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Recent Hysterectomy


Angelika_23

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Hello,

Completely by accident, my doctors found out I was severely anemic. After a little investigation and a trip to my OB/GYN, we had the answer. I needed surgery and I was terrified to the point of being physically ill.

So, last week I had a hysterectomy. It was supposed to be a vaginal hysterectomy, but my uterus was too enlarged so they had to cut me open. :( I was so worried about anesthesia and how it would affect me. The surgery actually went pretty well (other than having to cut me open). My POTS didn't act up too much at the hospital, thank goodness. The only issue I was aware of was my oxygen sats took about 24 hours to improve to where I could be off oxygen.

Now I am at home, and I am having hot flashes and my ankles and feet are swelling. My doctor feels the swelling is because I was on my feet too much the past two days. I guess I might have been, but only because they scared me by saying if I layed around then I might get blood clots. I was determined to NOT get blood clots. I was either up walking or sitting upright in a chair (with my feet down.) I was off my midodrine while in the hospital, do you think that is why I might be swelling now? 5 days post op? I have stayed in bed mostly today, have restarted my midodrine, and the swelling is better but not gone. I was hoping to get through this without any major problems.

I am still hurting and still taking pain medication religiously. I have a cough, which is really making my abdominal area agonizing at times.

So now I am trying to find the delicate balance between up and down. No swelling, and no blood clots either.

I would welcome any suggestions.

Angela

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It may take some time before you are able to! I had my first born with C-section and what helped me standing straight was to use a small cushion and press it agains my belly. Doing that for a few days made it easier to stand (straight) and walk. It took some getting used to it, it hurt a lot at first but over the days the pain got much better.

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You had major surgery - it will take a long time to heal - especially with dysautonomia - take it easy - prop your feet up when you sit down - if you are sitting for prolonged periods, work your feet and calf muscles (like you would on a long airplane/car trip) - I had a hysterectomy by the robotic method - less invasive than an open abdominal hysterectomy but, still took a long time to heal. I stayed extra time in the hospital to deal with the dysautonomia and I was off work an extra couple of weeks as well. The dysautonomia flared up at various times while healing - don't be surprised if it hits you even when you think you are well on the road to recovery. Since you went immediately into "surgical" menopause, this will cause the dysautonomia to act up - your MD should be prepared to deal with it - I took the lowest dose of hormones for 6 weeks just to keep the menopausal symptoms at bay while the dysautonomia calmed down.

The position of your legs during surgery is probably what caused the pain and "bruised nerve" - I also had a lump in my lower leg with severe calf pain but, an ultrasound revealed no blood clot. If the surgical staff does not pay strict attention to accurate positioning, this is a common thing. I think they also forget that if the surgery is longer than expected, they need to shift your legs around some or apply the machine to your legs that alternately squeezes the calf muscles to keep circulation from becoming stagnant.

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