 TAH / BSO; 3 months later, still lots of questions... |
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 Well after reviewing some of the other lady's stories here I thought I'd share my experience too. One of the nurse's aides in the hospital told me, you can give a hysterectomy to 10 women and you'll get 10 different outcomes, so I guess all of us should share in case it helps anyone else.
I decided to get my surgery for fibroids, which were large (though not HUGE) and causing pain and discomfort. Also my menstrual bleeding was frequent and heavy, and I was beyond sick of that. My doctor told me that my options were to have a hysterectomy or keep monitoring the tumors, and only if they grew rapidly would she insist on surgery. In the event they grew only slowly, I could wait for normal menopause and see if they diminished. I take it this is common.
I finally decided, after a month of agonizing debate with myself, that I'd put up with the physical discomfort long enough and didn't want to let it get worse while waiting to see IF it got better on its own. At my age (49) I wasn't really concerned about the reproductive consequences, The big question for me became whether I could stand to wait for normal menopause to see what the fibroids did. I decided I'd put up with the issues they were causing long enough and that I'd only be accelerating menopause by a few years by going for the surgery,
There is always the possibility that the (probably) benign tumors could turn out to be something worse and after letting all that sift through my head I made the choice to do it.
As soon as I went for the pro-op consult I was in a real state -- once I'd made my mind up I wanted it done NOW...I take it this is real common, too.
Well I was nervous and scared going in but my fiance was a wonderful constant source of support who was with me every second before, during, and after, I only wish every woman who has to go through something like this has a partner just like him (but no, you can't have mine).
As it turned out I had scars from past issues on one ovary and the other had a substantial cyst, and there was endometriosis in my uterus all of which would have only gotten worse with time so I felt reassured I'd made the right choice in removing everything.
I had significant pain with my surgery. I shared a room with another woman who'd had the same procedure, she was up and going for walks clear down the corridor the same day while I could barely make myself stand up the pain was so bad. I had an IV pain medication plus a do-it-yourself button, that was available every 6 minutes and I used it every chance I had for the first 36 hours. The pain actually kept me awake. I don't want to scare anyone, and lots of women have very little discomfort..well I wasn't one of them.
I was on solid food 2 days after and went home the 4th day.
I was very weak when I came home and needed lots of help. Over my time off I did light housework such as laundry and dishes, nothing else. Riding in the car was uncomfortable and I strapped a pillow under the lap belt to help ease the pain of the bumps - I swear I felt every pebble in the road!
People told me to press something like a pillow up tight to my abdomen to relieve the pain when walking around but that didn't help me, it made it worse.
I was off work for 8 weeks. Although my work is not physically demanding I wish I'd taken 10 or 12 weeks off! I can not stress enough, though it's been said before many times, do NOT hurry...take as much time as you need to let yourself recover. My wounds were physically healed in 6-8 weeks enough to allow normal mobility, but I do not think I gave myself enough time to get my full strength back. Trust your gut and if you need more time to rest, ask your doctor for support in getting it. Luckily mine had prescribed 6-8 weeks off.
OK this has gotten REALLY long as I keep thinking of things to come back and add, but I thought I should elaborate about going back too soon. For the first 2 weeks I was back at work I had such difficulty concentrating I could not accomplish anything. This caused added distress and worry and was most likely due to anesthesia side effects, which I have only recently learned about. So though you're there in body your mind may just not be able to function as needed. Take as much time off as you can, that's my advice!
I had a couple literally drenching night sweats prior to starting Climara about 10 days post-surgery, Since starting the HRT, I have had only minor flashes. Sometimes the patches do not seem to adhere well and I question whether they are as effective when they're like that.
About 11 days after my surgery my incision opened up a bit and drained (sometimes heavily) till about the 6th week. I guess this happens sometimes and it added a good heaping measure of worry and distress! But it's normally not dangerous and is fairly common.
I have had quite a lot of trouble with depression and anxiety which I assume would be worse without the HRT, and after reading about estrogen and thyroid here at Hystersisters (thank you!) I'm going to talk to my GP about possible tests to monitor various hormone levels (I've been on a thyroid supplement for a couple of years). As if the experience of the surgery wasn't bad enough, you have to deal with emotional upheaval and this can be very stressful to you mentally & physically as well as put strain on your relationships!
I really thought that after this much time I'd have all the answers but I'm finding out it will take a lot longer than that to sort things out and to feel wholly normal again.
The only other thing I can think to add is that I'm having lots of bladder discomfort; I had very intense pain on urination during my recovery...it felt like a vice was squeezing down on my bladder right as the flow of urine ended..I guess this was the muscles there which were irritated and / or injured during surgery. It's much better now but I have enough physical discomfort in that region that I've scheduled an appointment with a urologist, to make sure everything is OK...a GYN can only do so much  
My only other physical symptom is numbness in the area surrounding my incision, again a common effect and I have been warned it could take months to years for normal sensation to return. it is a very strange and unpleasant sensation!!
Overall at this time I am glad I had the procedure done and given the opportunity to go back I'd do it again, despite the discomfort and ongoing issues -- my mind is at ease with the decision.
Related Titles
TAH/BSO - Lots Of Energy & Feeling Great!
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