How long did it really take you to get over surgery?

[Hotwaterbottle01]

I had a massive fibroid removed 5 months ago (25cm) and everything was in such a bad state when they opened me up I also had a full hysterectomy too. I was told to expect a longer recovery as the fibroid had grown out of the womb and had to be scraped off my insides and other organs and it had all been such a mess.

I unfortunately developed a blood clot ( which ive had before) anyway it became infection a few weeks later ( has been feeling generally unwell since the operation) and found myself being rushed back into hospital with sepsis.

My tummy still feels sore just mainly on one side but the scar is worse on that side anyway. I also had a drain inserted into that particular side so it was the side that definitely came off the worst. I went to see the consultant expecting to be told it’s just natural and going to take a little longer to recover but he’s now said I may have adeshions and need further surgery😫.

I can’t face more surgery, it’s the impact it had on my family and the fact I nearly died! He’s told me to wait until the start of February to come back, if the pain is still ongoing then he advises I have the surgery .... but he said let’s just see if it settles.

Going by the bog standard advise on recovery on the nhs guidelines I should have been up and about a 6-8 weeks. 6-8 weeks I was back laying in a hope bed and I never even tried to drive until about 3.5 months post op and when I did I ended up back in bed for 3 days with pain ananda a hotwater bottle. It’s hard to gauge is it just a painful slow recovery or is something else going on?

Has anyway had any experience of a really long recovery like this but still managed to get back to normal with no further intervention?

Or had experience of hysterectomy or adeshions?

It feels sometimes like period cramp in my side which is weird as I now have no womb? Is this what adeshions would feel like ?

I can drive ok now but I just get random crampy pain and my tummy feels heavy ans bloated. Thanks!

I've had ongoing bowel issues after my hysterectomy which have been investigated and they've said is likely adhesions, have been offered a lap to investigate further but they have also cautioned that further surgery to release adhesions would likely only give temporary relief as more adhesions could form so I'm on the fence at the moment. Whilst I can live with things as they are, I'm reluctant to do anything (I'm reserving the right to change my mind if things get worse though!)

You’ve been really unwell so actually you are doing very well especially given that you have young children and additional needs to deal with.

If you are improving, even slowly, I would advise holding off any further invasive procedures and concentrate on improving your health. Go back to your GP and ask for another anaemia check as you may still need iron (although that can also cause gastric issues).

Eat as well as you possibly can. As advised above, look for a rehab Pilates instructor and learn to strengthen those poor abdominal and core muscles.

Read as much as you can throughout the day, even for ten minutes if you are completely relaxes, it helps.

I had spinal surgery and developed severe scarring which is essentially what adhesions are. I had further surgery to remove it and it came back even worse. Scarring is a healing response and your surgeon should certainly warn you of this risk, especially if you are making progress.

Enlist help, measure your progress each month rather than weekly or daily and you should see definite improvement.

Good luck.

Rest, not read. Though reading is nice!

I've only read your op because I find this topic distressing, so apologies if I'm saying something addressed later. I am so sorry for everything you've been through and how much you've suffered and are suffering.

I'm surprised your surgeon would suggest surgery for adhesions so rapidly unless there are significant functional problems (like bowel obstruction) that could endanger your life.

Adhesions are caused by the body's response to surgery and organs being touched and handled. All the evidence is that adhesion removal surgery causes more adhesions so is usually avoided unless adhesions are severely impacting people.

I had a hysterectomy a few years ago. Like you it was for fibroids. Actually a fibroid (singular) but it was huge....the size of a 7 month pregnancy. They nearly had to do it vertically rather than horizontally and this would have meant a longer recovery as the wound would be going at right angles to the muscles, but in the end they did it horizontally.

I don't think I was fully prepared by how slow the recovery would be. It really is a major operation. My recovery was generally normal. I did have a UTI a couple of days later, which is common.

I do occasionally get sharp pelvic pain which I assume is adhesions, but it doesn't really bother me. Other times I have noticed the pelvic area is slightly tender and at times numb. But these symptoms don't bother me enough to see my GP though I have at tiems mentioned them in passing if I'm at the GP about something else and it's relevant. They've never been that worried by them either.

I don't regret the op as it really did help my symptoms, and the minor niggles are far outweighed by the benefits. I had gastric symptoms which were put down to IBS but have stopped since the operation. Both the gastroenterologists who I was originally referred to (they picked up the fibroid on a scan) and gynae who they referred me too didn't feel the fibroid was causing my symptoms, but I am convinced it was pressing somewhere. I can't think of any other explanation for the op relieving my symptoms the way it did.

Take care...it is a big operation.

Oh BTW I was back at work after 3 months.

And I agree that having surgery for adhesions is counterproductive as it was the surgery which caused the adhesions in the first instance. They tend to leave them unless as someone else mentioned they are at risk of causing a blockage in the bowel or something. They're a pretty normal side effect of surgery, as it's scar tissue.

I also agree r.e. surgery for adhesions unless they are dangerous. I have many from four major abdominal surgeries. They are not pleasant but so far only seem to make the next operation more complex for the surgeon.

Some surgeons completely overestimate the body's power for healing

A friend recently had shoulder surgery - was told by the surgeon 2-3weeks - after having the surgery and it not being ok within 2 weeks she saw the GP who said I don't know why they told you 2-3 weeks, it's minimum of 6-8weeks

When I had (minor laproscopic) surgery I asked when I could go back to work and was told would be fine after 24-48hrs - went back after a week and in all honesty should have had a few more days