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You Go Girl.....

	Quote:
Originally Posted by quilterperson LP, I appreciate your comment, but I am not understanding all of it. You had the IV and then your husband went in the hall to talk to the dr? Why didn't you get the cocktail before the IV? When my husband had surgery he was talking and doesn't remember it. That is another thing that scares me. I had surgery when a child and my parents teased me for years about what I said. I know that no one will tease me, but I don't want to say anything to anyone that I won't remember. q

Hey Q,
They put the iv in to start the antibiotics,before letting my dh come back and sit with me while I waited to be moved to the OR. The dr came to the holding area and talked to my husband, not out in the hall. DH said that Dr. B. asked me if I was ready and I told him that I was and that was all. The cocktail was put in the iv, that way they don't have to stick you numerous times.
Lori

I've always been petrified of being put out in any way shape or form. Scares me now when I think about it for this surgery too but am trying to think more positively. I used to be worried about what I would say but I've gained the ability to laugh at myself and am now more amused than anything else. I had a colonscopy a few years ago and woke up in recovery sitting up, holding a cup of some liquid (not sure what it was or where it came from) and the two women beside me were watching me with the strangest expressions. I've always wondered what I was talking about . The next thing I remember was my husband waking me up and telling me that when they wheeled me down the hall I was kneeling straight up in bed fast asleep. I guess the way I figure it is that the doctors and nurses have heard and seen a lot of stuff during their years in the operating rooms and the other patients...well I don't ever have to see them again once I leave.

Just love yourself through this next phase and all will be good.

l

hey q,
yes , there are those of us who have had the same experience u are about to have, going home the next day (less than 24hrs after surg)
so it will be OK!... i had the lap hyst/vag. hyst. in august (gosh seems long ago :O ) and i went home the next morn , by 11am , ask your doc if u can at least spend the night... also they may let your hubby stay in the room with u , my son stayed with me, i sent hubby home
my son was a big help, helping me walk in the halls .... itried meditation tapes annnnnd they actually worked , all the docs inthe surgical suite it was one of the easiest hysterectomies they have done in awhile, i made sure i was relaxed, kept the tape on even in the surgical suite, and when i woke up someone had turned my tape over in my cassette recorder (the anesthesiologist)
so relax , take care of home before the day comes , get your room ready, bring pads, gas-x & chap stick/lip balm and anything that makes u comfortable , like your own pillow etc ....

You don't have to give your doc permission to remove anything that you don't want to. This is YOUR body & YOUR decision, NOT your doc's. I made it quite clear to my doc that my ovaries were to stay put unless they appeared to be cancerous. It sounds like you haven't had much say in the matter & that really concerns me.

I had a laparascopic look & see surgery a few years back & they found & removed adhesions at that time. Definitely not enough reason for me to have a hyst. However, they were enough to make me have one this year, just didn't know it was adhesions until they got in there. But I had already been through several surgeries & knew there wasn't really any hope of having kids with all the problems I've had.

Did your doc give you an explanation of why he wants to just do a hysterectomy & oophorectomy? Seems a little drastic to me if he doesn't know for sure what's causing your pain. Please get more answers before you make YOUR decision. I have had way too much experience with unknown causes of debilitating pain & doctors who were wrong, so if you ever want to discuss anything with me, feel free to pm or email me.

HUGS

Oops, got sidetracked a little there. They can & will give you something for anxiety before surgery if you ask. I got 3 days worth of xanax for the days leading up to surgery. When I got into the anasthesia/prep room (family not allowed in there) I was crying & they gave me something & that was all she wrote, I was OUT. You aren't going to feel a thing, it's really not as bad as we fear.

Q, generic xanax is OK , but Ativan works much better, it actually puts u to sleep without hangover reaction in the AM, try soothing music , maybe get help with the kids ,,even though they are a good distraction, u have to concentrate on u !! and about the shave ...........weell if they would have told me , i may have objected
i sort of expected it , but since it was a lavh only 2 little incisions i did not think that my whole stomach/pelvic area had to be shaved Oh well , they ended up taking mine vag. because fibriods where tooo large, i was very nervous as u are , high, high anxiety issues, palpitations etc.... i worked thru it , and came home and did notheing for 2 weeks 9at least) my dh did it alllll , and our 15 year old

LP,

Thanks for the explanation. I am going to try to be put to sleep with my husband there. I remember the roll up the hallway and the operating room the last time. I cried the whole way.

Pan,
So glad that you got to the place where you loved and trusted yourself. I am glad that everything went all right for you.

Deb,
I have some music that is calming, maybe I will take it, but I cannot stay overnight. My surgery is supposed to be the first thing in the morning. I have to go home that day.

Its,
The dr said that it was time for somebody to p_ _ or get off the pot. He doesn't know what is causing the problem. Since I have a couple of fibroids, he wants to remove the cervix. Since I am 53(although according to the hormonal test a long way from menopause)he says that there is no reason to keep anything, especially since he figures that no one will ever get me in an OR again.

I just thought someone would eventually operate, maybe, and remove adhesions, or perhaps endo, if they found that. The hysterectomy came out of the blue.

At the office I nodded and what he said made sense, but I had 6 kids with that stuff. One died when he was 11, and another pregnancy didn't develop properly (I named her). I looked up some stuff on the Internet and saw that a hysterectomy with oopherectomy was considered desexing. I am not really ready for that.

Deb,
All of my kids are grown and gone, except for my youngest who is deaf-blind and developmentally delayed. (She can see and hear, but barely).

All of my kids and their spouses and even two grandkids are coming home for Christmas. I am afraid that I will ruin it for everyone.

q

Sorry for all of the whining...

Everybody on the fence about removing their ovaries. . . .
There is a great article in O Magazine, Oct 06. It is about Keeping your Eggs in one Basket. Very good article about the importance of keeping your ovaries.
It is great info!

I was terrified too. I was scared to death that somehow this surgery would mess me up worse. I drove everyone in my family and at work nuts for months. I tried to be positive but in the back of my mind there was the feeling that this wasn't going to be a good thing and that life as I knew it would be over. Well, the ONLY thing that has changed in my life now after 7 months post op is the fact that I don't have a monthly period. My sex life is the same if not better. My bowels had a rocky start but soon were doing fine and now are the same as pre-surgery. I haven't gained any weight. Nothing is prolapsing and everything really does feel the same as before. Now I know your situation and your surgery is different. We are all different. I know you are stressing and probably will continue to. But most women do very well after their recovery with this surgery and chances are very good that you will be just fine. It's sad to see but I totally understand what you are going through. You are most likely wasting a lot of time and energy focusing on the bad but I know it's a hard thing to control.
With your doctor's permission, I would take a whole xanax at night to help you sleep. If you can only take a half during the day that's okay but not sleeping makes everything seem worse.

Hugs to you, hang in there.

Oh God are you my twin????? I was so wrecked going in for my surgery last year and I cannot tell you the relief when I met my anesthesia team. They were wonderful!!!!!! I told my nurse anesthesist to not waste the Versid as I had to be in control and focused as long as possible. She looked at me and said "do you trust me". I cannot tell you why other than it was the hand of God on both of us but I said yes, do what you need to do but don't tell me when you are going to do it. Now I'm not going to lecture but am going to give some unsolicited advice. If you are as keyed up as I was, you are not going to eat right or drink enough between now and when you have your surgery. It is imperative that your body have enough fluids so you need to let them start and IV when you arrive! Someone here on Sisters gave a hint (wish I could remember who.....I could just KISS you!!!!) about drinking a Gatorade the night before as close to when you have to go NPO as possible. I did that......worked down a 32 ounce bottle between 11PM and midnight. I usually have a tough time with IVs...veins collapse, etc......I never felt this one go in and had zero problems with it! Tell the anesthesia consultant (you should see them at your pre-op) how scared you are and ask if they will work with you like they did with me..... When they did give me the Versid, it was just as we were getting ready to go to the OR, they told hubby to give me a kiss bye bye, I remember part of the trip down the hall and that was it! This year, I told hubby it was time for him to get going, that Kerry (same NA as last year! yeah!) was there with me, she said...yup time to go!...and that is the last memory I have! Now afterwards you don't remember a thing, but you are in control enough to move yourself onto the table and all. Amazing really when you think about it.

Afterwards, as hard as you may think it is, they will have to leave the IV in to administer drugs and keep fluids up. If you need morphine, bam...IV is already there! Makes life much easier and if your fluids are up, you should not feel the IV at all.

The one last bit of advice I will give is to really share with your doctor had absolutely terrified you are and ask about a mild tranquilizer to take leading up to your surgery. Because of something that happened during my hospitalization I asked for a tranq and they gave me a very low dose of Atavan. I am kicking myself for not taking it (it was offered!) beforehand. The last thing your body needs is for you to be a wreck going in.

There is nothing else I can tell you to calm you. The surgery is going to happen, there will be some discomfort, your DH will be there asap to be right there with you, there will be amazing people there to care for you (I was so worried and God just answered my prayers both times!!!!), and you are giving yourself a special precious gift to be free of your pain and discomfort for good. I'm here if you want to talk or feel free to e me. I wish I could just hug you and really tell you it will be okay because I so recognize that total fear I hear in your post.....you seriously must be my twin and I am so okay now with all that was done that I could turn around and know I could do it again in a heartbeat. I promise....

super uber huge
Karen