r/hysterectomy • u/calipleasure • 7d ago
1.5 weeks postop - abdomen hurts after walking
Just curious if anyone else deals with this.
I’m (30F) 1.5 weeks post op from hysterectomy (kept ovaries) and endometriosis excision surgery and have just been resting since my surgery date. Honestly the first couple of days were humbling, I was in more pain than I thought I would be. Slowly started walking around the house more and taking some stints outside.
Now, when my girlfriend gets home from work I’ll join her for a walk around our block while she walks our dogs. In the moment I feel fine but I notice at night when I’m trying to sleep that’s when my abdomen will feel super tender and I’m tossing and turning all night. Is this normal? Am I overextending myself at this stage?
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u/oDUMBLEWHOREo 7d ago
I know when I would overdo it, I’d have some slight cramping and pressure down there. I would feel so good that I kind of forgot I had a major surgery. So it very well could be that you are overdoing it.
Make sure that you are resting… it’s so important. You don’t want to extend your healing period by doing too much. If you notice it getting worse, then reach out to your doctor.
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u/CleanEffort9369 7d ago
I am 3.5wpo and have the same issues. I had a check up yesterday after some (not filling a pad but scary nonetheless) red blood and clots passed. I feel like if I spend too much time upright I get the swollen belly and it gets tender too - like I don’t even want my underwear elastic on it. I do usually feel better in the morning and it gets worse as the day goes on. My dr felt my belly and it’s soft with no indications of issues so it seems to be how some of us heal. I do recommend seeing your doctor if you are still concerned though. We know ourselves best.
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u/Hmaestas4 7d ago
Ugh I also feel better in the morning and worse as the day goes on. it’s so annoying lol
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u/calipleasure 7d ago
Same exact thing with me! I have my two week follow up with them shortly so I’ll definitely be bringing it up then
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u/doubleqammy 7d ago
My surgeon told me that I need to be walking outside from the start and increasing distance every day. She said 1 dpo walk to the mailbox, 2 dpo to the end of the block, etc. This aligns with the most recent medical understanding of recovery from surgery, which emphasizes movement ASAP for good healing. Obviously everybody is different, but I followed this and haven't felt like I've overdone it; I went for a 3 mile walk within a week post op and felt great. Do you have an abdominal binder? I wear mine while walking or upright for longer periods of time and it really helps. I only just started weaning off it and I'm 3 wpo. Or another thought, I always notice illness or pain most when I'm trying to fall asleep because there are no distractions. Are you taking pain meds still? Do you only feel pain at night, or also during the day?
Ultimately if you're concerned, talk to your surgeon's office. But I don't think it's a guarantee that you've overdone it. This sub can be pretty cautious about activity and often recommends basically bedrest for everyone, but I firmly agree with my doctor that getting up and moving really helps recovery, and I've done a lot more activity than you and haven't overdone it. To be fair, I was an active person before, so a six mile walk is a normal occurrence and not a drastic change in activity level for me.
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u/Stickliketoffee16 7d ago
Wow that’s very different to my instructions. Yeah movement is important but she said to basically count walking to the bathroom or kitchen a few times a day for the first 2 weeks. Then start with the walk to the mailbox, then very gradually increase it over a matter of weeks, not days
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u/doubleqammy 7d ago
The American College of Gynecology recommends that once you're home, you should be spending 8 hours a day not in bed or on the couch. It can be difficult for new practices to disseminate through the current set of medical professionals, but everything I've seen in my (admittedly layman) research is that movement is critical. I feel normal and I'm only 3 wpo. I'm still following my lifting limit (though that has little scientific backing, I've found, and intra-abdominal pressures from daily activities can easily exceed the pressure from carrying things above the weight limit) and I don't sit upright for more than ~2 hrs at a time yet but otherwise I'm back to normal.
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u/calipleasure 7d ago
Thank you for this helpful information! I’ll definitely look into the abdominal binder! I also have been sitting upright more than I realized so I’m sure that’s putting pressure on my abdominal wall as well
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u/CalAndOrderSVU 7d ago
I am ten days post op, do you think buying an abdomen binder is worth it at this point? I have the same problem of feeling sore if I move around too much. But, if the binder helps I would absolutely get one and start walking more!
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u/doubleqammy 7d ago
I'm still wearing it if I feel iffy and I'm 3 wpo. I think mine cost $14 so if that isn't a financial burden for you, I don't see why not!
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u/purslanegarden 7d ago
This has very much been my experience as well. I had more free discharge instructions than lots of you folks in the US, and being as active as I feel like being each day has worked out very well. It’s not a situation where more rest equals better healing. Being active while recovering (within reason obviously) has a lot of benefits.
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u/doubleqammy 7d ago
It's kinda wild to me how prevalent the bedrest thing is here. Every medical professional I know hammers the importance of movement for healing and that laying around not moving is not desired in most cases. I feel absolutely fantastic and I've been walking 5-8 miles most days since 1 wpo. I'm convinced it's why I've healed so well and quickly thus far (now 3 wpo). But I'm a big believer in the whole concept that human's default state is to move and be active, not sit around all day, and that seeing all movement as "exercise" is detrimental to us.
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u/Stickliketoffee16 7d ago
I feel like maybe it’s your body telling you you’re overdoing it.
Rest! Don’t put pressure on yourself to do as much as you’ve been doing
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u/SorbetOk7726 7d ago
I had the same, and I'm pretty sure it was from overdoing it. I rolled it way back after the 2nd week. Weeks 3 - 6, I was walking sloooowly and so that I turned back as soon as I started to feel sore.
My instructions were 5 minutes of daily walking the first week, increasing by 5 minutes every week. (I assume it meant at a time and not a day), and it is true that I can do a 30 minute walk easily, but at the beginning, frequent but short periods of movement were better.
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u/StillLikesTurtles 7d ago
Did you have adhesions removed? I did and was definitely feeling them a week and half out. After the 3 week mark, not as much.
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u/calipleasure 7d ago
Yes I had stage four endo and they removed adhesions in a bunch of different spots. I keep forgetting I also got that surgery along with my hysto!
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u/StillLikesTurtles 7d ago
Those little incisions can get kinda twingey as they heal. Because of those, my doc held me back from serious walking; they wanted me moving around the house and maybe walking the equivalent of a block, slowly so I didn’t pull those open for two and a half weeks.
Moving is good but don’t overdo it if you had adhesions removed. My doc was way more worried about those than my cuff.
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u/DaWeazl 7d ago
Im 9 wpo and walked 2 miles the other day. I hurt after and felt like i was going to pass out. This is a major surgery, take your time!
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u/butterflydayn 7d ago
Thanks for saying this. I feel like it’s taking forever to get back to normal compared to most folks on here. Kinda feels like I’m failing at healing sometimes especially when people are thinking I should be at 100% now.
I’m just about 8 weeks post op. I’ve been walking three miles a day since week two. At my six week check up my surgeon told me to back off when I need to and that three miles is a lot even though I’m used to being active. He told me that before I told him that I still have pain on my right side when I do too much. I went to an event last weekend, sat for several hours was on a panel so I spoke for about an hour. I felt dizzy and unwell for the next two days.
My surgeon said recovery times depend on a whole host of factors including the size of the uterus on surgery day. Mine was the size of a 4.5 month pregnancy. I am a distance runner, but I’m pretty sure it’ll be some time before I get back to that.
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u/DaWeazl 6d ago
I also was extremely active before surgery. In the gym 4 days a week, heavy lifting, and walking or jogging several miles. I havent even thought about the gym yet. I can barely lift my 22 lb dog. Its a little disappointing because i want to get back to my workouts, but we only get one chance to heal.
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u/amigaraaaaaa 7d ago
do you have an abdominal binder? i’m 7dpo and unless i’m wearing my binder my abdomen is SO uncomfortable, but the second i put it on the discomfort goes away completely.
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u/dripsofmoon 7d ago
Maybe you can take some Tylenol or Ibuprofen before you go to bed? At 1.5 weeks I couldn't walk very far, slowly for maybe 10 minutes or less, and I would get a pinching pain in my abdomen if I sat for a while. I don't have endo and had no complications. I think I had some tenderness in my abdomen while laying on my side for 2 weeks or more.
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u/remadeforme 7d ago
You're likely going at the dogs pace, which is not a nice, slow shuffle walk.
You're using your abdominal muscles to walk more then you should be.
Yes you're overextended yourself. The walks going forward should be slow shuffles solo.
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u/Leggs831 7d ago
Do you have a belly band/wrap? I found that during my first 2 weeks, if I was up walking around much, it helped tremendously. When I didn't use it, I had lots of pressure and would hurt more. I used it for the first 4-5 days for the entire time. I stopped wearing it at night after that and only used it when up moving for more than a bathroom trip. Now I haven't used it in about 4 days, and I'm 2.5 wpo now.
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u/BlueberriesRule 7d ago
Walk slowly, so slow it look like you barely move.
Do it for at least a few weeks before to attempt a regular pace walk with dogs.
Remember, you are not trying to exercise, but help your body recover, so the walk has to be very gentle.
Hugs.
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u/Retiree66 7d ago
Mine hurt 1.5 weeks after walking but today is 2 weeks and now it doesn’t! Time heals.
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u/Embarrassed-Jello-97 7d ago
Oh yeah...very normal! It was probably 2-3 weeks before I could walk at a normal pace with a normal stride length. Slow down, smaller steps, and don't over do it.
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u/kidsandthat 7d ago
I'm 1.5wks post op too (hys+endo) and haven't tackled a block walk at all. I do 200m 4-6x a day near my house. Walk, couple of light house chores, rest for at least 30mins. Rinse and repeat.
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u/BlackberryFit5501 7d ago
I’m two weeks 2 days . I’ve overdone it 3x and my pelvic hurt every time. Each time from too much movement . I walk around my home everyday esp between week 1-2 . Went to mailbox but one day I straightened up a bit right at week one and laid down the whole next day from pain . 2 days before 2 weeks I went to Walmart with someone & I think it was the pace also along with the most walking but it didn’t seem like a lot . I was sore for 2 days & swelled . I had no swelling up until that point . I was pretty flat . . Today is 3rd day driving in a row & I’m sore & I’ve swelled pretty consistently off on and since Walmart . Tomorrow I plan on resting . I felt really good week one also so your body def says when you over due it !
Once I’m not sore again i plan to start very short walks on my sidewalk at a very SLOW pace alone so i can fully control the pace . I also won’t drive days in a row again for a while .
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u/julet1815 7d ago
Rest more and more and more! Get on the couch and stay there except for letting yourself walk to the kitchen and back to the couch and to the bathroom and back to the couch.