I was to have a lavh done tomorrow but

now it is rescheduled for next week due to hurricane rita. there is no running water in the hospital but they are bringing it in. after speaking with the dr i feel it's more like he doesn't want to do it. anyhow, this has been very difficult for me. I am scared to death of the whole procedure. I have fibroids, endo and an enlarged unterus. I am in pain everyday. the thought of one more week of pain is so frustrating. the reason though for my post is i have a few questions. i am suppose to have it laproscopically and through my vagina. I can't remember the exact abreviations.i am afraid of the pain. i get woozy just from getting blood taken. I really get woozy when an iv is put in. they always have a hard time with iv's and me. i am afraid of waking up and vomitting and spinning and spinning. that's the usual reaction i have when i wake up. How long should i expect to stay in the hospital? I'm suppose to stay just overnight. that just doesn't seem long enough. i'm such a wreck. and to top it off, i just quit what was suppose to be the beginning of a new career for me cuz with all the stress of a hormone rollercoaster and and not being there for very long(6months) i was nervous about recovery time. so now my life is turned upside down again. I'm just hoping that this surgery will be the beginning of a new life without the pain, exhaustion, and hormonal rollercoaster i go through every month. more times than not i feel like i'm going out of my mind. I can't seem to do anything right. sorry, i didn't mean to vent. I'm just a nervous wreck and i thought it was going to be all over tomorrow.

Kathi, I am scheduled for an LAVH on Wed and I too question "outpatiend surgery." I was told I will stay overnight and leave before 24 hours. That blows my mind and I am a nurse. I will be one happy camper if it can be done vaginally as everyone I know that has had it that way felt really good by about day 3. No comparison to having abdominal incision and think of it this way, if you're out of the hospital you won't be getting stuck anymore! I am also quite fearful of nausea and vomitting and I am also a hard stick. The last two procedures I have had they had a difficult time starting the IV. I am going to ask for a sedative prior to surgery, you should too. I believe waiting is the hardest part. I feel bad they postponed yours. I'm ready to get this over with but still scared to death. Good luck

Hi 4mygrls,
I am really sorry this all happened to you. I know exactly how you feel about the disappointment of having the operation put off. The same thing happened to me 3 times, not for the same reason of course but just as frustrating. You get all prepared and phsyced up and then it doesn't happen. We also have something else in common. I get the same way with IV's I will not tell you how many times they had to stick me but let's just say it was more than once. Yes, there will be pain but that's why they have strong pain medication but what I was thinking was I have had pain every month for years and I would gladly(not so gladly, but I think you know what I mean) get some pain for a short while to get rid of the pain that I have had for years. It will be OK!!!!!!!!!!!
Debbie

thanks ladies. that was a fast reply. i'm just gonna have to keep myself busy this week so it'll go by faster. maybe i'll go to the hospital and see if they need volunteer help with all the evacuees there and not having running water? maybe i'll get to meet the nurses that will be caring for me. the only good thing is that my husband knows the hospital well and knows the nurses and how everything works there. he has escorted many prisoners there for surgeries so he's gotten to know them well. I suppose i really do have alot of cleaning up to do after the hurricane. I just really don't want to do it. heehee. i'm being lazy. i really just have no energy what so ever. all i want to do is sleep. i'll try to stay out of bed though since i'm sure i'll be spending alot of time in bed after the surgery. anyhoo, thanks ladies. this site is great. i'm going to share it with my doc. i'm going to take the printout to the office and see if he would share it with his patients. maybe he'll even get the book and lend it out to his hyster patients? we'll see. good night ladies.

The last thing on my mind is cleaning my house and cooking. I wish I could as I know I will be sorry afterwards because my DH's cooking skills include tuna noodle casserole and mac and cheese. I am tired too, working full time and I HATE to clean. Wish I had the energy. Can't tear myself away from this website!

I'm in Germany...and believe it or not, my doc refused to let me go home before 9 days (he wanted me to stay 10, but i begged to leave a day early). That's just their philosophy...that this proceedure requires quiet, bed rest. He also knew that i had 4 kids at home who would demand my attention...and as difficult as i was as an inpatient (just bored), I was glad I stayed. I really think it helped the healing process. Having said that though...I felt "normal" the next day. I asked for painkillers twice while I was there...mainly at night. I had a LAVH...so the only incisions were those small 3 on my belly.

I also am a needle-phobic person!! every night, in the hospital, i had to have a heparin injection (was NOT fun). The iv was a scare too--but bless his heart, the guy who did it was able to do it in a matter of seconds--i've never had someone do it so fast before, so i was thankful. Well, for that and because they didn't put it in until i was in the OR. But I know how you feel...I anticipated everything...before, during, and after. Just take it one day at a time, take someone with you to help you along while you're getting poked with needles. My husband's shoulder/chest came in handy during the many blood draws.
Before you know it, it'll all be over and you'll feel much better...wish you the best.

I had my LAVH on September 19th. I had alot of the same problems you did with my pain and organs. I will be honest with you. The first day was by far the worst. I was out shopping with a little discomfort by Thursday and I have actually been driving (pain free) since Friday on my own. It was unbelievable how great I feel since having this done. I have been making sure I don't do the cocky crazy stuff like lifting or straining myself. I was scaried to pieces right up to the moment they took me under. I told them about being nauseaous after surgery and they made sure I was given some medication in my iv before surgery and right after and I wasn't real sick to my stomach until they gave me grape juice to drink with my dinner. I was only in the hospital for one whole day and back relaxing at home in my own bed. I can never sleep in the hospital at all.
I wish you a speedy recovery with great OR staff.

I too have the problem of vomiting when I wake up from surgery. I usually get the surgeon to write a standing order for something so that when I wake up nauseous they don't have to call him because the order is already there. The last surgery I had, I was given something before I woke up and for the first time (and I've had a zillion surgeries) I woke up and wasn't sick. I am definitely going to ask that to be given something before I wake up. There's not much worse than having to throw up after stomach surgery.


PMM

My surgery was postponed, too. It was scheduled for September 22 and has been rescheduled for October 13. It does feel awful, but there's plenty to do--and there's this board to keep us going until our surgery dates.

I also am a hard stick and a nausea queen. Oh well, we'll get through this. We will, together.

I also have a hard time getting IVs in but the last surgery I had 2 months ago the nurse put a wet, hot washcloth on my hand for about 5 minutes and the Iv went in perfect!!! Ask them to do that for you! Good luck!