LATVH - experiences and stories?

Hello all,
I have scoured the boards and not found many posts with the answers I seek.

I am waiting for a date on a LATVH, taking ovaries too due to endo/adeno and fibroids. I am looking forward to my trip as I am sick of the pain, bloating, heavy bleeding, etc.

Have any of you had the same? What was your recovery like? How bad was the instant menopause? How about recovery time?

My doctor would like to schedule me pretty soon, but depending upon how much time I have to take off, I may have to postpone due to work. The doc says 4-6 weeks, but seemed to think I might be able to work from home after a week (computer work, nothing physical.) Any thoughts or insight would be greatly appreciated!

Hi Ready2go~
I had LATVH/BSO on the 3rd,was home from the castle the next day...pain was manged with Motrin. I was uncomfortable moving for the first two days, but every day it is easier to move around. I do get tired easily and am taking care to follow post op instructions, jut really laying low and letting DH and DS do all the housework, cooking etc. I had an early menopause ( 14 yrs ago) so have not had any of those symptoms but from what I have read here, it seems that it takes a while for the body to get to that kind of readjustment. I think 6 weeks is a better recup time to shoot for if you can get it, you may be able to do some part time from your home computer after a week or so, but I find it hard to sit in any one position for any length of time. Besides, you don't need the outside stress or pressure from the job during your recovery! THis will be your time to heal and take it easy! Your body goes through enough shock with the anesthesia, manipulation, sutures etc and will need tender loving down time to recover....don't rush it. Good luck and let me know how it goes for you! the waiting was the worst~ take good care! Pat

Ready2go,
I'm just past 3 weeks post op. I was off my pain meds within a couple of days but the thing that is getting to me is how tired I am. The menopause hit me pretty quick and I hadn't gotten enough information before hand so was a bit of a shock what all goes along with it. This site and sisters have been a real blessing. There are checkpoints for each step of the way in recovering that may help you along. So far my experience has been close. I don't think there is anyway to really be prepared phsically but there are ways to help yourself mentally. Read, ask questions of your dr. Arm yourself with as much information as you can. Prepare your mind and at least you'll have an understanding of what your body is doing. For me the hot flashes (not a flash for me more like minutes or hours) and insomia have been the worse, but again each of us are different.
I did start working from home as your considering at 1 week, it's not something I would suggest, I wish I would have allowed myself more time to heal, as I think the work stress on top of the post-op stress are slowing me down a bit. I do understand if there isn't any short term dissability to cover you but take all the time you can before you start working. You will need that time.
Through everything remember you are most important during your healing time, you have to take care of yourself and allow others to help. Its easy to overdo it espically when your bored and feeling a bit better.
Like I said arm yourself with much information, and check to see how much leave time your job will allow. Take as much of it as you can to allow your body to heal right the first time. This is a scary time I know been there myself a few weeks ago, but its not so bad that you wont be able to get through it and see the light at the end of the tunnel. And when you cant see the light for the fog, the sisters here will help point you in the right way, they have for me.
Good luck and many blessings to you during this time.

Sorry to butt in,but I asked this question elsewhere and never got an answer - what difference, if any, is there between LAVH and TVH? Are they essentially the same? See, now you threw in LATVH and really confused me! I'm scheduled for LAVH and want to know if there is a difference when I read about other ladies recovery experiences. Thanks in advance for any enlightenment!
Z

I'm a newbie here, so I may have the acronyms wrong, but my surgery is planned as: complete hysterectomy, including ovaries, done vaginally with a lap assist. He is also going to repair an occult inguinal hernia and excise any endo.

Thanks, everyone for the replies. If I could, I'd head for the castle today! As it is, I have to either go back to work from home pretty quickly, or wait to schedule surgery until I can take more time off work. That's why I ask for your experience, I want to make the best decision I can without having a crystal ball.

The various types of hysterectomy procedures, and the corresponding acronyms used on the Hystersisters site are here:

Pre-Op Checkpoint

Many s and Best Wishes to All,

Hi,
I had a LAVH on the 19th of June, and seem to be getting along ok. Like the other sisters who have posted, I would say that my pain has been minimal, only used the IV pain meds a few times the day of surgery, then two darvocet the next day, and motrin after that. I think by about 4th day I wasn't using anything. I kept my ovaries, so unfortunatly I can't help you there. I will say that one of the problems is that you tire much more easily after surgery. I not sure I would have been able to do even computer work at one week, but now at almost three weeks, I think it would be possible. It is best to follow your doctors orders for your recovery. One problem with LAVH is all the work in on the "inside", no real external signs of all the healing going on inside, so it is easy to forget and overdo. During your preop, explain to your doctor what it is you do, and he/she should be able to help develop a plan. Best wishes!