Exercising after laparoscopy

[Barney91]

Hi all! I had a laparoscopy on 15th Jan to remove extensive grade 3 endometriosis which was on my womb, bladder, bowels, ovaries and ligaments. I really want to get back into exercise again but haven’t been told how long I need to wait before exercising or if there are types of exercise that are best/need to avoid.

Can anyone advise please?

Thanks

[GreenViolin]

Hi Barney. I had similar surgery to you on 13-Jan. My consultant said nothing more taxing than the physio exercises I was given and walking for at least 6 weeks. I’ve been doing some yoga / Pilates from YouTube designed specifically for post lap/C-section/ abdominal surgery to supplement and only doing what my body seems comfortable with. I’ve managed to build up to walking to my local cafe and back slowly, so that takes me about an hour in total (not including having coffee 😀). So keen to get back into my cardio, and the classes I usually do, but I’m following instructions as I know my body isn’t ready for all of that yet!

[Barney91 in reply to GreenViolin]

Ooo I’ll have a look into that, thank you! I’m not very good at listening to my body and tend to jump back into things when I shouldn’t 😅😅 so I am trying to take it slow and not hurt myself! Thank you x

[GreenViolin in reply to Barney91]

I know the feeling! Not exercising really affects my mood, so I'm desperate to get back there, but if you do it too quickly you end up spending even more time out of action!

[Barney91 in reply to GreenViolin]

I am exactly the same, not exercising really gets me down and I end up with slight body dysmorphia 🙄 I’m going to take it slow and not rush back into exercise! X

[Zanlancaster]

hi, I had ovaries and tubes and endo removed 24 January, all I think about is getting back to yoga but the consultant said I had so much internal work it needs to heal first or coykd cause more damage later so I’ have a five week sick note. I read those that have hysterectomy can walk 10-20 mins from week two and then 30 mins from week four. Everyone is different so might be worth asking

[Barney91 in reply to Zanlancaster]

Hi, thanks for your reply! Will definitely look into doing more walking 🙂 I used to walk quite a lot in years gone by and know it’s good for body and mind! Thank you x

[Koalakate]

I was told 6-8 weeks and start with gentle exercise.

[Barney91 in reply to Koalakate]

Thank you x

[Bellebell]

I had my laparoscopy a couple of years ago and my endometrioma was large. I was told it would be 6-8 weeks but in fact it took me 4 months to get to a decent level of fitness and at least 8 to be anywhere where I was previously (running, lifting weights, etc.). I started off, however, after about 6 weeks, with armchair exercises for the elderly on YouTube and was able to include light weights after about 2 months. Main thing is to listen to your body and not push it. It is hard but there is a lot of healing going on inside too. Maybe start off with walks when you can and gentle stretches.

[Barney91 in reply to Bellebell]

ah right! Yeah I was running and lifting weights too! I’m going to try and ease back into it by doing yoga and walking 🙂 thank you x