36 Hours And Stressing

Hello. I am new to this site. I'm scheduled for an abdominal hysterectomy Monday morning, yes, this coming Monday. I have battled endometriosis and cysts for years. A few weeks ago, I had terrible pain and they found a "mass" on my left ovary, a fibroid, enlarged uterus, etcc. Anyway, told the time for a hystectomy is NOW. Agreed due to the pain.
Terrified about what to expect. I don't react all that well to pain meds and tend to be a little anxious (especially now!!). I do have a pretty high pain tolerance (thus the 22 years of putting off the surgery). I'm okay to go in but, what's next. Anyone recently have an abdominal hyst?? What was recovery like?
I'm 38 years old and told if the endometriosis is bad that I can't take hormones for 3-6 months. What is my poor family going to be faced with???
Any insights would be ever so welcomed. I'm just trying to keep focused on getting through and getting better.
Thank you.
K

Hi and Welcome to HysterSisters
You picked a great place to find info and support
My TAH BSO was 5 weeks and 2 days ago. For me recovery has been pretty easy so far (knock on wood). I was driving and walking long distances @ 3 weeks. The hot flashes and night sweats kicked in pretty good @ about 3.5 weeks, but I have not killed anyone yet LOL. I am also no HRT for 3-6 months.
I went back to work for a few hours a day this last Thursday. I am a self employed hairstylist. Today I put in 6 hrs and am just a little tired. My Dr. does not know I went back, but my bank account said I must go I guess I am so tired that I can't remember my recovery details at the moment. Sorry about that.

Best Wishes on a safe surgery and speedy recovery

Hi Littlesprout!



I just joined this website as well. My hysterectomy is this Friday, Feb. 8, 08. I have a fibroid the size of a baseball. We're in the same boat this week with surgery!

What I'm trying to do these next few days is get the house ready for post-surgery. Set it all up with plenty of food, fresh sheets and laundry, movies to watch, etc. I'm trying to relax my mind and focus on positive thoughts to get through the surgery and healing one step at a time.

I have read over and over on this website, that women feel SO much better after. I am looking forward to that too. I wish you the best of luck and a healthy recovery.

Best wishes and smiles sent your way.

Sincerely, Irish Bridie

Hi
I joined this site last Sunday just before my surgery (LAVA). I found it helpful and informative. Most of all I spent hours reading about others experiences which 'normalized' my anxiety. The first thing I did was make a list of all the things that I wanted to do for a long time and couldn't . Of course things that can be on the OK to do list. Such as going over magazines that accumulated, books and articles... drawing, knitting, arranging and rearranging things.
I also bought new laptop (this one) so I can write in bed (which I do now :-)
New PJ so I looked forward to coming home and have new things waiting for me.
I also made sure I looked good going in... I even had makeup and lipstick (which I use very lightly on daily basis...) I didn't use the make up - but used the lipstick once. A little humor was good for that time.
Lip balm, my own pj, slippers, robe, flavor tea bags, DVD, music...
I was in pain the second night and watching a movie on my DVD took away the focus from the pain.
SO.... less then a week after, I feel good and mostly feel that I will not have enough time for all the things that I wanted to do ....
If you can keep the moral up and + attitude - it helps.
Keep visiting this site for information and support.

Welcome to this site! I'm also going in on Feb. 4 for an abdominal hysterectomy.... relieving my pain I've been living with! yes, the nerves are definitely here! But, I have never ever heard of a woman who got a hysterectomy say she regretted it. So, I keep thinking about how I KNOW I'm going to feel better afterwards.

Good luck on Monday.... I'll be right there with you!

Hi LITTLESPROUT,

I'm 51 and I had my TAH BSO on 12/28 -- 5 weeks and a day. My experience with recovery had been way easier and better than what I had feared before surgery. This was my first surgery ever, so I really had no idea of what to expect.

The first day or two were no fun, but not horrible, either. My best advice is to take your pain medication BEFORE you are really feeling the pain. And get up and walk as soon as you can as often as you can. It really helps!

And when you are back home, REST, REST, REST and REST some more. After the first week, my most frustrating thing was realizing how tired I was each afternoon after having done nothing all day. There was not much pain, but I was exhausted! Trust your body, and rest/sleep when you need to. Make sure you have lots of help around the house with cooking and cleaning, and follow your doc's restrictions. Let yourself be pampered a little!

Debby

Have to agree with all the posts, all your concerns sound like mine. I had TAH/BSO on 12/28 also (49 y/o). Since I had never had surgery before I was concerned about everything. Now that its over and I'm alittle over 5 wks into recovery, I realize the waiting was really the worst part. Also I realize from this sight that we are all different on what and how we feel. I was told I would feel everything from a burning knife to just plain old pain. I'm not a big one on using pain meds., and luckily I didn't have to use many. I didn't feel the burning knife thing (I'm still not sure how my friend even knew what a knife would feel like), really all I felt was alittle sore. The first day was really just a fog, but after that it's been ok. It's very unlike me, but I didn't do anything but rest as instructed and drink lots of water. So as previous posts said REST REST REST, DRINK DRINK, and REST and DRINK.
The best of luck to you and take it easy.

Thank you all for the replies. I wish everyone having surgery this week the best of luck (of course, wish you all the best). This is a great place for support. I'm grateful to have a good support system and feel ready to "get it over". One of the best statement I've heard is "I never met a woman who had a hysterectomy and regretted it". I thought about it and, neither have I.
I'll keep you posted and I'm sure I'll be back to report on how Menapause is going (LOL).
Hugs,
K

My surgery is tomorrow too, and all week Ive been nervous, teary, and worried sick. But today Im ready. Im concentrating on the good stuff afterwards. The house is ready, the office is as ready as I can make it, even the dog has new toys to keep him happy! Best Wishes to everyone.

Good Luck, We will hear from you after!!