Surgery a week ago

Hi Jkg

sounds to me like you’re doing really well. I had the abdominal incision as well but I had stitches rather than staples. I bet you’ll feel more comfortable when they are gone! I had a similar experience with my bowels lol when the surgeon saw me after a couple of days I had been 3 times. I think it’s better to be more frequent as a couple of weeks later I got constipated and that was horrible. Good your husband is managing your injections I wouldn’t let my husband, who is renowned for being clumsy, come anywhere near me with a syringe! I’m 8 weeks post op now and about to start radiotherapy and feel fine apart from getting tired easily. You will notice the improvement every day …

Linda

Hi Jkg

Im 4 weeks post surgery but did not have an abdominal incision, mine was done roboticly.  I had bowel problems too and had the runs for about a week.  You’re doing great by the sounds of it and will continue to feel better, cut down on the paracetamol and take them only if you feel you need it.  My husband gives me my injections too and I’m close to stopping them.  My leg looks like a pin cushion. I feel like I’m back to where I was before surgery, just waiting for lymph node results due this week.  

There’s so many of us having gone through the same procedure yet each and everyone of us have had a different experience and this forum is a great source of support and information.

Continue to feel well and take things easy.

Linda

I had robotic laparoscopic surgery. It does seem that General Anaesthetic and the surgery does mess up your bowels. It can make them lazy or overactive. It might help to go on a low fibre diet.

i would suggest giving your Clinical Nurse a call as they might have suggestions about settling things down. Macmillan Support line too might have advise, 

it is quite early on and your body will be needing plenty of rest to recover. 

Hi Jkg, well done for having had your op. I stopped daytime paracetamol as soon as I came home from hospital and just took it for the first two nights just in case. Our bowels take quite a bit of a bashing during the op and can be quite sensitive afterwards. I had feelings of urgency, a bit like IBS, for a week or so afterwards  I kept to a very simple diet and it seemed to help. Is it the leg/groin problem that is limiting you to pottering around the house and garden? 

I think you're doing well, it's still early days. My bowels were quite sluggish initially, although there was plenty of gas! Doctor on the ward wouldn’t discharge me till I had 'opened my bowels'. Didn't really need pain killers once I was discharged, just felt a little uncomfortable especially when trying to find a decent position in bed. Got used to the injections and socks, neither were very glamorous but needs must!

Hi Marmite fan

Yes it is the groin/leg pain. It has been present now since the hysteroscopy at the end of June so I've had long enough not being able to do normal activities. Really getting me down. I'm going to have to contact my GP and insist on some help with getting it right as I have had no advice from the Consultant but I suppose it isn't his primary concern. 

Hello Jkg

I am glad that you have had your hysterectomy and that you are home and starting to recover. It sounds like you are doing really well for just over a week past major surgery. Pottering around a bit, walking in your garden, using stairs and getting in and out of bed are all good signs. 

I too had tummy effects after the surgery and these did settle within a couple of weeks. I think that there is a fair bit of rummaging around inside and you also have an abdominal wound to heal, that I didn't. I also found that the injections were hard to do at times and when the bruising started to come out it was really uncomfortable. 

It is good that you have had advise from the physio regarding your hip/groin pain and hopefully it will continue to be monitored until it improves. I wonder also whether the actual position we are put into on the table does add to any existing muscular aches and pains. 

I hope that your appointment to have the staples removed on Wednesday goes well. Although it is not something anyone would relish - it will hopefully make you feel more comfortable when they are removed. 

I can understand that the niggles you mention are getting you down, but I would think this is a normal feeling given all the circumstances. You have had a diagnosis of cancer, a big operation and even just having the anaesthetic affected me for a bit. Hopefully you will not have to wait too long for your post op pathology to come back. You are right in thinking that this will determine what/ if any further treatment is advised. I found that once I knew this and had a plan I did feel a bit better. The time post surgery when you are still feeling rough and don't know what is going to happen is not the best time. But it sounds like you are doing great to be able to do what you can. At a week post surgery, I was doing pretty much the same as you are. 

Jane

Just to add that when I had my staples out after my c section one or two fell out and the others just lifted out with tweezers with no effort whatsoever. 

Thank you everyone, as usual you all provide such great support. I contacted my GP this morning via the online contact and really made it clear how much this leg thing was getting me down as I sat downstairs in the middle of the night crying and that really isn't me.  Luckily GP has rang me to prescribe something. He is also arranging physio which won't take long to come through. A great saving as it would have cost me a lot privately. My MRI suggested carcinomasarcoma stage 1b and I know I need Radiotherapy so lymph node samples plus histology from what they took out will decide which kind

 At least without this pain I can focus on whatever is ahead.

Hello Jkg- am glad that you contacted your GP and have had something prescribed to help. Physio sounds a good idea. 

I also had 1b carcinoma sarcoma. If you click on my name you will see my treatments- but all hospitals vary and I didn't have any lymph node samples. I didn't have brachytherapy but there are other ladies on here who did.

Am glad that the pain is settling.

Jane