TAH/BSO - My story.... - Hystersisters Hysterectomy Article

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TAH/BSO - My story....

TAH/BSO - My story....

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I have gone through an extremely stressful period at work. It looked like the state was going to shut down the casino where I work because they were taxing us out of business. My fellow employees and I mobilized and began working to keep our jobs. Of course, there was always the possibility that our work would not be successful. That added a lot of stress to my life, to say the least. I had been in perimenopause since 1996 and had been having hot flashes, mood swings, the depressions, etc. for a while. I had also been having pains in my lower abdomen off and on and I had just figured that I was straining some muscles or that it was gas. I didn't worry about it.
My symptoms increased as my stress level increased. I found I was in almost constant pain, and my night sweats were ferocious. I would wake up 3 or 4 times a night, bathed in sweat. I often took a shower or washed up, changed clothes and went back to bed, only to get cold and then hot again. I was driving my husband nuts. I was keeping the house so cold, he could barely stand it. We won't even mention the crabby, cranky factor....
After our work situation was successfully resolved, I went off to my ob/gyn to find out what was wrong. I had made appointments last year with a different doctor who first told me she was accepting new patients, then moved my appointment, then wasn't taking new patients, then changed her mind again. I had gone through a few calls before I found this doctor and I was comfortable with her. It didn't take her long to discover something wrong. Halfway through the pelvic exam, she touched something that hurt so badly, I couldn't breathe. She had to stop the exam because I could not relax enough for her to continue. She asked me if I knew if I had fibroids. I told her that they run in my family (I asked the women at family gathering a few years ago and out of 20 of them, 15, all had fibroids...)but that they tend to have them in their breasts. I broke the mold by having mine in my uterus.
So, I went off to have an ultrasound. Not long after, she asked me to have a CT scan. These tests revealed that I had several fibroids in my uterus, a cyst on my ovary and another kind of tumor called a dermoid.
Last year, I had surgery on my foot and post surgery, I lost 23 lbs, but not from my tummy. It was bigger than ever and I was confused about this. The discovery that I was carrying fibroids kind of explained that one. After a CA-125 test, my doctor and I sat down and talked. We discussed all my symptoms and my options and it seemed obvious that my uterus had to go. Since I was still having periods, my fibroids were feeding off my hormones and I was having so much pain that it was hard to enjoy sex. Since I have only been married about 3 years, this was not a pleasant sitiuation.
So we agreed that I had to have surgery. I was ready to have it right away!
When I finally went in, the nurses all assured me that I would feel like a new woman after my surgery. Everyone had told me that. I was feeling very confident about my decision. But I knew surgery was gonna be strange. I react very badly to anesthesia. It makes me super nauseous and I have trouble eating for weeks after surgery, which is why I lose weight. We had decided that I was to have an abdominal removal of my uterus and my ovaries. My husband was with me and also had been extremely supportive all during my waiting period. He was the one who found this site for me! One of his ex girlfriends, (he's friends with most of his ex's and even his ex wives!) had had her hyster while they were a couple, and he had her call me and give me support, too. I felt good about it all, and I went to the hospital fearlessly.
My surgery was over in about an hour. The anesthesia had been administered through an oxygen mask, which was a first for me and it had upset me because I felt something strange that I was breathing and it hurt. But I went down easily.
When I woke up, my hubby told me that the doctor had removed my uterus which had grown to the size of a soccer ball. It had been full of clusters of fibroids. The surgery had gone well and quickly. My tummy trouble with anesthesia made itself clear immediately. I couldn't even suck on ice without getting violently ill. This was not good with the staples in my tummy! After I threw up about 3 times, they decided to give me something for the nausea. It didn't work. I was getting demarol in an iv drip and that was making my stomach do flip flops. I couldn't hold down a thing...not even a pain pill. So they disconnected the demarol and gave me another shot for the nausea. That worked. I went home after two days and still could not eat much of anything.
I have always been an extremely active person, but this surgery laid me very low. And I had a lot of trouble going to the bathroom. I was taking fiber, laxatives and stuff for the gas and I still struggled for a while.
I feel pretty good now. I'll be going back to work in 2 weeks. I've lost weight, of course, and my appetite has returned about 50%. I'm going to start doing yoga when I am able. I don't miss my periods and I surely don't miss the hot flashes. I have an estrogen patch on my butt that is doing miracle work if you ask me. I'm still becoming that new woman, but if I had to do it all again, I would - only sooner!

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Jon Nielsen, M.D. 9825 Hospital Dr. Suite 205 Maple Grove MN 55369 763-587-7050	Melanie Bone, M.D. 5301 S. Congress Ave. Atlantis FL 33462 561-548-8600	Michele Cowling, M.D. 303 Nicollet Blvd Burnsville MN 55337 952.460.4000
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Anthony Trabue, M.D. 2201 Murphy Ave. #104 Nashville TN 37203 615-342-7425	Aileen Caceres, M.D. Center for Specialized Gynecology/Florida Hospital 410 Celebration Place, Suite 302 Celebration FL 34747 407.303.4190	Megan Bird, M.D. 364 SE 8th Ave, Suite 205 Hillsboro OR 97202 503-681-4145

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