TAH/Bladder Repair/ TT - That's m'story, and I'm schtickin' to it!

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TAH/Bladder Repair/ TT - That's m'story, and I'm schtickin' to it!

TAH/Bladder Repair/ TT - That's m'story, and I'm schtickin' to it!

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Five days post-op and up in the night after a record four hours of uninterrupted sleep, I thought I'd jot down my Hyst-Story. With any "luck," I'll finish composing the final "chapter" before my pain medication takes me to dreamland.

Although I don't recall the intensity and duration of cycles, I do know I began receiving visits from Aunt Flo at the tender age of 11. I remember the first day of the first cycle so vividly because I gasped when seeing the size of the pad I was expected to wear. It was fully equipped with it’s own belt with clips in front and back. How very dreadful, I thought. EVERYone will know. So, it is true . . . “nothing’s sacred!” Okay, that’s how it felt. That was 33 years ago. And no matter the modern technology of feminine products, I’ve remained as unimpressed all these years while understanding this particular organ’s need to cleanse itself.

Cycles were always heavy and brought painful cramping with them. Dysmenorrhea became my nightmare even in the early years. Not unlike many women suffering the various stages and symptoms of Dysmenorrhea, I was fertile and delivered my only child C-Section in 1981. Less than one year later, I was back in the OR suffering with Adenomyosis and had to have a sizeable benign tumor removed along with fallopian tubes, fibroids, and ovarian cysts. At this stage, I’m eight years into irregular and extremely long and painful cycles. The following 25 years were spent back and forth with the GYN to try a variety of treatments to correct the problematic reproductive organs. Included in those unpleasantries were the D&C, Endometrial Oblation, and hormone therapy. Nothing was working long-term, and the Dysmenorhea had become far less than tolerable. The intensity of the pain over the past two years became “remarkable,” as those in the medial field would say. When making the appointment for this year’s annual exam, I had it set in my mind that the “buck stops here!”

After taking thorough menstrual history and performing her exam, (This was a new GYN for me.) she explained my uterus was prolapsed but also joined with scar tissue and adhesions to the abdominal wall. A CT scan performed several weeks earlier revealed a growing cyst on my left ovary. Because various interventions had already been exhausted, she suggested a TAH and Bi-lateral Oophorectomy. As you can well imagine, she didn’t get any arguments from me. The insurance company approved the operation within hours, for which I am truly grateful!

Organized and wanting to optimize the time I’d be “down,” I accepted her referral to see the Urologist within that same practice for determining if bladder repair would address my leaky faucet and other issues. Having been obese my entire life and over 300 pounds for the past 15+ of those years, my body was a mess! As result of successfully/religiously utilizing the gastric bypass surgery/tool, I was successful in getting down to 133 pounds (and have lost 192 pounds). However, with that triumph, came an excess of nearly four pounds of skin on my abdomen. (This is where I carried most of the extra weight and looked pregnant 365 days of the past 25 years!) As a gift to myself for a job well done, I opted to have a full abdomionoplasty (TT) the same day. I’m not sure if anyone can have three surgeons fussing over them and not feel like royalty. Because this is about Hysterectomy, however, if interested, please E-mail me at < oops!! email address removed for privacy; please use the email button in the author's profile > for further details about the TT. And, so, the waiting game began because the schedules of three surgeons had to be coordinated. Once the May 8 date was set, I began organizing a schedule of things to do so the nine-week wait would pass quickly.

Thanks to Sheila Martin’s e-Book, this web site, many hours of research and the support my immediate family and friends, I truly felt prepared for the TAH. I was all packed the night before and managed to make an early appearance where the “servants” of the castle were awaiting my arrival. I’d taken a Hystersister’s suggestion and purchased lots of chocolate (including sugar free) to leave with pre-op and the unit where I’d receive care. As you can well imagine, all the nurses, housecleaning staff, volunteers and various other people could scarcely resist the aroma of chocolate filtering from my room to the rest of the castle. The expression of their appreciation made me feel really good! The best part? It was nurses’ appreciation week, and I didn’t even know it.

As a joke, because I’d been saying, “PAMPER THE PRINCESS,” my Mom, who is currently some 2,700 miles from home to spend a couple of weeks with me, purchases a crown with matching earrings. No doubt she made her selection in the little girl’s department. In celebration of all nurses, the castle held a tea party in the courtyard located just outside my room. At least half the attendees had some type of fancy hat and were dressed to the nines! One of their activities while enjoying live music performed by a local jazz band was to have a hat contest. The winner was . . . an angel. Her hat was the most unique, and she told me she works in ER. Adorned in my Eileen West gown, robe, and slippers, I fit right in with my crown and earrings. My photo was taken with approximately nine nurses, and they were all very kind to me. The head nurse on my unit won Nurse of the Year for the entire state of Virginia and was deservedly proud of the honor.

Everyone at the castle was gentle and provided the best care I’ve ever received!!! Hmm, do you think it was the candy? LOL! My primary day shift nurse told me that I’m “the best patient” she’d ever had. That felt good. Because I had so many surgeries at once, I did come home with a catheter, however, there’s no bag. I simply empty it when my bladder gives me that all-important cue. That will come out early next week. I also have two Jackson-Pratt drains due to the TT. Those will come out Monday when I visit the doc to receive the binder I’ll wear 12 hours out of every day for the next six weeks. They’re managing my pain with Dilaudid and Meprozine.

This has been a very positive experience for me, and I’m thankful to be on my way to healing. GYN started me on HRT the day following surgery per my request. After extensive research, I felt it was the best option for me given my age and family history. My present plan is to take the lowest dosage, via the patch, as possible for the next seven years after which I will discontinue use of Estrogen because I will be in the age group when women go through Menopause without intervention.

With that I’ll close this “final chapter” of my Hyst-Story 20 hours after I started it. LOL! Many, many thanks to the creators of hystersisters.com It has and continues to provide viable information while offering a supportive, empathetic, and loving e-Environment.

Maxine

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