Hi I am 72 years of age and had a total vaginal hysterectomy for prolapse of the uterus on 24th June 2017. In the first week the pain/discomfort and bleeding were minimal and I only needed occasional paracetamol and/or ibuprofen.
This week (10 days after surgery) the discomfort in my back has become more troublesome, and I also been getting low abdominal discomfort, requiring paracetamol. The bleeding/loss is also heavier. I have been good; resting and walking around the house and garden, but am now concerned. Is this normal process? What should I do? Should I be worried. Sorry for all the questions.
Hi, don't panic, apparently the body starts healing at about this time and all sorts starts going on. If you're not passing clots and it's like a light period rather than full flow you should be ok. You don't mention whether your temperature is up a bit? Worth a call to your GP or out of hours medic if you're in the UK just to put your mind at rest and check you have no infection. You may also have been doing more than you think. It's so tricky - you don't know you've overdone it until you've overdone it! Rest a lot today and keep drinking water to protect your kidneys. There are hundreds of stitches tucked up there and a variety of sensations to come. The discharge is brownish pink with occasional spotting when a stitch dissolves, and mine lasted eight weeks (I'm 70). I also had a bit of a gush at one stage but it lessened and stopped over a few hours.It's all rather disturbing but we're all in the same boat and you'll get good advice here. Good luck and do let us know how you get on. Big hug
Thank you so much for your quick and fully reply Celia. You have eased my mind. I don't have a temperature and apart from discomfort abd bleeding, I feel fine. And bowels working normally too. I will take your advice and ring nurse at hospital, and also rest more today. Thank you for the hug. Much needed.
Oh good. There's swelling to take into account too which prompts weirdo symptoms. It's also astonishing how anxieties magnify in the early hours of the morning! 😄
Did you also have a sacrospinous fixation? This might be giving you backache.
Hi Sheila, I wasn't told that I had had a sacrospinous fixation. The back ache has eased somewhat now. The bleeding/loss is still about the same, like a light period. I did ring hospital and consultant said that I was at the stage of healing where the stitches start to come away hence a heavier flow. I don't have a temperature. So I am trusting all is at it should be. Just so tired all the time too. Thanks so much for your reply.
It's still very early days, you've had major surgery and your body needs time to heal. The most frustrating thing, for me, is that on the outside I look fine, but I know there is still so much going on inside! We must be very patient, and allow our body's to heal, they are a complicated but wonderful full thing.
Rest, rest, rest and rest some more!
When was your surgery again, your post says 10 days post but the date was June 27th?
I had my surgery on 24th July so I just past 2 weeks, so I suppose it is early days. When did you have your hysterectomy? As you say, it's so frustrating, although I look and feel like the Wreck of the Hesperus. :-)
Wow, so early. I had a vaginal hysterectomy plus sacrospinous fixation and an anterior and posterior repair on May 4th, so three months ago now. I feel the hysterectomy was the easy bit and it'll now be a long wait to see whether the repairs have worked. I basically had a triple prolapse, I eventually opted for surgery to hopefully help the stress incontinence. At 58 I was fed up of leaking when doing the activities I love!
I've invested in a Kegel8 to help with my pelvic floor. The reviews are excellent and it helps with incontinence too. I'm really anxious not to have a relapsed prolapse and the muscles are so weak they need extra help. General advice was this could be started after 12 weeks but if you go for it check with your medics/physio nurse.
Celia, I'd be interested to know more about the Kegal8. What surgery did you have?
Hi Sheila, I had a vaginal hysterectomy and much needed pelvic floor repair. Google Kegel8 and read the reviews. It was recommended by my physio and a couple of friends. I went for the Ultra 20 - it's not cheap. I've found it easy to use once I got the hang of it - a bit like your first tampax. I want to do everything I can to avoid another prolapse and this should definitely help strength my pelvic floor.
You have certainly been through it and you will certainly need time to recover. I had an anterior vaginal repair last year, thought all was well and then felt as though bladder had prolapsed again! It turned out that I had an inguinal hernia and that my uterus was prolapsing. This all stemmed from a periodnof heavy lifting a couple of years before (my husband has Parkinson's). I had hernia repair earlier this year, and now the hysterectomy. I am scared to prolapse again. I did look at the Kegel8 before all this but decided it was too expensive. But if it helps/works it is a small price to pay as my pelvic floor muscles are weak too.
Hi Celia, I too had looked at the Kegel8 but didn't get one because of the price. This was after I had the anterior vaginal repair last year, and before I knew I had a prolapsed uterus. Now that I have had to have a hysterectomy, I definitely think it is a small price to pay to help the pelvic floor muscles. I am not very good at doing pelvic floor exercises despite getting an app on my phone and ipad to help. And I am so scared of prolapsing again. I will be really interested to hear how you get on. Good luck,
You can use me as a guinea pig and I will certainly report back. Customer care is excellent, and I am taking it carefully! I'm lazy and ineffective with the exercises so this was an investment. Good luck to you too!
Hi Celia, how are you getting on with the Kegel8 Ultra 20? If you remember I had an anterior repair last year, and then a total vaginal hysterectomy just over 6 weeks ago. I am still having a slight discharge and have also felt a bulge/fullness in the vagina. I had my post-op appointment last week and consultant examined me. He says discharge is normal, that I am healing well and although I do have a bulge it is lax vaginal wall. He says I wont need further surgery and has referred me for physio for pelvic floor exercises as my pelvic floor is so poor. I am trying to do these at home before I see physiotherapist, but I am finding them so difficult. I am definitely going to order a Kegel8 Ultra 20 and wondered how you were progressing. Lots love
Hi Barbara, good to hear from you.I heartily recommend the Kegel Ultra 20. If you go ahead message me and I'll give you a couple of tips. They suggest you should wait for 3 months after a hysterectomy to heal before you start. There's a sensitivity test and suggested programme for you to follow for post op hysterectomy and prolapse repair. I do it once a day rather than twice - which they programme into to a 12 week schedule - until my very weak muscles start to strengthen. The great thing is that you are doing something, and manual pelvic floor exercises are disheartening when a) you can't find them and b) it takes so long for them to respond! It's expensive but I don't regret the purchase. Keep in touch! x
Ps - If you go to the Kegel site and browse they'll offer a £5 discount voucher on your purchase 