Recovering from a hysterectomy...?

I had a total hysterectomy 2 days ago, everything removed lly. I'm 48 years old. My biggest problem at the moment seems to be distention of my abdomen. It's so tight and huge. My bladder is working fine and now my bowels have begun to move today, but my belly doesn't seem to be going down any. How long does it take for this to lessen? My next doctor's appt. is in 2 weeks. When will I begin to experience the tell-tale signs of menopause? I had my procedure due to peri-menopausal irregular bleeding and a hysteroscopy and D&C didn't correct it. All answers appreciated.