Unsure about surgery now

As the time is growing closer, I am really considering cancelling. I just dont know if I can do it. But I am afraid of the consequences if I don't do it. I have fibroids, not large, no pain, but I am anemic and have required blood transfusions. I am 42 so i am still aways away from menopause. But I am so scared. I have to have a TAH, and my Dr makes it sound like it is nothing. I tell her about all the things i read on here about the pain, and her response is, your reading to much. No more internet. You will be fine. Its really not that big of a deal. My patients all do fine, I have never had an issue with a patient. I really trust my Dr I have been with her 21 years, I was one of her very first patients. But I dont think she is being honest. Granted she is a very very good Dr, she is the Dr that the Dr's in our area go to. She treats all of the Dr's wives. So I know she is good and competent. But I think it is a much bigger deal than she is saying. I am so afraid of doing it, then being in major pain, cant change anything then and I am stuck. I am scared of the catheter, I am also getting an epidural in addition to general anesthesia, for pain control for the first 24 hrs, I am afraid that might not work, and I will wake up in horrible pain. I am really thinking about just dealing with the anemia and cancelling everything. I am just to scared.

Your concerns are very normal and real. Your doctor should never say that it's not a big deal. It may be routine surgery now, but it's certainly not routine for your body to go through what it does.
If pain is your biggest concern, then maybe you should try to find a doctor who does da Vinci or laparoscopic surgeries. The pain will not be as severe and will not last as long typically. My fibroids were huge and I was able to have it done.
I was very scared about the procedure mostly and all of the things that are done to you and all the things that can go wrong. Everything went fine, as they do most all of the time.
It was a difficult decision for me as well, since I had no pain, was only slightly anemic. But the things were huge and now that they're gone, I realize just how huge they were and I'm glad they are gone for good, never to be dealt with again....that's a good feeling.
I'm sure you will feel much better and have much more energy after you've recovered. Best of luck!

First of all take a deep breath and STOP reading the post op stuff. I had a TAH March 20th and I am here to tell you that yes, it does hurt and you will be uncomfortable, but it is ALL managable. You have the advantage of having an epidural (it will work have faith) the worse I felt was in that first 24 hours and then it eased up. The nurses will take care of you. As far as the cathter goes they put it in after you are asleep and when they take it out a day or so later it doesn't hurt just feels funny. You've already had to have blood transfusions so I would not play around with your health. You will come out of this feeling better than you can imagine. In the meantime read the pre op info it will help you alot and remember we sisters are all here for you.

My Dr does do Da Vinci, but she said with me she really inst comfortable doing it. She wants to be able to look around inside a lot more, my fibroids are not large at all, so she feels there maybe something else going on in there that they arent finding. So she refuses a DaVinci. Im sure I could find another Dr who would do it that way but then I would worry since I know nothing about them. But I do know the recovery is alot less. I just dont know what to do.

Your fear is normal and understandable. I do not want to make it sound like this surgery is no big deal because it is, but it really isn't bad. I had TAH done and yes it hurt, but it wasn't anything unbearable. Most women have wonderful pain management both in the hospital and when they return home. No doctor wants their patients to suffer, so they are pretty good at making sure you are comfortable. With the epidural, you will likely not feel much pain right after surgery.

The catheter is really nothing to be scared of. I couldn't even tell I had it in and it was painless when they took it out. Some women do have to have it in longer if their bladders are not waking up quickly enough, but that does not happen to everyone.

I totally understand you being terrified. I was too. I think we all are (or were). I remember waking up thinking "well, that wasn't as bad as I thought". The recovery does take time and yes, you have to be careful and give yourself time to heal, and even though it doesn't seem like it at the time, that time goes pretty quickly and before you know it, you are feeling better and getting on with life.

If you are not completely, 100% comfortable with having this surgery, then maybe it is a good idea that you postpone it. However, you cannot put if off forever with your issues. Anemia is nothing to mess around with and you cannot go your whole life getting transfusions.

The decision is up to you, of course and we will all be behind you no matter what you choose. Just please make the best decision for your health.

Sending you positive thoughts, many , and

I guess I am googleing to much, but I just wan to be informed. I have never been so scared in my life. I have never really had any pain, so I dont know what to expect. I did have 4 babies naturally, but that was really a piece of cake, no pain meds needed. So thats all I have to compare it to. Im just really terrified, and wonder if this is what I should be doing.

There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with being informed....you just have to be careful where you look. There are a lot of horror stories out there!!

One thing to consider is that when you read stories on the internet, even here sometimes, they are stories from women who have had complications. Women who had smooth surgeries and recoveries, with no complications at all do not post as much as those having problems. That doesn't mean that there are not success stories....you may just have to look a little harder to find them... or you could check out Abdominal Hysterectomy Stories . Especially focus on those stories that have a smiley face next to them. That usually means it is a good story!!!

I never had kids, so I have no idea what that feels like, but from what I have heard, this surgery is nothing compared to natural child birth with no pain meds. I could be wrong though, like I said, never been there.

Again, being informed is important, but try not to let your fact finding scare you too much. The information you are getting should help you make an informed decision about your health, not scare you.

to you sweetie!!

I am thinking about changing Dr's and going to one that does DaVinci. I hope that wouldnt be a mistake, but I think Iwould be more comfortable. I dont know if I would be or not. But the healing time and the pain is a lot less I hear with DaVinci, and I dont see any reason I could not have one.

It won't hurt to go see if you are a candidate. My first two doctors recommended lupron for three months and either vertical or horizontal cut. They never even mentioned da Vinci and there was a dr. in the building next door who ended up doing it for me. But it was because of my own research that I've had much less pain and easier recovery (not to mention not being put into menopause for three months prior to surgery). Good luck!

	Quote:
Originally Posted by dwadeb1990 My Dr does do Da Vinci, but she said with me she really inst comfortable doing it. She wants to be able to look around inside a lot more, my fibroids are not large at all, so she feels there maybe something else going on in there that they arent finding. So she refuses a DaVinci. Im sure I could find another Dr who would do it that way but then I would worry since I know nothing about them. But I do know the recovery is alot less. I just dont know what to do.

Do you trust your doctor? That is very important. If he does daVinci, but doesn't want to do it on you maybe you should listen.I'm sure you could find someone else that isn't looking at your best interest to do a DaVinci, but what if you have other things wrong as your present doctor suspects ? I had DaVinci and my recovery was not easy or pain free at all. Other women with TAH have posted on here and recovered way faster than I have. Everyone is different in their healing and please don't think just because you have Davinci you'll for sure have no pain or recover faster. That just isn't true. Everybody heals differently. You may bounce back quicker, but you may not.DaVinci is no guarantee of a speedy or pain free recovery. I had more pain than most and at 5 weeks post op I am not doing as well as some TAH ladies at 2 weeks post op.
:cathugs: