How long to get your Mojo back after Hysterectomy?

[girlontheroad]

With the caveat that everyone is different and you are clearly in better shape starting out than I am, i just had a total hysterectomy with one ovary removed on september 10. I had an abdominal so i had a big incision but know others who had laproscopic surgery and had about the same recovery time. The internal part of the surgery is still the same. it will probably take a few more weeks to get the energy back, but I found that I finally got my energy fully back around thanksgiving. So that was about 10 weeks. However I travel the country for work and was traveling from just after week 5 so that might have slowed me down. I was back on the bike after 6 weeks but because of the traveling for work my riding was limited through the thanksgiving holiday. After that it didn't take much time to get back up to speed to where I was before the surgery in terms of mileage. And I have added miles in the last 3 weeks so I now can ride farther than I could before. The one problem I do have is I still get swelling in my stomach at the end of the day but it mostly is if I sit at a desk too long or lift too much. Biking doesn't seem to affect it. I would say you could meet your goal in your time frame. I think you are really barely recovered at week 6 but after two months and then now I can tell you I am at least back to 90% if not more. You will probably notice a big difference in the way you feel after 9 weeks or so. Just. Make sure to rest now and follow dr orders as you have been which will improve outcome in the long run. Mine was also unexpected for much the same reason. Not at all what I had planned for this yer and had just been getting started on my road bike regularly, but I am now able to pick up where I left off. Hang in there. It does get better. Here is a link with some others advice to me when I posted a similar question before my surgery. http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=49255. Let me know how it goes!

[lauraelmore1033]

Oh, I did see your thread earlier and wondered how you were doing! The responses on that thread actually made me receptive to the notion of, say, following the Dr's orders instead of following my impulses (and getting on the bike 'cos I felt fine...). Your results are very encouraging, thanks for sharing them!
I do have moments when I THINK I feel like I'm back to normal,and can do anything, but then, I still experience that fatigue lag after I start doing...well,anything. I'm sure I will be thrilled that I went through with the surgery the riding season after this next one. I'm trying to keep it all in perspective, but it's hard...

[TrekDianna]

It was the fatigue that got me. I had the vaginal hysterectomy and I didn't need any pain meds post-op either. I thought everything was great. I felt much, much better than I did pre-surgery - every tiny change in hormones brought on a migraine that made me wish for death (haven't had a migraine since the morning of surgery 2009). Because I felt so awful before and so great after, I didn't exactly follow orders. I was trying things I shouldn't have tried at 4 weeks. My doctor did allow me to do what I thought I felt ok to do, but I would definitely get tired fast and need to take naps. I don't know if it made recovery longer or not, but I feel like recovery was pretty fast. I can say that I did feel tired for a few months. I think that's normal. Your body uses a lot of energy when healing.

[lauraelmore1033]

The fatigue is unreal! Scrubbing the tub last night felt like the equivalent effort of a long and hilly ride. Wrapping presents took half the morning and I was wiped out by the time they were opened. I am baffled by it all.

[tealtreak]

The fatigue is unreal! Scrubbing the tub last night felt like the equivalent effort of a long and hilly ride. Wrapping presents took half the morning and I was wiped out by the time they were opened. I am baffled by it all.

Hang in there! You will feel better ...it is so discouraging when you are in the midst of recovery......The fatigue is normal, I have experienced it not only with major surgery, but also when recovering from a bad car wreck. Maybe the body is yelling at us to conserve energy for healing. I do know the energy does come back! (:

[girlontheroad]

Ditto teal trek. It does get better. I am 3 months out and it is no longer a problem.

[lauraelmore1033]

Ack! Went in for the 6 week follow up and the dr cleared me for physical activity, but not sexual. He then revealed that I'd had a huge vaginal tear when my Episiotomy (from pregnancy 30 years ago) "popped open" due to the size of my fibroids being removed. Claimed that he'd already told me, but I am pretty sure he didn't. DH says he was apprised of the"huge" fibroids, and that he had been told that the operation had taken so long because the fibroids were so large, but that the dr had definitely not said anything about a "huge vaginal tear". well,that explains why I am still so fatigued! Wish I'd known about that 6 weeks ago... Dr ran his finger along a disturbingly long line of still intact sutures and it felt like I had fish bones in there.