physio, ask to see one.

Driving advice, follow your post op advice. Again you will be surprised at the strain on your lower belly and your pelvic floor if you have to brake suddenly - all drivers are not as careful as you!

You will feel woozy post surgery, accept all and any analgesia going. IV paracetamol is an excellent painkiller. You may have a urinary catheter, and this would be removed perhaps 24 hrs post surgery. Keep hydrated so that you can get back to peeing normally.

You may feel sick post surgery, the anaesthetic does not agree with everyone and many people are quite nauseous for longer than other. Equally not all anti sickness medication agrees with everyone.

I wish you a speedy and full recovery, but please follow advice. If you live alone, try to have some single meal portions to hand that can be heated, and NOT a full kettle to boil!!

I had a hysterectomy when I was 35, pre-internet. I borrowed a book from the library which was already vastly out of date. It said I would be in hospital for two or three weeks then go to a rest home to recuperate 😂 I was in for nearly a week. I had my operation via a cut in my stomach so recovery was slower and I couldn’t drive for 6 weeks. A lady I know had her hysterectomy vaginally a couple of years ago. I remember she had to be able to pick up a chair and was then allowed to go home. She was only in one or two days and she recovered quickly. She was in her 70s. The thing to remember if you have a bad day is how much better you will soon be. All your current symptoms will be a bad memory. I wish you all the best.

I am 68 and fit and well. I had the same surgery last year.
I came out of surgery with a vaginal pack and catheter in situ.
They were painlessly removed next morning.
In terms of pain I had a vague dull ache relieved by ibuprofen/ paracetamol.
I stayed in hospital one night.
I was determined to keep moving and get back to normal asap.
I wore my Fitbit, did my 10,000 steps both on the day of surgery (before I went to theatre) and the following day, albeit in small segments.
I honestly did not have any problems.
I was back at work 2 weeks later and adhered to the advice not to lift but apart from that it had no impact on my life whatsoever.
Don’t overthink it, just get it done. Im so glad that I did

I had this op OP, and a bladder repair with a spinal block as general anaesthesia was deemed too risky.
I was driving in six weeks, but advised never to lift heavy weights ever again.
Unfortunately, my various health conditions, meant I was off work for four months, my recovery was slow.

However, my quality of life improved so much after the op.

A really important thing is not to take your recovery for granted. Listen to what your surgeon tells you. You may feel absolutely fine, but internally there is a lot to repair, I was recovering really well then lifted a very small bow from the floor. It was a big mistake.

You will be told what not to do Don't do those things A litre of milk and a kettle with a small amount of water should be your limit no hoovering and no driving until you can do an emergency stop probably not until post surgery check at 6 weeks Give yourself time to rest well and recover .

Lahlah65, I think that B9exchange has given a very accurate description of what to expect. I was 50 when I had it done. When I first came around, the self administered morphine drip was much appreciated

It was worth the short term discomfort and limitations to be able to get on with my life!

Wishing you all the best.

no experience of that particular surgery, but what I was not told after 8-hour op is the terrible (and I mean terrible!) constipation caused by morphine/codeine and similar painkillers. Suggestion discuss this aspect with surgeon. I do hope it goes well and you make a quick and complete recovery.

I HIGHLY recommend a regional anaesthetic vs general (spinal or epidural). You will feel better and recover more quickly and there are fewer associated risks. Follow the guidelines closely about lifting anything post surgery. I felt better quickly and was very tempted to do more than was recommended.

couple of tips, get some prune juice to help if you find you have constipation, and also make sure you have peppermint tea in, I found I had awful trapped wind and this really soothed my tum!

I had a hysterectomy 4 years ago. My advise would be get big full knickers, and a maternity seat belt ( my daughter was using one at the time).
I felt fine after the operation and was out the next morning. I was given syringes to inject into my stomach, these appear scary but really just grab a lump of flesh and do it. You will get huge bruises but they fade. The first time you use the toilet will probably painful but brace yourself. Eat lots of fruit and veg. I went back to driving after 3 weeks and used the maternity seatbelt. If you were fit before you will be fit again