My surgery, post-op infection experience & surprise norovirus

Hi all,

I had my hysterectomy on 8 May and spent the night in hospital due to my platelet disorder. I wanted to share my experience in case it helps someone else. Warning: there’s some graphic pain and scary bits in here. Apologies if it’s a bit long—mods, feel free to trim it if needed.

TL;DR: At 7dpo, I went to A&E with a suspected bladder infection and caught norovirus while there, ending up back in hospital for 6 days. Moral of the story: go in even if it doesn’t seem that bad—you never know.

Surgery Day:
I arrived at 7am, but didn’t go in for surgery until 4pm. They did a platelet transfusion beforehand (surprise to me—I’d thought it was only if I was bleeding out). My blood type is A-, and the platelets were AB-, but all was fine. Surgery went well with no major bleeding, which was a lifelong fear of mine.

Waking up was rough—pain 8/10, like the worst period cramps with pressure to pee and poop at once. I was freezing, but warm blankets and morphine helped bring it down to 5/10. I was in recovery for 20 minutes or so due to a low heart rate (in the 40s), then to a private room around 8pm. I was still in pain, so the nurse gave me paracetamol via IV, which finally let me sleep in short bursts. My catheter was uncomfortable but sorted out by the nurses.

Next Day:
Catheter out and I could pee straight away, so they sent me home that afternoon. My abdomen was sore but manageable. They told me my infection marker was slightly high but normal for post-op.

Days 1-6 Post-op:
Recovery seemed okay—BMs fine, no bleeding, just very tired and achy. But the night before day 7, I was up peeing every 2 hours and woke up feeling off. Later that day I had a fever and mild body aches. Called 111, went to A&E, got IV antibiotics and was kept overnight. I thought I’d be sent home the next day with pills—and I was.

The scary bit:
Back home that afternoon, I had a visual migraine while watching TV, which was odd but didn’t panic me. Ate a light dinner and went to bed. At 2am I woke with aches, took paracetamol, and went to the kitchen for water. I suddenly felt faint—barely made it to the sofa before the dizziness eased. Thought it was just weakness. Next morning, same thing but worse—felt faint in the kitchen again. My husband had gone back to work, so I was alone and scared. I didn’t want to go back to A&E, but I knew this wasn’t normal. Called 111, took a cab to hospital, and could barely sit up in the waiting room.

Hospital Stay #2:
Admitted again, but they didn’t know why my infection was worse. Loads of IV antibiotics. Bloods, urine, stool samples. My stomach felt like I’d been hit by a rod, but no obvious source of infection.

Day 2: light diarrhea but barely eating. Felt so nauseated I couldn’t even drink water.

Day 3: Emotional crash. Let myself cry—it was scary. My surgeon visited and gave me the best news: I wouldn’t need further treatment for cancer. Couldn’t get stage/grade info yet, but it lifted me up.

Day 4: Nausea gone but belly bloated. Was ready to try food. As the nurse came in to drop off my baked potato, she casually told me that 'by the way, your stool tested positive for norovirus.'

Day 5: Isolated in my room. Felt mostly better and was sure I no longer had symptoms (it had been 48 hours since any), but had to convince the nurses I was okay.

Day 6: I got up, dressed, and was determined to go home. Doctors agreed. I went home 14dpo.

Back home:
Little pain. Spotting started around 16dpo and still going at 20dpo. I think it’s the stitches dissolving. I did a 1-mile walk one day and paid for it the next—so now taking it slow. Last few days I’ve felt drained and low.

I feel silly and somehow to blame for all this, but I know that’s not rational. I’m proud I listened to my gut and went in twice. I’m incredibly grateful to not need more treatment right now, though I carry a nagging fear it’ll come back. But I remind myself that none of this is my fault—it’s just part of the journey.

Thanks for reading if you made it this far. If you’re in doubt, please go in for care—your instincts are usually right.