3 mistakes that made my hysterectomy terrible
I thought I knew everything there was to know about recovering from a hysterectomy. I read through every medical website on the Internet and quite a few hysterectomy forums. Just minutes after waking up from the anesthesia, I lost every ounce of knowledge I'd worked so hard to gain. It started with me trying to sit up in the recovery room and ended with my wound blowing up and requiring constant care. Doctors give patients guidelines to follow after surgery not because they want to limit patients, but because they want patients to heal without pain. Here are my three biggest post-op mistakes:
Asking to be discharged early to rest at home. The pain of my hysterectomy started in the hospital. I was too short to climb up on the bed, so getting up and down was extremely painful. The nurses were pushing bag after bag of fluid into my IV, so I was off to the bathroom every 30 minutes. After falling to the ground a few times, I was fed up with the hospital bed so I asked to speak to my doctor about going home early to rest in my own bed. He was thrilled with my progress and agreed immediately. Home with four kids was not the best place to rest. I soon realized the tall hospital bed was a much better place to heal for a few days.
Using painkillers to push myself too fast. I was on some strong painkillers so I felt nothing. The morning after returning home, I slid out of bed, put on a pair of comfy shorts and a big T-shirt and headed to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. I noticed someone had spilled juice on the wall, so I grabbed some cleaner and a wash cloth and started scrubbing. That small spot turned into the entire wall and the floor to boot. The next morning I was in pain, despite the pain killers and just a few hours after, my wound burst open, leaving a gaping hole in my stomach.
Forgetting to take a fiber supplement and drink lots of water. Remember those painkillers that helped me feel so good? The doctor prescribed more after my wound dehiscence (the official term for a wound reopening after surgery.) I took the painkillers exactly as prescribed and the pain was manageable, but the effect of those painkillers was not. Pain medications can cause constipation and I'm not talking about having a little trouble going to the bathroom. After just a few days, my bowel was impacted and I was in the worst pain of my life. With a little more help from the doctor, things cleared up, but the embarrassment was there to stay.
For some women, hysterectomies are in and out surgeries with little to no healing time. Other women suffer through the total abdominal hysterectomy (TAH) and the "smiley face" cut on the lower abdomen. TAH is no joke. Follow the instructions from the doctor, allow someone else to do the cleaning for a few weeks and always eat healthy, fiber-rich foods and drink plenty of water.