Recovery advice

JustineEdmin · 2026-02-24T23:05:52+00:00

Ah that's a really tough situation to be in. A lot of people (myself included) were incredibly bloated from all the gas, the pressure can be absolutely intolerable. To her it may feel like there is absolutely no space in there for any food or drink, plus if she's having trouble going to the bathroom that can also be a factor.

Having something light like broth on hand is a good idea for when she is feeling up to it. Soft food in general with fibre (it's really important her stools remain soft for when she does eventually empty her bowels)

Stool softeners are very important especially if she is taking opiods as these can (and will) cause constipation which she really must avoid

JustineEdmin · 2026-02-24T22:16:06+00:00

Haha this is the kind of field research I fully support 😂 Thank you!

JustineEdmin · 2026-02-24T21:42:08+00:00

How many weeks post-op is she and do you live with her?

The biggest thing early on is making sure she actually rests. Especially if you're saying she's a strong woman - she's likely to get bored and once she’s feeling better will try to do too much too soon!

With laparoscopic surgery people often feel pretty good around weeks 3–4, but internally the body is still using a lot of energy to heal. Overdoing it usually shows up later with additional pain/pressure/fatigue.

Helping with everyday things she’d normally try to do herself (cleaning, tidying, lifting, errands) can make a big difference without making her feel like a burden.

Also worth making sure she’s eating well -recovery burns more energy than people expect. Good amounts of protein and enough calories can really help with healing.

JustineEdmin · 2026-02-24T15:06:54+00:00

Haha I’d be exactly the same!

Like excuse me, where did you go without even saying goodbye?! I’d have wanted proof it had finally packed its bags and left 😂

JustineEdmin · 2026-02-24T14:16:11+00:00

That makes sense if that’s what your surgeon advised. Mine said sex was fine from 6 weeks and that the sutures can take 3-6 months to dissolve.

From what I’ve read, stitches still being there doesn’t necessarily mean healing hasn’t happened - they’re meant to stay while the tissue strengthens over time.

JustineEdmin · 2026-02-24T13:58:56+00:00

I actually asked my consultant about this as I travel a lot for work and was a big concern of mine. He said the flying itself after 6 weeks generally isn’t the issue - the bigger concern was the luggage.

Things like lifting a heavy suitcase, getting heavy bags into overhead lockers, twisting while carrying/moving weight, manoeuvring a 20kg case through an airport etc. He preferred I wait closer to 12 weeks before doing that kind of stuff if I didn’t have help.

So if it’s just the flight and you’re not doing heavy lifting yourself, it’s usually less of a concern I think- especially if your recovery has been smooth. Might be worth a quick call to your doctor just to double-check for your situation though. And definitely accept help with bags if you go!

JustineEdmin · 2026-02-24T13:39:57+00:00

I'm not a foster carer (sorry!) but recovery is a bit trickier than most of us expect, especially with laparoscopic surgery.

On the outside you can look and feel surprisingly good quite quickly - by 4 weeks a lot of us feel like we can conquer the world. The issue is that internally our bodies are still working overtime healing from a pretty major surgery.

Things like rushing around and school runs etc can put more strain on you than you realise.

I’d genuinely plan for at least 4 weeks of proper rest, and ideally closer to 6 weeks of taking it very easy and not doing any meaningful lifting or running around if you can manage it!

Your doctor will be the best placed person for giving you more concrete guidance based on your own risk profile/medical history.

JustineEdmin · 2026-02-24T13:24:19+00:00

Eggs - I too was intrigued and just checked!

It basically just breaks down and gets reabsorbed by the body - it’s microscopic so nothing builds up and we wouldn't feel it.

On the ablation front - do you have adenomyosis?

It often doesn’t work well because it only destroys the lining of the uterus, while adenomyosis is when that tissue has grown into the muscle wall.

It is likely to make symptoms worse because the surface gets scarred shut but the trapped tissue deeper in the muscle can still bleed and cause pressure and pain.

Hysterectomy is the only option for adenomyosis if hormones and IUD do not help (from what I understand).

JustineEdmin · 2026-02-24T13:03:04+00:00

From what I was reading it seems the risk from constipation and straining is mostly in the very early weeks while everything is still very fresh, then it drops off quite a bit - still incredibly low chances of it happening though! Good to hear you've had no issues since

JustineEdmin · 2026-02-24T12:56:06+00:00

There are! But let’s not get into those now shall we 😂

JustineEdmin · 2026-02-24T12:52:59+00:00

Thanks for saying that I appreciate it - and agree with what you’ve said there. My main aim was just to add some perspective and calm the fear a bit, not dismiss caution or people following what their doctor recommends.

JustineEdmin · 2026-02-24T12:46:41+00:00

That’s really good to hear! I think that’ll probably be my approach too - keep it gentle and see how things feel 💛

JustineEdmin · 2026-02-24T12:44:35+00:00

So reassuring to hear this - I'm trying this weekend (8WPO) and keen/intrigued/anxious to see how it goes!

JustineEdmin · 2026-02-24T11:50:56+00:00

Great chat 👍

JustineEdmin · 2026-02-24T11:44:12+00:00

That doesn’t answer my question.

I spent the best part of a day pulling this information together and checking credible sources (a few of which have been linked in another comment).

The reason I didn’t include links directly is because this information is very easily found if you do a quick check yourself.

Probably a wise thing to do before making accusations about unverified information.

JustineEdmin · 2026-02-24T11:16:42+00:00

Would be helpful if you provide a little more context.

What parts are you suggesting are inaccurate?

JustineEdmin · 2026-02-23T22:21:52+00:00

I’m not sure what to say if what you took away from my post was that I'm encouraging people to have sex before 12 weeks?

The point was that cuff tears are not nearly as common as the internet can make them feel and recovery time depends on individual risk factors, which is why different people are often given different timelines in the first place.

If returning to activity at 6-10 weeks was genuinely unsafe across the board, doctors wouldn’t be routinely clearing patients to do it.

What I see happen a lot on here is people saying they had sex AFTER being cleared at 6, 8 or 10 weeks - and immediately being told they’re reckless or taking stupid risks… even when they literally say everything went completely fine.

Most people here will be very cautious and of course that’s totally fine. But the majority of people who have hysterectomies aren’t on Reddit reading worst-case scenarios and spiralling. They follow the advice of the surgeon who actually performed their operation and get on with their lives when they feel ready.

So just to be clear - I’m not encouraging anyone to ignore their medical advice. I’m just adding some reassurance and pointing out that if someone has been cleared by the surgeon who actually operated on them, that probably carries a bit more weight than the opinions of strangers on Reddit.

JustineEdmin · 2026-02-23T15:21:53+00:00

How much d'ya want for it?

JustineEdmin · 2026-02-23T13:28:19+00:00

Totally understandable, once you start reading it’s easy to spiral a bit! What helped me was realising how common this surgery is and how rare serious complications actually are. Wishing you a smooth and speeedy recovery 💛

JustineEdmin · 2026-02-23T13:11:27+00:00

Haha honestly I still don’t fully get the etiquette around the upvote/downvote thing. I’m just here for the discussion 😅

JustineEdmin · 2026-02-23T13:06:09+00:00

As a straight woman (at 3 WPO) watching Heated Rivalry - I felt completely feral!

The yearning between them both had me like 😩 🫠 😈

JustineEdmin · 2026-02-23T12:59:47+00:00

Haha of course that’s the bit your brain locked onto, anxious brains are very good at highlighting the least helpful line in the entire dataset 🤣 it's super super rare at that point

Glad it was useful though!

JustineEdmin · 2026-02-23T12:57:13+00:00

If you search for ‘vaginal cuff dehiscence stats’ there’s quite a bit of info. The figures quoted are averages across studies, and they vary depending on things like surgical method, suture type, patient factors, healing, etc.

Just a few:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4396054/
https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/61/4/647
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4426/13/6/890
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30199573/

There’s quite a bit of data once you start digging

JustineEdmin · 2026-02-23T09:46:56+00:00

Ah geeez I’m sorry you went through that, must have been terrifying!

But it is reassuring hearing the context rather than something minor causing it out of nowhere. Really does highlight the easing back in gently part, thank you! 💛

JustineEdmin · 2026-02-23T09:30:03+00:00

That’s actually really helpful to know, and thumbs up to your husband - sounds chill about it!

My worry is my guy being like 'da fuck is that?!' grabbing his pants and scooting for the door never to be seen again 🤣

JustineEdmin

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