back pain following hysterectomy

I had a vaginal hysterectomy 10 months ago at age 37 woke up I thought my back was broken. I could not get comfortable and nothing helps the pain. I still have it low to mud back pain, and in my shoulder. Any suggestions?

Hello,
Yes OMG !! Yes...everyone of you are correct in having back pain after your hysterectomy. I too also had a hysterectomy because of fibroids which were rather large and after surgery I had excruciating pain in my lower back area, particularly when I laid down to sleep and particularly worse if I laid on my stomach. I just thought that it was normal because I had just come away from surgery and my body was recovering. But....the pain continued after 3 months...after 6 months and now it's been 1 and a half year since my surgery and my back still hurts but has been downgraded a bit. Now ... before my surgery I had always enjoyed sleeping on my mattress in perfect comfort so I knew it wasn't that and as I began to consider why that this was happening...I realized it had to be the surgery!
I had not injured my back or anything so the culprit was the surgery. That was the only thing that had changed in my life and body. Once I dedicated my thoughts on the surgery being responsible I then realized that my overgrown uterus had filled in a hard area in the front of my spine, therefore pushing my spine out over time as it grew in my body. If you look at a side view of the spine of a pregnant woman...you can see how it's contoured around the baby. Well this contouring must have occurred to all of us women who have had a hard mass ...like a uterus with a fibroid growing for years not just 9 months. Therefore I believe our pain is coming from an absolute empty hole in front of our spine where we once had a natural body part plus added into the equation a hard large fibroid which can grow over a period of years....mine being 5 years, and therefore rendering us in pain because our spine is now growing/settling back in a more straightened out position. Since there is a empty void where there once was an organ and a hard mass.
I don't know why doctors are not clued into this important detail of our recovery yet but I am 100% sure that this is what is happening.
And it makes sense when you think it through.
I wish some of these people who wrote a review on this site many years ago came back to tell us if their back pain had subsided!!

I have suffered this same excruciating back pain after my hysterectomy but I had the old fashioned surgery with the knife. Everything was taken except ovaries and including a very large fibroid. It's been almost 2 years now and I still have back pain in lower region. I strongly believe it's due to the absence of the uterus and all the extra tissue that was once there plus the giant fibroid which took 5 years to grow to the size of a large baseball. The spine had grown into a particular shape accommodating the fibroid and large uterus for so long that when it was all taken out....it left an empty hole or open cavity in front of spine. Now spine must reconstruct itself in a different position because of gravity and therefore hurts like getting braces on for first few weeks. My pain has subsided a little since compared to first 9 months which were hell!! Now still painful but only when laying on my back or stomach...sides are a bit better. When I bend over something the pain is slightly released a bit and it makes sense because I'm putting the spine back into its curved position it had before when it rolled over large uterus. Also makes sense why laying on sides is less painful.
Hope this helps...oh and just to note ...I was in perfect health other than issues from fibroid before surgery and now I am still in perfect health with exception of lower back pain. Nothing else with my body is abnormal except lower back pain particularly when I lay down.

I had the Davinci 17 days ago and my lower back has killed since. My dr told me to take the prescription Tylenol but it only makes me feel like c**p. Any suggestions accepted.

I had a hysterectomy 2 weeks ago, my tailbone and back are making it impossible to sit or lie down. The pain is horrible. Apparently alot of people have it. Has yours got any better?

Hi, i had an abdominal hysterectomy over a yr ago due to a uterus full of fibroids, all the doctors i see say my operation isnt the cause of my daily back pain, but except for a once in a blue moon back ache/pain i didnt suffer from back pain before the operation, i dont want to live on pain meds for the rest of my life because obviously they cause addiction and damage, im only 48yrs, i wish i knew before the op this could happen (no one mentions cronic back trouble) as i would have rather lived with once a month bad period pain than daily pain, im not working at the moment because some days the discomfort doesnt allow me to stay on my feet for more than 1-2 hrs at one time, i frel like i have become a burden, could someone tell me what kind of pain they have please, mine seems to burn in the sacrum area, and a stifness and some burning in the lumber spine. I did read a scary article called 'hysterectomys dirty little secret' which makes me believe this problem will never get better. The hysterectomy is the worst decision ive ever made. I feel very angry. Sorry for the rant. Thank you for reading.

The burning is actual nerve pain. A drug like Lyrica or Gabapentin will stop the burning so that the pain is more like a bad muscle strain, but no burning. I found the burning to be horrific! I had my hysterectomy in Dec 2013. I had to retire early. The burning put me in the ER all the time. Pain pills won't touch that. But the Lyrica & /or Gabapentin makes my speech slow and I have ephasia because I take it. Chronic fatigue & messed up sleep patterns. Since I worked within the police dept & court system, I gave up on trying to keep up after about a yr & a half. I retired early at 62. I thought maybe I could eventually work something part time, but I can't predict my pain levels throughout the day, let alone a work week schedule. Sorry to be such a downer, but this pain syndrome has ruined my once active & cheery self. I manage daily with Tramadol & Gabapentin daily & with rest when I need it. Also pain injections when major sciatica or sacoriliac joint dysfunction rears their ugly heads. Better luck to you! Let us know if you find the magic elixir!

Hi I had a complete hysterectomy six years ago and still experiencing really bad back pain, going for my first scan finally

I see your message is a year old.... but I’m sure your still in pain.

I was in 4 accidents. My shoulders drive me nuts as well as my neck and back. It’s been 20 years. Your shoulders could hurt from you back/neck being sprained and never reconditioned. Or you have perm soft tissue damage. The back pain could be slipped discs or osteoarthritis arthritis by now.

I don’t get it though... Unless your a contortionist you can’t put your legs over your head... and if it were forced... I would imagine serious soft tissue damage, tendon and ligament sprains or tears, slipped discs.... I wish you had a copy of your procedure notes... love to hear the explanation - for which there is none.

Best bet find a physiatrist (theybspecialize in physical motion of the body - highly educated dr who also takes the tough physical therapy cases - like MS) they can assess your obvious perm damage. Work to strength and stretch, order an MRI and other tests (though you don’t really need them as they can usually tell just by your story and examining you), plus they can write scripts for drugs that might help, do nerve blocks and different techniques including chiropractic adjustments.

A neurologist, your family dr or a psysiatrist may help by prescribing drugs...
Ones that block nerve pain - perhaps neurotin or nortriptyline. Some people also really like cox2 inhibitors like Celebrex for inflammation.
Skelaxin to relax damaged muscles.
Lidocaine patches calm the frazzled nerves down.
And yes lidocaine patch will calm down even old nerve pain.
Nerve pain can feel like zaps, burning, buzzing. The poor nerve is damaged and doing the best it can to let you know you got hurt.

As a last resort sadly a orthopedic surgeon - maybe fusing your spine in spots might help. Your spine would then be better supported. And you could work on the shoulders with a physical therapist.

Since I already have a bad back and hip I ditched the gyn that always did vag hysterectomy. That is a blind surgery. Dr can’t see what he’s doing.
Found one that did laparoscopic assisted hysterectomy.
Yes no joke. They pulled uterus and ovaries out through a 1” incision. It’s been 3 weeks. My bottom rib was crazy sore... I laid on the floor on my back until I cracked as much as I could. Much better today. But the very bottom of my spine feels a tad like it’s on fire so I will slap a lidocaine patch there and it should calm down in a week and maybe be gone in 3 weeks. Will also after another 2 weeks I may venture to chiropractor just to get anything lock up unstuck.
Chiropractors piss me off with their we must do X-rays. Really? Cause you can’t see soft tissue damage in an X-ray. It’s so bogus. But they get sued a lot and since they aren’t real drs they can’t order an mri. I wouldn’t let them order an mri anyway. Wouldn’t make any difference in your treatment.
NOTE: ask you chiropractor does he suggest physical therapy or refer you to someone? Many chiros see physical therapists as a threat to their repeat business. Yea. Because physical ther can fix a lot of things chiro can’t. So be aware. Your chiro might not have your best interests at heart.
Good luck.
I don’t wanna be the crab-Grammy either.
Hope we can get ourselves straight before they are old enough to enjoy Disney.

Best bet find a physiatrist (they specialize in physical motion of the body - highly educated dr who also takes the tough physical therapy cases - like MS) they can assess your obvious perm damage. Work to strength and stretch, order an MRI and other tests (though you don’t really need them as they can usually tell just by your story and examining you), plus they can write scripts for drugs that might help, do nerve blocks and different techniques including chiropractic adjustments.

A neurologist, your family dr or a psysiatrist may help by prescribing drugs...
Ones that block nerve pain - perhaps neurotin or nortriptyline. Some people also really like cox2 inhibitors like Celebrex for inflammation.
Skelaxin to relax damaged muscles.
Lidocaine patches calm the frazzled nerves down.
And yes lidocaine patch will calm down even old nerve pain.
Nerve pain can feel like zaps, burning, buzzing. The poor nerve is damaged and doing the best it can to let you know you got hurt.

As a last resort sadly a orthopedic surgeon - maybe fusing your spine in spots might help. Your spine would then be better supported. And you could work on the shoulders with a physical therapist.

Since I already have a bad back and hip I ditched the gyn that always did vag hysterectomy. That is a blind surgery. Dr can’t see what he’s doing.
Found one that did laparoscopic assisted hysterectomy.
Yes no joke. They pulled uterus and ovaries out through a 1” incision. It’s been 3 weeks. My bottom rib was crazy sore... I laid on the floor on my back until I cracked as much as I could. Much better today. But the very bottom of my spine feels a tad like it’s on fire so I will slap a lidocaine patch there and it should calm down in a week and maybe be gone in 3 weeks. Will also after another 2 weeks I may venture to chiropractor just to get anything lock up unstuck.
Chiropractors piss me off with their we must do X-rays. Really? Cause you can’t see soft tissue damage in an X-ray. It’s so bogus. But they get sued a lot and since they aren’t real drs they can’t order an mri. I wouldn’t let them order an mri anyway. Wouldn’t make any difference in your treatment.
NOTE: ask you chiropractor does he suggest physical therapy or refer you to someone? Many chiros see physical therapists as a threat to their repeat business. Yea. Because physical ther can fix a lot of things chiro can’t. So be aware. Your chiro might not have your best interests at heart.
Good luck.

A neurologist, your family dr or a psysiatrist may help by prescribing drugs...
Ones that block nerve pain - perhaps neurotin or nortriptyline. Cox2 inhibitors like Celebrex for inflammation.
Skelaxin to relax damaged muscles.
Clonazapam for muscle spasms.
Lidocaine patches calm the frazzled nerves down.
And yes lidocaine patch will calm down even old nerve pain.
Nerve pain can feel like zaps, burning, buzzing, or intense pain that won’t quit no matter where you move. The poor nerve is damaged and doing the best it can to let you know you got hurt.

Since I already have a bad back and hip I ditched the gyn that always did vag hysterectomy. That is a blind surgery. Dr can’t see what he’s doing.
Found one that did laparoscopic assisted hysterectomy.
Yes no joke. They pulled uterus and ovaries out through a 1” incision. It’s been 3 weeks. My bottom rib was crazy sore... I laid on the floor on my back until I cracked as much as I could. Much better today. But the very bottom of my spine feels a tad like it’s on fire so I will slap a lidocaine patch there and it should calm down in a week and maybe be gone in 3 weeks. Will also after another 2 weeks I may venture to chiropractor just to get anything lock up unstuck.
Chiropractors piss me off with their we must do X-rays. Really? Cause you can’t see soft tissue damage in an X-ray. It’s so bogus. But they get sued a lot and since they aren’t real drs they can’t order an mri. I wouldn’t let them order an mri anyway. Wouldn’t make any difference in your treatment.
NOTE: ask you chiropractor does he suggest physical therapy or refer you to someone? Many chiros see physical therapists as a threat to their repeat business. Yea. Because physical ther can fix a lot of things chiro can’t. So be aware. Your chiro might not have your best interests at heart.
Good luck.

It’s been a year since you wrote this and I was wondering if you’ve had any relief?

I had my vaginal hysterectomy in 1984 and have had gradually increasing back pain ever since. I also had numbness in the outer side of my right knee at the start. My back pain became severe enough that I had to sell my business in 2000 because the pain on standing was so severe. I've had epidurals with no effect and am currently on opiates for pain relief but with the push to cut dosages with the opioid crisis today, I can't get a dose that will let me do any normal activities. Standing is the worse and now I even have to sleep in a recliner as laying flat increases the pain so I have trouble walking. They try to tell me I have spinal problems but the pain is right at the attachment of the broad ligament to the pelvis. The doctor after surgery said he had difficulty removing it because it was so large and he had to use extreme force to get it out. i wish someone would do some research on this subject. It's really ruined my quality of life.

How did they remove the abscess and how long did recovery take? I also have abscess and it's absolutely horrible.

I am 4 years post operation and still no one can tell me what is wrong with me. I am going through the same thing like you. I am at my wits end trying to find out this pain also so that I can get it fix.