Marathon Post Hysterectomy

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nkinner1
nkinner1 Posts: 1 Member
in Challenges
Hi!

I'm a 41 year old that had to have an emergency laparoscopic hysterectomy and oophorectomy on 8/16/19. I'm a 21 time marathoner and I'm registered for a full marathon on 10/12 and another on 11/9. My surgeon said he's confident I'll make the 11/9 full but may be pushing it to make it on 10/12. I plan to start running just an easy 2 miles on Friday, 2 weeks Post-Op to see how it goes. I started walking 3 days post op and I'm up to 4 miles speed walking daily with no issues. My fear is hemorrhaging, which is what landed me in ICU in the first place. Anyone with any experience tackling a full just shy of 8 weeks post op? It's a destination race so I'll also have to drive 6 hours out and back. I'm not looking for speed, just looking to wrap up the New England states with my son.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Nancy

Replies

  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,521 Member
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    My hat is off to you as an experienced runner. You must be desperate for good news to ask here, and I don't blame you for your clear love of running. The truth is that we don't know sh1t about your condition! But, I do know a lot of surgeons (my father and brother). I have found that they always say "sure!" to any question of that kind. My specific suggestion is to talk to your GP or a surgical post-op nurse (who are the exact opposite of surgeons because they get to take care of all the cases that come back later; they will almost always say "no way!")

    But, in the end, you will have to make up your own mind. Maybe I can offer the perspective that I am almost 60 and still running, so you have many years ahead of you to make up for any races you might miss in the short term. Life itself is a marathon, after all.

    Best of luck!
  • moonangel12
    moonangel12 Posts: 971 Member
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    I would tread lightly (pun? Ha!) - this is your one chance to heal and you risk nasty scar tissue doing too much too soon (think fused internal organs - ouch!!), not to mention rupture if you have a vaginal cuff (if they took out your cervix). It was more than 2 weeks before I could comfortably ride short distances in the car, slow walking was only somewhat OK. Now, I was in 5k shape, not marathon, so that makes a little bit of a difference, but healing time is healing time. Check out Hyster Sisters - there are lots of ladies on those forums. I recall one wanting to do a half marathon just 6 weeks out from her surgery.

    Again, the amount of internal work done makes a BIG difference in recovery. I had the Davinci, so tiny external incisions that healed quickly, but it is the internal stuff you have to be careful about. Not having a huge bikini incision can trick our brains into thinking it wasn’t a major surgery, but it is. Some people compare it to a csection, but the recovery is far different so expectations should be as well.

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