Recovery from hysterectomy (likely uterine-only)?

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10 years ago I was diagnosed with stage II endometriosis + adenomyosis. The diagnosis came as NO surprise. I had all of the textbook symptoms since my very first period at age 12.5. I've been putting off having a hysterectomy ever since. Now I am 40 and tired of short cycles (21-25 days) and sometimes bleeding for as long as 13 days. I'm also starting to have uterine cramping/pulling sensations when I pee which makes me think my bladder is now glued to my uterus with an adhesion. My bowels are still kind of stupid at various points in my cycle, too.

So I'm at the point where I'm thinking it's time to put up or shut up and have this useless and troublesome stuff removed. I also have one ovary that is a trainwreck, so that might come out at this point, too. Cyclocross season ends in late Nov., so it seems like right after the last race would be the ideal time to have this done, that would give me Dec. to lay low when there's so much going on that it's harder to fit in workouts, anyhow. And my mileage already took a big hit this year after I broke my wrist late last Nov., so I'd love to start 2014 with a healed body and clean slate.

I'm hearing that recovery from a hyst is fairly easy, nowadays. What has been the experience for those of you who have undergone this in recent years? I also run, so I'm guessing I'd be able to get back to nowhere biking before I would riding outdoors or running.

Would love some BTDT reports!

[Catrin]

There are different methods of course. I underwent a full hysterectomy + removal of both ovaries in 2008 via the Da Vinci machine method. My hysterectomy was a ovarian cancer scare, it turned out to be a bad case of adenomyosis.

The second surgery via the Da Vanci still took some time to heal of course - but the pain wasn't bad. Indeed I don't remember much, though the incision inside my navel took longer to heal than expected. I was off work the same period of time as a more traditional method, but it was care more comfortable. I remember that caused me to want to start doing things too early. All of that being said, in 2008 I was MUCH larger and wasn't active yet. My healing issues was likely more related to that than the method used. As far as getting back to your usual activities, others will have to speak to that - for me it took longer than expected before I could start going for walks without internal discomfort.

[Melalvai]

It wasn't recent but I had an easy recovery with full abdominal incision. Of course I was 31 years old and in decent shape... I'm in much better shape now because I started bicycling right after that. Recovery is heavily influenced by age and fitness going into it. I strongly recommend the HysterSisters forum. They were a wealth of info at the time.

[Catrin]

... I strongly recommend the HysterSisters forum. They were a wealth of info at the time.

Concur, they were very helpful! I still get emails from them on the anniversary of my surgery and it's been 5 years!

[limewave]

I ended up not having a hysterectomy, obviously (my two beautiful babes), but i was supposed to and I had a full abdominal incision and parts of my stuff removed at the time. It was a pretty extensive surgery. I was in decent shape, but not as good of shape as I am now. Recovery was so/so (this was 10 years ago). I took 6 weeks off of work, 2 of which I could not drive. And I wish I had taken a few extra weeks off of work even though I was going stir-crazy at home. The first few weeks back were exhausting.

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I must say I'm relieved post-appt to not have the hyst on the table, for now. The PA I saw listened to my symptoms and immediately said that she's certain what I'm dealing with is estrogen dominance as my progesterone levels have dropped. I've suspected this for a long time, too, and at 40 this makes sense. I'll be doing 200mg Prometrium on days 16-25 of my cycles, now. This might help with my weight struggles and water retention/bloating woes, too, which would be bonus!

[TrekDianna]

I had my hysterectomy a few years ago and it was a vaginal surgery. I still have one ovary. I didn't take anything stronger than an 800 mg motrin and tylenol afterwards. I was up and gardening in a few days. I was healed after 3 weeks. I was lucky that she could remove everything vaginally and I didn't have to deal with external stitches.