How long did it take you to recover from your abdominal hysterectomy?

[iPaddy]

Expecting to have one this year and wondering what / how much time I need to factor in for recovery and getting back to (desk job) work.

How much time did you have off?

Thanks

Bump?

www.rcog.org.uk/en/patients/patient-leaflets/abdominal-hysterectomy/

It took me seven weeks to go back to work on phased return, then I gradually built up to my full-time hours over a three week period. Also a desk-based role.

I know others who have needed longer - generally between six weeks and three months is usual.

Hope your op goes well!

It was about 3 weeks before I felt I could try to do things properly. But probably another couple before I could lift the hoover upstairs and that kind of thing. I do think it was a full 6 months til I forgot about it though

Sorry just reread your post properly!
I went back to work in 3 weeks

I went back to work after 8 weeks. I had my OP a few days before the big snows of 2010. I could not have driven the 40 minutes to work down country roads in such terrible weather after major surgery. I could hardly walk to the bottom of my garden!

I had a partial hysterectomy about 6 years ago.

I had a big tumour (benign) as well at the top of the uterus and because of endometriosis it was also stuck to other organs. So it was a big operation and they could not use the less invasive techniques. I had a huge cut on my belly and went home with staples everywhere...

I was in hospital for 3 days and then needed help to do most things for almost 3 weeks as could not bend and pick up anything.

Stayed about 3 months off work.

But I must it was pretty painless though and I am so glad I had the op, it gave me my life back.

GP got me a referral for a discounted gym membership and they gave me a programme of exercise to build my strength back which made a massive difference.

No issue whatsoever since I had this operation and so happy not to have to deal with horrendous periods anymore.

Thank everyone and @QuantumHypothesis for the link. It's a huge range from 3 weeks to 3 months so I guess it's about the nature of the op as well as what kind of work you do and how you get there.

I can't really get my head round being that incapacitated for even 3 weeks let alone months...

I had an abdominal hysterectomy at the same time as delivery DC3.

I found it to be the same recovery as a c section if you've ever had one. Mind you I also had DC3 to look after so I didn't have a lot of choice but to get on with it!

I was off painkillers in about a week, signed off to drive after 2 weeks.

I took 8 weeks off work. I was an Early Years Teacher which involved a lot of bending and carrying, if I'd been sitting at a desk I might have been able to go back after 6 weeks. I went back to work two weeks before the summer holidays and was absolutely shattered. After the holidays I was back at full strength.

I first drove after 6 weeks and it's surprising how using the foot pedals affects the abdominal muscles so I don't recommend driving any sooner.

I don't know if they are doing the pre-op meetings these days but I found that the talk by the physio, in particular, made me feel I had some control over my recovery. I did the physio religiously and, when able, went for a short walk each day increasing it gradually.

I can't really get my head round being that incapacitated for even 3 weeks let alone months...

Much of it for me, as time went on, was tiredness. It's a major operation - your body is exhausted while you are healing. The first day I went back to work - only for four hours as I was phasing my return - I got home about 2pm, fell into bed and slept till the next morning.

For the first week I did very little, but improved quite quickly after that. I went out for walks everyday increasing the distance. I didn’t drive for six weeks so didn’t return to my desk job before that but I felt I could’ve done.

I was very tired but I had everything removed so also was in menopause straight away so didn’t know what was post surgery tiredness and what was menopause.

Probably about 12 weeks but we had young kids at the time and apart from sometimes dropping them at school and cooking dinner sometimes and driving to the supermarket and pushing the trolley but not actually willing to do the shop by himself my then H didn't do anything. Therefore I was doing things I wasnt supposed to, so took longer. Eg housework and all childcare.

Well I'm still waiting for my MRI ahead of my hysterectomy, the department can't give me a timescale they are so backed up.

In the meantime I have a fibroid measuring 20cm diameter and growing. It's been 8 months since initial diagnosis and over 3 months waiting for the MRI. I'm starting to get abdominal pain and I look 5 months pregnant. What fun!

OP ask them to give you one dose of zoladex while you wait. It helps with periods snd shrinks the growth a bit, making it easier in theory to remove when you get to surgery.

@Valhalla17 yes I will have an injection to shrink the fibroid, but not until 3 months before my op, because otherwise it will just grow again. And they don't know how much to give because I haven't had an MRI yet...

I'm torn between "I'm not too bad, others are worse" and "can we actually say we have a national health service anymore"? Such long waits for treatment.

It varies hugely OP. I have two friends who've had hysterectomies in the past year. One had hers in early Nov and she took six weeks to get over the immediate surgical healing, then another six weeks or so to start feeling less tired and get some fitness back (because to start with you really can't walk far at all). She has been back to normal since about March, I'd say.

Other friend had hers in Feb and she had a lot of adhesions due to two c-sections, which meant her uterus and bladder were stuck together and she had a lot of scar tissue that had to be removed. Her recovery has been much longer and she's had ongoing issues with pain. It's been four months now and she's starting to see some improvement, but she still can't drive very far without pain (10-15 mins max).

I had mine just over 2 weeks ago
I had 3 previous c sections so also had lots of adhesions bladder stick to uterus & vowel stuck to something else
he said it was extremely fiddly and tricky due to this my operation took nearly 4 hours .
I’m feeling better each day but my pain has not subsided yet although I do think this is to do with all the extra scar tissue adhesions he removed .
the hospital I went to only give sick notes for 4 weeks as standard and then you must go to gp although I see my surgeon on week 6 too
I’ve managed to walk for about 10 minutes . I still need help with lots of things as cannot bend or lift . I’m almost certain the least I will be off is 6 weeks possibly 8 and I work lifting etc but I will listen to my body
even with all this I’d rather be going through this than what I was before .
so I’m not writing this to worry people I’m just saying my experience as it’s pretty recent . Good luck with it all but listen to your body xx

I reckon about 6 weeks. The most important thing is not to overdo it and to make sure you keep on top of your pain meds. (I had the same kind of situation as @Kimmismth in previous post with lots of adhesions from previous c sections and endo.)

Wishing you all the best for your recovery @Kimmismth. That does sound difficult. I'm hoping that mine will be more straight forward. My main concern now is the waiting lists - 12 to 18 months while my condition is getting worse...

I should have had mine the March that COVID hit
then they called me after and said to go in and see him he put me top of list then called me with only 3 weeks notice so I was lucky really and didn’t have much time to think . Maybe give them a call ask to see your consultant and ask to be put on the list as if someone cancels they will call you
a lady next to me had a cancellation and only had 3 days notice it may be worth a try . Also I think they give you the max time frame .hospitals are getting back much more to normal now although I wasn’t allowed any visitors and stayed in 4 days I begged to come home lol . Fingers crossed for you it will be sooner than later xx

I will have at least 3 months notice as I need an injection first to shrink my fibroid. I spoke to the team yesterday and they were very bleak about waiting lists - they are getting worse, not better, in my area. I've been waiting over 3 months just for an MRI. I'm considering private but it's £££s.

Yea I did think about it but it costs so much
the lady next to me had a fibroid of 24cm they took out
she had a cut going down from her belly button but she left before I did and had it done the day after I did . So think it’s down to each person and also what their having done . I told her she was deffo a tough cookie bless her . I really do hope they get you sorted soon
even though at the moment I’m in pain not too bad as on meds but I feel a huge weights been lifted from me if that makes sense x

I had an abdominal hysterectomy when I was 34 and was back at work 5 weeks later. I had an office job but also had an hour each way commute.

My surgeon told me not to take it too easy. He said the reason some women take so long to get over the op is because they literally do nothing but sit or lie around.

He told me to go for a walk every day and said as long as I did not lift anything heavy or do things like change the bed, it was perfectly ok to do housework.

I was in hospital for 2 nights. I got up the morning after the op and had a shower.

I went for a walk every day and 3 weeks later spent Thursday to Monday at the British Grand Prix and did a fair amount of walking.

I think if you are fairly young and healthy you should be fine pretty quickly.

I’d had 3 previous C-sections and recovered quickly from each of those.

I thought recovery from my hysterectomy would be similar but I totally underestimated it. I felt like I’d been hit by a bus for weeks.

Went back to work after 6 weeks (I only work 3 days a week though as a nurse practitioner) but felt very tired. Didn’t feel back to normal until about the 10 week mark really.