I was lucky that I was able to have my hysterectomy done through laparoscopy (keyhole). There are a lot of advantages to having it done laparoscopy; reduced infection risk, reduced risk of haematoma, not having a big nasty scar (just three tiny ones, to go with the tiny ones from previous laparoscopic surgeries). Surgeons also tout that the recovery time is shorter. “6 to 8 weeks, and you’ll be back at work, good as new!” my cocky, arrogant, over-confident (but, otherwise excellent) surgeon declared.
“In my experience with patients who've had hysterectomies,” my very sensible osteopath said, “it takes anywhere from 6 to 12 months to get over it, regardless of how it’s done. Keyhole or open, on the inside, you're having the same surgery. Based on your fitness level going into this, I would guess 9 months”. He was right. Virtually to the day.
Aside from a pain management crisis when I was in hospital, my recovery from the hyst was pretty unremarkable. I was off all painkillers aside from Paracetomol four days after coming out of hospital. Aside from post-hospital tummy bug that lasted a few days, I had no infections. I had a small area of granuloma (over healing) in a place I won’t name, but it didn’t need any treatment and it didn’t cause any trouble. I went back to Tai Chi class after 4 weeks. I started swimming (gently) after 6 weeks. I was back at work on a phased return after 7 weeks (in hindsight, that was too soon, but that’s another story). I went camping after 12 weeks. Overall, I was a model case.
But I certainly wasn’t “good as new” in 6 to 8 weeks. My abdominal and pelvic floor muscles were very weak, and I couldn’t stand for long periods. I couldn't lift much, and definitely couldn’t carry things. And more than anything was the fatigue. Bone-crushing, hits you-like-a-ton-of-bricks fatigue. Fatigue so overwhelming that you can do nothing but go to bed.
That’s what took 9 months to get over. And that’s normal for a
hysterectomy.
I know people mean well when they ask “Are you better yet?”, but the reality is that there is not a simple answer to that. Yes, the steroids have stopped the vomiting and diarrhoea, and have recently started getting the stomach cramps and horrible stomach noises under control. I'm eating better than I have in months and I'm keeping it down. As a result, my energy levels are much better and I feel slightly more human. The clearing of the oedema in my legs means that I can get around better and am no longer struggling to get up a flight of stairs. So, yes, I feel better.
BUT, it’s not that simple. I’ve already spoken at length in this blog about the effects Prednisolone have had on me, and that’s been awful. Granted, I’ll take it any day over the vomiting and diarrhoea, but it’s awful. On top of that, I’ve lost a lot of weight and have effectively been suffering the effects of malnutrition thanks the malabsorption syndrome that comes with Crohn’s and thanks to living on a diet of Lucozade, Dioralyte and Jelly when the diarrhoea and vomiting were at their worst in the autumn. Even though I’m eating much better now, it’s going to take time for those things to get corrected and to put weight back on. That will take months, if not possibly a year. In the meantime, I'm stuck on this boring, restrictive diet, which doesn't lend itself to weight gain and is so unbalanced that I have to take nutritional supplements.
Although the fatigue is nothing like it was with the hysterectomy, it's still making itself feel present.
And to answer the question I keep getting from my fellow beer drinkers, no, I’m not back to drinking beer. And probably won’t be for a long time.
It’s almost been 7 weeks since I was told that I have Crohn’s Disease, and 7 weeks of being on Prednisolone to treat it. It’s been 3 weeks since giving up on the Azathioprine, which took about 10 days to get out of my system. That's not that long.
I’ve been sick since the summer. In fact, I counted up the weeks from when the being physically sick started to the diagnosis, and it was 20 weeks. It's been 32 weeks since the general tummy unhappiness started. I keep reminding myself that it took me a long time to get this sick, and it’s going to take me a long time to get better. It’s not going to happen overnight.
“In my experience with patients who've had hysterectomies,” my very sensible osteopath said, “it takes anywhere from 6 to 12 months to get over it, regardless of how it’s done. Keyhole or open, on the inside, you're having the same surgery. Based on your fitness level going into this, I would guess 9 months”. He was right. Virtually to the day.
Aside from a pain management crisis when I was in hospital, my recovery from the hyst was pretty unremarkable. I was off all painkillers aside from Paracetomol four days after coming out of hospital. Aside from post-hospital tummy bug that lasted a few days, I had no infections. I had a small area of granuloma (over healing) in a place I won’t name, but it didn’t need any treatment and it didn’t cause any trouble. I went back to Tai Chi class after 4 weeks. I started swimming (gently) after 6 weeks. I was back at work on a phased return after 7 weeks (in hindsight, that was too soon, but that’s another story). I went camping after 12 weeks. Overall, I was a model case.
But I certainly wasn’t “good as new” in 6 to 8 weeks. My abdominal and pelvic floor muscles were very weak, and I couldn’t stand for long periods. I couldn't lift much, and definitely couldn’t carry things. And more than anything was the fatigue. Bone-crushing, hits you-like-a-ton-of-bricks fatigue. Fatigue so overwhelming that you can do nothing but go to bed.
I know people mean well when they ask “Are you better yet?”, but the reality is that there is not a simple answer to that. Yes, the steroids have stopped the vomiting and diarrhoea, and have recently started getting the stomach cramps and horrible stomach noises under control. I'm eating better than I have in months and I'm keeping it down. As a result, my energy levels are much better and I feel slightly more human. The clearing of the oedema in my legs means that I can get around better and am no longer struggling to get up a flight of stairs. So, yes, I feel better.
BUT, it’s not that simple. I’ve already spoken at length in this blog about the effects Prednisolone have had on me, and that’s been awful. Granted, I’ll take it any day over the vomiting and diarrhoea, but it’s awful. On top of that, I’ve lost a lot of weight and have effectively been suffering the effects of malnutrition thanks the malabsorption syndrome that comes with Crohn’s and thanks to living on a diet of Lucozade, Dioralyte and Jelly when the diarrhoea and vomiting were at their worst in the autumn. Even though I’m eating much better now, it’s going to take time for those things to get corrected and to put weight back on. That will take months, if not possibly a year. In the meantime, I'm stuck on this boring, restrictive diet, which doesn't lend itself to weight gain and is so unbalanced that I have to take nutritional supplements.
Although the fatigue is nothing like it was with the hysterectomy, it's still making itself feel present.
And to answer the question I keep getting from my fellow beer drinkers, no, I’m not back to drinking beer. And probably won’t be for a long time.
It’s almost been 7 weeks since I was told that I have Crohn’s Disease, and 7 weeks of being on Prednisolone to treat it. It’s been 3 weeks since giving up on the Azathioprine, which took about 10 days to get out of my system. That's not that long.
I’ve been sick since the summer. In fact, I counted up the weeks from when the being physically sick started to the diagnosis, and it was 20 weeks. It's been 32 weeks since the general tummy unhappiness started. I keep reminding myself that it took me a long time to get this sick, and it’s going to take me a long time to get better. It’s not going to happen overnight.
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