TAH: Nervous about upcoming hysterectomy 1/26

So I'm scheduled for a TAH\BSO on Jan 21st 16 I'm very scared and nerves how long will they keep me,how long does surgery take. My anxiety is a mess and all in think about is of I will come.out ok. Any positive stories from start to finish will be appreciated.

First, *HUGS*
The wait, and the time before the surgery is always the worse part. Your mind gets racing about the unknown, and then you hear about the "what if" and bad stuff and it sure does not help!

Thing to keep in mind, is the chances are you will hear more about the bad stuff than good, NOT because it is more common, but because people want more help when bad stuff happens, and when the good happens, why post about it!

I can tell you that I had VERY little happen in regards to "bad" recovery. Minor issue with breathing tube BUT that was because of my asthma, NOTHING to to with the surgery (I didn't take enough of my inhaler before hand, we think). And I had oral thrush after, while annoying, is no big deal.

I even only need prescription pain killers for one day at home, after that, 1 or two days of Tylenol and Advil, then nothing. I still have the odd little twinge as the nerves and what not heal, but usually less than a static shock feeling.

And while everyone's recovery is different, just remember, eventually you get to the other side, and it seems like forever ago that anything happened.

*more hugs*

I see you're having a TAH, like I did. I remember the evening before surgery I was so stressed out that I ended up scrubbing the walls of my apartment just to burn off some energy! I finally went to bed at 1 AM and got maybe four hours sleep before I had to get up again to go catch the bus to my surgery hospital. By the time I got there, I was too exhausted to be nervous anymore.

My surgery started about noon. I have no idea how long it took. By the time I woke up at about 7:30 that evening, I was already in my hospital bed, with the covers tucked in around me. I was in absolutely no pain at all. In fact, I never had any real pain, just a bit of soreness and twingeyness. I chatted with a friend who'd been waiting for me. When visiting hours ended at eight and she left, I curled up on my side and went back to sleep. I slept really well in the hospital.

The first day after surgery I was kind of stoned, both from the aftereffects of the anesthetic and from the dilaudid I was being given for pain. The nurses got me up twice, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, to walk a lap around the ward and sit upright in an armchair for a bit. I wasn't allowed anything to eat or drink except water, but I wasn't hungry at all.

The second day I was put on a "progressive liquid" diet, which meant liquids and mushy solids. It also meant I got *coffee*. I don't know if it was the coffee or if my dilaudid dosage had been decreased, but I felt a lot more alert. I took myself out to walk multiple laps around the ward several times that day. When I wasn't walking I sat upright in my armchair reading. I buzzed right through some of the lighter reading material I'd brought and got started on a collection of geological essays. My doctor said that if I continued to do as well as I was doing, it was up to me whether I went home the third day or chose to stay a fourth day.

The third day I got regular food (and more coffee) for breakfast and lunch. The epidural catheter I'd had for the dilaudid was removed first thing in the morning. My urinary catheter was removed four hours later. I still didn't have any pain even after the dilaudid was gone. The nurse gave me some ibuprofen and I did fine on that.

I was getting bored and was by now confident of my ability to take care of my cats and myself at home, so I told the doc I wanted to be released that day. She checked to make sure that I had someone I could call in case of emergencies and then signed me out. I wasn't given a script for pain meds, but was told to take OTC ibuprofen and acetaminophen for minor pain, call the hospital for major pain. My friend drove me home in her pick-up truck. It's a two hour drive. I took some Gravol (Dramamine) for the trip and was quite comfortable.

I had a really easy recovery, with no complications. I did some really minimal food prep and housework, but mostly spent my time going for lots of short walks, reading, sewing, playing with my cats and working on my computer. I had to be a bit careful how I moved, as I couldn't bend or twist at the waist, or lift, push or pull more than 10 lbs.

My third week after surgery, I started practicing walking up and down steep hills, where previously I'd stayed on flat ground - which meant I was confined to my own neighbourhood. Once I could walk hills, I could get to the supermarket as long as I didn't buy more than 10 lbs of stuff at once.

My post-op appt was at four weeks. By then I was walking 3-6 miles on hilly trails. My doc cleared me to run, cycle, swim, lift up to 30 lbs and return to work at a part-time desk job. Abdominal exercise and lifting more than 30 lbs had to wait until six weeks, and then I had to start off cautiously and work up gradually.

My body felt pretty much back to normal by eight weeks, except for some abdominal swelling that lasted another four weeks. But by then it wasn't too bad - it was just that in the evenings I had to pop the button on the waistband of my pants.

I was a nervous wreck too in the weeks leading up to my surgery. It was torture. It truly was the worst part for me. Any physical discomfort I had post surgery was a breeze compared to the mental anguish I went through (and put my family through!)

One thing that helped me greatly was decluttering my home and getting it as clean as I could get. I did lots of organizing which required heavy lifting and carrying things in and out of my attic. I was so tired of lifting and carrying stuff into the attic that I started to look forward to 6 weeks of restricted activity. Having a clean home to hang out in during recovery was nice too.

Each day will pass and your surgery day will be here before you know it. Hang in there.