My date is set....

Well, I guess I'll be going to the "castle" on the morning of November 15 for a TAH-BSO.
If you read my previous post from May 04, you'll know my history... I've been fighting having this done since then. I even had a second opinion which was that having the surgery was also his recommendation... It wasn't that I didn't want the pain to stop, the Aunt Flo to stop, etc... But, I was and still am most concerned with the "hormone jungle" I will be going through. I'm 34 years old (35 in January) and not sure if I want to take HRT due to the reason for my hysterectomy being endo and I don't want any chance of it coming back after going through this.

I just wanted to post again and thank all of you for supporting this site. It has a wealth of information that I am so glad to have at my fingertips!

Thanks also for listening,
DJ
in Oklahoma

well at least the date is set and you can get things done to make things better. I had endo also plus some other problems and my drs dragged me around for about 6 yrs trying not to result in the TAH but i switched drs 3 times altogether and finally got my wish and had my tah aug 4th. I am sooooo glad it is done with and i can see the light at the end of the tunnel. i am getting better each day and u will most likely feel the same way. Don't stress to much. I am taking hrt's even know i had endo. they did take my ovaries out and gave me a different hrt due to the endo. they feel i will be fine since there is nothing left inside me. Good luck to you and feel free to pm me if u need to just vent or chat. God Bless and you'll be in my prayers.

Trudi

As a fellow endo sufferer, I just wanted to offer some support. My doctor largely ignored my symptoms for years, giving me pain meds for the periods, disregarding my fears about excessive blood loss, and every visit saying "Let's wait and see." More than 14 years ago, we knew I had fibroids and he suspected endo. After I finally had enough and insisted he figure out the problem, he did an exploratory lap in April. At my post-op appointment, I realized he knew less about my disease than I did and found a great RE through an endo support site.

I share your fears about HRT, but my doctor seems to think he will be able to put me on a low dose after the surgery. I am older than you (44) but still several years away from natural menopause. Time will tell, but I am eager to get my life back. I will keep you posted on how things go after my surgery.

Good luck and I hope your wait is calm and speedy!

My doc has wanted to do this hyst for 2+ years now. I was the one putting HIM off because of my age and the fear of the "hormone jungle"!!!

I am ready now though. I'm ready to stop my painful periods, ready to stop the pain from movement (turning over in bed, stretching the wrong way, etc.), I'm ready to have sex without the pelvic pain. I'm too young to have a sexless marriage and that is about what we've had for the past 2+ years. THAT isn't fair to my husband.

It sounds like you have the same problems I have. I have painful cysts on my ovaries, endo, and tilted/enlarged uterus. I've been on bcp for the past 2 years and have been taking them non-stop until I have breakthrough bleeding and then I stop for 7 days and have a period (I ended up having a period about every 3-4 months). That has been working well for me but because of my headaches, blood pressure, and approaching age 35 (even though I'm a non-smoker) my doc doesn't think it is safe for me to continue that regime so he won't refill my rx of bcp. I refuse to go back to the regular monthly pain that I had before bcp, so I'm ready to just "git 'er done"!

This time, my doc gave me the choice of labroscopic surgery to cut nerves, adhesions, endo, cysts, etc... to try to save my ovaries for awhile longer, but I figure if I'm going to go through surgery, it might as well be the real deal and get rid of those organs for good!!

Plus, I will also be having bladder repair. I'm not sure yet what that will be exactly... but I know I'm tired of having to cross my legs anytime I sneeze or cough! lol And forget jumping on the trampoline with my kids!

I scheduled my surgery closer to the holiday's so I wouldn't miss as much time of work. I wish I could have mine next week!

Thanks for reading my post and replying. I will be around to talk to if you want.

I only want to say good luck and the waiting is the hardest part. I waited 2 1/2 months to have my TAH due to vacation. Keep reading and get as much info as possible.

I'm glad you finally got your date set and a doctor that will do it for you.

I wish I could have a vaginal hyst, but my doc said without knowing how bad my endo is and adhesions (I also had a c-section 8 years ago) that he needs to go in abdominally so he can have the best view of everything...

Good luck with your surgery and recovery!

Yes, two years ago when I was still trying to buy myself more time with my ovaries it was a whole different ball game. Now, I wish I could just get it over with. I could have scheduled it as soon as Sept 13, but I decided it would be easier on my job to do it closer to the holidays when I wouldn't be missing as much work so now I have a longer wait.

At least that gives me more time to do the housework I want to do so my house the way I want it when I come home from the "castle".

It sounds as though we have much in common. I too tried postponing surgery until things slow down at work. (I have a crazy, high-pressure job that requires about 60 hours a week - and I love it!) It finally reached a point where I couldn't stand it any more and begged to get it scheduled. It is so bad I was afraid I would end up in an ER and have emergency surgery by some doc that was not an expert at endo. We started working on scheduling and some glitches caused another month and a half delay.

I could not take BCP because I am over 40 and a smoker. Plus, in my younger years when I took them, they made me nuts. My other doc put me on progesterone in January and February and the clots lessened, but the pain increased terribly and I started swelling and gaining weight like crazy. After that happened, I did some research and found one study conducted showed that adeno can worsen from progesterone.

Now, two weeks from surgery, I am more afraid that I will end up with emergency surgery. I have not been able to get out of the bed this weekend and am taking pain meds like crazy. (Thank heaven for a laptop and a bed tray!) DH had to go to work and I got up for exactly 6 minutes to microwave a pot pie and had to take more pain meds because I was in tears. I am trying to stay still with a pillow under my legs, multiple pillows behind my back, and a huge heating pad wrapped completely around my middle.

I do feel blessed that one of the best endo surgeons in the country is in my city. He is one of less than 20 in the country who can successfully do stage 4 endo surgery and has a recurrance rate of less than 5%. He also does not believe in Lupron. I know some women have found it helpful, but I think a lot of doctors (including the one I fired) prescribe it when it will only put a band-aid on the problem and the risks and side effects seem to hardly make it worthwhile. I feel much better about my surgery knowing that not only is my doctor skilled, but we also agree philisophically.

They have me on a wait list for cancellations, but my surgery will also require a general surgeon to do some repair work and Sept 5 is the first date that both doctors and an operating room were available so they told me not to get my hopes up on an earlier date.

I hope your November date works out for you, but you may want to prepare emotinally for an earlier date. If you are off the BCP, you may find the symptoms make waiting more disruptive than having the surgery.

Let's stay in touch!