I just had a 10cm dermoid ovarian cyst removed from my right ovary. I'm noticing that my bladder feels very weak. If I have to go to the toilet, my bladder control is not great..I have to go to the toilet that instant...can only hold it for a few seconds/minute max. Is this normal after surgery? I was told that the bladder is beside the ovaries so are the muscles of the bladder weaker now? If so, when will it go back to normal?

Also, my stomach is swollen and feels bloated which I'm told is normal but will I ever be able to regain core muscles again? I feel worried that my stomach muscles will always feel weak. I notice it when I stand up after sitting down, when I try to have a shower and lift my arms above my head to wash my hair and when I walk for a while. It's as if my balance is not as good as before because your stomach muscles basically balance out your whole body. 

I only had surgery on Tuesday so it's still early days but I have a bit of health anxiety. I'm scanning my body for any worrying symptoms because my initial symptoms were dismissed. I still feel like I wasn't listened to when I told family that I felt something was wrong and I obviously was right. 

My biopsy results are in 6 weeks time. I've been told that the cyst looks benign but there is a small risk it's malignant. I don't feel particularly unwell aside from the aching muscles, weak bladder, wind and bloat in my stomach along with constipation in the first few days post surgery (think the constipation is gone). I'm drinking peppermint tea and taking peppermint capsules to deal with the bloat..it's uncomfortable more than painful.

The hospital food was low in fibre..white bread, special k, cornflakes, orange juice and I found that really frustrating. I had to drink prune juice because the food was so lacking in fibre. I assumed (wrongly) that I'd get porridge, soup..food that's cheap to make but still high in fibre and nutritious. I definitely felt a lack of control over the food and that it at least contributed to digestive issues post-op. A visitor brought in fruit for me, luckily enough but I just felt that the food was substandard and not stuff I'd normally eat. I only ate it because I was hungry and even then, I'd leave loads of it after me. 

I've been told by my consultant that my recovery has been very quick so far as I'm healthy and physically active. I'm doing my best to be positive but I feel a slight lag psychologically. I'm aware of all my body has been through, how invasive surgery is but I'm trying to remind myself that the body can be resilient too, that the fact that I'm a healthy weight, a non smoker and a non drinker bodes well for my recovery. The anaesthetist looked really happy when he heard about my clean living lifestyle as smoking etc can all increase the risk of surgery itself.