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I have had very severe menstrual cramping for 20 years and a host of other female problems have emerged over those years. Mostly I used Ibuprofen and Toridol to manage my symptoms as best I could. There were days I couldn't work and the Toridol started to cause problems of its own. I saw several ob/gyn doctors and all suggested endometriosis and removal of the uterus. My symptoms finally got bad enough that I started to take their advice seriously. I had suffered long enough.
Both of my ob/gyn's recommended a surgeon who specializes in the Da Vinci Robotic-Assisted Laporoscopic Hysterectomy. I met with him and he made it all sound so easy. I was scheduled for the removal of uterus and cervix (since I had severe pain during intercourse). I had never been able to have children, and did not want any at this point, so that was not an issue. My uterus was swollen to the size of a woman who was 3 months pregnant due to endometriosis in the tissue of my uterus. I wasn't too worried about the surgery and was actually kind of excited to see if I could get some relief.
I arrived at the Day Surgery area of the Castle around 11 and things moved quickly. They did not have me do a bowel prep the night before which surprised me. I met with the surgeon briefly, the anesthesiologist and a nurse. I had to have a pregnancy test done using blood, because for some reason there is something in my system that makes all urine pregnancy tests come up as a false positive. It was not long before I was wheeled to the ER and then walked to the table. I saw the robot and don't remember anything else. When I woke up in a post-op area, my husband and mother-in-law were there. They told me that I said I was hurting (I barely remember it). The doctor gave me two meprozine which has an anti-nausea agent in it. I couldn't pee, so they catheterized me (that is no fun!), but they let me go home after that. I don't remember much about the first three days, except that the first morning when I woke up I was surprized by the pain. I think it was mostly gas pain. My husband had to help me up any time I needed to get out of bed. He went out and bought walkie-talkies at Wal-Mart so I could call him any time I needed him (that was awesome). I slept most of the time and was able to eat some soup and applesauce, bananas and crackers.
I have to say the gas pain was worse than anything else. The meprozine really helped with the nausea and the pain. I eased off of it as soon as I could, and had my doctor call in just the nausea medicine when I didn't need the pain stuff any more. The nausea lasted much longer than the pain.
Unfortunately my bowels got very stagnant and didn't move for about 6 days. I started getting very backed up and was swollen up like I was pregnant. My doctor told me to use some Miralax and do a Fleet Enema. That didn't really work well enoguh so I went to the emergency room as there was much pain and I was feeling terrible. They gave me some GoLightly and I was up most of night 6 drinking that. Eventually that worked over the next two days and I felt better. It is now day 14 and my bowels are getting back in order. Be aware that with anesthesia, pain medicine, not drinking as many fluids, and not moving around as much as usual, constipation and impaction are definite possibilities. I hadn't really planned for that.
After that got back in order I started to really feel better. I had a really emotionally low day on day 7 and called all my praying friends and asked for prayer. The next day my mother-in-law came over and helped us with the dishes, laundry and some grocery shopping. That was a God-send. The support of friends and family has been so important to me. I went back to work on day 11 for half days and that was nice to get out of the house and feel productive again. Each day since I have been feeling a little better. I went to the gym and walked a slow mile last night and that helped my intestines. I am actually feeling more like myself every day and my energy is getting better. I feel about 75% on day 14 and am looking forward to NOT dealing with all the problems I had each month before.
I have to make a conscious effort not to lose weight, and I have only lost three pounds, which is great for me. I should be able to put those back on over time. I was really glad I could read people's posts on this site so I'd know what to expect. The DaVinci Robot is a great way to go. My incisions are healing very well and I expect minimal scarring. Remember when you are down that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It was scary for me and I had to fight to stay positive, but each day gets a little better. I thought my surgeon was a little cavalier about the procedure and I had more pain and bowel complications than I expected. Emotionally I went from numb to scared to depressed to vulnerable to hopeful over about two weeks. I am still feeling kind of shaky and vulnerable, but fortunately I have flexibility at work and wonderful friends and family to support me.
Good luck!
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-- January NewsletterPost Hysterectomy Fitness and Health is the theme of our January, 2012 newsletter at HysterSisters.com. Visit this link [ More]...
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