Making a Choice

I am 41, married, work full-time with 3 teens. I have been having heavy bleeding and cramping for 12-14 days per month for 2.5 years and after all other options failed have been told that only surgical options remain...either vaginal hysterectomy or endimetrial ablation. For various reasons, I have virtually no sick time left and have opted for the 2-day recovery time of the ablation but am having 2nd thoughts. Can anyone give me ideas on recovery time for a vaginal hysterectomy, taking only the uterus? What prompted me to research is a friend who said she was only out of work for 6 days. I should note that I am a counselor, therefore, no manual labor of any sort. Thanks for any help!

You can get good information on the experiences of other women about the ablation or the vaginal hyst by doing a search. Of course, since this is a site for hysterectomy information, the ladies that have had prior ablations are usually the ones that they didn't work for. The success stories for that procedure obviously don't come to this site. There are probably some good sites on the web that can help you make a good decision about whether that procedure is for you. For many women, the procedure brings relief for years, although they may end up with a reoccurence of problems down the road.

You'll see from the post-surgery board that the recovery period for vaginal hyst is generally 4 weeks and that most ladies that have them find this to be fairly consistent. Everyone's healing process is different, but proper rest after a major surgery (and TVH is even if there's no abdominal incision) is very important so that complications like adhesions are avoided.

Good luck on your research and in making your decison.

Actually I came on this site in support for a friend about to undergo a hysterectomy, but I AM a successful recipient of an ablation. It took me longer to recover from the anesthetic then it did from the surgery. I have had several surgeries in my life, so this was a piece of cake.
All I can tell you is that I had basically the same symptoms you are experiencing and this worked great for me. Keep in mind that you can do this and if it doesn't work you can go for the hysterectomy, but not vica versa.
Good Luck!