LEEP recovery

I had my LEEP done yesterday and it really was not too bad - thought the colposcopy was worse...so far so good:) My doctor said to take it easy for about 3 days and then start some light excercising and watch for bleeding - no bleeding, I'm ok to keep going.

My questions for you all...
* How long did it take for you to recover from the LEEP - return to normal exercise...etc... I plan to run a 1/2 marathon and need to keep my training up - but will stop to allow my body to heal properly.
* Sex - I was told to wait a week and I'm really in no hurry to have sex, but I'm curious as many of you have posted about using condoms. My husband & I have been in a monogamous relationship for about 15 years and would assume anything he has I have & vice versa... would a condom protect me from further cases of dysplasia?
* Pap in 6 months.... your experience with this - usually normal, or abnormal as your cervix is still healing?

THANK YOU all for sharing your wisdom - it is so empowering!

By Kat1981
Posted June 9, 2009 at 6:00 pm
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Hi mommy2four,

I just had my 1st LEEP done today, I guess yours was a mild case of dysplasia because I was diagnosed with CIN III with severe dysplasia and I was told not to have sex, use tampons ( I really hate wearing pads; it feels like a diaper), douches, etc. for 6 weeks.

I'm not sure about using condoms during sex. That's something I still have to ask my doctor about because my husband and I both have HPV. I had my LEEP and he's going to have his warts frozen off. I just hope all of this goes away because I don't want to keep passing it back and forth -you know?

Hope all is well with you and I wish you a speedy recovery. Take care.

-Kat

By mommy2four
Posted June 9, 2009 at 7:12 pm
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My doctor did say that using a condom does not help b/c it is skin to skin contact so unless you're covered in plastic it won't help..... was just looking for others advice one it - willing to do whatever to keep HPV at bay:)! I wish you the best during your recovery Kat1981!!

By wyatt1
Posted June 10, 2009 at 2:11 pm
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Hi, I make my living as a certified trainer and have had a LEEP so my experience.....
I had moderate dysplasia and was told to wait 4 weeks before having any sort of sex or wearing a tampon. As for exercise I was told to take a week off from any intense high impact sorts of exercise. I passed light brown and dark brown discharge for about a month after. I think the depth of your LEEP will determine the post discharge as well. I used pads for that discharge and then for my next period.

I was told that since running is high impact, it could cause the healing "scab" that is forming to shake off,crack, or bleed through. (as you recover you will find all sorts of fun stuff coming out of you as the healing process continues, and some of it is this gunk that helped heal over the wound form the LEEP) I waited a month to do any sort of running, and filled in my schedule with elliptical,swimming,(post LEEP 2 weeks) and biking. I did light weights a week after 2 x a week and was fine. (ay heavy straining against heavy resistance wouldn't be recommended of course).

As for sex I have been reading that it can take up to 6 months to heal totally from a LEEP. I've also read and heard form my doctor that having sex while your cervix post-surgical tissue is so vulnerable and thin could make a reinfection from your partner easier or encourage your virus to re-surface sooner rathe than keeping it cleared. Again, I think it depends on how invasive your surgery was.....

As for my PAP, it was normal on all edges of my removed tissue from the LEEP, but at my 3 month follow up PAP I tested positive for HPV again. My follow up colposcopy showed no lesions, so I go back in another 3 months for another PAP. We are hoping I can clear this virus on my own without doing another surgery.
Best of luck to you!

By mommy2four
Posted June 10, 2009 at 3:43 pm
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Thanks wyatt1 - I appreciate your help! I get the healing side and high impact running... hopefully I won't regress too much to continue on to do the 1/2 marathon:)

By Butterfly2588
Posted June 10, 2009 at 8:56 pm
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I just had my leep done last Friday to remove mild displasia. I have had worse cramps from my period than the leep procedure. I started exercising after 24 hours, was supposed to wait 48, but I needed the mental break. I had some discharge, but nothing alarming. I was also told no sex or anything in the vaginal canal for 2 weeks. I am holding firm to this one.

I asked my doctor about using a condom. He said it wont hurt to use a condom. The body has to try and heal itself and it would not be a bad idea to just use one even if it was for peace of mind. He said for us to use condoms until I have at least 2 normal paps in a row.

Best of luck to you!

By mommy2four
Posted June 11, 2009 at 1:42 am
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Thanks butterfly2588! What did you do for exercise - high impact stuff? Just curious as I too am getting a little stir crazy:) Yesterday was nice to lay around, but today I feel back to normal for the most part - ready to get going.... but do not want to mess up the healing part my body is going through. Thanks for your info - I appreciate it!!

By PJ2
Posted June 11, 2009 at 7:14 pm
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Generally, doctors will ask you to abstain from sex for 4-6 weeks, howeverm, it sounds like your doctor was a little liberal with waiting a week. My suggestion would be roughly four weeks. As for exercise, the recommended wait is again 4 weeks, without heavy lifting. Reason being, the LEEP procedure cauterizes the wound internally, so by doing strenuous exercise, you risk breaking open the area that was burned. Trust me, I too was a serious runner at the time and was training for the LA Marathon, but put it on hold because it was extremely uncomfortable while healing. Plus, I did too much exercise at week three and broke open the scab - not fun to hemmorage and go to the ER cause you broke open the scab. So, I had to wait another 4-6 weeks after that. I aslo think it may have been what caused some of my scar tissue issues.

Anyway, you have to do what is right for you. If you are feeling better, start slow and ease into exercise and see how it feels. If you do not have bleeding, staining or spotting, then consider resuming exercise after two to three weeks.

You know your body best, so do what works for you!

Hope you are on the mend quickly!

PJ

By needhelp1
Posted June 18, 2009 at 4:48 am
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i had a leep done over 2 month ago!i waited a month until the doc gave me the ok to have sex again!ever since then i've been bleeding during and after sexual intercourse!so i went back to my doctor and she said everthing looks good and everything is healed!i still dont feel that it normal!and im really worried!!it would be great if anyone knows something about this if you could help me!!

By lennydykstra
Posted June 18, 2009 at 10:04 am
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Hi there! I had my LEEP three weeks ago and right before I went into the OR, I asked my doctor when I could start exercising and I was floored when she replied "2 or 3 days!" I had always heard I'd need to do nothing active for at least a few weeks. So I waited about six days before going back to the gym and doing a light workout on the elliptical machine and lifting weights at about 50% my normal weight. Now I'm doing gym workouts pretty much at my normal pace/weight. I'm waiting until my 1-month follow-up before starting to run again, but that's more because I just want to be extra sure it's OK to do so. I'm a diligent runner too and if I had to not exercise at all for weeks, it would have killed me. But each case is different, so I wouldn't go against your doc's recommendation. Hang in there, you'll be back to normal soon enough, and in the grand scheme of things, a month goes by fast and you'll get back into shape. Good luck!

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