Weight Loss after a Hysterectomy?

I had a total hysterectomy on Jan 6th and I have totally lost my appetite too. I was checking to see if this has happened to other women. It's so strange. I've never been like this. I'm not complaining...I need to lose weight. I do feel much better. I agree that if you are suffering...just do it. I am on the hormone patch now and I feel great. I am 33, so it's not like I was anywhere close to menopause, but I am so...so...so glad that I went ahead with this!!! I have even noticed that my orgasm is back better and stronger.

I also lost about 25lbs sense my surgery this past November.

Well This is refreshing....I have been reading so many stories of weight gain and it was depressing. I had a total abdominal hysterecto my 6 days ago. First of all, the pain was unbearable for two days for me. I have had 7 laps to remove endo and went through horrible 10 years of infertility and tx's to get pg, lost a baby after my 7th IVF procedure and finally gave up. IThe pain was making my quality of life very poor and I felt 80 instead of 38 yo. I kept ovaries so that I didnt have to do menopause yet. As to weight gain I have not had much of an appetite and am hoping I lose I really dont see how it is possible to gain weight if you are not even eating. I truly think it depends on things such as lifestyle, age, exercise and ability to bounce back after surgery. I think we need to be realistic and true with ourselves and realize that our doctors have told us it takes 6 months for our bodies to get back to normal and even then our anatomy will have changed so things are bound to be different. So if you are doing this here is the breakdown. The first day you will be miserable, second is barely less miserable only because you have to get up. Dont use morphine if you are nauseated. I kept using it until they switched me to Demerol and that still made me sick. The last thing you want to be doing is throwing up with your abdomen cut open, OMG. The third day I just wanted to go home and felt much better wheln I got into my own bed. Sleeping is not easy because you just cant seem to get comfortable and for me I kept moving up to down every 15 minutes. Ibuprofen does help. Remember to take it. Narcotics did way less believe it or not for the pain. You have to move in order to get rid of that gas or else it keeps getting worse and take a stool softener so it wont hurt so much. splint with a pillow if u need to cough or sneeze or even get up it helps. then the 4th day its mostly you are tired. Oh and if you feel good and start moving around too much your gas and swelling will come back but you are not instanlty fat lol. I just had to stop looking at myself. i have not gained any weight or lost any weight its too soon, too much swelling, fluid, gas to know your true weight. Just keep remembering that every day is better than the one before and you can get through it. after you do the bowel movement you will feel a lot better with the gas. good luck hope this helps.

Thanks for the encouraging words and tips on how you felt after the surgery. I am due to go in on the 22nd of March and cant wait. I have incredible pain and bleeding for years it kept getting steadly worse until I finally ended up in the hospital getting a blood transfusion from the amount of blood I lost. So as the saying goes no pain no gain...hoping this hysterectomy is the answer. Good luck to all !!!!

Hi there and good luck with surgery. Just try and stay positive. I think the hard part for me was the lying around all the time. You get so bored so have activities you can do so that you dont just eat. I got up a lot to walk around. The first week I went to Target just to get some exercise but that very little bit of walking made my back hurt and I was exhausted. It is amazing how fast u will wear out. If I did too much it would set me back a day so just try to take it easy. I am 6 weeks post this week and am back to work but still get back pain after just 4 hours of work. I still cant bend down all the way but half. I have been on the treadmill every day since 3 weeks post. At first I walked super slow for just 10 min. and then moved up from there. I can now do 1.5 miles in about 25 minutes. I cant full on run yet because my belly shakes and is sore. If u r getting cut then you will for sure have some numbness in your belly. There are certain parts that I cant feel anymore on my stomach. That is weird and takes some getting used to. I still hate that. I havent attempted sex did will not be for 2 more weeks so 8 weeks for me. My doctor said I still had stitches inside. I love missing my AF this month. That was and awesome. I am not yet to the point where I am jumping up and down that I did this but am hopeful as everyday gets better and better. I am amazed at how long it really is taking for me to feel normal and am not even there yet. I remember the 2nd week just balling to my husband about how I was so bored and I wanted my old self back. IT TAKES SO LONG and I am not patient but trust me it gets better. Remember about the nausea from Morphine. if you are nauseous after surgery for more than a night then stop using it. It was better for me to suffer with the pain than to be nauseous like that. They switched to Toradol and it was much better. Use Ice and heating pads on and off that helped too. I hope this helps you out a little. I was grateful for posts like this. Take care.

I have a fibroid tumor on the left outside of my uterus. My uterus is also the size of a three month pregnancy. It has been decided the best treatment will be a vaginal hysterectomy. I wonder if my stomach area will go down and I will lose some weight since they'll remove a 12 week pregnancy uterus and large fibroid?

hi there. I am almost 4 months post hysterectomy and my stomach is finally down and does seem flatter than before but I only lost about 3 lbs total. I think my doctor said the uterus even if it is enlarged does not weigh more than a couple pounds. It is so tiny. You lose weight right away from not eating or wanting to but because your appetite comes back before you can move around too much it is so hard to burn calories. Eat only low fat, sugar things during that time. I got on the treadmill at week 3 super slow tho but just so I was walking. i started at just 7 minutes then went to 10-15 and on. I would get sore at first but it got easier. I still have pain so Im not happy I did it but people say after 6 months the pains go away. Good luck Vaginal hysterectomy is better as far as moving around. You wont have the extra stress off moving that cut abdominal muscle. Take care and rest as often as possible

Hello Ladies, I am so glad after reading all the posts. I had a total abs hyst around 6 weeks ago due to stage 4 Endo and other fybroids tumors. I had my uterus, ovaries and cervix removed. I just recently turned 40 and was really worried about the whole craziness I have to put up after the surgery.

I am so glad to know that I still can get a positive support through this website. I was so discourage after reading so many negative results out there on the internet and become negative myself.

So far, I am feeling great, recovering well. I am taking hormones medication due to the surgery but overall, thank God, no complaint.
I am so glad and happy that I am pain free and I am able to spending more quality time with my family.
I drink a lot of water, eat plenty of fruit and veggies and do portion control. Can't wait to go back to my exercise routine. So far I have lost almost 12 lbs and feel real good. Anything is possible, when you believe.

Stay positive ladies and enjoy your pain free life..

God Bless

I had an emergency hysterectomy on April 28th. I have lost 36 pounds so far. I think part of it is that my metabolism is really sped up since the surgery. Eating better too.

Rachel

I am 5 weeks post op and have already lost 14 lbs. My appetite is a lot less than it was and it takes a lot less food to fill me up. I was so scared about gaining a lot of weight after having this surgery, but I have to say that I made an excellent decision. No more worries about cancer, no more horrible bleeding, bad cramping or anything else. Im just glad they were able to leave my ovaries I didnt want to go into metopause at 29. AS long as you make sure you rest, take things slow and easy your recovery should be pretty easy.

Hello Ladies, I so happy to find a positive place to read about what I am facing. I am 41 and I went to the docotor 2 days ago. I found that I have alot going on with my body and I need a hysterectomy. Lord knows I am scared but I need this to be done.

Thank you ladies so much for your post. I will keep yall posted.

Hello ladies!! I just had a total vaginal hysterectomy on July 6th, 2010 and it was the best decision that I could have made. I send prayers to all of you who are scheduled soon. I would like to recommend a website to all of you ( if you havent found it yet). It's called Hystersisters and I tell you it was the best site ever!! It is a site where you can ask questions pre-op, post-op, and later on. You can also be a resource to those sisters who are following in your footsteps in this journey. Please take time and view the site it helped me so much because I was a nervous wreck with sooooo many questions before my surgery. I still keep in touch with alot of the women on the site and also pass on iany info that I have post-op. Again, I pray for your speedy recoveries!!!

Hi Ladies: I was looking around on the internet to read about weight loss after hysterectomy, as this is what I am experiencing. I had my surgery July 28th (not a big deal at all, for all of those out there who are so worried, just as I was!). I had the LSH, or supracervical, and they only removed my uterus. Today is 2 weeks post op and I feel pretty good and have for about a week now! The worst, as others have mentioned, is getting those bowels going again, because pushing, according to my body!, is not an option. So, I hope some will not go back to a regular diet right away like I did, and remember that soft foods and easier to pass foods will help your comfort level during this period. Also, if my bladder gets the least bit full, I start getting discomfort, and so I go empty it....simple. The bladder is right next to the uterus, so its right in the location where the surgery took place. There isn't any pain from me, but when it gets too full it must push on the stitches and so forth on the inside, and there is some discomfort if I don't respond to the urge to do something about it.

Over this past weekend (10 days post op) I was feeling kind of bored, so I had my husband take me and our daughter out for some back to school shopping. We went to about 5 stores Friday evening. Then Saturday I worked myself back into boredom and asked to go out to dinner. We did, but with all of that walking, my bowels were waking too much and as a result, I felt pain and pressure in my lower back and in the front, too. I spent Sunday in the bed, as I didn't feel good after doing too much. How many times did I get that warning...problem is, you don't know its too much until after the fact. So....another word of caution.....don't do too much, LOL!

Also, make sure you have a heating pad for your lower back after the surgery. Mine has been a lifesaver, kept me quite comfortable, and reduced lower back pain. I am still using my heating pad right now. I don't suppose I need it, but it sure "soothes" and generally speaking, no harm in using it.

I still don't know why the weight loss? I have been eating quite well since surgery...no more or less than normal for me, but in two weeks, I've lost a total of 12 pounds (and for the most part, I've been around the house and not real active). I am just curious about this. My weight has fluctuated within 5 pounds for the past 7 or so years of my life (Because I weigh every 5 or so days, and if its up, I eat greens and so forth to get it back down), so to be down 12 pounds after surgery and in just two weeks causes me to suspect that the fibroids or hormones or something must have been keeping my weight up all these years....just curious and wanting to know.

:$

Hello ladies!

I am in complete awe of these positive posts! I have been reading so much on my up and coming hysterectomy and have been thinking of canceling due to all the negative posts I have seen on other sites.

I am scheduled to have a complete abdominal hysterectomy Sept 9th.
I am 37, 5'2 and 115 lbs. I do not want to sound vain, but I do not see myself ever being OK with gaining a ton of weight, plucking chin hair or being moody...OR Losing my sex drive!
I have endo, adhesions, cycst on the ovaries, pre-cancer cells. The pain I have experienced is out of control. Due to the pre-cancer cells my Dr. and 2nd opinion agree a complete hysterectomy and the endo makes hormone replacement out of the picture.

My question to you all....How are you feeling now? Some of you are 1 year, some are a month.
Are you still feeling great, losing or maintaining weight?

I really hope to hear something back...I appreciate any advice and feedback anyone may have.

:-P

I am about 10 days post op TAH - Let me say - I LOVE IT!! I haven't felt this great in years!! My biggest problem is knowing when I'm "over doing it." I was completely fine after 3 days and back to work. No hormones - yet!! I am as gentle as a kitten. It reminds me of when I was on Lupron right before we started fertility treatment. I had endometriosis, and polycystic fibroids, all of my reproductive life (I am early 40's now). I finally had the surgery after 2 cysts burst in one month - OUCH!! I put off having the surgery for at least 5 years. What I thought were stomach aches are gone, loose bowels - gone and I don't feel worn out anymore. Before the Hysterectomy I always felt like I had a touch of the flu, always fighting something and never felt great. I feel stronger and have more energy than I have in 10 years.

I also googled hysterectomy's and read everything awful about this surgery and put it off for years despite my gyn/ob recommendations. Call me crazy, but I needed this surgery and wish I would have listened to my dr. earlier. Also, attitude is everything and with no hormones a pleasant attitude is easy to come by....lol