SAH - My long castle story - Hystersisters Hysterectomy Article

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SAH - My long castle story

SAH - My long castle story

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I’ve been meaning to write my castle story for some time now but I haven’t been on the computer much since my surgery. I had a SAH on February 4. I can’t actually believe that this is behind me. The weeks before my surgery dragged on and it truly seemed as if time was standing still. It took all I had to maintain a positive attitude. It would seem as if I was doing very well then out of nowhere I would burst into tears. I remember putting the Christmas decorations away in tears, telling my husband that if I didn’t make it through the surgery, he should make sure the tree goes up next year for the children. It’s been said before but it really is true---the waiting is the most difficult part!

We arrived at the hospital at 10:00 a.m.on the 4th and waited impatiently for three hours before the surgery actually began. There had been many babies and young children having procedures done and each time a mother would come in in tears after leaving her child in the operating room I would cry. Time dragged on. When I did get in, I was given a pain medication in my spine and I don’t remember drifting off. When I woke, I felt terrible ( no abdominal pain just dizzy and nauseous and I vomited twice. But soon the fog lifted and I felt great. The pain med worked wonderfully! I had no pain at all. About twelve hours later it wore off and I didn’t feel as good. I had waves of cramps, my spirits were down and the cuffs that were put on my legs for circulation even hurt. I didn’t know at that point that the hospital has a policy of not giving pain meds unless you need it. If you didn’t request it, you didn’t get it. I was then given Toradol then later Viox with a different medication. Both times the medications didn’t work all that well. I was never in terrible pain but discomfort and I would worry how far the discomfort would go. The right pain med would make the pain almost totally go away. I had a catheter which wasn’t bad at all. This was something I had dreaded before the surgery.

The next day, second day, was the worst one. I had to get up and walk, wash up and go to the bathroom on my own. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t lift myself to a sitting position. I felt helpless. This was really the worst part—feeling helpless. Then I was given percaset (sp?) and started feeling good again. Pain control is the key. Once you have that under control, everything is fine! Each day I was amazed at how much better I felt! My blood pressure which is normal low began to shoot up at night but once I was home and lost some of the excess fluid from my body it got back to normal. (This was stressful for a while) I made sure to eat just a little and walk as much as possible to avoid gas pains and I did pretty well. I spent my time reading, watching TV and blabbing on the phone. Everyone couldn’t believe that I sounded and felt so good so soon after surgery. I took cat naps during the day and had some difficulty sleeping at night but was never too drugged up and I kept myself busy. Although I of course wished I hadn’t had to do this, it actually felt kind of relaxing. I didn’t mind when I had to stay an extra day due to the blood pressure.

I arrived home after 4 days in the hospital. For several days I felt a little light headed and at times would suddenly get exhausted and couldn’t keep my eyes open but for the most part I felt good. Unfortunately, my bathroom is on the second floor so I’m cooped up in my bedroom most of the time (no computer there) but I’ve had the opportunity to do lots of things that I didn’t have time to do before. I have recently run into a problem with my incision. It is bleeding. My doctor said that the skin under the incision is not bonding as well as it should, that it will take some time and will bleed until it closes up. It was pretty frightening yesterday when it bled through two gauze pads my underwear and my night gown all within a couple of minutes. I’m a little nervous now as I keep having to put on more gauze pads as the blood seeps thru. I’m trying not to look at the incision obsessively but I feel better since the doctor said not to worry. I have a visiting nurse who had warned me about how common it is for the incision to open up.

I can’t begin to express how helpful this site was in preparing me for surgery. The other woman I shared a room with were often surprised with how they felt but I knew what to expect. It was wonderful! I think that I would have been so much more nervous had I not been informed by all the wonderful woman who offer us support and information. I read about how to prepare my room and what to bring to the hospital and it helped tremendously.

Some things I found helpful:

Tummy pillow—I read here how important it is and totally agree. I used it for coughing and sneezing, to prop my head and even under my belly to sleep on my side. I held it against my belly when driving down bumpy roads.

I bought a nightgown with me to the hospital. I had thought I would just use the hospital gown as I read that many people preferred that. It didn’t work for me. Being “fluffy,” the hospital gown robe was a little too tight around my arm and I had to drape it over my shoulder rather that put it on my arm for the I.V., taking blood pressure and having blood drawn. It was very awkward walking, pushing the I.V. and wanting a hand free to hold onto the wall at times. The night gown worked perfectly for me. It got a little spotted from the incision secretions but it all came out in the wash.

One thing that I would recommend if possible is to have someone with you the day after surgery. I was lucky to have a nurse from a college with me this day ( just got lucky) as I felt I needed it. I couldn’t lift myself, preferred to walk with someone and couldn’t reach things at times. Of course, the nurses are available to help you but I use the bathroom a lot and just would have preferred someone I know with me. By the third day I felt better although I continue to have problems lifting myself up. Bring a book or magazines! I thought that I would feel too out of it to read but that wasn’t the case. I also had said no visitors so no one made arrangements to visit and I actually would have loved the company!

Once home, I wished I bought the” grab it”. So many times, I would drop the phone or remote and would have to lift it up with my feet!! Not an easy task. I also read that it is a good idea to have a cell phone with you. Couldn’t agree more! My husband had his cell phone with him (almost) at all times and this is how I got his attention when I was upstairs and he was downstairs. Surprisingly, raising my voice too much was exhausting. So, I’d call him on the phone instead. Before the surgery I had just one pillow but after reading that many ladies had suggested having several pillows, I went out and bought some. This wouldn’t have been something I would have thought of on my own. It helps so much to have the pillows! I even bought a body pillow. Since pulling myself up is a problem, I prefer to not sleep flat. I also bought a back rest. Since I have trouble getting up and have a water bed this back rest was great as it has little sort of arm rests that I could use to push against and pull myself up—other wise I’m just floundering and slipping.

I am now ten days post op and if I didn’t have the incision problem I would have started to do things around the house. Nothing crazy though. I’m off pain meds now and doing well.

My hospital has a program where you can have a visiting nurse. This has been wonderful. She was here to monitor my blood pressure which really had me stressed. Now that I have the incision problem, I should be able to have her come a few more times which will put my mind at ease.

Please , please don’t stress. I worried for months, cried and cried and now it is all behind me. Even the little problems that creep up are not nearly as bad when you are dealing with them as they seem when your thinking about them before hand. Soon this surgery will all just be a memory for all of us.

Best of luck to all and thanks to everyone who has shared information and offered support!!

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SAH - My Hyster-story

SAH - My positive, but long, hyst story

Find A Doctor Near You

Jennifer Fuson, M.D. 1720 Nicholasville Road Suite 702 Lexington KY 40503 859-264-8811	Gretchen Makai, M.D. 4735 Ogletown Stanton Rd MAP II, Ste 2103 Christiana Care Health System Newark DE 19713 302-623-4410	David Newman, M.D. 10030 Edison Square Drive, Suite 100A Concord NC 28027 704-403-7670
Sean Kossari, M.D. 14901 Rinaldi Street Suite 320 Mission Hills CA 91345 818-365-1616	Megan Daw, M.D. Western Carolina Women's Specialty Center 2100 Ridgefield Blvd Asheville NC 28806 828-670-5665	Kym Boyman, M.D. 1775 Williston Rd., Ste. 110 South Burlington VT 05403 802-735-1252
Terry Grogg, M.D. 4461 S Broadway Suite 200 Suite 200 Grove City OH 43123 614-875-0444	Jennifer Hayes, M.D. Visionary Centre for Women 2695 Ulmerton Rd Clearwater FL 33762 727-540-0414	Arnold Advincula, M.D. Florida Hospital Celebration Health 400 Celebration Place Celebration FL 34747 (407) 303-4573

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