 TAH - My Surgery.... |
From the Abdominal Hysterectomy Stories Articles List |
 Related Titles
My recovery Process from the beginning to 6 weeks
My hysterectomy novel lol and why I'm happy I had the surgery.
My TAH story
6 weeks Post Op - TAH, BSO, Bladder Sling, A&P repair
TAH BSO experience at 9 days post op
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My story actually starts after my last c-section, 7 years ago. I had my tubes tied during the section. It seemed like I was never normal again after that. I had really heavy periods and more cramping than I had ever had before. I would actually use two tampons and a super overnight maxi pad to get thru my 4 hour shift as a waitress! I went back to the doc and he did a D and C and found nothing unusual. However, I got an infection from the D and C and was in so much pain. I called his office at least 3 times and the nurse told me it was normal to be sore after this procedure. I finally bypassed her and just made an appointment. I was started on antibiotics that day.
After this, I developed some thyroid disease and my periods came and went and were not so bad at this point. I went for a routine exam with the GYN, and after an ultrasound was told that I had fibroids. I wasn't all that symptomatic at the time, so we decided to just watch and wait to see what will happen.
Fast forward to two years later. My thyroid has been fixed(removed). Periods are terrible! I would bleed out at night regardless of what type of pad I put there or what I did. I would have to RUN to the bathroom at work at least once an hour to pee as my uterus would press on my bladder when I had my period. I would also be afraid to stand up at work thinking that the blood would start running down my leg as soon as I stood up. I was eating advil like candy just to get thru the day. Good thing was that I work at a hospital and everyone can talk about these kinds of things and it's no big deal.
So, I finally go back to the doc and he does another ultrasound. Seems that I grew two new fibroids. (I never did find out how big they were) Now I was up to 4 fibroids! I felt like "thank god, there is something in there and it's not just my mind doing this!"
The doctor really didn't give me many options. He wanted to just do the scope, a D&C, and then remove just the fibroids. After I researched it, I found out that there is a 10% chance that they will grow back and cause all the same problems as before. Given that I had grown 2 new ones in 2 years, I felt like my chances of regrowing more was higher than the 10%. I told my Doc this and also told him that I would rather something more permanent to solve the problem. He was suprised to say the least! We scheduled my hysterectomy for about 6 weeks later.
The night before, a few hours before I started the prep, I started my period! I seems that God was playing a joke on me. The prep for me was a betadine douch and a fleets enema. What fun that was!
So, I show up at 9 am for noon surgery at the hospital. No big deal, right? My name was spelled wrong, big deal at the hospital! But, it took until right before I went to the OR for anyone to fix it, LOL! So, anyway, after not eating or drinking since midnight I started getting a headache. A BAD headache! I was getting nauseated from this as well. In comes the anesthia guy and gives me a dose of fentanyl IV that made my head swim even more. As my nurse was wheeling me back to the OR, I started vomiting! YEAH! I was so close to being knocked out that they didn't want to give me anything else. The anesthia guy held an alcohol pad to my nose and told me to breath slowly thru my nose. And guess what? IT WORKED! I had never heard fo that before. So I go in and get on the table, get wrapped up in nice warm blankets and then on goes the mask.
Next thing I know I started waking up in the recovery room. My eyes wouldn't work. (LOL! what was that?) I was trying to look around and couldn't. I was nauseated again! I remember being in pain. personally, I don't think anyone can have surgery of any kind and expect to wake up without any pain! Especially when you first wake up, it's such a shock! Thank goodness for my Morphine PCA!
My Recovery Room nurse, whom was very sweet!, wheeled me to my room and made me roll so that the pads under me could be changed. OUCH! I stayed nauseated all night and kind of out of it all night long. I had major trouble all night with getting my eyes to work. It was like I couldn't focus. Anyway, the nurse asked me what was wrong with my eyes and I told her that I needed my glasses. For soem reason I felt ashamed that I couldn't see, LOL! I don't know why i did that...
Next morning, the cath came out and I had major bladder spasms and slowly was able to pee on my own after a few trys. Getting up for the first time is the worst, but the more you get up the faster that it'll get easier.
I thought I would never pass gas! I finally needed a dose of lactulose and a heating pad in order to move things along. A trick I learned after my last c-section was to raise up the bed, drop down a heating pad, and lay your belly down across the heating pad while standing. This caused me NO PAIN and I would tell anyone who wants to do this to check with the nurse or your doc frist!! But for me, it did the trick. So on day 4 I got to go home. YEAH!
The worst part of being home for me was adjusting to my bed. I always get used to the hospital beds that adjust and help me get comfy. So, coming home and laying in a FLAT bed just kills me! I stole pillows from my kids and from my Dh! They all ended up with ONE pillow a peice while I had about 6 in bed with me, LOL!
That pretty much sums up my experience! I found this site after the fact and am so glad that I did! I have found that a lot of the things I have experienced are common and that I do not have to worry so much! Lots of support here!
Thanks for letting me share my story!
Related Titles
My recovery Process from the beginning to 6 weeks
My hysterectomy novel lol and why I'm happy I had the surgery.
My TAH story
6 weeks Post Op - TAH, BSO, Bladder Sling, A&P repair
TAH BSO experience at 9 days post op
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410-879-1139 |
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