Upcoming hysterectomy 2/19: Fibroid Wars...

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Originally Posted by faniamay My best friend is one of those. She has never had the surgery, but has had other surgeries and one moment she is scaring the crap out of me and the next she is being insensitive although I do not think it is intentional. You will have to turn on your internal white noise when she starts talking. Or just come onto this website for some positive reinforcement. This site has saved my sanity. Sometimes I cry when I think about it, but it passes.

Thanks Fani. I needed that!

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Originally Posted by SurprisedInNB I can't say that ever happened to me. This was possibly due to the fact that my surgery was for cancer. I guess all the fibroid gals were thinking, oooh, cancer, can't top that, guess I'll keep my mouth shut! LOL It's not a competition, of course. Some of us have fibroids, some of us have cancer. Some of us are in pain, some of us aren't. Some of us are dealing with such heavy bleeding that we're anemic, others of us just had a little light spotting that would have been totally innocuous - if we weren't post-menopausal. Some of us are terrified about surgery because we're so young. Some of us are terrified because we're so old. We're worried about how we're going to take care of our families, and we're worried about how we're going to make it on our own. We all have our different paths to walk, and each person's path is going to be slightly different. So it's not about competition. It's about understanding and support.

Thank you, Surprised! And Amen. I, personally, am having a hysterectomy due to surgery. Honestly, I get so tired of hearing, Oh, I had a hysterectomy, it was no big deal. Yeah, well............. uh huh. lol.

Oh Steffnwolf I just have to chime in! I haven't told many people as yet but I too have heard some amusing responses too. I think many of the ones who seem to be "competing" are in fact trying to make me feel better in their own way. But the best one I've heard so far was from a close friend a few years older who has been fortunate enough to have had minimal gyno issues. After telling her what was going on and about my upcoming procedure, she asked me "well....did you ask them if they could just take it out when they're doing the hysteroscopy?" :-D I laughed and bought her another glass of wine. Bless her heart..

Ps...she was refering to removing my uterus :-D

I was fortunate that anyone who knew about my hysterectomy was very supportive. I had multiple fibroids of different sizes and types. One was on the outside of the uterus and spent much of its life lying on my bladder- giving me ample time in the bathroom to decide on a paint color and decorations. Besides this site, two people I work with had hysterectomies and could help with telling me what I could expect. They were upbeat and had positive experiences and they were very encouraging - no horror stories. For my part, I am thrilled to be rid of the little buggers. Before the surgery, I had not realized how many days I went through just feeling miserable. Deciding to go through with the procedure was the BEST DECISION EVER!!! I am now mentoring a co-worker who will be two weeks post-op on Friday. She thanked me for all the helpful info before and the encouragement after. She, like me, was back to work in a week. She only found out she had fibroids once the surgery was over. To all of the sisters out there who are facing surgery - your best days are ahead of you.

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Originally Posted by SurprisedInNB I can't say that ever happened to me. This was possibly due to the fact that my surgery was for cancer. I guess all the fibroid gals were thinking, oooh, cancer, can't top that, guess I'll keep my mouth shut! LOL It's not a competition, of course. Some of us have fibroids, some of us have cancer. Some of us are in pain, some of us aren't. Some of us are dealing with such heavy bleeding that we're anemic, others of us just had a little light spotting that would have been totally innocuous - if we weren't post-menopausal. Some of us are terrified about surgery because we're so young. Some of us are terrified because we're so old. We're worried about how we're going to take care of our families, and we're worried about how we're going to make it on our own. We all have our different paths to walk, and each person's path is going to be slightly different. So it's not about competition. It's about understanding and support.

I just wanted to say that you have such a wonderful way with words Surprised and if there was ever a competition where a HysterSister was to be acknowledged for her contribution to this community - I would vote for you, hands down

I had my surgery. I am about 13 days post op. Surgery took 3 hours and uterus was taken through my vagina instead of my tummy as planned. It caused some abrasions to my vagina and I can feel them but they are healing. I had some spotting starting at day 10 and some pain where my left ovary is but otherwise recovery has gone well. Good luck and happy healing to all