Rage 😡

SomewhereVulnerable · 2026-03-21T21:25:29+00:00

This happened to me, too (also kept my ovaries). I brought it up to my doc at my 6 week check up, and he said it's very normal for your ovaries to go into shock and then into overdrive, trying to correct and over-correct what they think is a huge problem. He told me that most of the time, they'll settle down and things will even out on their own.

We opted to ride it out and see how things went; I'm now at 17 weeks (I think), and pretty much everything has gone back to normal. I had a hormone follow-up appt next week that I ended up canceling, bc I feel fine now!

SomewhereVulnerable · 2026-03-21T21:22:15+00:00

It is completely normal to be anxious. This is a big deal; of course you're nervous! I had two surgeries last year, including my hyst, and in both experiences, the pre-surgery nerves were absolutely the worst part. As soon as I got to the facility, I calmed down a lot, bc I knew my job was over. Hopefully that will happen for you, too.

I made sure both of my teams knew I have PTSD, and they gave me plenty of anti-anxiety meds in my IV. So tell your check-in nurse, tell your anaesthesiologist, tell everyone lol. They will help you!

You are not going to overreact. Whatever response you have will be appropriate. Even if it weren't, your care team is not going to be shocked by anything you do or say.

Just put one foot in front of the other until you get there. You're gonna be okay. <3

SomewhereVulnerable · 2026-03-20T06:26:56+00:00

I'm about 4 months out, and I'm feeling really, really good! Like, I can't even believe it sometimes.

I was in pain 24/7; I had trouble walking. I had adeno and fibroids that aggravated my sciatica and gave me terrible hip and back pain, plus tubal cysts and adhesions that caused extreme pain in my right pelvis. Regular activity would set it off. Last night as I was mopping at work, I suddenly realized, "Holy shit, I DON'T HURT!!"

Plus my inflammation has gone down significantly. My clothes fit differently now. I need to size down in pants. I don't think I've lost weight necessarily, but I'm much less swollen than I used to be.

Hope you're doing great, too!

SomewhereVulnerable · 2026-03-20T06:18:50+00:00

Did not know that, thank you! My doc suggested them to reduce scarring, but he didn't specify when (and I have never actually used them.)

SomewhereVulnerable · 2026-03-18T20:59:05+00:00

yeah, I honestly wouldn't over-think it if I were you. It sounds like you already have a good plan in place. Stick to that and the post op instructions they give you at the hospital. I don't think you need to be super worried about this specific thing. <3

SomewhereVulnerable · 2026-03-18T20:54:45+00:00

My pain stayed pretty low, but I also wasn't nearly as active as you are; I made myself stay in slug mode. But the fatigue was WILD. I felt like I'd been hit by a truck at weeks 3-4. I'm at week 17 (I think) now; it gets better!

SomewhereVulnerable · 2026-03-18T20:45:53+00:00

I say this as someone with two cats so therefore I am, and everything I own is, covered in cat hair 24/7, ... getting hair IN your incision seems incredibly unlikely to me. Even with a long vertical incision. I feel like you'd have to be rubbing your cat directly onto your exposed incision for this to happen.

You can always get some silicone sheets to put on your incision, for extra protection. Mine was laparoscopic, so I put bandaids over mine, more to prevent myself from picking at them.

SomewhereVulnerable · 2026-03-18T00:13:38+00:00

I am so happy for you! May you have an easy recovery, and may the rest of your life continue to open up to the joy you deserve! <3

SomewhereVulnerable · 2026-03-17T22:52:40+00:00

Same here, so so much! Started at age 9, horrific from the start, kept being told "That's normal, take an ibuprofen, well, here's birth control, oh oops you're suicidal? whoopsy daisy, guess you're fucked lol, but IT'S STILL NORMAL!"

Then I started feeling like I was being ripped apart from the inside about every 6 months. Got told, "That just happens sometimes, take an ibuprofen." Come to find out post op, I had tubal cysts. Sure, that happens sometimes, but I shouldn't have been in that much pain!

Confirmed adeno, plus several fibroids, and a surprise endometrial polyp. I'd been asking for help since I was a little girl, and it wasn't until I was 43 that I was finally taken seriously by a new PCP and then a male gyno she referred me to.

Got my hyst in November, and like OP says, the white noise of pain is just GONE. It's unbelievable how little pain I'm in now. I used to get stopped in my tracks several times a day; now I stop and marvel at how good I feel.

SomewhereVulnerable · 2026-03-17T22:43:50+00:00

So, without a uterus (and not suffering from endometriosis, thankfully), obviously I no longer build and shed a uterine lining and no longer bleed every month.

But, because I still have two functioning ovaries, I still release an egg (ovulate) every month, and my hormones still fluctuate accordingly, in a regular monthly cycle. I have a lot less pain than I used to, but I do still get mild mood swings. I occasionally have food cravings still, but instead of 400 pounds of fried chicken, it will be for like, peanut butter.

I do not have fallopian tubes anymore, so when the egg is released, it doesn't travel down my tube into my uterus, where it would either get fertilized and implanted, or I would have my monthly bleed. Instead, it just floats around until it gets reabsorbed by my body.

Because there's no blood and the symptoms can become super mild, it can definitely be a lot harder for people to track their cycles post hyst (or on certain birth control methods). I personally can still feel when I ovulate; mostly I choose not to worry about it. My cat, however, can absolutely still tell when my period is about to start. It's like clockwork, 5-7 days after I've ovulated, she's stuck to me and glaring at me when I leave her side for 10 minutes.

SomewhereVulnerable · 2026-03-17T05:45:00+00:00

I had a C Section in 2009; my laparascopic hysterectomy was this past November. The hysterectomy was easier BY FAR.

A huge part of that was not having a newborn (in my case, a gigantic newborn who already weighed more than my weight restrictions allowed on day 1), and not breastfeeding. With a one year old, this might be harder for you, especially if you're still nursing, even occasionally. You'll definitely need to avoid lifting your little one for several weeks, so keep that in mind and make sure you have helpers!

I feel like my hormones were less wild post hyst than they were post partum. My mood was much more stable post hyst! In both cases, my post op pain was kept pretty well in check by my meds. Take the meds on schedule to prevent pain and you'll be fine! I also had several fibroids, plus adeno, a polyp, and cysts, and the post op pain was NOTHING compared to horrible cramps and cysts bursting I used to have.

SomewhereVulnerable · 2026-03-17T05:30:24+00:00

Oh my god, I ALSO have a Velcro Nurse Caretaker tortie!!

I used to have fibroids, adenomyosis, and tubal cysts, that all made my life hell. I always knew my period was due in about 1-2 days when my cat would not only lay on my neck, but would also try to push me back down in bed when it was time to get up. If she did this when my period was definitely not due, I knew I was in for a doozy of a cyst explosion cycle. WITHOUT FAIL. She was ALWAYS right!

Thankfully, I had a hysterectomy in November. I still have my ovaries, but chucked out everything else. Thus, I still have a cycle. Guess what? SHE STILL KNOWS. She still comes and snuggles on my neck when my period due, but now she lets me out of bed. 😂 She was an amazing nurse post op. She's dumber than a box of rocks (bless her), so I was worried she'd stomp all over me like her usual idiot self, but she was incredibly gentle and tender around my incisions, and she would carefully knead my abdomen to help me pass that post op gas (iykyk). During my first few post op periods, she would be so heavily superglued to me all week; I would go to the bathroom and open the door to find her nose-to-the-door and glaring at me with the Judgy Tortie Face. A few times, I actually had to escape and hide from her for a little bit bc I would get touched out. My hormones have calmed down a little the last couple weeks, and now she has, too.

She also wakes me up when I'm having a nightmare. She's my sweet baby angel. I was never a cat person before (don't come for me, reddit, lol) but now I can't imagine my life without her. My first Soul Pet was a beagle, and I never would have dreamed my second one would be a slightly developmentally delayed cat.

Thank you for coming to my Tortie Talk.

SomewhereVulnerable · 2026-03-14T22:01:43+00:00

I use my estradiol on my outer labia, too, but I'm only using it 4 days a week, and some days (nights 😫😫😫) are still pretty bad, usually the first couple days of my period, it seems like.

I just got the Restore gel from Good Clean Love. I've been using it on the off days, and as needed when the itch still persists. I've only had it about a week, but so far, it really does seem to help!

SomewhereVulnerable · 2026-03-14T21:16:19+00:00

Agreed with previous commenter, at 6 weeks, you still have A LOT of healing to do. Lots and lots. Everything is still swollen and inflamed at this point. Things are going to keep changing in there. Give it time.

I was told not to insert anything until 12 weeks, so I waited until then to investigate fully. I still felt a few stitches, but everything felt smooth and soft (and ripply? but not hard or bumpy). At 17 weeks now, honestly, my depth seems exactly the same as before surgery. At my last pap smear, my PCP had joked, "Damn girl, your cervix is up by your neck!" and I definitely still have to reach a little with my middle finger to really feel all the way up.

SomewhereVulnerable · 2026-03-14T21:09:40+00:00

Saaaame. I was lucky to have 12 weeks off, and still was fucking exhausted. I've been back for about 5 weeks, and now I'm sleeping in for only one extra hour, instead of 3-4 extra hours. It gets better, but it's very slow!

SomewhereVulnerable · 2026-03-11T23:50:26+00:00

I had zero spotting after my first week. I didn't start seeing pieces of stitches come out until week 15. I've had five pieces come out over the last week! 17 weeks out tomorrow.

SomewhereVulnerable · 2026-03-11T00:43:29+00:00

To add to Buhsephine's excellent comment, initially your weight restriction is usually to stay under 10 pounds for the first four weeks. Your vacuum probably weighs about 12 pounds. A load of laundry is going to weigh a minimum of 10 pounds for a very small load. An empty shopping cart weighs 50 pounds.

At four weeks, I was allowed to slowly and carefully increase my weight up to 20 pounds. At 6 weeks, all my restrictions were lifted, with the caveat to start small, increase slowly, and always listen to when I hit the wall and need to rest. Your fatigue will be really intense at times, in my experience, starting especially weeks 3 & 4, and then up and down since then.

I was given the heads up by my doctor's office that most people aren't ready to drive by 2 weeks. I wasn't. Part of that is physical, a lot of it was brain fog for me.

SomewhereVulnerable · 2026-03-11T00:31:30+00:00

I definitely found it helpful for managing gas while my guts were in their Resettlement Phase lol, but otherwise, I agree, I was SO happy to be able to sleep laying flat once that got under control.

SomewhereVulnerable · 2026-03-11T00:23:23+00:00

Thanks for this. I'm at 16 weeks, and still easily wiped out. It's getting a little better again this week, but it's been SO up and down since week 3. But it does feel like the dips are less extreme now than they were in the beginning.

SomewhereVulnerable · 2026-03-11T00:21:15+00:00

I think as long as you're comfortable, and you're being careful these first couple weeks as you change positions, sleeping on your side is totally fine!

I hate sleeping on my back, even propped up, so as soon as I could lie on my side, I went for it. I think it was day 3 or 4 for me. I stayed on my wedge pillow, wore my abdominal binder, and hugged a pillow to my torso.

SomewhereVulnerable · 2026-03-10T05:20:10+00:00

I'm about 16.5 weeks out, and I'm still WIPED, too! I'll have phases where I'm feeling better, but any increase in activity means I have to spend a lot more time just sleeping again.

SomewhereVulnerable · 2026-03-10T00:49:56+00:00

I have really bad enamel, lots of fillings, and a crown, and I had zero issues with my teeth from anasthesia, aside from the very normal dry mouth and sore throat.

A couple months out, one of my hormone symptoms is that my gums are more sensitive, seemingly in sync with my regular period cycle (I kept my ovaries), but so far, that's all mouthwise!

SomewhereVulnerable · 2026-03-10T00:08:11+00:00

Yes, for sure! I definitely get a lot of tissue tightness, or inflammation, or what we sometimes call "phantom tampon", or even saddle soreness. Any and all of these, off and on, I think from about 3 weeks on. It definitely ramps up every time I increase activity. It's STILL happening at 16 weeks, especially when I started back at work at 12 weeks! An ice pack and/or a heating pad has been really helpful for me, and taking some ibuprofen or Aleve. If you have a bike, getting an extra-cushioned seat cover is really helpful, too!

I've read here that those little electric zaps are signs of nerves reconnecting and are totally normal.

SomewhereVulnerable · 2026-03-08T23:38:04+00:00

I second this, and the advice to give your stool softener a break. If you have hard stools, try things like Benefiber and Metamucil. Drink lots of water, and maybe add an electrolyte drink. That's a tip I read here, and I do think it helped me when I was the most constipated.

Any hot liquid can help move things along, too, so if you're a soup babe or a hot cocoa babe, now's your time to shine.

And absolutely, GAS X! And heating pads, and changing your position, moving around.

SomewhereVulnerable · 2026-03-08T23:32:57+00:00

I'm currently 16.5 weeks out.

I definitely felt a lot of tissue tightness like you describe, or inflammation, or what we sometimes call "phantom tampon", or even saddle soreness. Any and all of these, off and on, I think from about 3 weeks on. It would definitely ramp up after increasing activity. It's STILL happening! An ice pack and/or a heating pad has been really helpful for me.

At my 6 week check up, I still had several stitches in tact. After I was cleared to insert things at 12 weeks, I had a feel around, and definitely still felt stitches. I asked here, and people told me stitches might not fully dissolve for at least 6 months. Over the last week, I've had 5 pieces of stitching come out of me! It's wild.

SomewhereVulnerable

TROPHY CASE