Upcoming hysterectomy (TVH) 4/22: experiences please, good and bad

I am to get a TBH hysterectomy on 4-22-15. Was your experience in your surg as bad as you thought it would be? Please let me know how you did, with the good and bad please? Also anyone else if you can share your experiences with me would greatly help. I have dysfunctional, abnormal bleeding and a hemoraghic cyst on my right ovary that keeps coming and going. And Im not only scared of the anesthesia, but also havig anxiety about the whole procedure in general. Thanks.

I had a LAVH with ovaries removed. I thought it would be worse then it actually was. I think the waiting was the hard part. (surgery was delayed a couple of hours)
I've had several surgeries before, so I kind of knew the routine. The surgery staff/surgeon checked in often letting me know what was happening and what to expect.. got IV going with fluids, when it was go time, they added something to the IV to make me go to sleep. I kissed my DH, he wished me well and I think I was asleep just after the O2 mask was put on. The next thing I remember was waking up in recovery, I heard voices and someone saying my name. ( I was also "working" guess I was dreaming about filing and sending faxes, I was moving my arms about )
A pain pump was added to the mix and I was taken back to my room. I was told to push the button if I had pain. I really didn't use the button, just a few times. I assumed the pain pump was continuous and the button was for extra pain relief. It wasn't, I only got medicine when I pushed the button. Which meant, I had very little pain. Mostly just with movement. I found it helpful to use pillows to support my tummy when lying on my side, I also had one tucked into my back just to give me a bit more support. I was up walking (with assistance) several hours later, it was nice to move a little. Several hours later I was able to walk unassisted. I had breakfast the next morning and then lunch as my Dr. was a bit slow getting the DC orders ready Catheter was removed, so I was able to get around even easier. I went home later that day.
I don't have the bleeding issues you do, so of course things may be different. Also we all deal with things and heal differently. Just go slow and listen to your body, it will tell you when you can progress or when to slow down. Moving/walking when you can and drinking lots of water helps to keep things moving. I think most of my pain was from gas, and those pains lasted a couple of weeks for me. They are very sharp and uncomfortable.
Not sure if this helps, but it is my experience
I wish you luck on your surgery!

Hi. Im 38 and had my abdominal hysterectomy 10 days ago. She removed 2 large fibroids from uterus weighing total of 8 lbs. My first day in hospital recovering was rough but they are good with giving you pain medicine to keep you comfy. Second day I was walking thru the hallways and feeling good. Since I've been home now I do get tired easily and still feel like hormones are crazy, I will turn bright red in late afternoons and get sweaty easily. People keep saying I'll be a new woman after this....I can't wait.

Hello,

Every experience is individual. To be honest I could hardly wait for surgery to come and go. I had ridiculous, heavy bleeding that at times was frightening. My angry uterus was not serving me well and needed to go.
My surgery went better than I expected. I had a few concerns about a previous anesthetic experience- the feeling of fluid rushing via iv up my arm and sore throat after surgery. I discussed both with my anesthesiologist and he made sure neither of those things happened. The one negative was I started to throw up a few hours after surgery. That was quickly remedied with a request for meds. If I have surgery again I will ask for anti-nausea meds. When I was in the holding area outside the OR I was covered with a hot air blanket. I was made toasty before we headed into the OR. That room is cold and the operating table is narrow! The OR nurse was kind and gentle and said focus on me. And before I knew my surgery was over and I was in the recovery room.
My pain was well managed the most I felt was that I somehow had done far too many crunches. I was amazed that with 6 small incisions and my uterus removed vaginally that I would feel so great!
I hope your experience is full of positives and renewed well being. Hang in there you got this

Hi,

I have to agree that everyone's experiences will be different. But I'm happy to give you a breakdown of what happened with me.
I had a TLH, keeping both ovaries. Most of my cervix was already gone from a LEEP procedure in January, and then a conical in February. I was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma in December.
The hysterectomy went well, although longer than planned because they found endometriosis on top of everything else when they went in.
I was out of recovery in a few hours and was only required to stay overnight. The catheter was removed around 6 am the next morning. I was given several doses of IV pain meds throughout the night so I wasn't too uncomfortable. The worst part for me towards the morning hours were the gas pains. They can be sharp and took my breath away. I strongly recommend getting some GasX to have at home. I was sent home about 1 pm the day after surgery. My pain seemed to escalate after getting home. Please make sure you bring a pillow to cushion your abdomen on the ride home!!!!
I am 5 days post op today, and feeling pretty good, as long as I'm resting. I'm drinking a lot of water and having fun with netflix.
I wish you the best on your upcoming surgery. Good Luck, and stay strong!!

I would like to add something else too. During these surgeries, they inflate your abdomen with gas to see better. Be prepared for this gas to travel around afterwards. I felt mine the most in my right shoulder. It can be quite painful. It will dissappear in a couple days. If you find that you are having issues with it, the best things to do are to get up and move around for a few minutes. I also used a heating pad on my shoulder and that worked wonders for me!

	Quote:
Originally Posted by CAEJ I am to get a TVH hysterectomy on 4-22-15. Was your experience in your surg as bad as you thought it would be? Please let me know how you did, with the good and bad please? Also anyone else if you can share your experiences with me would greatly help. I have dysfunctional, abnormal bleeding and a hemoraghic cyst on my right ovary that keeps coming and going. And Im not only scared of the anesthesia, but also having anxiety about the whole procedure in general. Thanks.

Typo fix for my initial post on 4-5-15 post. It should read TVH in the post as well. Not TBH. I do not see the edit post button any longer. I think I was just so nervous as I was typing. My feelings about getting the surgery seem to change hour to hour. I know I need it done, but still nervous about the anesthesia and the side effects of being thrown into instant menopause as well as all of the other unknowns. I just turned 46 and have all the symptoms of menopause including the heavy bleeding and I wonder in the back of my mind if on the other hand if I should just wait this out with no surgery, but then there is my problem with the hemoraghic cyst that occurs and re-occurs on my right ovary.

GM MornnGlory, Thank you for writing me. I need to learn the different hyster jargon, if I may ask what does LA mean before the VH in your hysterectomy type? You are so right, the waiting is torture and I keep chickening out in mind and then deciding I know I do need it done. My mind keeps flip flopping back and forth with the do I get it done or don't I scenario. I am terrified of the unknown. I always like to now what is happening as I like to feel in control of myself and being under anesthesia, I will lose that knowledge and feeling. I have a fear of not waking up to my DH and daughter. Irrational, but real. I have heard of 2 things that I didn't know about and I wasn't even told by my doctor. I heard I will have a vaginal cuff after my TVH and the other is that they usually don't release you the next day and I am going to be a less than a 23 hours post observation.. I don't even know what one is as! I also am disturbed by the fact that I won't even meet my surgeon until my pre-op which is only the day before, I wish I could meet her on that date and then her give me the time to absorb what she tells me. That is what the doctor that used to be at the same practice did 12 years ago for my cold cone knife surgery. Speaking of I don't know if I ever had general anesthesia for that as I was told that I was going to be given conscious sedation with versed for that and then my chart says I had general. I heard about the gas pains and their severity as you mentioned and I am not looking forward to that. But I wasn't told about that either. I didn't sign for any laparoscope surgery and she said that they wont use it unless its to save my life, now that the cyst has popped and unless I get another before the surgery, I don't see that she would have the need to use one. I hope I am right. My anxiety is very high and I am just praying that I don't "chicken out" when I meet with her just the1 day before my surgery. Thanks for your reply and I look forward to any insights on anything I just wrote and also. Also how long did your procedure take? Thank you. Carol

	Quote:
Originally Posted by MornnGlory I had a LAVH with ovaries removed. I thought it would be worse then it actually was. I think the waiting was the hard part. (surgery was delayed a couple of hours) I've had several surgeries before, so I kind of knew the routine. The surgery staff/surgeon checked in often letting me know what was happening and what to expect.. got IV going with fluids, when it was go time, they added something to the IV to make me go to sleep. I kissed my DH, he wished me well and I think I was asleep just after the O2 mask was put on. The next thing I remember was waking up in recovery, I heard voices and someone saying my name. ( I was also "working" guess I was dreaming about filing and sending faxes, I was moving my arms about ) A pain pump was added to the mix and I was taken back to my room. I was told to push the button if I had pain. I really didn't use the button, just a few times. I assumed the pain pump was continuous and the button was for extra pain relief. It wasn't, I only got medicine when I pushed the button. Which meant, I had very little pain. Mostly just with movement. I found it helpful to use pillows to support my tummy when lying on my side, I also had one tucked into my back just to give me a bit more support. I was up walking (with assistance) several hours later, it was nice to move a little. Several hours later I was able to walk unassisted. I had breakfast the next morning and then lunch as my Dr. was a bit slow getting the DC orders ready Catheter was removed, so I was able to get around even easier. I went home later that day. I don't have the bleeding issues you do, so of course things may be different. Also we all deal with things and heal differently. Just go slow and listen to your body, it will tell you when you can progress or when to slow down. Moving/walking when you can and drinking lots of water helps to keep things moving. I think most of my pain was from gas, and those pains lasted a couple of weeks for me. They are very sharp and uncomfortable. Not sure if this helps, but it is my experience I wish you luck on your surgery!

	Quote:
Originally Posted by CAEJ GM MornnGlory, Thank you for writing me. I need to learn the different hyster jargon, if I may ask what does LA mean before the VH in your hysterectomy type? You are so right, the waiting is torture and I keep chickening out in mind and then deciding I know I do need it done. My mind keeps flip flopping back and forth with the do I get it done or don't I scenario. I am terrified of the unknown. I always like to now what is happening as I like to feel in control of myself and being under anesthesia, I will lose that knowledge and feeling. I have a fear of not waking up to my DH and daughter. Irrational, but real. I have heard of 2 things that I didn't know about and I wasn't even told by my doctor. I heard I will have a vaginal cuff after my TVH and the other is that they usually don't release you the next day and I am going to be a less than a 23 hours post observation.. I don't even know what one is as! I also am disturbed by the fact that I won't even meet my surgeon until my pre-op which is only the day before, I wish I could meet her on that date and then her give me the time to absorb what she tells me. That is what the doctor that used to be at the same practice did 12 years ago for my cold cone knife surgery. Speaking of I don't know if I ever had general anesthesia for that as I was told that I was going to be given conscious sedation with versed for that and then my chart says I had general. I heard about the gas pains and their severity as you mentioned and I am not looking forward to that. But I wasn't told about that either. I didn't sign for any laparoscope surgery and she said that they wont use it unless its to save my life, now that the cyst has popped and unless I get another before the surgery, I don't see that she would have the need to use one. I hope I am right. My anxiety is very high and I am just praying that I don't "chicken out" when I meet with her just the1 day before my surgery. Thanks for your reply and I look forward to any insights on anything I just wrote and also. Also how long did your procedure take? Thank you. Carol

Hi Carol..
I'm sorry you're having so much anxiety about your surgery.. I was very ready to have the pain resolved. I had cysts on my ovaries, fibroids and blood in my uterus (my cervix was sealed due to an ablation I had a couple of years ago), endometriosis, andenomyosis, hydrosalpinx (fluid/blood in my Fallopian tubes).. was so ready to get all of that out of my body!
LAVH = Laproscopic Assisted Vaginal Hysterectomy
The vaginal cuff I believe is just where they sew your vagina after surgery.
I was released 23 hours after my surgery, well a bit longer as my dr didn't write discharge orders so I had to wait..
I only met my surgeon once prior to surgery, but it was a few weeks prior and I was able to talk with her when I had questions. Hopefully you can call the surgeon or your regular doc with questions.
Laproscopic surgery is minimally invasive, I just have 2 little scars on my lower tummy and one in my belly button, I think it's kind of cool that they can do that rather than a full abdominal surgery, but that's me. I had two c-sections, so not having another full abdominal surgery was nice.

I hope you begin to be less anxious as your surgery date approaches. If the surgery is needed I know you will find the strength to move on with it.

Sending Prayers of comfort..

Carol..

I forgot to mention that, at least with my surgery, they lay you tilted with your head lower then your pelvis. I assume to see things better. My rib area and upper abdomen were quite sore for several days and I assume it is from this.
Also your bowels will be a bit sluggish after surgery. Make sure you take stool softeners and laxatives. Colace seems to be the one most of the ladies here were prescribed, but it didn't work for me, I used Senna S and it worked better for me. I also take Tru-Biotics (a Pro-biotic) and Magnesium daily ( I have for several years) and that also helps in the regularity department

Chin up!