LAVH - Complete hysterectomy at 45 - Hystersisters Hysterectomy Article

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LAVH - Complete hysterectomy at 45

LAVH - Complete hysterectomy at 45

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When I was 32 I had a tubal ligation done, no problem. As the years went by, my bleeding got heavier and heavier, still no real problem. Then about 5 years ago I started having INTENSE abdominal pains at ovulation that would have me doubled over into a hurting woman ball, making me pull over to the side if I was driving or double over my shopping cart if I was shopping. Still, I thought, just part of being a woman. Then, about 4 years ago my Obygyn suggested ultrasound, outside & inside, too see what was going on. Surprise! 4 pretty big fibroids. quit smoking, watch that fat intake and exercise.
OK. But the pains got worse until last year, my new Gyn. took new ultrasounds after flooding for 3 weeks and said "Let's do a D&C" so we did. While doing the procedure in his office ( I was scared to go under Gen. Anesthesia) Doc says( Your uterus isn"t long for this world) Bull! I was convinced with diet, exercise, and creative visualization I would control and conquer this.
Well, more pains more bleeding and more time spent at home because I couldn't go out without making a mess of myself, and a girlfriend gave me the Number of her Doc who specializes in minimally invasive laproscopic surgery. I went to see him and he booked me for a Laparotomy. He wanted to take a look first before he did anything. I told him I would prefer it if he just did the hysterectomy and got it over with but he assurred me that by looking first he and I would have a easier time if a hysterectomy was needed.
Well, he was right. He found not only massive fibroids but endometriosis and ovarian cysts and chocolate cysts. He took pictures of everything and showed them to me and I was amazed at how much stuff was going on inside and was ready to commit to a complete hyster. So, we booked a LAVH, with laser and microsurgery.
OK. I researched and read and talked with friends and prepared myself by starting Herbal Support with Remifemin Plus(Black Cohosh and St John's Wort) Iron, Evening Primrose Oil, Flax Seed Oil, A good Multi Vit., Dandelion Root( to help support the liver in handling the hormonal wash of menapause,Calcium with Vit. D, Selenium, Vit. C, Garlic and because the endometriosis had been giving me Irritable Bowel Syndrome(IBS) I took Pyssillium Seed Husk in Orange juice twice daily.I recomend that everyone who wants to take supplements get a good nutritional reference book so you can look up every Vit. & Mineral supplement to see what the safe guidelines are. Being a massage therapist and always recomending more water to my clients I made sure I was downing more than 8 glasses a day of pure spring water.
Then, 6 days before surgery I stopped taking supplements so that nothing would interfere with anesthesia or blood clotting(ask your Doc.)
I opted for a colonic the day before surgery instead of the Doc recommended nasty stuff you drink to clean out your bowels. I also had some energy work done ( Healing Touch) which helped balance my mind, body & spirit and got my lungs ready to handle the GA.
Surgery day, hubby(marvelous man that he is) drove me and waited with me while they prepped me with an IV, a shave( I didn't know they did that), a "party hat" and words of advice.
I was fine until I was left alone in preop before they gave me something to relax me, then I felt an overwhelming saddness for my poor organs who served me well over the years but now needed to leave my body so that I could be healthier. So I cried for a while until the Anesthesiologist came in and gave me a shot of "Time to Relax" med and off I went to surgery.
4 hours later( 35 min. of it were spent trying to get the tube down my throat because even sedated my body did'nt want to go thru this), I opened my eyes in Post Op and my belly wasn"t sticking out like it used to. A Sister came in and did more Healing Touch work with me (most certified practitioners are RNs and they are all over the world, look them up- Healing Touch International) I was put in a room without the morephine pump they had told me I was going to get ( good thing it turned out because I recovered faster on the Darvocet they gave me).
I had the compressive leg cuffs on (after 12 hours they were aggravating my psoas and piriformis muscles which in turn made my abdomen hurt so I asked that they be removed).
6 hours after being admitted I took a walk. Cool but I wanted the catheter out! 12 hours after admission they took the catheter out and I walked by myself and went to the bathroom with no problems. Since I had the roomate from hell and light and noise and typical hospital activity was keeping me awake anyway, I got up often and walked and peed and ate and did everything they told me to do so I could go home and get some rest. Question- Doc wanted me to eat before I left -how can the hospital make even oatmeal taste like a non food item? I talked him into letting me go home 24 hours after surgery so I could eat real food (more psyllium seed husk and real oatmeal to help move my bowels).
Home with Darvocet for the little pain that I had. I had no post op bleeding, no problems going to the bathroom, I just had to pee about every hour and a half even through the night for the first week.
2nd day home I started back on the supplements plus a herbal extract recipe for hormonal support found in THE WOMAN'S BOOK OF HEALING HERBS by Harrar &O'Donnell, taken 3 times a day.
I get some mild hot flashes once in a while but other than that, no mood swings, no pain, no bleeding.
I've had another Healing Touch session which helped rebalance me in many ways and I continue to drink, drink water to help heal and flush my system.
I take extra calcium to help prevent osteoporosis and I use Hawthorn Berry Extract daily to help protect my heart and with the Remifemin Plus and other herbal extracts for hormonal support (I have no allergies to herbs but they should always be used with caution and introduced one at a time) and 3 weeks after surgery for a complete hyster., I have 4 little incisions in my belly, some very small stitches to close up my vagina (after the cervix was removed) and I feel very level and normal and it's a good place to be. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be and my Doc say's I probably can go back to work(therapeutic massage) in a week or two. My Doc say's he's the only one in Michigan who does the microsurgery with stitches and the healing time is only about half what the other types need and since I was driving 9 days after the surgery, I guess he's right.
Well, I can't say enough about water intake, helpful herbs, energy work and a wonderful helpful mate but I believe I've said enough for now. I wish every one going through this the best of luck and a speedy recovery. You could be pleasantly surprised at how smoothly everything goes.

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