How do I prepare?

Hi ladies,

Wishing all of you a very happy, and healthy New Year!

I need to have a hysterectomy, but was waiting to have it until the holidays are over? Can you tell me what I need to do to prepare myself? Physically, emotionally, and mentally?

I am not prepared at all ...is there things I need to do ahead of time? I am 39 years old.

Any help would be appreciated.

Liz

If only someone could answer that question. Each person has to prepare differently. I "nested". Organized, bought lots of paper products, stocked up on canned Cokes. My sister says it looked like I was preparing for Y2K!! Just try to stay occupied. Visit this web-site. It will answer lots of questions.

I agree with previous post, do a search on this site as you will find heaps of tips and advice and can identify which ones apply to you and your situation.

I think you will be well prepared as you have already considered that you need to take your emotions and physical health into account not just the practical issues such as what sort of underwear style. ( I took 3 styles, wasn't sure where sore bits might be!)

This is the best place to be, I lived on the site before, after surgery and intermittently for months and then driopped off after I healed fully. I came back when I had other problems and again, this site has been a goldmine for support and information. Keep posting! Linda

I only had 19 days to prepare from the day I found out I had to have the surgery to the day I had it. That isn't a lot of time but I am now 5 weeks post-op and I can see how some of my choices in that numb place for me were good ones. I can share with you some of the things I did for myself to prepare but this can be a very personal decision.

1) For one, I found out what my restrictions would be after surgery (not lifting more than 5 to 10 lbs and not doing jobs like sweeping or vacuuming.....etc ) and did some preparing my home to give me the greatest possible feeling of independence and ability as possible after the surgery:

- I stocked up on easy to prepare meal items, and like the sister above said, stocked up on paper items and made sure I had shampoos, etc to last through this period
- moved items that would be most necessary or enjoyable to have easily accessible to the shelves and spaces from about hip level to shoulder level to minimize bending or reaching up
- cleaned up low scatter, moved things that would just be in the way and thought ahead about things like having pillows to align my body when I lay down to minimize back and muscle aches.
- got out projects that would be feasible for me to do in the following weeks (and stocked up on borrowed videos) so I woulnd't get too bored

In other words, I personalized what was important to me for the best healing and dealt with those things to keep me focused toward a positive recovery.

2) I enlisted supports from friends and family to help me with areas I could not do for myself.

- In my case, I didn't have sick days or medical leave to call on and had just depleted much of my savings by paying my yearly car insurance as one sum because the next year was already full of questions and I wanted to make sure I at least had my car to use. So when this came up, finances were important. I turned to my family and told them what was going on and let them know I cuold use any help they could give. My parents gave me a months rent. The people in the finance department at work found out how they could rush the paperwork for my Employment Insurance claim so that my EI kicked in quickly to help me through also. The women I work with gave me a food and gift basket.......

- A neighbour in the apartments I am in, who doesn't have a car and is a good friend, and I traded the use of my car (which wasn't taken adnvantage of) for rides to and from the hospital and keeping an eye on my daughter (17 years old) while I was in the hospital. This neighbour did shopping for me and then took me shopping doing the carrying and lifting that was beyond my weight restrictions.

- My 20 year old, left her apartment for 2 weeks and came and stayed with me in exchange for the use of my car to go the extra distance to and from work.

In otherwords, I accepted the reality that to give myself the best chance to heal, I needed to be honest with others about my limits and enlist the help I needed if only to reduce the stress that could have gotten in the way of healing.

3) I used hystersisters to find out the experiences of many others who were going through or had gone through this and learned how individual each experience is and yet some of the common concerns we share in this type surgery so I was prepared to deal with my recovery without worrying about if I was recovering slower or faster than someone else. I also began making some connections on here that have been an added encouragement and resource in these past weeks.

We are all different and even what our doctors restrict are different. Find out as much as you can about the post-op side of the recovery and use the time you have to deal with whatever is most important to you for healing.

Best to you as you face the coming weeks and months ahead,

Linda

Yes, I too agree. Especially, on the education and emotional issues. As for food, it's probably going to be a three weeks or so, before you are up to any shopping.
Stock up on easy to prepare foods. The first week, you will want to stick to soups/bland food (sometimes, you have stomach problems after surgery). Do you live alone? If so, can you ask a friend to shop for perishable items for you?
If you have children, make a list of chores and have a lot of foods that they can prepare themselves. My son was four, at the time of my hyster. and he loved to help me out with making his own meals and getting his own snacks.
If you have pets, stock up on foods, litter, and any medication they need regularly. If you have anyone to help you with the heavy stuff, please do. Otherwise plan ways to avoid heavy chores.
If you can afford it, have someone come in and do you basic cleaning. If you can't afford it, "nest" (like the other lady said) beforehand. Make friends with the dust bunnies, it will be only a temporary thing. You will be able to do basic chores at about two or three weeks (depending on dr.s instructions, and what type of hyster you had).
Good luck with everything. Feel free to vent with us.
Tam
P.s. You might want to get some kind of mild laxative to keep on hand (you can ask dr.). Some of the ladies (and myself) had a lot of constipation after surgery.

Hi!
I'm 37 and almost 3-weeks post - my Dr. wouldn't wait past the Holidays. I also was not prepared for him to tell me our next step was TVH. This was during my follow-up after Laparoscopy and Hysteroscopy. I had from a Friday afternoon to Tuesday to prepare, and it was a little scary. But, sometimes we worry for nothing - everything I really wanted to do got done.

I have 2 kids at home, ages 13 and 17. The most I thought to do ahead of time was grocery shop for us and pay bills that I wouldn't have to worry about, at least up to 2 weeks.

As far as an overnight bag, I took shower items, pajama clothing and robe along with slippers. This turned out to be the perfect ensemble for me. It was easy to walk right in the door and route to the couch and pillows!

Good Luck to you! It'll all be okay. Hope this helps!

You've already gotten some really good tips and advice. Be sure to check out the PreOp Hints and Articles (click here) PostOp Articles (click here) and Princess Stories (click here) for information and answers to help you get ready for surgery and what to expect after surgery.

Read and research as much as possible to help you, in conjunction with your DR, make the best decisions for you.

Best wishes!