I was diagnosised with cc stage 1b1 at the beginning of May. The MRI came back ok so Iv been accepted for a radical trachelectomy with lymph node removal at the end of the month. I was told the surgery will be keyhole and that it would take 8 hours, which has worried me as I didn’t think it was going to take so long.
What can I expected to feel like when I come round from the anaesthetic? My consultant is lovely and has told me that recovery time is usually 6 weeks. I was looking for some advice on what I can and can’t do after the operation in reguards to exercise, as I love to swim and run, but I have been told I won’t be able to do that for some weeks. What kind of exercises are best to do when I’m recovering?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
So glad you've found us, welcome! Tons of women on here have had trachs or hysterectomies and I'm sure they'll be loads of advice coming your way.
I had a robotic laparoscopic hyst in May so I can share what I know. Your doc's time estimate may be from prep time to recovery rather than just when he's operating. My doc did say that a trach takes longer than a hysterectomy because it's more involved. My surgery started at 8:15am (apparently, because I was out cold) and I woke up around 12 I think. All a bit hazy now. You spend an hour in the recovery room to make sure you're OK then wheeled off to your room. Some people get sick after a GA. A friend of mine asked for the anti-sickness patch before she was sedated because she was scared she'd be sick afterwards. (i had one of those when I had a c-section.) I didn't bother and felt fine.
Bowels will be sluggish for several days so fibre drinks, gentle laxatives, stool softeners to get things going. Bladder gets bashed around a bit. I had a catheter over night and once it was out I could urinate by myself. My doc would not let me leave until I could urinate by myself, walk and eat ok. Some people have bladder problems and need the catheter in longer - my pal did, so had to stay in hospital.
Drink bucket loads of water. I was given Oxycontin for pain relief but only took a few. Took a few Ibuprofen too.
As to recovery, the first 2 weeks my doc told me not to lift anything heavier than 5lbs, to rest, not to go up and down stairs too much and to generally take things very easy. I did gentle walking after week one - round the block for 5/10 minutes. "Romantic stroll"speed my doc said! No swimming for 6 weeks, nothing in vagina for 8 weeks. She said to build up the walking - 5 extra mins per week - until 8 weeks when she said I could do what I liked.
My pilates teacher said she would work with me after i got the go ahead from the doc, because it's important not to put stress on abs, pelvic floor etc until everything is healed.
The danger with laproscopic is that the outside heals so quickly that you forget the inside is still busy healing. I have 4 tiny scars on my belly and feel fine so it's hard not to do stuff. I did do some weeding and felt a few twinges so I stopped.
My pal had her op in late December and was out playing tennis and at her abs class by early March. She is an exercise fiend though.
Hope that helps. For me, the hyst was waaaaay easier than a c-section.
It is a scary time and very overwhelming. As you say, it's all such new stuff and that makes it very nerve racking. You'll be just fine. Jump back on if you have a wobble. You'll be looking back on all this before you know it.
Great words from Teresa above. I had an abdominal hysterectomy which took 4.5 hours. In my case a huge vertical incision from my pelvic bone to the top of my navel. This gave the surgeon loads of space to work in. If you imagine eating a meal with your bare hands and compare that to eating the same meal with chopsticks you will see why your operation is that much more fidddly and takes so much longer.
I often come round from a GA in tears, so don't be too surprised if that happens to you, it's not all that rare. I think it's because the body is in shock. After the op I didn't lift anything significant for quite a while and my exercise was strolling gently. I love Teresa's 'Romantic stroll' description, that is perfect!
thank you for you advice too. Your description of the op def makes more sense to me now. Ill def get my husband to take me on some romantic stroll post op.
