Hi I'm new here too....

My surgery is scheduled for 1-21. I just started this round of *fun* on the 2nd!! I cannot believe the last week. I'm having a complete hysterectomy and oophrectomy. I have an ovarian cyst the size of a small softball?

But I have fibroids and such too - so they gave me the option of a full one and I took it. I lead a very busy life and have a special needs kid (ADHD, ODD, depression) and dont have time for recurrent issues.

I'm nervous but at this point just trying to get all my ducks in a row for leaving the family for a few days. What a headache.

Any help anyone can offer me? btw, I LOVE my doc!

Kat

[quote]Originally posted by nutsy
[b]My surgery is scheduled for 1-21. ... I lead a very busy life and have a special needs kid (ADHD, ODD, depression) and dont have time for recurrent issues. ... I'm nervous but at this point just trying to get all my ducks in a row for leaving the family for a few days. What a headache.

Hmm, the FIRST thing you need to do is make sure you have adequate help! And for an adequate length of time.

I am the parent of a bipolar child and a child with Asperger's syndrome (a form of autism). From what I have been reading and what I have been told to expect, there is NO WAY I would have been prepared to deal with either of them if I had had this surgery done when they were small. You need to think beyond "a few days," you need to plan for at least a few weeks and possibly more, depending on how old your child is. I know this sounds like a real headache, but you have to keep in mind that if you don't allow yourself adequate time to heal properly now, you may never reach the point where you can heal at all. This in turn is going to impact how much you can do for and with your child.

My SO (who knows me VERY well!) gave me a big lecture last night about not overdoing or trying to do everything as soon as I felt halfway human. My response was simple: doing things for and with him and with my dogs are the things that bring me the most pleasure in life. I am not going to do anything that might jeopardize my ability to enjoy them in the future. Even though I will HATE being in bed all the time, I will do the things I must now so that we can all be together and have fun later.

Now, I know there are superwomen out there who can have hysterectomies on Monday and be out painting the house in the middle of a blizzard on Tuesday, but I'm not one of them. If you're not either, you need to start looking into fairly long-term assistance ASAP.

Hope this helps!

You know there is just about nothing I can add to Lisa's post. Sometimes we get fast mixed up with required in healing that is. I heal fast but the inside was what was up in the air and so I had to take it easy the 4 to 6 weeks and that is the norm for all hystersisters. YOur inside needs to heal and even though the outside is healed the inside takes a lot longer. So like Lisa said you need to find help for the first weeks because you can not lift, bend, or actually do nothing but , plenty of water and juice, and small paths through the house. I felt like doing a lot more but when I found out that it can cause adhesions to form, I stopped fast. You get tired very easy. But I am now 6 months post-op and I am such a new person. Mentally and physically. So take that recovery slow and you will thank yourself in the later months to come. God Bless both of you. I am a teacher and one of my areas is special needs children. I admire each of these children's parents they do a wonderful job at home.

I have to admit to being a bit scared. THis happened SOOOO fast. And already my husband is telling me things like "well I have to WORK!" but then saying I can't do anything? Uh hello? who IS gonna do it all!?

The kids are already giving me fits about pitching in (15, 13, and 10). Good thing I figured this out early and am working on it now - 10 days prior!

My best friend is coming in to help while dh is gone (he has a business trip 2 weeks after surgery) but I'm not sure what to do when I first get home.

sigh. Not making me sleep well at nights!

Kat

Hi Nutsy and Lisa

Just wanted to pitch in with my own 2 cents.

I also have a Special Needs son: ADHD, CAPD and gifted. Thankfully, last year, when I had my surgery, was one of his best years ever: we only had 2 or 3 phone calls from school all year. That meant that, for once, I could concentrate my energies on me and on recovering from surgery.

My oldest (the Special Needs child) was 9 1/2 at the time of my surgery and I knew that asking him to pitch in was a lost battle. One of the things I have found out in my trek through this whole ADHD issue is that you never know what to expect and that you have to avoid expecting too much. It is hard because, OTOH, you do not want to fall in the trap of undersestimating their possibilities either.

All I can add is to just make sure to take time for you. If your dh has to work, you'll have to make sure that you have help coming from another source, especially in the first few weeks. And, and I know that this is the hardest part, some of the things will simply have to be left undone.

The most important thing to remember is that you have only one chance to heal right. And, remember, you're worth it