That was probably me that mentioned the hystersisters website post op videos. I found them invaluable. More information there than from my medical team. Way more. It's *very* important not to overdo activity after your surgery or you can develop adhesions that form painful scar tissue, so you need to really follow what they say on the videos. The videos are split into weeks 1-2, 3-4 and so on.
My story. Long. And probably TMI. (Though I don't mind sharing if it can help someone.) But lots of pain and abnormal bleeding for a while. We tried different things to avoid surgery, but it was inevitable. It got to a point where things got so bad, I wound up in the ER twice. My hematocrit dropped while I waited for surgery. There were times I couldn't walk and was screaming in pain. It was awful. My GYN and oncologist duked it out to see whether I could keep my ovaries, but my oncologist won out. So I had a laparoscopic hyst/ooph/saplingectomy (uterus, ovaries and tubes, and throw in the cervix, too, which they often take out when pain issues are involved) and a cystoscopy. (Research has shown that many ovarian cancers start in the Fallopian tubes, so that is something you should talk to your doctors about if you're taking the uterus out. You may want to take them out while you're in there. The ovaries are another matter because the hormones they secrete are important to women. In my case I had breast cancer and breast and ovarian cancers can be linked, which is why my oncologist wanted them out, even though my gene testing showed no correlation at this time, they still find new gene sequences all the time so it's possible there could be a link found in the future.) I wish I could've kept my ovaries but on the other hand, I'm glad I don't have to worry as much about getting ovarian cancer down the road. Who knows...
Anyway, my surgery took longer than expected because my uterus was enlarged. The surgeon had to cut it to get it out. Apparently this is pretty common, according to some things I've read (even from others here on the Dis). I am pretty sure this is why they did the cystoscopy, to make sure nothing was knicked in my bladder. My procedure was supposed to be outpatient (!) but when they took the catheter out I couldn't go to the bathroom (and walking back and forth to the bathroom several times in the immediate post op period was rough) so they had to put another catheter in. One of the most uncomfortable parts of the whole ordeal was when they gave me a "bladder challenge" where they put a ton of fluid in me and I couldn't pee. Ugh. Anyway, they gave me the option of going home that night with a catheter for a few days, or staying overnight in an overflow unit (not technically admitted to the hospital, mind you) and taking it out in the morning, so I chose the latter (and wound up in a ward with six or seven other women, one of whom was wheeled in next to me at 2am; she'd been the same woman who was screaming and swearing her head off in pre-op, so I was wondering if we might get into it a little bit if she started that night - I was in no mood for that - but she didn't, thankfully - I think she was pretty nicely sedated, lol). I didn't sleep a wink. In the morning I got up by myself, went into the bathroom, removed my catheter, peed, and told them I was ready to go, lol. DD was a very welcome sight when she rounded the corner to get me with two Dunkin Donuts coffees in her hands. Oh yes, and my surgeon had also come in and told me that I had something called adenomyosis, which is also something fairly common that women have but we often don't know we have it until the uterus comes out. So no wonder I was having so much trouble.
My recovery at home wasn't too bad, with the exception of bladder spasms. Those were the thing that bothered me the most, and I feel like it was related to the bladder challenge they gave me in the PACU. I think it stretched my bladder (cause I never had bladder problems before the surgery). I was told there was nothing that would help, so I suffered for several days with these awful bladder spasms. I wound up seeing a covering surgeon for another issue and I mentioned the bladder spasms. She gave me pyridium and it helped so much, I was kind of aggravated nobody else did that for me. The other big problem was fatigue. It was bad. I learned on the videos, though, that during recovery, if you do too much one day, you pay for it the next day, and it was so true. Mine may have been worsened by the fact that I was still tachycardic from so much blood loss pre-op, though. One day I walked down the street and wasn't sure I could make it home. I had to take baby steps. That worried me. But things got better over time. And really, there is just no substitute for time here. The day that I walked a mile without problems I actually cried I was so happy to be able to walk again. Now i have heard and read about lots of women who say they were up and around in a week or two. I'm not going to doubt them, but I'm also going to say, I don't think it's the smartest thing to do. I mean, if you have to, then you have to. But don't be surprised if you're really fatigued and/or you develop adhesions. I think if you have the option, you should choose a slow recovery for better long term wellness. Overall I don't think it was so bad. I think if I hadn't been so weak and deconditioned going into it, my recovery would've been a little easier. And it is SO NICE not to be having female problems anymore!
Good luck to all who have to have this surgery.
