TAH - Not What I Expected At All!! - Hystersisters Hysterectomy Article

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TAH - Not What I Expected At All!!

TAH - Not What I Expected At All!!

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Hi sisters.

I've been reading so many posts on here from punctured princess and I am happy to be able to finally post my own.

I had a TAH with bladder repair on 6/14/2001. DH and I arrived at the hospital at 6:15am for the 8:15 surgery. I was taken to the outpatient surgery area, weighed, changed into a gown and booties and then told to wait. Fun! I actually told the husband I wanted to go home and do it later. I was really nervous.
A few minutes before 8am I kissed hubby goodbye and headed for the operating room.

They had me wait with several other people on gurneys which made me a bit uncomfortable but the nurses were very nice. A NURSE anethesiologist came and told me she would be putting me to sleep. This did make me a bit apprehensive because I wanted to be in the hands of a Dr. and not a nurse but she was very kind and seemed to know her stuff. Because I had been having some wheezing she gave me a quick breathing treatment then put the IV in. She numbed my hand up first which I liked. After she put the IV in she decided she didn't like the way it was in and needed to move it to the other hand!! OUCH!! Luckily, she said she could wait and do that AFTER I was asleep.

DD came by next, told a couple jokes and said "Let's Get This Show On The Road!". I was then rolled into the operating room where I was placed on a long SKINNY table with four large lights looming overhead. My last thoughts were "This is going to be really uncomfortable if I have to lay here long!"

Next thing I knew I was waking up not in the recovery room but in my regular room on the maternity floor. I was happy to be there because the nurses on the maternity floor are the best I have ever seen! The first thing I said to my husband upon waking was that my friend Sheree had just been to visit me. He thought I was losing it since I haven't seen Sheree in 15 years! lol The next thing I remember was realizing I had NO PAIN!! I felt very sleepy, very dopey, but totally pain free! I was very suprised since I was prepared for alot of pain.

Within an hour or so the nurse brought me my lunch, broth, jello, and juice...yum. I gave it all the DH and he said it was good

I was suprised they were feeding me anything so fast.

My hospital stay (4 days) was basically uneventful. The only real pain I had was bladder spasms the first two days. Luckily, the suppositories the dr. prescribed stopped the spasms. I was told they had opium in them. I figure that would stop about anything

Also, I did have to be on oxygen the first day mostly because I am a smoker and DD says smoking and anesthia don't mix.

The only unusual aspect of the hospital stay was on the first night. A huge thunderstorm came in around 10pm and the nurses closed my curtains and moved my bed away from the window. They said it was incase of tornadoes. YIKES!! Around midnight the hospital lost its electrical power. Almost immediately I could see that the hall lights had came on so I knew that the back up generators had kicked in. The only problem for me was each room is only equipped with 1 outlet that works on the back up generator. My IV and pain pump were plugged into it but my bed wouldn't move, nurse button wouldn't work and the AC was off. I was sweating like a pig and not able to let the bed down in a better position. This lasted about 4 hours. I found out later 2 babies were delivered during the blackout. That must have been fun!!

Another suprise I had was about the tummy pillow. I ended up not using it but once. I felt like using my own hands to support my tummy when I moved or coughed helped alot more than the pillow.

Since I have been home I have been continually suprised by how little pain I have experienced. I believe part of it is because I had never really taken pain meds before so they really worked. I took Darvocet in the hospital and also for 4 days at home.

I've rested alot but actually find that sitting up feels better. I am still tiring easily but I can tell that is getting better everyday. Unless the kids bump my tummy I am virtually pain free, I never had any bleeding, nausea, hotflashes, etc....all the fun stuff I had expected.

I wish everyone could be as pleasantly suprised as I have been. I was so scared, depressed, confused etc...before the surgery and now I realize that the worst part really is the wait.

Hugs,
Melissa

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TAH - not bad!!!!!!!!!!!

TAH - notes from an easy, lucky recovery

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