Made the decision!

I have made the decision to have a TAH and am scheduled for August 11th. I am 44 and have had heavy periods, large clots, and painful cramps for 3 years! Sex has not been good for the past year and I am tired of being this way. I have also had anemia due to the heavy bleeding so now I know why I am so tired all the time.... I am wondering what I need to do to get ready for this surgery and if anyone has advice on what to expect afterwards.

Well Congratulations on your decision.I felt good just
nailing that down. I was 40 when I had my TAH. I too
had the heavy bleeding,fibroids,painful cramps etc. etc.
I cleaned my house really good before my surgery.
ALso I made some homemade meals for my family and
froze them. I went shopping and bought a months
worth of household groceries that wouldn't spoil.
Things like big bag of dog food, cat food, litter all the
heavy stuff,toilet paper etc.I also bought things I
would need for the hospital stay and recovery.I
believe there is a list on this site for such things.
I made myself a little pillow and took it to the hospital
with me, covered it with baby blanket material.I
still sleep with it!My husband nicknamed it "My
Precious" for all you Lord of the Rings fans out there.
I bought myself a new robe and slippers to take
with me, as mine was so old and ratty looking.
I also took earplugs with me!One of my favorites
as my roomie had loads of company at all hours.
I popped them in and slept great.Im sure the meds
helped that along too.Well good luck, hope all goes
well with you. Sue

Congratts about your decision! I had my LAVH almost four weeks ago, and I am really happy with the results already... I am 29 and have had heavy periods as long as I can remember ever having one... The only break I ever got was when I was PG. I tried almost everything in the past 8 years, with no success... I finally found a doc who was more concerned about the quality of life instead of my age... Afterall, it is just a number!
There is a list of stuff to bring to the castle with you on a few posts in the pre op forum... The best things I brought with me were my little pillow, my own pillow to sleep on, my robe and my own slippers. Bring easy to remove clothing so changing isn't a problem. As for before hand, well, I did all the typical stuff, cooked in advance, cleaned the house, etc.... I also changed where I put some stuff for easy access when I got home. That helped alot too! Put the kids video game tv in my room for those long nights with insomnia, got toilet paper rolls and placed them in the cupboard where I can reach without stretching.. ( a big thing amoung us vertically challenged people) While you recover, you want things as simple as possible...
I wish you luck, and hope all goes well for you!!!!!! Diana

Bizzy,
As for beforehand- get all you can get done done.
I had my house cleaned really good the weekend before my surgery so that i wouldn't worry about it after i got home.
(normally i would have done it but i was trying to get my business caught up and my fulltime job and just ran out of time)

I went to the store and bought alot of frozen dinners, munchies that wouldn't go bad and all of the toilet paper, paper towels and such that i would need for a month. The biggest thing is the heavy stuff- ie: laundry detergent- canned goods, etc...

As for that hospital list; i took alot and used very little.

The things that i loved that i had with me at the hospital:
Elastic pants and t-shirts rather than pj's as they made me "look" as "sickly" as i felt.

My normal toiletries...but my friend bought me body spray- that was great the first night when i felt like i was "icky" but couldn't shower.

A phone card might help if you have family and friends that are long distance.

My lip gloss...oh my lip gloss- my DH told me that i asked for that as soon as i returned from recovery- don't remember it but i guess he is right- then two hours after recovery i asked for my make-up. Yea, i guess i'm a little prissy...

Make sure you get some "grandma underwear" in about two sizes larger than you usually wear- my bikinis were not going to make it.

Other than that- that's all i used...too sleep to read and fell asleep watching TV....

I hope all goes well with your surgery...take care of yourself!

good luck! i am 39 and am finally getting a TAH on july 27th due to giant fibroid. i am shopping for food, cleaning house and hauling heavy items from the garden supply and home wharehouses since i won't be able to do that for awhile afterwards. hardest has been getting work squared away. my dept head keeps saying that i will be able to come back in 2 weeks. i keep telling him i won't! he keeps trying to get more out of me before i go. this last week has been exhausting and stressful. so, we all need to remember to take care of ourselves! dee