The First Week

Tony pulled into the driveway, and I was so happy to be home and start healing. Since the hospital gave me some pretty good IV pain medication, I didn’t have too much pain that evening. Also, because of this, most of the day after the surgery was pretty foggy, and I don’t remember too much. 

I set my alarms on my phone for every six hours for twenty-fours hours a day to take my pain medication. A combo of pills alternating 600mg Ibuprofen and 500mg Tylenol, along with my most favorite narcotic, Oxycodone and a stool softener (a must with any narcotics). As much as I didn’t want to take a narcotic because of my experience with them after shattering my ankle ten years ago, it was needed to control the pain. I also knew I would only be on it for a few days at the most, not months like before so down the hatch they went. 

I climbed into bed the first night and realized that sleeping on my side or stomach was not possible— it was very painful. It was a bummer since I mostly sleep that way. I propped a pillow under the back of my knees, tried to get as comfortable as I could, and fell asleep on my back. 

I woke up the next morning very sore— my throat was killing me from the intubation, the incision sites on my stomach were painful, and it felt like I was punched in the stomach a hundred times. I was feeling quite a bit of pain from the C02 gas they used in the surgery that was left in my body, mostly in my shoulders. I  was also still in a deep anesthesia fog. I was scared to move but was able to manage getting out of bed and made it to our comfy couch. My dogs both took turns comforting me while Tony waited on me hand and foot, making sure I had everything I needed. 

Since I didn’t have too much time pre-surgery to prepare or do research on recovering from a full hysterectomy, my plan was to spend the first couple of days researching what I should be doing to ensure the greatest possible healing. I already knew from my past recoveries that it was important to eat clean, stay hydrated, and rest— something that has always been hard for me to do. But I’ve learned my lesson the hard way (a few times) and made a promise to myself I would rest and allow myself to be taken care of this time. Little did I know what was in store for me the next week— there was no need to worry about getting enough rest!

For the next week, I was completely laid out— I spent most of my time sleeping and managing pain. I tried to read, but I just couldn’t concentrate on the book. I never even turned on the tv (I don’t really watch it normally but thought I would need it to stay entertained). I was just so tired and in pain that I literally couldn’t do anything else but rest. My body was also so swollen- something that has persisted into the second week post surgery. My body and mind desperately needed the rest after the trauma from the surgery and the anesthesia. 

I had no idea it would be that rough.

I joined a hysterectomy support group on Facebook and spent some time reading through posts about recovery, what to expect, what to do, what not to do, and other advice. The one thread that kept repeating itself was not to over do it- the risks were just not worth jeopardizing the healing. There were stories of women who tore their internal stitches (!!!!) by lifting something or over doing it and needing emergency surgery and had to start their healing journey from day one again. A couple women tore their stitches so bad their bowels were hanging out and they had to be rushed to the emergency room in the worst pain of their life.

No thank you!!! 

These stories just solidified my commitment to resting and taking care of myself. This surgery was no joke and I am learning what the consequences of not following doctor’s orders could be. The stories of many women in the group are the reality of those consequences. 

So what does full recovery look like? 

According to my doctor he said to expect to be off work the first six weeks (more than the two to three weeks he originally thought), and my full recovery would take at least three months. He also told me I should not do the following for the first three months:

No driving until I was off narcotics and felt I could slam on the brakes if needed. No lifting anything heavy, no walking the dogs, no extra stress, no using core muscles, no gym, no yoga, no hiking, no swimming, no baths (showers only), basically no physical activities that could possibly tear my internal stitches. 

After the three months, if I was healed fully internally, I would be able to ease myself back into all the things that make up a huge part of my life- like lifting at the gym, hiking, and yoga. 

And so here I am rounding out week two with 2.5 months to go! If I’ve learned anything from past recoveries, it is that it feels like forever when you’re in it, but in reality it is just a blink of an eye compared to the rest of your life. So this time I am going to relax into the healing.