Ladies... For those of you who have had a hysterectomy

[Jillpie]

Oh gosh! Thank you so much for sharing that story. I needed a good laugh today and that did the trick!!


Jillpie-Just like I have said to everyone else, thank you for sharing your story with me. I do have some help coming in after DH goes back to work I'm just a little worried about how reliable it will be. DH has plenty of vacation time each year but we also have vacations planned for this summer so I don't want him to use everything on staying home with me. I will deal with that issue, should it arrise, at a later time.

For those who have responded or anyone else who reads this, what pain meds were given to you to take at home? I'm a little concerned about them not working properly. Although I'm sure that probably won't happen, I am just "borrowing" worry for everything right now.


Longsx3-Did your doc tell you why your surgery took so long? That scared the daylights out of me when I read yours took 8 hours. Can anyone else share about how long their surgery took, if they were told by the doctor or family members who waited at the hospital. The only thing my doctor told me was that he wouldn't give me a set time because it all depended on what he found when he started the surgery.

mtblujeans I had no idea that any of this could affect memory. Thank you for sharing so much information about possible side effects. I am really worried about night sweats more than anything right now, I hate them and it makes sleeping so uncomfortable!

I've said it before but I must repeat myself, thank you ladies for sharing so much personal info with me.

Okay, its me again. Pain meds...the morphine pump in the hospital, it did make me sick after 24 hrs. of it, but it helped alot. When I went home is when I really needed the pain meds. I was on Motrin 800 mg and Vicodin together every 6 hrs or so. Don't be afraid of getting "addicted", it won't happen. Take the medicine. It'll help you to function. I needed it for 4 weeks, then I tapered off.

Length of surgery...mine took 3 hours, just like the doc told me. He knew it was going to be extensive, so he fully expected that.

HRT...I was put on the Estrogen patch immediately in the recovery room and have been on it ever since (8 weeks now), I change it once a week. Its worked great and other than showering, I don't notice its on. No side effects whatsoever. Don't worry.

Don't worry about "borrowing" worry. Any concern of yours is important. Ask anything and everything, it is so fresh in my mind, ok?

 

[momsgonwild]

I had my hysterectomy 15 years ago. They also removed both ovaries, and my appendix. I was 26 yrs old, and had problems with endometriosis since I was 17. I had a laparoscopy to clean my tubes to get pregnant with both of my children. I tried many treatments that ultimately failed. Do to severe bleeding, this was my only option. I too was very worried about the outcome of such a drastic proceedure.
For me, this has been the best 15 yrs of my life. I don't feel bad all the time.
I am much more active than I ever was when I was younger. No monthly visiters to contend with. I have taken hormone pills for fifteen years without any problems. I am very careful about the monthly breast exams, and take my mamagrams very seriously. My doctor will leave me on my pills for another ten years, and then start to wean me off of them. Basically, she explained that my body was too young to live without the hormone. I would do the whole process again if I had to choose. I hope you are starting to feel better. Good Luck!

 

[laura001]

I too suffered from severe endometriosis and had a complete hysterectomy when I was 30, am now 43. It was not difficult to recover from, as a matter of fact we moved 6 weeks afterward. You do need to be careful if you intend on going on a Hormone Replacement because the estrogen will feed any endometriosis that they miss or if some is hiding somewhere.

For me it was the best thing that I could have done, it made a huge difference with how I felt. Good luck to you

 

[luckywife]

Thanks again everyone for sharing your stories about the surgery, pain meds, HRT, etc. I realize I've asked a ton of questions.
I really love hearing so many of you say it's the best thing you've ever done and how much better you feel after doing it. That is my hope. I have felt so bad on and off for so many years, I can't even imagine what it will be like to feel good!

I have been taking Vicodin on and off for the past few months because the pain in my right side from the cysts has been pretty bad. That seems to help quite a bit so I'm guessing I'll take that as well when I get home.

Only 3 more days until the "Big Day" I'm scared but so ready to just get it over with.

to all of you!

 

[Dakota_Lynn]

I had mine done 14 months ago. Prior to having a hysterectomy in January, I had a triple hernia repair three months earlier in October! So I sort of had a double whammy there. Honestly, I recovered from the hysterectomy in no time. The day after I had my surgery there was an auction I wanted to watch to make sure I won so I hauled myself complete with my IV thingie up two floors and snuck to the computer area so I could make sure I won my auction (I did). I was getting around great! The only think that sticks in my mind was that I was tired for months after that surgery. But again, that was the second major surgery in three months, so I think my body was just plain exhausted.

Anyway, I would say pain was minimal. The hernia repair was far worse for me. At no point was the pain hard to deal with. I have told my partner that if it came down to a period tomorrow or another hysterectomy, I'd gladly take the surgery.

Remember to get up and walk around as soon as you can. It's good to prevent blood clots. Keep a positive attitude, that is most important. And give yourself the time you need to recover and don't let guilt over a dirty house or neglected kids get you down! This is YOUR time to take care of you and your house, job, and family will just have to wait while you tend to your needs!

Oh, and somebody suggested hystersisters.com. I LOVED that place and found answers to every single issue that came up. I cannot recommend that place highly enough. Definitely go register there right away!

Good luck! You'll be fine! And believe me, you'll be soooooooooo happy to say goodbye to that monthly PITA!

 

[luckywife]

So many of these stories are giving me the hope and courage I need--thank you soo much from the bottom of my heart!

I took the advice I was given yesterday about hystersisters and I registered there last night. I spent a good amount of time just looking around the site, reading and even posted to introduce myself. It felt nice just to be on a website where everyone there is going through or has went thorugh exactly what I am right now.

You all have helped me in more ways than I can ever say

 

[Longsx3]

:

Longsx3-Did your doc tell you why your surgery took so long? That scared the daylights out of me when I read yours took 8 hours. Can anyone else share about how long their surgery took, if they were told by the doctor or family members who waited at the hospital. The only thing my doctor told me was that he wouldn't give me a set time because it all depended on what he found when he started the surgery.

:

Because my adhesions are so severe! By Stomach was adhered to up and to the left as well as some other out of place organs, so they also removed as many adhesions as they could as well as my appendix. You may want to ask about your appendix if you hae a lot of adhesions. My appendix was covered in adhesions and if I would have ever had to have an emergency appendectomy it could have been a very dangerous situation.
I was also on aMorphine pump for the first day and then I took tylenol 3 while in the hospital by the time I got home I stopped taking meds.

I was in the hospital longer than most at 7 days but prior to surgery we thought I might be there longer so 7days was okay.

One thing you may want to talk to your Dr. about is what type of Hospital Floor will you be on after recovery? AN OB/Gyn floor or a Surgery Floor?
I woke up to the sound of Babies crying and when I walked the halls there were all the new Mom's with their babies. It was a little emotional at first, knowing there were no more babies in my future and just going throught the surgery. I understand why they put hysterectomy patients on the OB/GYN floor, typically those nurses are more adapt to that procedure but I was just a little surprised.

 

[Figment22]

luckywife,
You've gotten lots of good advice and info in this thread already so I won't make my response too long, but I did want to pipe in because of one specific similarity we share. I had my right ovary removed in 2/2001 because of a large cyst that they thought might have been cancerous (thankfully, it wasn't.) At the time, they told me that if I only had the one ovary removed there was a 50% chance that the other might also have to be removed eventually. Well, eventually turned out to be less than three years later I had a full hysterectomy in 1/2004. To put your mind at ease, let me tell you that the second surgery was MUCH easier than the first. Maybe it's because I'd already been down this road once before, but I recovered from the surgery much quicker the second time around.

I was going to mention hystersisters too. What a great website that is!

Good luck with your upcoming surgery.

 

[kikakeko]

Wow did this topic catch my eye...


I am 28 (well 29 tommrrow) and I too am going to have a hysterctomy. I have elected to wait till this fall to do mine though with summer comming and other things that are going on in my life with my dd. I have had problems with my periods since having my first daughter then after having my twin by c sections and having a tubal I have been a mess. I had a uterine ablation done in 2003 but it didn't help with the bleeding issues.My doctor has explained everything forwards and backwards but I am still hesitant.

ty for the web site I will have to check that out.

 

[luckywife]

Oh my goodness longsx3 that must have been an even more frightening ordeal for you than just a regular hysterectomy. So glad you came out of that alright. So glad for ALL of you that have shared your stories that everything has worked out ok since your surgery.

I actually had my appendix removed in November of '03. At that time they did find endo on the appendix and also discovered, from a CT Scan, that large cyst on my ovary.

Figment22 I am hoping and praying that this next surgery will be easier to heal from than the previous one since I've already been through something similar and I know my doctor is going to use the same incision. Thank you for your concern!

kikakeko GL with your surgery in the fall. I will keep your name in my memory bank and will check up on you towards the end of the summer to see how you are, if that's OK?

 

[Barb D]

I have elected to wait till this fall to do mine though with summer comming and other things that are going on in my life with my dd.

I chose to have mine done in Summer so that I could spend my recovery time by the pool! (And my evil plan worked...)

 

[kikakeko]

I really would like to have mine sooner but we are taking vacation in April.
My DD (age 4 )has to go to a pediatric specialist for her eye in a couple of weeks and frankly I can only handle one thing at a time medically. And well I have dealt with my problems for about 8 years now I can handle a few more months. But boy will I be glad when it is over.
It seems like in this house when it rains it pours. I am sure most families can relate.
My DH only gets 2 weeks of vacation time and I am SO needing this vacation comming up. I can make him take the second one this fall when all the girls are going to be in school there for my "mommy" duties are a little less complicated. I am prettty worried as to who is going to help me though with the recovery period. Our families aren't very reliable with babysitting our kids and it is very frustrating for the most part. I hope that I just hope I won't have to hire someone.
My mom had her hysterectomy at 40, my MGM was 32 the Dr says that is isn't hereditary but I am really questioning that. I have 3 DD's that I hope that I am not passing this along to.

I think the hardest thing for me even though I have had my tubal and the ablation and I have no real big desire not that it could medically happen is that I am still kinda freaked out about the womanhood issues that go with this surgery. But the more that I am reading the more I am seeing as that is a pretty common thought process.

Sorry this was so long~

 

[tinknme]

Hi luckywife I had a total abdominal hysterectomy Dec of 2004. 7 weeks after my surgery I went to Disney I was so worried that we would have to cancel our trip, but my Dr said I would be fine & he was right About the 3rd week after surgery I started to get discouraged. I still had no energy & it took all I had just to take a shower. But by the 5th week I was feeling much better It does take awhile to get all your energy back, so rest as much as you can. Let others clean the house, wash dishes, ect. I took 1 pain pill at home & did not need anymore. The only problem I had was being really constipated(sorry if that is TMI). I also had the famous swelly belly Actually I think I still get it at times I am very glad I had the surgery & I definetly do not miss the monthlys or the cramps that came with it. I just wish I had not gained the extra 15 pounds I am not on any hormones & so far I have been fine with this. I do get hot flashes, but they are not to bad. I know you will do great & I agree with the other posters, Hystersisters is a wonderful site. I do not visit as often now, but it helped me alot before my surgery & after. Good luck to you & let us know how you are doing

 

[Feralpeg]

First, let me say it was the best thing I ever did. Living with pain is crazy. I suffered for five years before I found a doctor who actually investigated my problem. I had adenomiosis.

I had a C-section with DD and like a previous poster said, I expected my recovery from my hysterectomy to be the same. It was harder. I had some complications during surgery, so they gave me meds after surgery. The meds made me sick for the first two days. I ran a fever, so I had to stay in the hospital longer. I wasn't in a lot of pain after the first day, but I was just really tired. Two weeks after I got home, I developed bronchitis. I can honestly say that I really wasn't back to my old self for about six weeks.

Would I do it again, considering? You bet!

 

[bsusanmb]

Lucky Wife, don't be afraid. I am an RN and was TERRIFIED. I had many surgeries, just like you. At 21 I had part of my right ovary resected due to polycystic ovary disease. I was 26 and had a twisted ovary from an ovarian cyst that was the size of a grapefruit, with my bowel looped around it. I had the left ovary removed. At the time I had one daughter. Miraculously, I had two more daughters in a course of 13 years. I always had excruciating pain, like having appendicitis, and pain radiating down my leg. I had my last child at 33, and had a tubal ligation. I suffered with PMS and endometriosis, until when I was in my 40's and my female (age79) family doctor said, "Why don't you get rid of that bleeding bag? You don't want anymore children, so get it out of there!" I had to laugh at the bleeding bag thing - so I went to have the surgery. I was so scared!!! But it was not bad at all. I had pain the first 24 hours post op, but after that it was ok. I needed premarin right away due to the hotflashes in the hospital. Of course it takes a while to recover with an abdominal incision, unless you are having a ******l hysterectomy. I think by 3 weeks, I felt GREAT - but took off 4 weeks from work. It is the BEST thing I ever did for my health and well being. No more pain, I couldn't believe that this was how I was supposed to feel and how much I suffered for years. No PMS, it was awsome. The anesthetics they have are excellent, short acting, with little side effects. You will do just fine. I will keep you in my prayers.
Best wishes, hystersister!
Susan

 

[luckywife]

Hi ladies

Well, tomorrow is the day. I was just looking at the clock and realized that this time tomorrow I will be in surgery, or soon will be. It is scheduled for 7:00am, meaning I have to be at the hospital by 5:30.

It has helped a lot reading all of your stories, I find them very encouraging and comforting. Hystersisters has been a wonderful place to visit and I have been to the site each day since I was told about it just a few days ago. I plan to keep going there once I am home and feel like getting online again.

I will try to update this maybe in a week or so. Thanks again so much for the good wishes and prayers.

 

[kikakeko]

Lucky... I wish you a fast recovery!!

 

[tinknme]

Here is some for a speedy & trouble free recovery!

 

[disykat]

I'm saying a quick prayer for you. I find out on Wednesday if I'm having one.

 

[princesspumpkin]

I suppose you're up and getting ready to go. Just wanted to say "Good luck, and God speed to the uterus!"