TAH/BSO - It's not as bad as you feared, the waiting is the worst.

		HysterSisters > Abdominal Hysterectomy Stories Articles
TAH/BSO - It's not as bad as you feared, the waiting is the worst.

TAH/BSO - It's not as bad as you feared, the waiting is the worst.

From the Abdominal Hysterectomy Stories Articles List

HysterSisters Articles

Options to Hysterectomy
Pre-Op Hysterectomy
Post-Op Hysterectomy
Hormone and Menopause
Intimacy after Hysterectomy
Fitness after Hysterectomy
GYN Cancer
Hysterectomy Stories
Ask A Doctor

Dear Sisters, I made it through, Hallelujah! I've been away from my computer so I couldn't keep in touch. I had a TAH with removal of cervix and both ovaries and bladder repair on January 16th. I entered the "Castle" at 6:30 am that morning. Had had pre-op blood tests,electrocardiogram, urinalysis the day before and also had to have my mammogram because it had been scheduled for the day of surgery and they just moved it up a day. My mother died of breast cancer in June of last year so I was apprehensive as this was my first mammogram (don't wait as I did). I got a little scare because they came back twice after the first pictures to do more. The last couple were extremely painful but just for a minute. It did leave bruises though. But was I relieved when I got a good report. So, the next morning I go in and they take me immediately. I am my doctor's only surgery that day, which I feel good about because I figure that he can take his time and not worry about getting to the next patient ha! I had never had any surgery before so I didn't know what to expect other than what I had read. This site helped calm my fears so much. I didn't have to have any of the "yukky" prep. They just took my temp and blood pressure and gave me a lovely gown to put on. Said I could keep my socks on if I preferred so I did. Then they moved me to another area where they put my IV in (got it the first time. The day before took 5 tries. I have rolling veins. But the nurses were so kind and apologized. I told them that I knew they were not in to torture.) I told the nurse to make positively sure that my doctor was going to take "everything" out. I did not want to have to repeat this even though it seemed to be going so well. She made a note on my chart for me. Then the anesthetist came and talked to me. I was so happy to learn that they now put you out through the IV and not some horrible thing slapped over your face (I'm very claustrophobic). I'm not real sure about anything after that except being moved from the gurney onto the operating table and then I woke up in a beautiful room in the OB/Gyn area of our hospital. At first I thought maybe I had died and gone to heaven but then I saw my husbands face looking down on me. I later learned that my surgery took about an hour and a half. That I had very nasty looking Fibroids that should have come out a long time ago. I had had extremely heavy bleeding during my periods sometimes soaking through 8 or more overnight pads in a day ,passed very large clots with terrible pain and cramping. I couldn't afford to go to the doctor at that time. Thank God he made a way for me which I won't go into here. I thank Him every day. The doctor had told me that he thought my uterus was about the size of a 4 month pregnancy but it turned out to be larger than that and was attached to my bladder. He had to separate them. It seems that my large uterus was the talk of the hospital that day. I have a friend that is a surgical nurse. I don't mind since it's no longer a part of me, good riddance! It did it's job when I needed it. I have three handsome sons for whom I am very thankful. He has put me on a new hormone called Cenestin which is suppose to be a natural one made from plants. So far, so good. I can't say there has been no pain. I had a morphine pump coming out of surgery and for that first day. It kept me dozing most of the time but did not completely alleviate the pain. 15 minutes is a lot longer than I previously thought. The nurses were kind (an answer to my prayers) and kept doing the turning and making me cough and breathe deeply but didn't fuss at me. They got me up on the side of the bed late that evening and then had me stand. I was a little woozy but not too bad. Another blessing was that I did not get sick from the anesthesia. They brought some pudding and apple juice. I managed to get them down and then started to feel a little nauseated but they immediately brought an injection that knocked that out. I hate to puke! So glad I didn't have to. The next day they came and took all the tubes out. Oxygen, Catheter, IV, and small one from incision. I got up and went potty and was able to go on my own from then on. Felt like my little 2 year old granddaughte saying,"I went potty". The nurse said, "That's music to my ears". Also managed to have a BM before I left 2 days later, yay!! They did give me some Milk of Magnesia to help. It did. Took a sponge bath that day but then was able to shower from then on. Was only bleeding slightly and stopped before I left the hospital. Have not had any since.I can't tell you how wonderful that is. I forgot to mention that my heavy bleeding was only once a month when I had my period but would last a week. My doctor decided to try some injections to see if he could stop my periods. I am 54 years old and should have already gone into Menopause but I hadn't. The injections made it worse. Instead of bleeding once a month I was bleeding every day and did that for 2 months. Then he did the ultrasound and said we needed to do surgery. I said, "The sooner the better." If you can possibly make immediate plans when you know you have to do it, do it. It's the waiting that gets to you. At least it did me. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I know I didn't have the fears alot of you have had with more serious conditions and I'm thankful for that but it was still a new thing for me. But like I said, this site did alot to calm my fears. I figured if this many women could get through it, I could. I have been blessed with many wonderful friends to help me. I have been careful to rest "horizontally" for almost 2 weeks. I got my staples out after 1 week, also quit taking my pain medication (which had gone from Morphine, to Percodan to a milder one similar to that.) I showered every day and washed the incision area but made sure that I dried it very well. I also wore my binder. It really helps. They put it on me in the operating room immediately after. This past Tuesday I went in for my 2 week check-up and he said I was doing "great". I never had a fever, no infection, my blood pressure went up some but came back down. I told him the only thing I can complain about is I get tired easily and I experience a little discomfort when I urinate. He said they were both to be expected so hey, I'm normal. I can drive. He gave me permission to drive 2 hours down to our river place today. I propped up with pillows and did just fine. Now I can kick back and let my husband wait on me "hand and foot" as he promised. I don't have to go back for a month.

Related Titles

Printer Friendly Version

TAH/BSO - It's done, done, done!

TAH/BSO - It's Over, Doing O.k.

Find A Doctor Near You

Christina Ellis, M.D. 600 E. Marshall St. Ste. 205 West Chester PA 19380 610-903-6200	Mark Richey, M.D. 1200 Airport Heights Ste 205 Anchorage AK 99508 9072724443	John Dulemba, M.D. 3321 Unicorn Lake Blvd #121 Denton TX 76210 940-387-6248
Linda Green, M.D. 3001 Coral Hills Dr., Suite 300 Coral Springs FL 33065 954-341-2916	Betty Gingold Acker, M.D. 2900 E. 29th St Suite 300 Bryan TX 77802 979-776-5602	Jonathan Y Song, M.D. 2455 Dean St. Suite A St. Charles IL 60175 (630) 513-9160
Wilfredo R. Ramos, M.D. 5301 F Street, Suite 210 Sacramento CA 95819 (916) 453-3440	Amie Napier, M.D. Medical City Hospital 7777 Forest Lane Suite A331 Dallas TX 75230 9725667760	Melanie Bone, M.D. 5301 S. Congress Ave. Atlantis FL 33462 561-548-8600

Receive support and resources for your hysterectomy related needs: