How long was your surgery?

kitty,

If you find anything, please let me know. I've googled, yahoo'd, and msn searched for any information on anesthesia and short/long term effects, but I haven't come up with anything yet. If I may say so, I'm usually pretty good at finding stuff on the web, so if you find any articles, I'd sure appreciate the url. I'll keep checking and let you know if I find anything. I'm beginning to think that there is a correlation between how "well" someone feels after surgery and the amount of time under anesthesia. My "surgery" started at 6:30 and I was out at 2:30, but the doc said I was only under for 5 1/2 hours of that.

Thank you for the reply


Rainey

Hi Britz!
I'm sorry you're not feeling well. I hope you start to feel better soon.
I had LAVH and it took 2 1/2 hours.
My Dr. and the nurses were ecstatic because of the "minimal bleeding" how ironic, I used to have periods that lasted for 4 wks! My Dr. actually said to my DH that she was so happy with the results and that I was "not a bleeder"! LOL DH got a kick out of it because he knows how long my periods used to be. LOL
All the Best,
Laurie

Britz,

I was told once that if you have trouble with stomach pain from iron pills to try the children's chewable vitamins that have iron in them. Might be worth a try and better than nothing. Do you have a GP you could call instead of the surgeon?

Katy

Thanks for the suggestion Katy. I'll certainly give that a try. I don't know if it's because I live in Atlanta, or just bad Dr karma or what, but I have the same problem with my GP. I would have to drive to her office and wait to actually talk to her. Getting an appt would take weeks. I'm 44, and it's been a joke among the people who know me what terrible luck I've had with lousy doctors (on the other hand, I've had some stories that would keep them laughing until they cried!). This is the first time I've actually had not one but TWO great doctors (Gyn and GP)!!!!! That's why I'm (very) willing to put up with the inconvenience of not being able to get in touch with them. Maybe they're so hard to get a hold of because they're so good??? Anyway, with my experiences with previous doctors, I've found that I can usually get the best information from other people and the web. Like the suggestion you just made. I doubt many doctors would have come up with that. I'll leave the doctors for "emergencies". Thanks again.

By the way, does anyone know at what rate our bodies/bones (assuming they're working 'normally') regenerate the iron levels? I could probably check the red cross site, but I'm feeling pretty lazy!!

I had a LAVH/BSO and it took 45 minutes.

Hi,
I had a total abdominal hysterectomy with BSO on 12th December 05. Uterus weighed 7lbs when delievered and surgery turned from the simple to the complex due to size and adhesions (i'm told a lot of dissecting and stitching went on). The surgery itself took five hours excluding prep and recovery. In answer to your last question about iron levels - red blood cell production occurs in the long bones and is an ongoing process, I understand that the life of a RBC is approximately 120 days so these are constantly being replaced. If you lost a lot of blood during surgery and didn't have a transfusion then short-term iron supplements might be useful and a blood test should confirm this. I lost a fair amount of blood during surgery and my iron levels were very low (7.1) but I wasn't keen on the transfusion idea unless it was a life or death choice. I've never found a research based link between length of time under anaesthesia and recovery from the surgical proceedure itself. Ferrous sulphate for two weeks worked for me and I feel great - better than I did before the op!! probably more info than you wanted or needed but the progress of everyone after this op seems to be very individual and I wish you a speedy recovery. Remember that for us girls whose internal organs had been compromised by the size of fibroids, it takes some time for things to settle back into shape and start working properly. NB: Always take iron with food or you may feel nauseous and use a stool softner if it causes constipation.

I walked into the o/r at 2:00 and was awake in recovery at 3:15. I feel so fortunate after reading the other posts !! I had a TAH, uterus with several fibroids, one the size of a cantalope which created a change in procedure. AND I've had no pain ever !
Sapphira

Britz,
Sorry to hear that you've been through so much, and I hope you're feeling better now. From my experiences as a nurse and from what my surgeon told me, anesthesia effects vary with each person, but can stay in the body for 6 weeks or more. It also depends on the specific anesthesia used because they all have different effects. Some people have trouble with nausea, sadness, fatigue, concentration problems, bad dreams, and other symptoms for a while after anesthesia. Stomach/GI symptoms are common too after any major surgery and that's why the nurses spend time (or should) putting their stethoscopes on patients' bellies to listen for bowel sounds/activity.

Also some people are more sensitive to anesthesia than others, just as with any other medication. I had trouble post-op because I'm hyper-sensitive to some of the chemicals. Basically, my body didn't want to wake up, my vital signs were very low, including my temperature (less than 94 degrees). The recovery room staff managed to wake me up, but it took over 6 hours instead of the 45 minutes they expected. Scared my family out of their minds of course because no one updated them in the waiting room. Grrr.

I will obtain copies of my hospital records, mostly so I can learn the names of the anesthetics used, in case I need surgery again, we won't repeat that scenario. Thank goodness, I don't remember much of the time in the recovery room, just a few blurry images of nurses and doctors looking very busy around my bed. The rest of my stay went perfectly.

I bet those huge fibroids that pressed against your intestines are the cause of some of your discomfort now. Your intestines have to heal from all that inflammation (from the fibroids and surgery).

Take care, rest, rest, rest, and don't forget the fiber (I've learned to like oatmeal with lots of cinnamon!)

Thanks for the info TortillaMiracle, thats good to know. I did look around on the computer today and didn't fine awhole lot. I had another brain fog incident today...I went shopping and thought I forgot to put my bags in the car. DUH...
Britz, If I find anything I will let you know...I forgot to say I also lost alot of blood. Are you feeling any better? Patty

Britz,
You are still very early post-op, and have been doing WAY too much-I hope you have some time now after the holidays to put your feet up several times a day. :cop:
My doc did the hemoglobin at the 4 week post op appt and it was still low. It was normal before surgery. I didn't start taking iron, just made sure I ate healthy and rested enough during the day. It really does take some time.