10/16/11

How long does it take to recover from an abdominal hysterectomy?


How long does it take to recover from an abdominal hysterectomy?
Best answer:
I would say it depends on your body. Everyone is different. I have not had to have one as of yet, but have many family members and friends that have. Each was different. Two examples...... One of them was up and running in no time. The other had a very hard time and it took quite a bit of recovery. But she also had to have quite a bit of reconstruction in her abdomen during surgery. I pray for a speedy recovery for you.I'm going in for a vaginal hysterectomy. I just read the info sheet I got from the Dr. and it says that it takes about 6 weeks for full recovery from the surgery and 1 year for full recovery from the anesthetic. If you have questions you should be asking the dr. performing the surgury.i had an abdominal hysterectomy along with tubes and ovaries when i was 26 (1981). they kept me in for 6 days. i believe it is now 1-3 days. i could have gone back to work in 3 weeks if i had to, but stayed out for 6 because there was no light duty (i'm a registered nurse). i had a vertical incision from my naval to my pubic bone. the first day i thought i would die, the 2nd day i wished i would die, but by the 3rd day i was feeling better. one bit of advice....take all the drugs they want to give you. in this day
and age, there is no reason for you to be in pain. you don't say
how old you are. good luck, and remember...stand up straight, after the surgery when you walk
also, don't freak out if your hair thins a little . that sometimes happens after anesthesia.Have you spoken to your doctor about the possibility of electing to do a laparoscopic hysterectomy? It is less invasive, and the healing time is about 1/3 that of an abdominal hysterectomy.

To answer your question, the average stay is 4 days post-op in the hospital, with another 4-6 weeks at-home care before you can get back to your normal life.
Since you say it a complete hysterectomy do you also mean a "radical" hysterectomy (meaning they will also take your ovaries out) and have you considered hormone replacement therapy? Some women find they don't need it while others suffer severe side effects from total removal. It is another thing to discuss with your surgeon, depending on your age.

I wish you luck. Please do consider alternatives before consenting to a full-abdominal.OK, this I can answer. I just had one done June 23. I was in the hospital the 23, 24, and 25. I was released the 26. I am not going to lie to you at all, an abdominal hysterectomy is very painful. They will give you an IV to knock you out and when you get to your room they will hook up a line into the IV with fluids that is pain medication and you will have a button to push when you need it, but it will lock out if you push it too often (or at least I got the button and IV pain medicine). After a day or so they will get you up walking which hurts really bad. They have you hold a pillow over the incision site which will be down right where the pubic hair line starts. The pillow is supposed to provide support and help you not be so sore (trust me the pillow didnt help me at all). It will hurt to walk the first week or two of having it done. It will take about 4 weeks to be able to sneeze, cough and laugh without feeling like your inside is being torn open. It took me 6 weeks to be able to do normal stuff like housework because the first 6 you arent allowed to lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk. It took a total of 8 weeks to be able to have sex and that is still painful sometimes. The only good thing about the hysterectomy is no more periods and you wont be on any hormone medicine because they are just taking your cervix and uterus. You will also go home with pain meds to take. You will end up with a red bumpy scar when it starts to heal-dont worry its just trying to repair itself and I was told 3 months after the surgery is done the scar should be flat smooth and barely noticeable. You wont be able to take a tub bath for 2-4 weeks but I would wait until the 6 week check up to do that. Showers do hurt at first. Dont rub at the incision site, you will tear the couple stitches that get put in the ends of the scar the rest will be held together with the butterfly type bandages. If you want to talk or ask any questions please feel free to contact me.

IN A COMPLETE THEY DO NOT TAKE THE OVARIES OUT. ITS JUST THE UTERUS AND CERVIX. HERE IS THE MEDICAL DEFINITION FOR A COMPLETE HYSTERECTOMY AND SOME WEBSITES SO YOU DONT FREAK OUT MORE.

Complete hysterectomy: Complete surgical removal of the uterus and cervix.

There are four types of hysterectomies. The type of hysterectomy performed depends on the problem being treated:

Subtotal hysterectomy (partial) involves removing the body of the uterus, but leaving the cervix in place.
Total hysterectomy involves removing the body of the uterus as well as the cervix.
Total hysterectomy with salipingo-oophorectomy (bilateral if both ovaries are removed) involves removing the body of the uterus, the cervix, as well as the ovaries and Fallopian tubes.
Radical hysterectomy is done specifically in the case of invasive gynaecological cancer, is the same procedure as a total hysterectomy but also involves the removal of the upper part of the vagina as well as the pelvic lymphatic ganglions.
Abdominal hysterectomy . The operation is done through a 10-to-15-centimetre incision in the abdomen. This incision could be horizontal (under the pubic hair line) or vertical (between the pubis and the navel). This procedure allows the surgeon to easily reach the uterus and Fallopian tubes, in particular, in the case of a radical hysterectomy. This also makes it easier to extract a uterus or large fibroma. However, it requires several days' hospital stay and leaves a visible scar.When my mom had it done, the recovery time was 6 weeks. She was in the hospital for 3 days. They might kick you out sooner, though. No heavy lifting or strenous activity for 6 weeks. She felt pretty wiped out for the first week, but then started feeling good.

2010-02-15-04
abdominal hysterectomy

Image by RobynAnderson


A week after an abdominal hysterectomy, is it common that a patient has bad headaches and other affects?
Best answer:
all symptoms of narcotic pain medication. Did her doctor give her a nausea medication? Also, she had abdominal surgery--it is not uncommon to be constipated for a long time after wards especially taking pain meds. She could take a stool softener to help.

Make sure that you call the doctor though just in case.There is a site on the internet with all information for women called hystersisters.com. When I had mine, there was residual gas which I had to walk off, and a long recovery due to their surprise at finding a fibroid tumor. But, I was so much better afterward. I stayed out of work for a month due to weakness. Supposedly, the side effects are probably normal. Check with the gyn, and if supposed to start HRT, have her do it. Don't expect her to feel 100% rapidly. You can go to the site above mentioned, join and post your question or search all the answers and others' experiences which are given.Did she have an epidural and/or spinal for anesthesia? If so she should at least contact her doctor about this to make sure she didn't get a spinal headache. If not she should still contact the doc or at least call the office and ask if all this is normal and expected. She should have been given a discharge sheet with things that she should call about if they occured. All can happen after surgery especially if narcotic pain killers are being used. Pain after a hysterectomy though can last awhile (some hystersisters have been known to take pain meds for several weeks after) and if she's not taking it easy by resting (I stayed in bed most of the first couple weeks and did not do any cooking or cleaning till after doc said I could like after six weeks) and I also suggest she check out www.hystersisters.com but don't let her sit to much. To much sitting (I was told to limit sitting to no more than 20 minutes) can also cause pain that she would not normally have. If she also lost her ovaries she may need to take HRT if prescribed. A hysterectomy is MAJOR surgery with at least a six week recovery or more. It's a huge cutting and stitching job and is not like having a baby. It's removal of a major organ and lots of complications can occur even when the patient does take it easy. I didn't require a cut on the outside of my belly but women who have vaginal hysterectomies can have over 100 internal stitches inside but the only difference is no noticeable outside cut.



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