TLH: and now it's real

My endo specialist and I agreed a few weeks ago that it was time for a hysterectomy. I've been okay with this. It's been a long time coming, this is a second opinion, and I'm really done with all the constant pain.

I called and scheduled the surgery today. Now it's real. It's one thing to know that you're going to have a hysterectomy. It feels different to have a date for the surgery. I've got an inbox full of yet more forms to fill out, and orders for tests, and pre-op appointments.

I turn 40 on March 12. And then, March 22 is when my uterus gets evicted. I want it to be evicted. I'm not looking forward to the recovery. I can only hope that it solves the underlying problem and that I'm not one of the unlucky ones whose endo returns.

Tomorrow I begin to share the news. Tonight, I drink some wine and hope that it all goes okay.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by PineappleJam My endo specialist and I agreed a few weeks ago that it was time for a hysterectomy. I've been okay with this. It's been a long time coming, this is a second opinion, and I'm really done with all the constant pain. I called and scheduled the surgery today. Now it's real. It's one thing to know that you're going to have a hysterectomy. It feels different to have a date for the surgery. I've got an inbox full of yet more forms to fill out, and orders for tests, and pre-op appointments. I turn 40 on March 12. And then, March 22 is when my uterus gets evicted. I want it to be evicted. I'm not looking forward to the recovery. I can only hope that it solves the underlying problem and that I'm not one of the unlucky ones whose endo returns. Tomorrow I begin to share the news. Tonight, I drink some wine and hope that it all goes okay.

Hi PineappleJam!!!

I can totally relate to what you're going through. I'm ahead of you by a little bit as my date is March 1st (a week from tomorrow! eeeeeek), however it was finally real for me when they called me the other day to pre-register me for Pre-Op Testing and Op day all at the same time. My concerns are dealing with insurance and payments upfront, etc (purely a financial concern) at this point, but I'm also fearing the after eviction process of everything. I'm sure I'll be awake all night even stressing over the Pre-Op. I have to be there at 6am CST.

Congratulations on finally getting everything scheduled. Drink a glass of wine for me. I drank one the night I was pre-registered. That helped with relaxing. Here's to us both for a successful surgery and speedy recovery!

Emily

I have the financial concern as well. My endo specialist is out-of-network, so I have to write a very large check for the surgery. I hope our wallets and our tummies have a speedy recovery!

PineappleJam,

I realize you say you are seeing a specialist. However, I am concerned about whether he/she is just going to do a hysterectomy or is going to do a thorough excision. In another post you mentioned having a TVH which would not be good for a thorough excision. If any endo is left behind on any other surface, bowel, bladder, body cavity, then it is quite possible that you will need another surgery to remove it down the line. Also you do know endo is an extrauterine disease, right? So removing the uterus may not get to the root of the problem. There is one theory, which has not been proved or disproved, that endometrial cells escape from the uterus into the body. There are several other theories. So removing the uterus would only improve the pain caused by endometrial implants on the outside of the uterine wall. A hysterectomy only may stop the bleeding, but not all the pain if endo implants and adhesions are left behind. Has your doctor discussed the plan for dealing with those things? If not, I would find out before paying a lot of money that may not be the best plan for curing the problem. Please have a look at our Endometriosis articles. They are written by HysterSisters staff. They are well-researched and easy to understand. I also had an endo diagnosis, and my doc did excision. Remember you are your own best advocate. The more you know, the better you can advocate.

I was aiming for brevity, and got lack of clarity instead. I seem to have gotten my acronyms mixed up at some point too. I hope you can forgive my newbie mistakes!

I definitely know that endometriosis can be extrauterine. Mine showed up in my abdominal wall first. My doctor thought I had kidney stones until the MRI revealed that growth. I don't recall ever hearing of endometriosis before the pathology report came back after I had it surgically removed by a general surgeon. I got referred to a gynecologist to try to treat the endo. I had to have another surgery to excise more endo a few months later, including several ovarian cysts. We tried a few treatments, and my gyn said that I could either get a hysterectomy at that time or see what an endo specialist had to say. The endo specialist tried a few more things, and we're back to surgery.

In addition to my uterus being evicted, my cervix and fallopian tubes are getting pulled out. My right ovary is likely to be removed. He'll make the decision about the left ovary during surgery. There's excisions to do in the bowels, and he's going to spend a lot of time checking out the area around my right kidney. It was pain in that area that got me into the doctor when this whole thing began, and which has been consistent even after the first mass in my abdominal wall was removed. Since no-one was looking for endo the first time, and the second time was focused on all of the growths that quickly sprang up in and around the ovaries a few months after the first surgery, he's going to make sure that there's nothing else lurking around the kidney.

Thanks for your concern in making sure that I know what I've gotten myself into and that I'm getting the real problem solved.