surgery coming up and i'm getting freaked about it

the more i read about the swelly belly, the really long complete healing time and that this is major surgery, i'm getting really scared. i guess i've had my head in the sand now looking at the reality of what's going to happen to me on 7/13/04. i was thinking i'd just go in and get my uterus removed for this grapefruit-sized fibroid i've been carrying around and all my problems would be solved. no more packages and packages of pads for hemorrhage bleeding when my body does decide to have a period. i'll be all better, my stomach will be flatter and then i can get serious about losing some weight - as soon as i'm released to go back to work, in 4-6 weeks (although i'll probably go back in 2 to 2-1/2 weeks since i work at home). i can't believe this is really going to happen to me. my mom's coming into town to help me for the first two weeks. i don't know what else to write. i'm overwhelmed and in over my head. sorry to leave you all hanging like this....

Yes. It is overwhelming. It is a big deal. It does take a long time to FULLY recover. Tomorrow is 10 weeks post op for me. I still get a little sore if I do too many things in a day. I still have a bit of a swelly belly in the evening if I don't take a break and get my feet up occasionally through the day.

But, you know what? It does beat the socially paralyzed place I was in just a couple of months ago: Afraid to go anywhere or do anything for more than 1/4 of every month because I very likely would have an embarassing "accident". Having to sleep on beach towels and have bed sheets in pale tan so they could be bleached easily. Checking the calendar twice before scheduling any trips or vacations that might include swimming or any other fun activities Aunt Flo could ruin.

I get better by degrees every day. There's an old saying, "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!". I know that because I improve by degrees every day, that eventually I won't be ruled by the area between my hip bones any more!

Now, I can't answer for you, but here's my take on why I got overwhelmed right before surgery. (And you need to know that a LOT of us feel this way right before!) The changes that were ruining my daily life came on me very gradually - they took years. But here in front of me was this change that was going to take all of that away. A really big step, and it had to be taken all at once! There was no slow way to accomplish what needed to be done for my body to improve. Plus, the last surgery/anesthesia I had was 41 years before when I had my tonsils out - the whole idea of being in a hospital over night was a pretty big deal to me, too.

Honest - it's a bit scarey. But if you read around here, so many of us feel SO much better - even if we have to take things in moderation for a while after surgery. You couldn't pay me Lottery Winnings to go back to the times before surgery!

I remember going through the exact same thing before I had my hyst. I actually cancelled it, but then realised I was SO tired of bleeding to death every month. Although full recovery takes a while, I have never regreted having it done. Not planning my life around my period EVER AGAIN, and not feeling so weak from anemia, it was all worth it. I don't think there is one person here who isn't afraid and anxious about having the surgery, but once recovery is underway and we realise how great we can feel, there is only happiness for us at the end of the road. You can look at recovery as a trade off for finally feeling good after months or years of feeling terrible!

Ditto to what Sanguiness said. Very well said!

It isn't easy to recover. Some will post after a few short days that they feel terrific and are chomping at the bit to get back to it. I also felt terrific. Now at almost 6 weeks I am tired and because I feel so good I do way too much and then have to take a couple days off. Others feel crappy all the time. You won't know until you do it. Don't worry about something you can't change or even know the results of yet.

Everyone heals differently. But ALL must take it easy! I read something in a post a few days ago that made total sense to me:

She said (can't remember who, sorry) that most of us are "sick" a long time before surgery. So, not only do we have to recover from surgery but we need to get our regular health back. It can't be done in a few short weeks. I have heard more than once it can take 6 months to a year.

Would I do it again? YES! I hated always saying to people, "I can't do that right now I don't feel good." Or telling my children, "Mommy has to lay down now" or never knowing how bad I would bleed.

Am I tired and sore? YES. But, I know it will be better than ever very shortly and I can wait!

Hope this helps you. Take care and let us know how you are doing.

Sincerely,

Cindy

at only 12 days post-op i feel pretty darn good. had a bad couple of days from overdoing it while mom was in town, but think i feel pretty good today.

going to try to take it more easy, but i feel so much more clearheaded and actually have some energy just from not bleeding bleeding bleeding.

i know it will be a long road to full recovery. i'm also recovering from being anemic for almost a year. remember, you are recovering from your pre surgery problems, too.

i feel better already than i did. my biggest thing is to go slow and take it easy. when i'm at all sore, lay down. at all tired, sleep.

my biggest pain has been from constipation. i recommend prune juice and roughage as well as stool softeners as soon as possible.

i gained a lot of weight in the months before the surgery since i was way too tired to do anything. it will take time and effort so my goal is to be back to my normal weight in a year to year and a half so i don't over do it. that might need to be altered, but at least i feel better.

don't let the tummy rule you! beauty is elsewhere,

peace and wellness,

I was really scared too but I'm very close to being 3 months post-op and it's almost unbelievable to me that I ever had major surgery. We all have some pain afterwards and the first week or two can be hard but you get over it and move forward. It's been a huge relief for me to have had my hysterectomy, I would do it over in a heartbeat and my only regret is that I didn't have it sooner. The majority of women come thru this surgery extremely well. Keep positive and avoid negativity in your healing process. Be gentle with your body after surgery, it takes a long time to heal but you'll have a better result if you treat yourself like a princess especially those first few critical weeks. As for recovery time, it varies from woman to woman and what sort of hysterectomy procedure they had. My recovery was extremely fast. I had LSH/BSO (kept cervix) and was back home same day of surgery and a week later cleared for all my normal activity. So hysterectomy recovery doesn't necessarily have to mean a long recovery. Best of luck.

Well said all of you - there is nothing I can think of to add except that recovery is slow for me and I'd be lying if I said I don't get fed up and frustrated at times because of that.

But Y'know what? If I could go back in time, I'd insist on getting it done well before I did!

The benefits to me personally far far far out-weigh this slow recovery I'm having. I feel sooooooo much better and happier in myself and several people in my circles have said it's like I'm a new person. Not quite really, Just freed of hormonal surges, to be me, who really am, without the jeckyll and hyde characterisations amidst the rest of the troubles Aunt Flo's visits brought!! I will get through it but just at a slower pace than most! It was well worth it!!

And I can wear whatever colour I choose whenever I want!!!! I can get lovely underwear!!!!

We are all so different as has been said so many times before, but the massive improvement in the quality of life for me, even with a slow recovery ...... well it's so good I can't find the words to express it!!!!

I hope this helps! Best of luck