Mums recovery

Hi Kris39, really sorry to hear what your mum is going through.  I presume she had a vertical abdominal hysterectomy?  If so then I do hope she is still in hospital?  Has your mum spoken to the doctors on her ward re the discomfort she is in as they visit the wards every day.  

I was in for hospital for five days with my hysterectomy and it sounds like your mum has got gas pains.  Alas this is normal and will ease in a day or two.    

Did she take any peppermint capsules or peppermint tea into hospital with her to help with the gas pains.  The gas pains really hurt as that it was caused me the most discomfort. 

I do hope your mum feels better soon as this pain really will pass in one day or two at the very most.  

Hi Sarah,

Thanks for reaching out, really appreciate it. 

Mum did have an abdominal hysterectomy so is sore on top of her insides giving her discomfort, she is still in hospital, today will be the 3rd day after surgery. 
my mum and we have spoken to the nurses about the pain. She has a pain button that she has to press but because it’s been making her feel like she wants to vomit she is reluctant to press it. They have now given anti sickness medicine to offset this.  

Thanks for the feedback and advice . We didn’t pack her any peppermint tea but we will ask the nurses if they have any to give her. They haven’t mentioned to us that it could be wind. 

Thank you. I hope you have made a full recovery. 

Regards

Kris x 

What your mum is going through really is the same as me.  I was given pain relief (but not told about the anti-sickness tablets) so the pain relief made me sick and then going forward I was given anti-sickness tablets to have as well.  

I took peppermint tea and peppermint capsules in with me and whilst they are supposed to help I was still in agony with wind.  The wind pain is far worse than any discomfort from the operation so I understand how your mum is feeling.  Tell her to take as much pain relief as possible for whilst she is feeling like this.  

Some helpful tips for you as I can see that you are a loving daughter.  

Your mum will likely not be given paracetamol or ibuprofen so might be worth you stocking up a little on those.  Better that she takes those rather than codeine when she gets out of hospital.   

I had awful constipation - so I would buy your mum some stool softeners (the hospital may give some of these when she leaves hospital).  

The only laxative that worked for me was Senna so for a few pounds I would have these in in case your mum needs them.  

Tell your mum to try and walk around the hospital ward as much as she can as that will help too.  

Thank you for asking, I'm recovering very well and the operation removed all the cancer they could see.  I am now undergoing chemotherapy which I was told was the 'belt and braces' approach so that my cancer does not return x  

Thank you so much for this advice. 
we are encouraging her everyday to press the button so hopefully she is, however the nurses said they can monitor this. 

codeine has never agreed with mum so we will make sure we stock up on these painkillers.

mum has a stoma bag at the moment so I’m not sure if she will get constipated so this is something we will ask the nurse.

I am so glad to hear your operation was a success and I hope the chemo isn’t too bad. I wish you a full recovery.

Kris

x

Of course, yes your mum, has a stoma.   

Regarding pressing that button for pain relief your mum can request extra pain relief if she needs more.  I requested it when I had the wind pain. 

You should also ask at the hospital if your mum will be needing blood thinning medication to take home with her (highly likely).  

If your mum cannot inject herself she will need somebody to do this for her.  If the hospital say these need to go into her stomach ask if they can go into a fleshy/flabby/underside of her thigh instead as your mum's stomach will be sore (and then you alternate between each leg) x 

Ok thanks when we speak to mum later we will let her know to ask for a stronger pain relief so she knows the option is there. 

Will also ask about the blood thinning medication. Wouldn’t of thought to ask this so thank you. 
i think one of us will need to inject her and will definitely ask if this can be on her thigh and not stomach if she has to do this when she is discharged. 

Thanks again for responding on this :-)

Sorry your mum is having such a hard time. I hope things improve for her soon. 

When I was in hospital I was given blood thinning injections and they were talking about me injecting myself at home. In the end, they gave me tablets - Riveroxaban - instead. I'm not sure if that's because I was very reluctant to inject myself or some other reason. I later had to learn to inject another medication into my thigh and found it not too bad - the needles are very fine and you inject into a fatty area so it doesn't hurt at all. Then recently I had to do a couple of injections in my tummy area, which I had been really scared of, but having got used to doing the thigh injections I found it ok after the nurse explained very clearly. 

I hope you manage to find a solution which works for your mum and you. 

Thanks AisB. Today they got mum to sit in a chair so this is good progress, she’s also started to message us herself which is good. Having the communication directly with mum puts me at ease. 

They have been giving her blood thinning tablets but not sure on the name. I’ll definitely check if this will continue when she’s discharged and what method. 

Thanks for reaching out. I have just read your profile and I’m so sorry they could not offer you any surgery. I hope you are as comfortable as possible and I wish you all the best xx 

Hi Kris, 

I'm glad your mum is making progress. If she's on blood thinning tablets now, they'll probably send her home with those as it wouldn't make sense to switch to injections.

Thank you for your kind words. I'm doing quite well at the moment. My biggest problem has been the build up of fluid in my abdomen, which causes a lot of discomfort and nausea, but that is being sorted out now so I can get out and about a bit more.

Wishing you and your mum all the best. Xx 

Hi AisB

I hope so as she’s not big on injections. 
I am glad to hear your doing well and the sicky feeling you have been having is being dealt with. 

Thanks for your kind wishes xx