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Hysterectomy/ pelvic floor repair

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Bobsey
Bobsey

Hi. Just found this group after quite a lot of searching. I wasn’t given any real information before or after my op so don’t really know what to expect. I’m 10 days post op for vaginal hysterectomy ( womb, cervix and right tube ) and posterior pelvic floor repair. Has anyone had problems with severe pressure/pain in their bottom? It can be really painful at times. I didn’t quite expect this as I haven’t actually had an op there! It took a week but I’m now passing soft bm’s so don’t think it’s to do with that. I’m still struggling to walk around and even though I’ve been signed off from work for 4 weeks I thought I would be feeling a lot better than what I am. Any advice/ info would be greatly appreciated.

2 likes, 24 replies

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  • donna87222
    donna87222 Bobsey

    Posted

    Hi Bobsey I don't think they prepare you for where you are going to feel the most discomfort. Compared to you I only had the posterior repair and I felt like that for quite a few months, I took three months off work but I do work on my feet. Just take it easy it's very early days and sounds very normal to me.

    • Bobsey
      Bobsey donna87222

      Posted

      Thank you for replying. It’s really good to know what I am feeling sounds quite normal! I just wish I had been given a bit more info. I do have a follow up with my consultant next week but when he spoke to me 2 days after my op and I asked what I can and can’t do he just said do whatever you feel like doing, make yourself a brew, do the hoovering if you feel up to it. I can hardly walk let alone push a hoover and lifting anything heavier than a full cup hurts. Thanks again for replying.
    • welshgirl67
      welshgirl67 Bobsey

      Posted

      Omg your consultant is wrong.. If you start hoovering after such major op you will definitely do damage to you surgical site.

      I can't believe he told you to do anything you feel like. I'm sure some other lAdies would be shocked too.

      Please please rest for a t least 6 wks.. You need at least 12 wks before your body makes scar tissue. This what strengthens everything up.x

    • Bobsey
      Bobsey welshgirl67

      Posted

      Thanks for the advice. I couldn’t hoover if I tried tbh. Can I ask did you have the posterior repair? Should I be doing pelvic floor exercises? I’ve tried and they are very weak and uncomfortable to do. Sorry to keep moaning!
    • welshgirl67
      welshgirl67 Bobsey

      Posted

      I had a tvh and anterior hun.

      I started doing them at 4 wks post op and not before.

      If you are sore leave till after 6 wks lovely.

      This op is horrendous.I have thought a thousand times it's failed. The pressure in front feels like a bulge.

      This is my second repair..I did nothing for 6 wks and hey ho it dropped.. Such a mentally draining recovery .good luck to you love x

  • phyl_40063
    phyl_40063 Bobsey

    Posted

    Hi Bobsey,

          Recovery can take much longer than they estimate, very much depends on how extensive the prolapse and therefore how extensive the repair and also if pre or post menopausal.

            Mainly just resting up for first two weeks as you would if you were still in hospital, after that gradually start short 5 min walks twice a day building up to 2 x20 min walks per day by 6 weeks post op. 

               Weight wise do not lift anything more than a mug of tea for first 2 weeks then build up to 1 or 2 litres by 6 weeks. 

            Build up very slowly and see how it goes listen to your body. Your body will soon let you know if you are overdoing things. 

          Basically we all recover at different rate depending on how strong our pelvic floor is if you are not under a physiotherapist who specialises in pelvic floor conditions it may be a good idea to get a referral as they will keep you right and help you to regain some strength in your pelvic floor muscles and will make sure you know how to do your pelvic floor exercises properly.

               Good luck, it is a very long drawn out recovery please take care as your best chance of this being successful is your first repair so protect it from further damage.

                           X

    • Bobsey
      Bobsey phyl_40063

      Posted

      Hi. Thank you so much for replying. I am pre menopausal, I’m 44. I had the hysterectomy due to heavy bleeding but I didn’t realise the pelvic floor op would be quite so severe. From what I can gather the posterior prolapse was worse than originally thought and I did need a anterior repair as well but it was thought best to leave it at this time. I thought I should maybe be pushing myself a bit more but now that I have read what you have put, I won’t! Thanks again
  • Laura3333
    Laura3333 Bobsey

    Posted

    Hi Bobsey, I’m glad you found us, you have not been given enough information by your doctors, no one ever seems to have.

    Yes your bottom will hurt and the pressure feeling is quite normal. A posterior repair is done at the back walk of the vagina and the front wall of the rectum, the area is pulled together, any lax tissue cut out and then all pulled back together and stitched, via the vagina, but the wall is dual purpose and when loose, you can have a bulge into your vagina, called a rectocele. If you google this term you will find a lot about it, and the repair you had done. The hysterectomy itself is fairly straightforward and you should heal fairly easily from this. The rectocele repair is another matter, it’s quite major surgery and can take up to a year to fully get back to anywhere near normal. Please take it as easy as you can, no lifting, no bending stretching  or squatting.

    Ten days is very very early in your recovery, and your stitches are still holding everything together, the deeper stitches take months to dissolve. Four weeks is really too early to plan on going back to work. Can you get your doctor to issue you with a sick note for another month, and depending on your job do a phased return.

    Its a hard surgery to recover from, you can’t rush it.

    • Bobsey
      Bobsey Laura3333

      Posted

      thankyou so much for your reply. I have googled quite a lot but got a bit confused as to what I should and shouldn’t be doing. Your explanation of the op is actually one of the best I have seen.  My consultant spoke to me 2 days after the op and said I could make a brew, do the hoovering, do what ever I felt like doing. I was a bit concerned as I’m still struggling to walk and thought maybe I should be doing more. Thanks again
    • Laura3333
      Laura3333 Bobsey

      Posted

      Noooo hoovering! Consultants say the daftest things, you really need to heal well over the next few months, even getting constipated can undo the surgeons work. Just remember, the first repair is the best one, you don’t want to have it done again. At your age, you will have a strong pelvic floor and heal well.Just rest and lie down when you need to. To put it in perspective, you have been cut right down to your perineum, and you’re sore, don’t sit down or stand up for too long. You’ll get prickly stitches as they loosen, and might see them as they come out.

      This is a great forum and someone will always come and answer any worries you might have. It’s the not knowing that’s the worst thing.

    • phyl_40063
      phyl_40063 Laura3333

      Posted

      Absolutely agree with you Laura on the no hovering, I was hoovering and mopping in the very early weeks after my hysterectomy and anterior repair (1st lot of surgery, that was before I came across the forum and needless to say I re-prolapsed, having said that it was only a little and I went back to work and managed for about 2 and half years without too much bother but as soon as they put me on my feet at work it all started coming tight down again but it was more the back end that I was having trouble with.             

                  So you are right that it's so important to get it right first time.

                 X

    • Laura3333
      Laura3333 phyl_40063

      Posted

      Hello Phyl, what’s the situation at work like now? Are you still managing to work there. Hope your hubby is a bit better, he was taking you to work last time I saw you post?
    • phyl_40063
      phyl_40063 Laura3333

      Posted

      Yes Laura still working away, thank you for asking. Hubby still having to run me back and forth in the car. 

                     I changed one of my shifts to make sure I get a good supporting chair and that has worked out well so far. That has made such a difference getting a good seat and I am able to do so much more at home as I can recover much quicker after my shifts. 

                    So just goes to show how important it is to get proper support at work.  GP line reminding work that I need a good supporting chair only covered me for three months so that will have run out now so just waiting to see if they will still continue to support me or if I will have to put another line in.  It's not like my pelvic floor is going to return to the same strengh as was pre- menopause.

                        Hubbys tumor has decreased by a milliemetre and most of his hormones and natural steroids in his body all going back to normal except his testosterone, so waiting for appointment for more early morning blood tests and they will then begin hormone replacement. They said probably the extreme tiredness due to lack of testosterone.

           He now has high blood pressure but GP has told him to change his lifestyle and cut back the alcohol.

               Think he has been gradually doing more over the last month or two but still a long way to go. 

           Hospital records showed he had a bladder infection 6 months ago yet the results hadn't been passed on to GP, he was meant to have had an antibiotic for it so I suppose that his body must have been fighting that for a long time too and still got slight incontinance issues himself .

                                     Just wish I could cope with more shifts but as soon as you think your doing great you push yourself more and always end up overdoing things and end up having to rest up. 

            How are doing Laura, hope all is going well and making progress yourself? 

                             Take care x

           

                      

                         

                       

    • Bobsey
      Bobsey Laura3333

      Posted

      Thanks again for your reply. Your right it is the not knowing which is the worst. I feel quite weepy at times to and I don’t think it’s all down to the pain I’m feeling. Is this normal? I’m dreading going back to see the consultant next week as I will only be 17 days post op and I just know I won’t be able to allow him to do an internal as its to painful. Has anyone else felt like this?
    • Laura3333
      Laura3333 Bobsey

      Posted

      Yes it’s all normal, feeling helpless out of control, hormones all over the place. At that stage, not being able to see an end to it all.

      Explain to the consultant that you can’t face an internal. It’s an early follow up, it’s usually six weeks, and even at that stage, you feel a bit delicate. It will pass, just get lots of rest, find something good on tv to pass the time. I watched all the seasons of Sons of anarchy, one after the other!

    • Laura3333
      Laura3333 phyl_40063

      Posted

      That’s good Phyl, sounds as if things are going a bit better. Hope you can carry on getting the chair at work.

      Your poor husband, he’s had a lot to deal with hasn’t he? Life has a habit of chucking things at us in twos and threes.

      I doing a bit better thanks, have some more tablets for nerve pain thrown into the mix, and they are helping. Still can’t sit for long, I don’t know if my nerve pain will ever totally go, may just have to live with it.

    • phyl_40063
      phyl_40063 Laura3333

      Posted

      I thought that last year that I would have to live with the nippy scar tissue; my sister said it would probably slacken off and I think it has a little (so probably was just very tightly done due to back and front prolapsed being done at same time), but also think that the estriol topical cream has made a huge difference. 

                              Have they sent you to pain  management clinic ?

                 If it's not one thing it's another, I read somewhere that stastistics show that everyone over age of 55 has at least one medical problem. Don't see how they reckon we are a healthier generation and I think all this pushing young females towards the gym is only going to be a huge problem in the future if not sooner rather than later.

                     Take care x

    • Laura3333
      Laura3333 phyl_40063

      Posted

      Yes been going to pain clinic for last few months, had spinal injections for pudendal nerve pain three times, didn't do anything.

      Now on a cocktail of drugs, feel spaced out most of the time.

      Have tried estriol, but maes me swell up.

      Yes agree about gymnastics, we weren't designed to bounce on trampolines.

    • phyl_40063
      phyl_40063 Laura3333

      Posted

      Agree with the no trampolines I was doing that and skipping (was doing about 500 skips a day) . 

                    Yes the estriol thickens up the internal tissues and makes my abdomen look swollen but for me so much better than being in pain and unable to do much. Have to keep listening to hubby saying I need to get rid of tummy 😂😂😂!

      X

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