Blood Clotting History Anyone?

My surgery is scheduled for 12/7 and I am getting a little nervous. I have a very strong genetic predisposition toward blood clotting and am concerned about post op. My doctors are taking precautions ...Heparin during surgery and Lovenox afterward until I am fully mobile. I am having a bladder suspension in addition to my hysterectomy so I am looking at approx a 4.5 hour surgery. The longer you are under anesthesia the greater the risk for clotting.

I am losing my ovaries too and am not a candidate for HRT. I am almost 50 so I am hoping there is so little Estrogen left that I won't have too much of a shock to my system!

I know deep down I am just fearing the unknown but I would appreciate any feedback about similar experiences.

Thanks for sharing!

I am sorry you are dealing with this. It sounds as if your doctors are taking precautions, and I am sure they will watch over you.

The fear of the unknown is very normal. Everyone is scared walking into this. We are here for you.

Sorry you have this extra worry going into surgery. I worried about the opposite. I have a history of not clotting. I made sure I made it known at every opportunity that I'd had problems with bleeding in the past. Everything turned out fine and all my worry had been for nothing, but I do understand the fear. It is completely natural, considering the surgery we have. If your doctors know about your clotting problem, they will take every precaution to make sure they get you through safely. And you will most like get a free leg massage with the funny blow up sock things. Boy, do they feel weird, but in a nice sort of way.

Welcome Elane! I was in the same boat as you to some extent. I have had four blood clots in the last four years and so I am on blood thinner injections (Arixtra not Lovenox). I had to stop these one day prior to surgery and then restarted it the day after surgery. Because of my history I was VERY, VERY nervous, just like you are! However they did everything they could. They put the stockings on my legs that compress to keep the blood flowing, got me up and moving quickly, and then restarted my blood thinners as ordered. I am now three weeks post op and thankfully had no complications. I am 30 and kept my ovaries because I can not take HRT and they didn't want to throw me in menopause if not needed. Good luck and just make sure you remind everyone that you are at a high risk for clots so that they take all the necessary precautions!

Elane,
I can't answer to the clotting issue but can tell you about post op hormones. I'm 57, 8 years post menopause and had both ovaries removed. I had very minor hot flashes maybe for only a few days and minimal insomnia. Everything went back to the way I felt before surgery. No HRT required.
Are you post menopause?