Okay Sisters, I want the truth about the pain!

I think part of my being so afraid is the unknown. I haven't had a chance to talk with my doctor other than the day he said let's schedule the hysterectomy. I also do not have a pre-op appt, so I guess I have to wait til the morning of surgery to tell them I'm a complete weenie and to dope me up really well?

I don't know. There just seems to be a huge lack of communication with everything all the way around. If it wasn't for this website I would be lost.

thank you sisters.

Vuebird, don't settle for that!!!

I have called my surgeon's surgical coordinator 3 or 4 times since I met with the surgeon and set the date. We have a post op appt already set but I still have called to get more info. I have a long list of questions I have been writing as I read posts here and I told them I'd fax them the morning of the appt. so the surgeon could read them before I meet her.

I have had surgery before so I know how the steps go, and so do they, but they should not be assuming you know.

thanks Ann, I haven't had ANY surgery ever. So should I call my doctor's office? The receptionists there are kind of snotty so it ought to be fun trying to explain what I need. I tried calling the surgery nurse once just to ask about my date and the receptionists were so rude, asking me why I was calling her and telling me that she was very busy. I realize they have to screen phone calls to a point, but they were so patronizing to me. I'm 41 years old for gosh sake! I'm just frustrated. Thanks for listening.

I would definatley call. It may be that they are waiting a while to get you going since you are in June but I wouldn't sit and wait to hear if you need to have a better understanding of what is going to happen.

I would be sure you have a pre-op meeting with your doctor. Mine is on the 2nd for my operation on the 23rd. The doctor should sit with you and give you a complete description of what they are going to do, offer options to you if there are any (like keeping ovaries, cervix etc), and just basically clue you in. I have a contact that is the surgical coordinator and I call her and ask questions. My doctor called me back within a half hour of my call into the coordinator when I asked about donating my own blood for surgery. The coordinator also mailed me a sheet of paper that had everything that was scheduled (e.g. surgery date, time to arrive, time of surgery, pre-testing appt, and pre-op appt).

Remember, you are their "customer". I'd be sure to tell someone in that office, like your doctor, how rude and unacceptable that recptionist is. I am sure they don't want there business being represented that way.

Shazray,

My apologies! You're so right. I wouldn't want to know about it either (if I hadn't been one of the tiny percentile that experienced it), and it is very rare. They say 5% or less.

I would like to thank "vuebird" for asking the question about "the pain"! I'm scheduled for TAH July 16th and have been very worried. Thanks to all my new sisters for sharing your experiences; I really do feel some stress relief. My new philosophy: BE OPTIMISTIC

irish59, just as a reference point. I had a myomectomy and the doc left my uterus in after cutting out several fibroids and stitching my uterus back up. I had a verticle incision from my belly button to the pubuic area. There was never a point where I felt pain that I could not take something to be in total relief. I can honetly say the darn gas pains the first couple of days were the worst part.

This time around I am going to make a hot cup of tea and add warm ginger-ale to it to get rid of gas. This is what we give to the c-section mothers in the baby unit at our local hospital where I volunteer. Just leave the ginger-ale out on the counter so it does not cool the tea down.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by Vuebird When my mom had her hysterectomy 25-30 years ago, she woke up in recovery absolutely hysterical that they left the "knives" in her stomach, she was in so much pain. She was screaming and crying. Now to the present. I realize that (hopefully) today's medicine is much better. I would like a realistic approximation of the pain involved. I am a complete wuss and this is keeping me up nights! I've read where most of you don't remember the recovery pain but of course I paid the most attention to those who posted that they did have a lot of pain. So what does it feel like exactly? I need to know what to expect. How does it compare to cramps so bad they make me throwup? Since I'm kind of used to that amount of pain, how does the surgery compare? Thanks so much sisters, I love each and every one of you.

When you wake up there is a lot of cramping make sure you tell someone right away and they will give you pain meds and that should take any discomfort you have right away. Also my hospital had a pillow that they gave to me to hold on my stomach. Hope this helps you will be ok day one and two will be the worst then everyday gets better and better I am going into week three of post op Good Luck!!

If you have a high tolerance to meds TELL THEM.
I assumed that my doc knew and would do what was needed.
My doc had to raise my pain meds 4 times in the castle. I woke up afraid to move and crying. They had me up and walking laps before they where willing to accept that it was not just gas. They had to take me off the pump to get any management, the pump is only effective if you use it regularly weather you feel like you need it or not. So if you sleep for a few hours, you will wake up sore (IF it is a problem)
My surgery was vaginal. I don't have an explanation why I was in so much pain. My doc kept saying "the surgery went so well".
If you are afraid of the pain let your doctor know. There is no way to know how your body will react. May you be a woman who cannot recall her post surgery pain. Be honest with your doc and anesthesiologist and things should be fine.

solstice27,

After experiencing something like that, don't you think it is just natural to decide "what to do if there's a chance of it happening again"? After my last surgery, I really wish I had been more aware of the unpredictable nature of anesthesia and pain meds. I would have had a very, very long talk with my anesthesiologist and doctor on "what I want you to do if..." instead of shaking hands and smiling, assuming it would go the same as my last three surgeries. Because when it came right down to it, it was impossible to assertively communicate what _I_ wanted when I was in pain.

Better to know ahead of time and have a plan of action instead of relying on someone else's decision for you that you might disagree with later... but then again, part of life is getting through the unpredictable. I had a blessing from my husband before my surgery, and I believe that is how I made it through it with a primarily positive attitude in spite of the obsticles.

Oh, one question: "high tolerance to meds"-- is that term recognized to mean "I need more pain killers than the average person"?

Thanks for sharing your experience and lessons learned!

Ellie