Upcoming hysterectomy FEB 27th - similar to c-section? Odds of cuff tearing?

Thank you all for your responses, they help calm the nerves a little bit.
Going wed for final check, I came down with bronchitis so I'm praying I have the all clear. It always flares up my asthma so I hope it's all good. It's taken so much mentally/emotionally to be ok with all this.
This is quite the roller coaster

I had a c-section years ago and it was a small lateral incision in my low pelvic area. I just recently (last Friday) had a Hysterectomy and my doctor ended up having to do a large verticle incision that started up above my belly button down to my lower pelvic region. Yes, the incisions were very different in size and position but the pain was very similar. Pretty much exact. Even though my Hysterectomy incision goes up much higher the pain I've felt is mainly lower where my uterous was and some tenderness up above but not as much. So, if you've had a C-section and are familiar with that feeling and pain then yes, expect that same type of feeling when you wake up. The only thing is that they remove things in a Hysterectomy so there is that added cramping and pain I don't remember experiencing in my C-section. Everyone's body and pain tolerance is different though! The pain meds they administer help tremendously though. Don't be afraid to ask for more when you need it ...

I haven't had a C-section, but I HAVE had kidney stones get stuck on the way down, and I would much rather have another LAVH surgery. I had to wait until the next morning to get up and walking, but I am sensitive to anesthesia and I was really loopy. They were worried I'd tip over and bust out my sutures. I took the hydrocodone for a few days post-op, and then switched over to just Tylenol. I had some discomfort, but compared to the cramps I used to have, it was minor.

The gas pains were horrendous. I told the doctor I had the bends on dry land, they hurt so much. There's not much to be done about that, but it didn't last more than 24 hours. I have little incisions on each side of my lower abdomen, maybe 1/2" wide, that were closed with surgical glue, and an incision in my bellybutton that was also closed with glue. When the glue came loose, I laughed because it was like a bellybutton plug coming out.

If you are worried about the vaginal cuff, ask your doctor if they can close up the cuff from the vaginal side rather than from the laparascopic side. My doc said that vaginal closures have a much better chance of staying in, and that really the odds of having a tear at all were very very small if I kept to the restrictions for lifting and moving around. At my post-op last week she said it all looked good and cleared me for everything including sex. I don't have the energy for sex yet, so that's going to be a while.

Do remember, as others have said, that people with a bad experience are so much more likely to tell everyone about it. Like the nightly news, no one gets on t.v. and says "Today nothing happened and everyone was happy." They say "Today two people were murdered in Backwater, USA." because they don't think people care about hearing how everything was fine. This is kind of the opposite, so just remember that odds of a vaginal cuff tear are tiny tiny, and the LAVH recovery, while not "easy", is a lot easier than the C-section or abdominal incision folks' recovery just because there are fewer muscles and tissue bits on the outside trying to knit their way back together. And remember also that the outside will heal faster than the inside!

Stay ahead of the pain with your meds as needed, and if you need more meds, take them. Everyone is indeed different, as Puffy says, and some people will need more and some less.

Hello,

This was a very positive response to the original post. I have not had my surgery yet it's scheduled for mid May and I have been reading everything and watching a lot of videos, but when I read this reply to the question I felt the positive vibes from it.