TVH: just got my date.. and .. now...

im nervous and scared and like Oh my goodness..

i guess its so real now that i have a date..

im having a TVH (hopefully .. he said thats what he wanted to do), with A&P repairs as well as a bladder sling put in place.. in the last few years my periods have increasingly gotten worse and worse and worse.. and ive begun in the last year have a hard time holding my pee.. i also urinate all the time.. and feel lots and lots of pelvic pressure.. and not to mention ive had a MRI and gone to the chiropractor trying to help the lower back pain i have.. i have a very hard time inserting a tampon it just kinda gets all messed up and wont go in..

and im so tired of being scared to stand up at the wrong time or not go anywhere during my period for fear of the river flowing..

i had the option of having the abalation.. but with family history i made the decison to have the hysterectomy..

the nurse said i would have a minimum of a night's stay in the hospital..

what can i expect?? what about preop?? she said i would get all the info in the mail..

lord help me!

I remember getting the date....it made it so real. And scary.

take a deep breath and read the information that your doctor sends you.

I can tell you that the anticipation of the surgery (I had TVH plus bladder sling) was far worse than the surgery.

Just take one day at a time. Stay calm. Pre-op is just bloodwork and final instructions for surgery - usually about a week before surgery.

Hang in there!

I had the same thing happen. I freaked out when the GYN told me I needed a LAVH, it took a few weeks, but I calmed down and was ok. Then I got the date and freaked out again. Then I calmed down and was ok again. This week I made the pre-op appointment, and I feel like I'm going to burst into tears at all times. But I'm thinking that if I can just hang on a little longer, it too will ease a bit. The best thing I've found, let yourself cry, get upset/angry/worried, tell the people who are trying to help you that you're scared and need a hug and reassurance. I think its whats helped me.

Early last year, my dr began talking to me about getting a hysterectomy - well he just said - you need to do this (we'd tried hormone therapy and other routes but periods weren't responding). I didn't finally schedule until I guess...late November - for my LSH/LSO and the time between scheduling and the actual surgery was an emotional roller coaster. Everything from not being sure I was doing the right thing and wondering if I should be cancelling or rescheduling to wondering why I was wondering this kind of thing - as if my periods would ever get any better? I think it's normal to be kind of anxious about this procedure but I have to say that now, three days past my surgery I'm SOOOO glad that I followed through and that I didn't put it off any longer.

Anticipation is hard to deal with. This website really helped me a lot. It prepared me for what to expect. I loved the tips I found on here - and just knowing that people are hearing me - via my posts - helped me feel I wasn't alone you know? You're going to be all right and we're all going to be right here with you before and after the surgery. Hugs!

Hi Gray27,
I had a TVH on the 14th and went home the same day. The worst part was the waiting and I only had two weeks, you have four...so here is a HUG. The Pre Op fears are still very fresh in my mind.
I used my Pre op time to focus on making the Post op easier on me. Think of yourself as a Princess in Training. This is all about YOU. I shopped for " after wear", nice big baggy cuddly Jammies and slippers. I really watched my diet and stocked up on healthy and easy foods for afterwards. I got a facial. I was also very germ conscientous, frequent hand washing and wiping the grocery cart handles and so on...so as not to get the surgery delayed ( only making the waiting longer). Lastly I put all the gotta-have-its withing easy reach and cleaned house. Sadly, I had to stay away from the post op boards here, as they were a little too graphic for me. I stayed with the pre-op and the positive niceties here. Good luck and come back often. The Support here is wonderful.

I was there, too. Thus my user name. I really wanted to keep my organs and experience natural menopause and what little hormone remains in the system when that menopause hapens. A nastly little ovarian cyst decided to grow and add rooms (septate), so they had to take it out to make sure there was not cancer. (late age and still menstruating and family history of breast cancer make me higher risk)

I now know what rational fear is. My brain kept told me I was being silly and the fear made no sense, but I could not get control of it. Fortunately for me I have some very good friends and a wonderful husband who put up my fear babble and let me vent.

Three days after surgey, (LAVH)r, pain is very minimal. I'm going to start tapering off of the narcotics and see if I still feel as good as I do now. I'm mostly just realy tired. But I noticed last night I can walk normally, but slowly. I want to get off the pain medicine because I'm afraid I might think I'm doing better than I am and injure myself by overdoing it.

I'm still not looking forward to the menopause side of things. I've enjoyed a lifetime of surprising people when I tell them my age. They usually guess a decade younger. I hope that doesn't change much. A little vain, I know.

This is a wonderful support place. I only found it a day or two before my surgery. It did help me prepare. Best advice (oversized panties, pre-cook meals, and the grabber). Don't need the toilet lift, the heavy pads -- panty liners would be enough for me. If you can tolerate sugar, take hard candy with you to the hospital. My mouth was extremely dry. Water and ice chips didn't seem to help much. Ask for popscicles. They helped the most.

Good luck to you. CHeck this forum often and stay away from the post-op site until you are post-op.

Gray27
I am sure it is sooooo normal to go through this when you get the date. (I will probably freak out majorly when I finally get my date).
All the information on this site and the support from the wonderful ladies here will help a great deal.
Big and going out to you.
Hugs,
Suzanne

I saw the Dr on 1/14 and LAVH surgery is 1/19. Honestly, my pain is so intense that I feel that the quick date is a gift from a higher power. On the other hand I do not have much time to consider the changes that are coming. I still have to come to terms with possible HRT in case I can't keep one ovary. I have weighed the pros and cons...and getting my life back without so much pain will be worth a lot to me and my husband. Hope all goes easy for you.

From my point of view (4 days post op) LAVH -- lost everything. A quick date is a plus. To me anticipation was worse than the reality. I haven't gotten to experience much of the menopause symptoms yet, just the occasional hot flash and am still in pamper me phase, stuck on the couch. Stir crazy is starting to rear its ugly head.

Hopefully I can help ease some of your fears a little. I just had a TVH, BSO, AP repairs and sling on Tuesday, 01/12. I came home from the hospital on 01/14 and have been doing very well. I was more worried about the sling than the TVH (mine was also posible TAH because I wanted the BSO no matter what, but my doctor said everything "came out really well and easy"). I was determined to not have to come home a self catheterize so drank a lot of water. I have been a little tired. My biggest issue has been my hips have hurt so bad from the position they put me in (I'm just glad my doctor warned me I might be "a little sore" before I left the hospital or I would have wondered what was wrong with me. I will say I'm more than "a little sore," but I also have fibromyalgia which contributes to my pain). I now take one pain pill about ever 6-8 hours and that's because I can't take ibuprofen. I have not experienced the extreme tiredness that some have, so feel very fortunate. However, I am letting people wait on me. I did go out for lunch today and was ready to come home and lay on the couch again. I was scared as well the closer it got to my date, but I am so happy I had this done. Five more weeks before I can go back to work, so I'm going to take advantage of it. It can be scarey, but know that many of us have been where you are and are now "on the other side." Best of luck.