LSH - My Story - Hystersisters Hysterectomy Article

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LSH - My Story

LSH - My Story

From the Laparoscopic Hysterectomy Stories Articles List

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Options to Hysterectomy
Pre-Op Hysterectomy
Post-Op Hysterectomy
Hormone and Menopause
Intimacy after Hysterectomy
Pelvic Floor
Fitness after Hysterectomy
GYN Cancer
Grief and Loss
Endometriosis
Uterine Fibroids
Hysterectomy Stories
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After eight months of very long, very heavy periods I finally went to the doctor to figure out why I'd gone from two days every 28 days to 9 days every 21. The ultrashound showed I had some fibroids as well as a cervical polyp. The doctor I was referred to was great, she told me about all the options for the removal of just the polyp and fibroids as I am 33 with no children. DH had a vasectomy in 1999 so we knew we didn't want kids. Every woman in my family has had a horrible time with fibroids, cysts, endometriosis, etc. (My grandmother had a hyst at 19!) What I didn't want was having to deal with surgeries every few years as all of these things kept coming back for me. DH and I had a long discussion about it and agreed that we closed the door on children with his surgery, so I decided to have a hysterectomy. I was more worried about surgery period than what the surgery was and if I had something in my body that was causing me problems and a family history showing they were going to keep coming back, I decided to go for it. I did ask myself if I was being too extreme, but again, I didn't want to have to worry about future surgeries and pain and having things develop to the points I've read about other women having. She also saw no need for me to remove the cervix or ovaries, so I got to keep those and not trigger menopause.

Thankfully it was determined that the LSH was the route for me to go. Due to the doctor's schedule, I had six weeks to wait, read, research and freak out! I admit when I first found this forum, it seriously freaked me out. Then I realized I was reading the scary parts, the exceptions, the worst cases and started looking for the hints, the helps, the support. Once I found those, this site was invaluable! Since there weren't a whole lot of LSH recovery stories, here's mine.

Surgery was at 8 a.m. on Wednesday the 16th. On Monday night I woke up with such a pain in my back I couldn't sleep. I know it was because I stressed myself out so much about the surgery that my muscles just went nuts. I'm very glad they did, I had a massage at 8 p.m. on Tuesday night, went home and actually slept like a baby. I wish I had thought of that before and actually scheduled it so I had something relaxing to look forward to, but it worked out fine and I highly recommend it.

The morning of surgery I was nervous but not as nervous as I thought I would be. I think I was more relieved that it was finally here and I could stop freaking out about it. The pre-op nurses were just great, the doctor came in to calm me down and the anesthesiologist came in and made me feel a lot better. He said that he would take care of any nausea (a fear I had) and I felt very comfortable with him. This was my first surgery in my life and I was pretty nervous. I remember getting the versed, I don't remember going to the OR but I remember being in there and seeing the things my legs would be going into. I think I started to freak out at that point because people started really talking to me and the next thing I knew they were saying wake up.

Post Op was a weird place, I couldn't see a thing it was all hazy. I don't wear contacts or glasses so that was very strange to me. I also wanted to talk to answer their questions (are you okay, are you in pain, do you need anything, etc) but I couldn't get anything out. I think my brain woke up before everything else did if that makes sense. When I nodded for and got an ice chip, that helped a lot. I kept doing a scan of myself to see what hurt, what I felt, was I feeling nausea, etc but kept coming up fine, especially when I realized the cathedar had come and gone while I was out...woohoo! Off to the room I went.

About two hours after I woke up I was up and moving, urinating and walking. I was in no pain at all. The first trip to the potty I was a little nauseous as I got back in bed, but that was due to being up and around and only lasted about thirty seconds, still no pain! I figured that being painfree wasn't going to last very long once things started wearing off and wanted to get up and moving while I could to hopefully keep me motivated when the pain kicked in. I had some chicken broth which helped immensely with my throat. I had done what all the sisters said and brought lollipops and lifesavers and everything because I was sure it was going to be raw and sore and awful. It was more annoying for me and the warm broth fixed it right up.

At 4 the doctor came in to check on me. I said I was still feeling no pain at all in my abdomen and wasn't having any of the intestinal gas issues I've read about. She was surprised but said I was more than welcome to be an exception and not feel any pain. She said the local she applied and the pain meds that the Anesthesiologist gave me had worn off by then. I was given strict orders to pay attention to pain and not overdo it (by this point I was doing laps around the wing) but to move as much as I felt I could or wanted to. She said I was more than welcome to go home but I had a bed and an insurance company okay to stay for 23 hours, did I want to stay. I figured since I hadn't had pain yet I didn't want to be surprised by it at home if it came and I might as well stay.

Then came the surprises:
Yes the fibroids were there, yes the polyp was there, we knew that, that's why she was there. While she was in there she checked both ovaries (which I kept, she just wanted to check on them) Turns out I had a huge cyst on my right ovary that wasn't there six weeks ago in the ultrasound. Okay that wasn't shocking as I'd had one of those before but it was surprising that it was so big so fast. The big surprise was that I had some evidence of endiometriosis in my uterus. I had always thought that was something supremely painful but I guess not. I'm now twice as glad I had the hyst as that is not something I want to deal with going forward.

About 7 we were on another lap around the wing when that #%*&)@$@# anesthesia gas bubble hit my shoulders. All day it had felt a little achy but nothing too bad. Then BAM. I just wanted to cry, it hurt to breathe, it really does feel like a heart attack must feel like. I barely made it back to my room and was just about in tears. Getting back into bed was a real hurt but once I was in bed it subsided a little bit. I tried to be a hero and deal with it with Motrin. Yeah, that lasted until my next lap and it kicked my butt again. DON'T BE A HERO! Just because its a gas pain and not a surgery pain (my brilliant reasoning) does not mean it doesn't hurt and doesn't 'deserve' Percoset. I got the perc about 11 and went to sleep. I got up every hour or so to pee and again the only pain was the gas. I had another Percoset in the morning and home I went. The irony is that the gas bubble goes away faster if you move around but the moving around is what causes it to kick your butt.

Once I got home on Thursday morning I just parked on the couch with some old movies and again waited to hurt. Still nothing except that stupid bubble. DH and I are doing small slow laps in the neighborhood so I'm up and moving. As of Friday I've gained quite a bit of speed...I'm still slow but now I'm not 'oh look at the crazy person shuffling down the street' slow anymore. I'm happy to report that as of Friday night the bubble was mostly gone and this morning it was all gone.

I'm very happy to report I felt no pain at all except for that anesthesia bubble. As bad as the bubble was, I know I would rather feel that than anything else as at least I can move and stand up straight. I'm still very careful and doing all of the getting out of bed tricks that I would do if I was in pain. Oh one hint: someone somewhere said practice getting into and out of bed, sitting down, standing up, etc without using your muscles. I scoffed and said how hard can it be. My hint: PRACTICE!!! Its very frustrating to be half lying there thinking "I have no idea how to lay back down" and being afraid to try something that might be wrong.

So my friends, do not be as scared as your head tells you that you should be. The doctors and nurses know what they are doing and they will take care of you. You will also surprise yourself with what you are capable of getting through, even if this is your first surgery.

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Recommended for Hysterectomy Recovery

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Post-Op Panty - These great panties speed recovery, and reduces scarring. They contain a medical-grade silicone panel over incision to reduce scar's apperance while they provide support to weakened muscles and tissues from surgery. Excellent!
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LSH - My story

Find A Doctor Near You

Clifford Rogers, M.D. The Everett Clinic, Dept. of Surgery and Gynecology 1330 Rockefeller Ave, Suite 120 Everett WA 98201 425 339 5424	Mini Somasundaram, M.D. 4845 Knightsbridge Boulevard Suite 220 Columbus OH 43214 (614) 583-5552	Michele Cowling, M.D. 303 Nicollet Blvd Burnsville MN 55337 952.460.4000
David Mainman, M.D. Desert Bloom Obstetrics & Gynecology 6452 E. Carondelet Drive, Suite A Tucson AZ 85710 520-885-5300	Richard W Farnam, M.D. 1700 N. Oregon Suite 520 El Paso TX 79902 9155335600	Susan D. Hunter, M.D. 626 Ed Carey Dr Harlingen TX 78550 956-428-4868
Mayra J. Thompson, M.D. 5323 Harry Hines Blvd Dept OBGYN Dallas TX 75290 214-645-3888	Gretchen Makai, M.D. 4735 Ogletown Stanton Rd MAP II, Ste 2103 Christiana Care Health System Newark DE 19713 302-623-4410	Megan Daw, M.D. Western Carolina Women's Specialty Center 2100 Ridgefield Blvd Asheville NC 28806 828-670-5665

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