A little question

Howdy. I found your site several months ago when I thought I would be facing a hysterectomy. I have come back numerous times to see how people are doing. Well I'm facing it now on 4/28, and thought I would join in on the "fun". This little journey started with of all things knee arthroscopy Feb 2005. About 2 weeks after the scope I developed a blood clot. So I had to come off my birth control pills and go on coumadin for 6 months. Well my periods were very heavy which I thought was due to the coumadin. Then they started getting irregular, about every 10 days lasting for 7-8.(oh what joy!) My Dr. suggested a hydothermal ablation ( basically they par-boil the uterus with 180 degree water to burn the endometrium). He told me that I had about a 70-90% chance that either the periods would stop or be very light, and that what I had at 3 months would probably be the final result. Well I made it 2 months with no problems, then whamo the periods and cramping (23 days a month) came back with a vengence. I finally went to see my Dr. today and my only real option is hysterectomy. He thinks it is adenomyosis causing the problems.
I have had laparoscopies before, a c-section, and dermoid cysts removed so I am not to worried about what to expect in the pain department. But due to my wonderful luck I wondered if anyone has had and major complications with a LSH. My biggest fear is having something go wrong and I wished I had just lived with the bleeding and cramps. Ovaries are staying as I cannot go on hormones due to the clot and I am only 41. Gee it has been so much fun since turning 40 I can't wait to see what the 50"s have in store for me. Thanks for being there and listening!

Hello Golftaxi,
I know how your feeling and all. You have to know in your heart this this is the right thing to do, explore your options(which you did) and you will be just fine. I had very heavy periods pretty much for yrs. and yrs. Anemic and lousy feeling. Would schedule my life around my period and all that. One of my earlier Dr.recomm. the ablation. I was not to thrilled, then another Dr. recomm. Hyst.for me. Still was not ready. My Dr.now did recomm. Hyst.after trying D&C. I could not say enough what a great decision that was for me. I was ready, trusted my Dr. and have not felt this great in so many years. I am 43, did not even feel as good as this when I was in my 30's. (wow). I am not on HRT- I kept my ovaries. Doing good, no problems. As far as the operation time coming and things that could happen?? Well that is normal and trust me I thought all of them, I mean all. But, came out of it just fine, you will too. I will keep you in my prayers and good luck with whatever you do.

Well, I hate to be a downer, but I had mine 5 yrs ago
and my life has been hell on earth. I have been left
with constant pelvic pain, my bowels have not been
right since the hyst, I have had to have 3 surgeries
since my hyst, 2 for exploratory to find the source of
my pain, still had pain, after 3 yrs an enterocele was
found and repaired, and am still left with vaginal, and
rectal pain, and am on pain meds daily. Have absolutely
no vaginal lubrication, no sex drive. I am on hormones
but that hasn't helped the vagina at all, I can't express
the misery. And once you have the problems the Dr.s
don't know what to do with you. Even if you keep your
ovaries a lot of the times they don't really function. I
would give anything if I could turn back the clock. Once
it is done there is no turning back. Now I know that
there are many women out there who have done just
fine and you may be one of them, but just remember
there are a lot of nerves down there. If there are any
other options I would try them. Go to the Road Less
Traveled on this site. Frankly it is just a crap shoot,
you may feel great, but the Dr.s don't tell you what
the other possibilites are, really check it out, you may
really need one, but I would really give it a lot of thought, I didn't, I was sure I would come thru with
flying colors, but I didn't. Good luck.

I think that you do need to explore all of your options. If this is the only alley that you can go then you may very well come through with flying colors... Remember to find a Doctor that you can trust and see what he says then find another and see what he/she says. There could be more that you could do. Just explore and see, that is what I did. I have been going down the surgery and drugs road for a little over 3 years now. I will have my sugery in 6 days and with help from above I will come through have a wonderful recovery. I also plan to stay on top of the hormone thing with my Doctor and if he wont help I will find someone that will... Either way good luck to you!

Thanks everybody for your responses. IT helps knowing you are all there and understand. I do trust my Dr. very much and know he is a good surgeon. My only other option was to have the HTA again which I don't want and he said would not really be a solution. The HTA doesn't work on adenomyosis, and he is pretty sure that is what the problem spot is. The sad thing is (but it's a good thing too!!) my uterus is normal size and looks good. Just likes to bleed alot! The only other option he gave me was to wait till menopause and take pain meds. I know I can't deal with this for 10 plus years. I met someone today at the gym who has the same Dr. had the HTA which failed on her too and ended up having the laparoscopic supra cervical hyst. It was a God send to meet up with her as it has helped to put some of the fears away. She came thru with flying colors and feels great. So here's hoping. My prayers go out to you slt for all your troubles. I hope there will be some relief and happiness to come in your life soon. I will be thinking and saying prayers for maverickswife on the 11th that everything goes well and you have a smooth recovery.
Thanks

golftaxi,

My LSH went great. But, I would ask your dr. what their conversion rate is. There is always a chance that they may have to convert to an abdominal incision. My gyn had a 10% conversion rate. This was not low enough for me and I decided to go to a surgeon that specialized in this procedure. His conversion rate is less than 1%. I am so glad I asked this question and very happy with my decision and using the more experienced surgeon. Good luck.

thanks Voltown, I talked to the Dr's office today and the nurse I spoke with askedi f the Dr said there would be chance of having to change the procedure. I said no he didn't. She told me that if he thought there was even the slightest chance of having to change he would have said something. I know the nurse very well and definitely trust my Dr. When I go for pre-op I will ask again, plus my dh works in the OR and sees the doc quite frequently so I told him if he gets a chance ask him. I feel so lucky that my hubby is a part of "the OR family" it's like an added security blanket! Glad to hear your procedure went well.

Hi, Best wishes to you. I can honestly say to you that having the Hysterectomy was the very best decision I have ever made. I wish you a very uneventful surgery and a speedy recovery. I think whoever said everything goes wrong when you turn 40 is absolutely right. Take good care! Melanie

Hi Golftaxi,

I had a LSH and I had a textbook recovery. I am still very pleased with my surgery results.

You mentioned "anything going wrong". I have seen many LSH ladies post positive results about their LSH. In my opinion, the most important thing with a LSH is to be a good candidate to keep the cervix. I have seen a couple of LSH ladies post that they had cervix problems in post-op. They felt maybe the reason was they had had recent abnormal pap smears and their Drs proceeded with a LSH anyway. To have a LSH with my Dr., I had to have had normal pap smears for many years and I had a sturdy cervix.

You also might ask your Dr. if he does cervix cauterization. I had my cervix cauterized during my hyst and I have not had a ~min-period~ in post-op, something you might have heard about. If a Hyster Sister keeps one or both ovaries and the cervix, there is a chance of a mini-period in post-op.

Here is a link that goes over the LSH surgery:

http://www.goodgyn.com/lsh.html

Best wishes. We Hyster Sisters are here to help if we can.

Mary

golftaxi,

It sounds like you have everything covered. How nice that your dh is so familiar with your hospital and dr. I have to admit that I was very nervous about my decision to have my hyst and how I would feel afterwards.
I have no regrets and can't imagine that I ever will. I wish you the best of luck.