LAVH: Hysterectomy at 24, advice please!

Hello all!

I am a 23 year old recent college graduate and today I scheduled my hysterectomy. I do not have any children and I am in a serious relationship with a boyfriend who is 100% supportive of my decision. I've had horrible periods since I was 11: heavy bleeding, lasting between 2 weeks and 2 months, nausea, and vomiting. I have been dealing with severe pelvic pain since I was 19 which has only continued to get worse. In 2011 I had a laparoscopy to diagnose and remove endometriosis if it was present. My doctor at the time did find a few small spots on my ovaries and removed them. The pain subsided for several months, but about a year and a half after that I was suddenly in so much pain that I couldn't stand up. For the past year and I half my pains have become so bad that I can't stand for more than 5 minutes, intercourse is impossible, sitting up straight is out of the question, and it even hurts to drive. I went to a new doctor (different from the one that performed my lap.) who gave me some pain medicine, refused to do any further tests, and told me that if it sounded like endo then that is what it was. After that, I couldn't go to the doctor for over 10 months due to not having insurance. I made an appointment for a new doctor last month and when I went in I saw the nurse practitioner, instead of the doctor, who said that her job was to see if I was serious and not making up symptoms (regardless of my numerous doctors appointments and diagnosis) and that I could make an appointment with the doctor 3 weeks from then. I was finally referred to a different doctor who has helped me more than anyone. Last Friday (a week ago) I had a laparoscopy to remove the endometriosis that he suspected was causing my pain. When he got in there he found that the endometriosis had not grown back but that I have over 30 fibroid tumors inside and on my uterus. He said that there is no medicine to relieve my pain and that trying to remove the tumors would leave my uterus in shreds because there are so many. Lupron is out of the question as well because it will only shrink the fibroids temporarily and they will continue to grow, cause more pain, and cause more health problems. My quality of life is very low at this point because of the amount of pain I am constantly in, so we scheduled my hysterectomy for September 25th, my 24th birthday!
I guess any information on recovery would be helpful. It will be a laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy.
How long will I be out of work (desk job)? How long until I can get back to working out and being active? How long will the pain last? Really, any information, advice, or personal experience will be so helpful to me. Thank you!

I am SO sorry for everything that you have been through...gentle {hugs} to you! I can not even express my feelings for you getting the run around from Dr.'s & I am thankful that you have finally met a Dr. who will take care of you!

Everyone heals at their own pace so it is impossible to say how long you will be off of work or how long the pain will last.
I can only speak for myself regarding my hysterectomy. I was in pain prior to my hysterectomy & now, 3 weeks following, I wouldn't change a thing! I was in pain prior to my LAVH & I felt a sense of relief the morning after my surgery. Yes, I had some pain, but it was different, not the severity that I was used to! I took pain pills for about 4 days & then I was taking either Ibuprofen or Tylenol which kept it under control. I went back to work last week (VERY PART TIME) and next week I will see if I can handle increased hours. My Dr. advised me not to begin working out until after I see him at my 6 week post op & we will decide after that! I figured, I have one chance to heal right, my workouts can wait!!

Good luck with this! It sounds like you are on the right track & I wish you will! Ask as many questions as you need to!

Sounds as if you'll be getting an improved quality of life for your 24th birthday! :-)

Did you discuss with your doc as to whether or not to keep your ovaries? You mentioned that the endometriosis had not grown back, so it certainly sounds as if you can. Ovaries do all kinds of nice things for you if there's no medical reason to remove them.

Regarding recovery, repeat three times: everyone is different, everyone is different, everyone is different.

Okay, now that we've gotten out of the way, I had abdominal surgery and a very easy recovery, with minimal pain. I went back to work at a part-time desk job at four weeks, with the restriction that I had to wait until six weeks before I could handle 30-40 lb boxes in the archives area. If your job allows it, see if you can work part-time your first week back or arrange for someplace in your workplace where you can take periodic rest breaks.

Being active started my first day after surgery, when a nurse hauled me out of bed to go for a walk around the ward and then "suggested" I sit upright in an armchair for awhile. That may not seem like much, but those are the first exercises you do to get your abdominal muscles back in shape. By the next day, I was taking myself for laps around the ward. By the end of the first week, I was walking at my normal stride. By the end of the second week, I was walking at my normal pace and ready to reintroduce steep hills to my repertoire. I was also doing some gentle arm and leg stretches.

By the time I went back to work at 4 weeks, I was going for 1-2 hikes on rocky, twisting wooded trails and had reintroduced some gentle core exercises as well as some weighted arm work. At six weeks, I started to gradually reintroduce more active core work.

Generally, the rule for recovery is to listen to (1) your body and (2) your doc. If you start to do something and it hurts, STOP.

alpel00,

You are so young to be dealing with all this dear, I'm so sorry but I'm glad you found us.

Please take your time deciding to have a hysterectomy, it's final and can't be undone. You're very young to be giving up your uterus. There are options for fibroids. Here is one of many articles available on the site about options. You have choices. Please get a second opinion and even third before you make such a big decision.

I hope you find relief from your pain and are able to keep your uterus well into your old age. Please make sure you have explored all your options before making such a big decision. We're here for you whatever you decide, keep us posted.

I am new here too. I don't have any advice for you other than my surgery is Sept 16th. Good luck

Dweebie and SurprisedInNB, thank you so much for your quick responses! I wasn't expecting anything for at least a week! You're advice and support is very comforting and so helpful. My main questions were about work so that I could make sure to ask for time off. I spoke with my boss and she's allowing me all the time that I need which I am very grateful for. I'm very glad to know that both of you feel so much better after your hysterectomies were done. I like hearing from both of your personal experiences to know some of what I will expect. I know now, from both of you, that mine will be different, which I know will be important for me to keep in mind. Thank you both so much!

Also, my doctor checked out my ovaries during my laparoscopy a week ago and he said they are perfectly fine so I will be keeping them.

Pattypat, I really appreciate your concern, however I am very confident in my decision. I am very aware of the consequences involved in having a hysterectomy at my age. The doctor that I am currently seeing is my 5th doctor that I've seen over a period of time and the first that I've ever felt has listened to me. I am aware of other options that my doctor has gone over with me. Because there are so many fibroids (30 at the least) he cannot remove them all without destroying my uterus and leaving it full of holes, which would leave it useless. He mentioned that he's used Lupron before to shrink fibroids but it isn't going to stop my pain, which has be debilitating me for the past year and a half and has continued to get worse and worse. If I chose to try the Lupron it would shrink the fibroids but he informed me after the 6 months of shots that they will continue to grow and I will be right back where I am today. Essentially, I'd be prolonging the inevitable. I'd much rather have a better quality of life now, than continue to suffer for years and get a hysterectomy a little farther down the road.

Thanks for reassuring me that you've exhausted all your options. We don't want regrets. I'm glad you're confident in your doctor, that's very important too. I opted for hyster for my fibroids after hearing several options--I did do Lupron too.

Each recovery is different and depends on several factors. An important factor is type of surgery. I was fortunate and had a very easy, quick recovery. I had a LSH, a minimally invasive procedure, and was back to almost normal in about three weeks. I could have returned to work at that point.

Alpel00, i was 28 when i had my hysterectomy, just a short 4 months ago, im 29, i had mine due to severe endo, and i dont have kids either but i knew a year ago i didnt want to have any, for personal reasons, but i was scheduled for a hysterectomy only two weeks before having it, i am happy with decision and only one night (3rd night post-op, first night at my dads for recovery) i have i regretted the decision, that being said, my parents have 5 grandkids from both my sisters, and my brother said he doesnt want any kids either, so that has strenghten my reasoning my decision(weird i know, but im not the only one in the family who doesnt want kids). I am 18wks out from surgery today just to let u know

Mina 1984, thank you for sharing your story with me! I have thought about having regret and I know that it may come up at any point after the surgery; it was nice of you to let me know that you did have some but it has been minimal. I am comfortable with the idea of not being able to conceive, mainly because I was adopted and my parents treated me in a way that I never felt that I wasn't part of the family. I know that since I won't be able to have my own (if I decide I want children) I can give to someone else what my family gave to me; this is something I've always thought about doing either way. It does help talking about it and hearing from someone else with the same thoughts, so thank you very much.

Ur very welcome, just relax and let things pan on its own, it will be so worth it