Home | Print this page

Hysterectomy — After the operation

Recovering

When you wake up you will almost certainly feel groggy after the anaesthetic. You will also feel some pain. Don't worry - this is quite normal. Your pulse and blood pressure will be monitored to make sure that they are steady, and you will be given painkillers when you ask for them, or you will be given a hand-held morphine pump so that you can control your own pain relief. If you have difficulty in emptying your bladder, another catheter may be used to help.

If you've had a vaginal hysterectomy, a urinary catheter will most likely be left in place for a day or so, depending on the doctor's policy. You may also have a drip in your vein to provide fluids for the first 24 hours or so. Some women may have a bit of plastic tubing leading out of the abdominal incision and attached to a small container which will drain small amounts of blood and fluid that can accumulate after surgery.

You should get out of bed and sit in a chair as soon as possible the day after the operation. This is to help improve your circulation and avoid the risk of blood clots. Moving about will also help get rid of wind, which can be very troublesome and painful. For the most part, women who've had vaginal hysterectomies will become mobile earlier.

During the first couple of days, you will gradually begin to eat and drink and soon you will be doing both normally as well as walking around. Within seven to ten days, you'll be able to go home.

The effects of a general anaesthetic will take some time to wear off (up to six weeks) and people are advised not to drive during this time. The anaesthetic can also make you feel very tired and many women have difficulty concentrating in the early weeks after the operation.

You won't be able to do anything very active, especially lifting, until about six weeks after the operation as your abdominal muscles and tissues will not have healed completely until then.

During the first six weeks you need to rest as much as possible. Go to bed when you feel tired. Make a point of asking family and friends to help you around the house. You may be entitled to a home-help from your local social services, especially if you have a large family. Contact the social services department of your council before you have the operation to find out what they can do for you. But if this is impossible the hospital should also have a social work department and you can ask to see their social worker to see if she or he can arrange for you to have help when you go home.

You can do gentle exercises once the stitches are out. If there is a physiotherapist in hospital you can ask her for other exercises, or look in the books listed in the Resources section of this leaflet, particularly the booklet by Haslett and Jennings. This contains detailed descriptions of exercises you can do from the first day after your operation.

Walking is very good exercise. Begin with ten minutes a day, gradually increasing the distance when you feel ready and aiming for about 45 minutes by six weeks after the operation.

There may be vaginal discharge for up to four weeks after the operation, gradually turning from red to a pale brown colour.

Six weeks after the operation, you will go back to the hospital for a check-up to see that your abdomen and vagina have healed well.

In the not-so-distant past, when anaesthesia was less sophisticated and blood for transfusion was not available, the operation had a more serious effect on a woman's health and it took longer for her to recover. The time it takes to heal after any major surgery varies from woman to woman and depends to a large extent on their health before the operation and why the hysterectomy was done. Listen to your body and don't do more than you feel able to. Most women feel completely well within six months, but some take longer to recover fully.

Returning to work

It is a good idea to discuss your return to work with your manager before the operation. It may be helpful to get a letter from your doctor explaining how long your recovery is expected to take and outlining the support you will need. Today many women are ready to return to work from eight to twelve weeks after the operation, but this depends on the type of work and the amount of travelling involved.

Exercise

Lie with your head on a pillow and your knees bent up.

Pull your tummy in. With your knees kept together, slowly move your knees to the left and then to the right, just a little bit to each side.

Doing this exercise gently and rhythmically with a 'tic-toc' movement, may also relieve flatulence

Most employers allow up to three months sick leave after hysterectomy. It may be appropriate to negotiate a phased return to work or flexible hours. You should not do any heavy lifting until at least twelve weeks after the operation. If your job involves sitting for long periods, make sure that your back is supported and that you get up and walk around every couple of hours.

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)

If you have had your ovaries removed, you will have an artificial menopause if you have not already reached that time of your life. The resulting hot flushes, night sweats, and other menopausal symptoms may be more severe than if you had had a natural menopause. You may want to consider taking Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). This means replacing the missing female hormone oestrogen with tablets, implants, or skin patches. You should be monitored fairly closely to see how you get on and different dosages or forms of HRT can be tried if problems occur. HRT can also eliminate the vaginal dryness that may occur, making sexual intercourse uncomfortable.

Sex after hysterectomy

Sexual intercourse very soon after surgery may cause bleeding from the suture line at the top of the vagina, but after the six week check-up, and after the bleeding or discharge has stopped, sex can normally be resumed. Take your time and do what feels comfortable for you. If you had previously experienced pain because of the condition that led to the hysterectomy, then your sex life after the operation will be enhanced. If you are in a relationship with a man, you will no longer run the risk of an unwanted pregnancy.

If vaginal dryness is a problem try a vaginal lubricant. You can buy lubricants from the chemist—look on the shelf near the condoms.

It is not clear what impact hysterectomy has on sexual function. Although the majority of women in two studies said that their sex lives were better or unchanged after hysterectomy, a few said they had less interest in sex. Women with reduced sexual enjoyment were more likely to have had pre-existing sexual or relationship problems.

Depression after hysterectomy

If you have understood what the operation will entail and have come to your own decision to have it, you are less likely to be depressed about it afterwards. Although the uterus does have an emotional significance for most women, it is important to put its loss and your general well-being into perspective.

Nevertheless, if you are depressed, take your feelings seriously and try to arrange with friends and family or a professional counsellor for emotional support. Talking to other women who have had a hysterectomy can be very reassuring (see Resources section for details of support networks).

Top |  Previous | Next Page

Originally written by Nancy Duid and Wendy Savage MB FRCOG. This edition revised by Women's Health, July 1999

This leaflet is protected by Copyright © Women's Health. You may print off one copy for personal use only.