DaVinci LSH-8/1/10, My Story, Sorry so long... - Hystersisters Hysterectomy Article

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DaVinci LSH-8/1/10, My Story, Sorry so long...

DaVinci LSH-8/1/10, My Story, Sorry so long...

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Hi everyone,
First I'd like to say that I am so glad I found this website. It has been a blessing to me, as I lay on my couch (more comfortable than my bed) in post-op pain, and wondering who else was out there experiencing my same pain. Well, I found an entire community! So here is my story...

I just turned 40 last month. I am married, with 2 children, ages 14 & 15. In 2003, I had a myomectomy to remove a large fibroid. All was great after that. Fast forward to 2008, I start gaining weight, not really understanding why. Blame it on stressors in my life. Tried to manage the weight, unsuccessfully. By 7/09, I am miserable and go see my gyno. He examines me and orders an u/s. (My fibroid in 2003 never made me gain weight or have heavy bleeding, so I didn't make the connection this time). Sure enough, he finds a large fibroid ( I don't have the measurements memorized, but he did say, the size of a grapefruit. Yikes!). Of course, I am freaking out b/c I know this means eventually I will need surgery. No point in thinking of that now, as I only have a p/t job and can't even think about how I'd pay the hospital bill. Well, my doc says we can "wait and see", it may or may not grow and then I can make a decision about surgery, depending on how much its really bothering me. He says to come back in 6 months for follow up.

Well, it was 6 months of hell. When I went back in January 2010, (couldn't get an appt in Dec), he re-examines me and finds that the fibroid has grown significantly AND there is another one keeping it company. Good Lord! No wonder my menstrual cycle is out of whack, and by this I mean gradual heavy bleeding, to very heavy bleeding, to passing out ( I didn't know I had anemia, as a result of so much blood loss). He tells me that we have to get the anemia resolved before I can have surgery. So he puts me on Ferretin iron pills and iron shots. By March I am good to go, but then I discover he no longer takes my insurance. Ahhhh!! So, b/c I don't want to change doctors, he's been my doctor for 15 years (delivered my daughter), I change insurance to one he takes. Finally, I call to schedule surgery, and now my new insurance starts giving me a hard time, saying that I have a possible pre-existing condition and I have to provide my entire 15 year medical record for them to review to "determine" if I have a medical condition! This took a good 2 months to resolve. So by now, my soonest surgery date is Aug. 10. With the surgery scheduled, I go away on a cruise with DH and kids. While I am gone, the surgery nurse leaves a message on my cell phone the Friday before I get back, saying that the insurance is asking for more info, because that "possible pre-existing condition" came up again. Well, since I didn't call her that Friday, she CANCELED my Aug 10 appt! Needless to say, I was so upset come Monday, when she said the next sooner date would be mid-Sept. Having no choice, I scheduled it. Well, one week later, she calls to say that Aug 10 date came available. Mind you, she calls the Tuesday before the surgery date. So, of course I take it.

So I go through the pre-op on Friday, you know the ekg, blood work, chest xray. All is well, and what's left is to drink the magnesium citrate laxative the night before, then complete fasting, not even water until surgery the next day at 4pm. By Monday night, I am wondering why I agreed to have surgery at 4pm, so late in the day, oh well. BTW, my anemia came back, but at this point, my doc and I discussed a possible transfusion if needed. So my hemoglobin is 10.3 and pray for the best, as I am not crazy about having a blood transfusion.

The morning of the surgery, surprisingly, I wake up and am NOT hungry. I was hungry and miserable the night before (too many trips to the bathroom and I had a huge headache). I finish picking up around the house as I wait to leave to the hospital.

Once I get there, it all goes pretty smooth and fast. I waited about 15 min in the waiting room, when a nurse came to get me. Before I knew it, I am in a hospital gown, IV, and those tight socks that prevent blood clots (can't think of the name right now). I am thinking, whoa, this is happening way too fast for me. Where's my DH and kids? The nurse said she'd have them come see me. About 10 min. later then show up. What a relief, I was beginning to feel so alone.

Then, the doc comes in and says, so what are we doing, the easy surgery or the harder one? (he had asked me to think about having a hysterectomy over the w/e b/c he felt that was the best thing for me to do, given that this would be my second surgery to remove fibroids and they could come back again in 2,3, 4 years, etc.

Well, I did think about it, and thought I didn't want a hysterectomy (too afraid to go through such major surgery). When I told him, he talked to me and said that I wasn't thinking straight. I can do what I want, but it 4,5,6 years, I will just be that much older, and may be facing this all over again. He assured me that removing the uterus and leaving the ovaries would not affect my intimate life or my physical life. He said I would not have to take hormones. He said the recovery from the hyst. would be easier than a myomectomy because there is less tissue that has to heal, etc. He said I would never have to worry about fibroids again. I didn't have much time to decide, as I was laying in the hospital bed, ready for surgery. So, I opted for the Robotic Laparotic Supercervical Hysterectomy.

I don't think I have mentioned how nervous I was to have this surgery. By now, my stomach is literally jumping. I could put my hand on my tummy and it was JUMPING! I am such a wimp. But honestly, for some reason, probably b/c DH and I are having problems, I felt like "what if I don't make it out of surgery and I left so many things left undone/unsaid?" It's an awful feeling.

Well, the doc came to take me away and said "ok, we are going to give you a sedative before we give you the general anesthesia. He called it a little vodka. He has a sense of humor. I remember saying bye to my family, by now I am all teary-eyed, and I remember being rolled into the OR. I saw the "robot" as they moved me to the operating table...and that was it, my friends. Next thing I know, I am in recovery, super groggy. Boy, I was completely out of it, had no idea where I was, and I remember I had such a bad sore throat, I kept trying to spit up phlegm. It was weird. The nurse came over, asked my pain level, don't remember what I said, but I was in pain. I started crying, and asked for my family. I was so happy to see them and remember thinking "thank God I am alive, but my uterus is gone".

I don't remember much being wheeled to my recovery room, other than that the nurse was a large black guy, he is the one that moved me from the bed to the other. It was so easy for him and I didn't even feel it.

I was in quite a bit of pain and asked for more pain medicine. I didn't want morphine b/c my dad had to take it and he went through hell with that medication. It turned him into a grizzly bear. So they gave me something else that worked just fine. Demerol???

I was supposed to leave the next morning, Wed, but ended up staying another night b/c my hemoglobin went down to 6.4. My doc says that happens sometimes during surgery, but in my case, he needed to observe to make sure it didn't go down more.

Well, that first night, the nurses where awesome. Two nurses in particular where so gently and caring and took the time to talk, not just come in, do what they had to, and leave. When morning came around, it was a different story. The day nurses we short and didn't talk. I wanted to cry b/c I felt so bad. The catheter hurt, and it hurt more when it was removed. Peeing for the first time hurt, not to mention the first BM. But very little by little, the pipes started working again.

The good news is that my 15 year old daughter stayed with me in the room those 2 nights. She is the one that helped me get up, helped me to the bathroom, helped me back into bed, fixed my pillows, ordered my food, put the tray close enough so I could eat comfortably (not that I was very hungry), I'd take a few bites and that was it. She also helped me when I got up several times to walk around the nurses station. I had read that it is best to get up ASAP and walk to get the gases moving and out of you. Gases are the devil. They hurt SO MUCH. She slept in that little pull out bed, which was not comfortable. The first night she didn't sleep, maybe an hour. She watched over me all night. I know I kept waking up every hour or so, and every time I'd look at her, she'd be awake. On the first night, she finally fell asleep at 430am and the nurse came in at 6am to check my vitals. She was an angel by my side.

That night, my IV was removed, by the nice night nurse. The next morning I had an iron iffusion and was given percocet for the pain. I love that medicine/narcotic! I took it every 4 hours while at the hospital and one before leaving the hospital for the ride home. I had 2 nights with very bad dreams, like nightmares, so I stopped taking the percocet, that helped. I had two more nights of weird dreams, but at least they weren't nightmares. I managed my pain with OTC Motrin. I honestly don't remember much about the ride home or the first night at home. I know I slept alot and that it hurt so much everytime I had to get up to go to the bathroom. And the gases where killing me. I forced myself to get up and walk around the house, and that did help. I felt sad too. Just felt weird, something in me was gone. I still have that weird feeling, something is amiss.

Actually, looking back, it took me a good 4 days to "snap out of it". I guess the anesthesia really knocked me out. I slept a lot and don't remember much. By Sunday, I was able to think somewhat straight and realize that my son had school the next day. As the week progressed, I slowly came to. Today is Saturday, and I can say that I am about 85% back mentally, and about 65% physically. I know this b/c I am thinking about bills that have to be paid, and I am thinking about going back to work(not that I want to), just how I will feel 2 weeks from now, and other things.

Physically, I am still a mess. I am up and walking around a lot more and I can stand up straight when I walk now. Getting out of the couch is still bothersome, but much better compared to days ago. My bellybutton is starting to hurt and one of my 4 stitches is hurting. Also, yesterday, I got a pain by my lower abdomen. I think its my right ovary? So I am taking it easy today. I am completely bored and I have anxiety. I want to get up and do things, but there is not much I can do. I think tomorrow I will have to get out of the house, even if I just go to the market. I've been in my PJ for 11 days!

Now that I am thinking straight, I want to focus on healthy eating habits and exercise and I want to better manage my time. I weighed 165lb when I checked in the hospital. I weighed myself yesterday and it said 155lb. Yes!

But....today I have been a bit bloated. I think its because I haven't gone to the b/r. I think I will take some more milk of magnesia. It helps. I am also very hungry. I am tired of the pasta with olive oil, mashed potatoes, and chicken. And toast in the morning with a bit of coffee. That's basically all I'm eating. I'd love something yummy to eat.

Well, I know this was very long. I wanted to post my experience, and in a sense, also vent. I just had not been able to put my thoughts together for 11 days and it was making me crazy. I can now take a deep breath and move on. I pray that my post-op recovery goes smoothly as I go back to work on Sept 7. I've been reading the post op posts and it seems like some sisters bounce right back, while others take a lot longer. I don't know which one I will be.

All in all, I think it was worth going through this. It means no more fibroids for me and no more anemia. I can only imagine that I will be feeling so much better and will have my energy back.

So sisters, take it easy, and rest, rest, rest. I read that a lot here and I think that is the most important thing to do post-op and make sure to eat foods with fiber, so you don't get constipated.

Be well my sisters. See you in the post-op forum

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