LAVH/ BSO - Matching party hat and slippers - Hystersisters Hysterectomy Article

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LAVH/ BSO - Matching party hat and slippers

LAVH/ BSO - Matching party hat and slippers

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DH and I arrived at the hospital at 5:30 am for 7:30 am surgery. I tried very hard to remain calm and did a pretty good job. The worst part for me was the IV. I had a horrible time in July with nurses not being able to get IV's started and I was in absolute terror.

I changed into the gown, struggled to get the thigh high white surgery stockings on. I'm pretty short (5'3") and the stockings were about 15 feet long. Then the nurse put little blue paper slippers on my feet and tucked a matching paper hat under the pillow for later. DH asked me what I thought the new paper slippers cost, since my shoe shopping is something we discuss quite often. I told him not to worry, that I charged them and since I got a matching hat, the thousands of dollars they cost were a bargain.

The PreOp nurse was very proficient. She had the usual questions, I signed a couple more papers and she started the IV. First she injected some numbing medicine. When she actually started working on my hand, I looked the other way and started anxiously talking to DH about anything, everything. The nurse reminded me to breathe and it was all over.

A few minutes later someone came to draw blood. She wanted the other arm, so DH moved around the bed, took his place as the "hand holder" and we explained to the tech that I was a pretty hard stick. She assured us that she was not a student, had done this before and would be almost painless. Best thing was she was done before we finished the conversation. And I didn't feel a thing!

Now that my two primary terrors were out of the way - I was ready to rock and roll. My best friend showed up. She admired my new slippers and agreed with me that it didn't matter how much they cost - there was a matching hat!

At some point the nurse hung a small bag of antibiotic alongside my IV. I questioned the name to be sure it wasn't the one I'm allergic to and then just settled in for the wait.

The A-Man came in a little after 7 and told me that he had a Nurse Practitioner that would be assisting him. I told him I was violently sick after 3 previous generals. He said that he would do what he could to prevent that. He started to explain why he wasn't offering an epidural (Dr would be working too high in my belly to be sure that I wouldn't feel it). I assured him I wanted to be asleep and would he make sure I WAS asleep before they started anything serious?

Suddenly it was time for a ride. The Dr was waiting by the table when we came through the doors of the OR. I scootched over on to the table and got a pain in my IV site. I thought I had done something as I moved over. I asked them to take a quick look and the A-nurse said "Sorry, it was me. The first round of meds to make you sleepy burn for about 5 seconds. I should have told you." I replied that the A-man HAD warned me and I just ............

The noises changed and I opened my eyes. I was in a different room. There were 2 other beds with people in them in my line of sight. There was a nurse on either side of me, one writing, the other adjusting something on the IV. I remembered all the stories about "sighing" and so I sighed... just to see how it sounded. I guess I was pretty alert to think of that, although I felt pretty "out of it".

The pain level was tolerable, but still a 5 or 6. It felt like the worst period cramps ever, but dull and achey rather than sharp or insistant. My Dr came up to the bed and said he had talked to my husband and it was almost time to move me to a room.

At this point in the story, I know things won't be in the right order because the rest of Monday is pretty much a blur, with just a few things that stand out in my memory.

Someone explained the pain pump and wanted me to understand that I couldn't overdose if I pushed it constantly. There was a continuous low dose being delivered, but I was to push it as often as I wanted to - "try and stay ahead of the pain".

The only thing I remember about riding from recovery to my room is hearing my DH's voice and telling whoever was driving my cart that my DH was somewhere nearby. I sort of remember scooching over from the cart to the bed. I heard someone offer to show DH where the kitchen was so he could keep me supplied with ice chips and I told him to hurry.

Clear liquids for lunch and dinner - mostly inedible. I wasn't too interested anyway, but kind of discouraged. The broth was so salty I was reminded of the bowel prep stuff I drank on Sun and then I couldn't eat at all.

My pain was very controllable. I pushed the pump whenever I thought about it and always before I moved around in the bed. I spent a lot of time raising and lowering the bed, trying to find a place where I was comfortable. Sometime Monday night I tried lying on my side at the suggestion of the nurse. I couldn't have done it without my tummy pillow, but it was pretty tolerable and I was able to sleep better on my side.

Sometime before 7:30 Monday night the nurse helped me stand up by the bed. I had a wonderful room meant for mothers with newborns staying right in the room. Single bed, recliner, rocker and a guest chair. Best of all was the sink and long counter within one step of the bed. I stood there and brushed my teeth while the nurse cleaned up the rest of me and freshened the bed.

The "day" nurse on Monday and the "night" nurse Monday night were beyond wonderful. After that I was glad I could take care of myself. Tuesday morning about 6:30 the nurse removed the Foley. She made sure I was empty so I wouldn't have to get up for awhile. It didn't hurt a bit. I didn't even have any spasms or pain later, which is unusual.

The Dr came in about 8 am with a med student and said it was time to take the packing out. He instructed her while she did it and it was pretty tolerable. I was expecting it to hurt and so I distracted myself by deep breathing and it was over in 10 seconds. My breakfast tray arrived just before the Dr did and I didn't feel much like eating when they were through with me. This time it was Full liquids, which is Clear Liquids plus milk. The cream of wheat glued my spoon to the tray while I was busy with the Dr, so I just ddrank the juice and let the rest go back.

The IV and pain pump were removed before 9 am and I was up moving around shortly after. I peed by myself the first try. I took a shower by myself. It wore me out and I didn't spend much time at it, but there was a built in bench and a handheld shower and I managed to do a pretty good job. When I finished up with the shower I rested for awhile in the chair and then tried walking down the hall. Slept for the rest of the morning.

DH got to the hospital Tues about noon and that helped the boredom some. I'm not much of a TV watcher, but I did read an entire book while I was at the hospital. I wasn't interested Monday, but read for hours Tues night and Wed morning.

Once the IV was disconnected Tuesday morning, I pretty much just wandered around the halls or sat in my bed and read my book. I didn't sleep much with the pain pump because it seemed to knock me down, but not out. I also had the sensation of "forgetting" to breathe, so I was constantly monitoring my own breathing. Once they disconnected the pump, I took 2 Vicodin and slept for 2 hours.

Dr discharged me Wed morning. I was home by noon and napping in my own bed. I have been continually surprised at how minimal the pain is, but now that almost a week has passed, I'm tired of that little bit of pain and I'm getting cranky with the boredom. I still don't feel like getting dressed in real clothes or even going for a short ride. I get up and sit at the computer or in front of the TV for a short time and then I have to go to bed and rest. I'm using Vicodin and Advil for pain. Sometimes one, sometimes the other, sometimes both.

I go to the Dr on Tues to get the stitches out of the 3 little Lap incisions. He instructed me not to do anything at all until that visit and then he would start releasing me for other activities at the 4 week visit if I was ready. Some things might be 6-8 weeks, depending on how I was healing.

If any of the LIW are still with me at this point in the story - I have one thing to express to you. Don't be afraid. It's not a piece of cake by any stretch, but it's not as bad as what you've already been through !!! Spend your waiting time gathering food and books for after. Don't be afraid to ask or tell your Dr anything. Use this website for all the wonderful support and information here. I was so prepared and calm because of this site. I couldn't think of a single thing to ask after reading here for weeks. Nothing happened to me before or after that I hadn't already seen here. Thank you all for that.

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LAVH...Dorian's story

LAVH/bladder

Find A Doctor Near You

Clifford Rogers, M.D. The Everett Clinic, Dept. of Surgery and Gynecology 1330 Rockefeller Ave, Suite 120 Everett WA 98201 425 339 5424	Quanita Crable, M.D. 8160 Walnut Hill Lane Ste. LL-001 Dallas TX 75231 (469)364-3764	Byungyol Chun, M.D. Northern Essex Women's Health 360 Merrimack St Entrance G Lawrence MA 01843 978-557-9060
Stephen Zweibach, M.D. 815 S Parsons Ave Brandon FL 33511 8135712777	Gretchen Makai, M.D. 4735 Ogletown Stanton Rd MAP II, Ste 2103 Christiana Care Health System Newark DE 19713 302-623-4410	Bruce Pierce, M.D. 2 Princess Road Lawrenceville NJ 08648 609-896-0777
Melanie Bone, M.D. 5301 S. Congress Ave. Atlantis FL 33462 561-548-8600	Ruslana Kadze, M.D. 5525 Etiwanda Avenue Suite 228 Tarzana (Los Angeles) CA 91356 818-343-1717	Susan D. Hunter, M.D. 626 Ed Carey Dr Harlingen TX 78550 956-428-4868

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