for those of you that had TVH i have questions

For those that had TVH can you answer these questions for me. I would love to see how most people do with the surgery ..

1, How many days did you stay in the hospital ?

2, when you left the hospital did you still have alot of pain ?

If you did have pain ,What was hurting?

3, How soon after the surgery did you leave the house and do things again (like shop or drive a car)

4, On a pain scale of 1 -10 what was your pain like the day you left the hospital ?

Sorry for so many questions

Thanks for your time
Amanda lynn

Hi Amanda,

This is a great place to ask your questions! Don't feel bad for asking. I am 8 days post-op from a TVH. Here's from my experience:

1. I was in the hospital overnight. I had surgery at 7:30 a.m. on Oct 4 and was discharged around 1:00 p.m. on Oct 5.

2. I had very little pain throughout. When I got home on Oct 5, I took some ibuprofin. Wasn't in much pain, but I was told to stay on top of the pain and I had a little backache. Later that night before bed, I took the Vicoden I was prescribed. Again, not in pain besides a small backache, but I wanted to stay on top of the pain. I woke up on Oct 6 still in no pain, so I didn't take any more pain meds. The pain I experience now is some occasional twinges or a quick shoot pain in the abdomen, but I get it just occasionally and it is really quick. It isn't constant - not enough for me to take anything.

When I first had pain in recovery room after surgery, the pain I felt was in my lower abdomen - similar to pains before my period started. I let them know and they gave me a little more pain med.

3. I'm only 8 days post-op. On two days after surgery, my DH had to buy hamburger. Because that was all we needed, I went with him. A little tired afterwards, but it felt good. Three days later, I walked around Target for about 20-30 minutes. Again, this was plenty of walking and I napped 2 hours when I got home. I've gone out a couple times with DH since then. I won't find out about driving until my two week post-op on Monday. I'm sure I'll be able to drive after that because I've been off pain meds for quite awhile.

4, Maybe 1 or 2 when I left the hospital and pretty much the same since. I think most that have TVH's will say that the biggest hurdle getting over is the fatigue, but even that is manageable. Just be sure to rest when you need to rest, and drink lots of water, and eat nutritiously. Eventually we'll overcome that too.

Please feel free to PM me anytime if you have any other questions. It is great that you are going into this informed. If you ever get overwhelmed, just set it aside for awhile, let it soak in, and then take in whatever more you want. Prayer helps a lot too!

Kristi

Hi Amanda
1. I checked into the hospital at 7:00 am on sept 29, went to the or@about 830 and was discharged at 3pm the next day.
2.yes, but it was my fault, I always thought I could handle pain and requested not to be given anything post op except tylenol because so many drugs cause me to have a migraine. I had no idea how bad the gas pains would be an at8pm the night of surgery I was in so much pain they started me on dilaudid 4 mg every 3 hours. The pain went away totally but the next morning I was really sick and throwing up, that made the pain even worse. I chose to go home anyway and just took 800mg motrin and got my husband to get icy hot patches for my back.
3. I was off pain meds totally after 1 week and started driving short distances then.
4. A definite 5 when I left the hospital but had I taken meds from the start I thing my pain would have been minimal and I probably wouldn't have had the nausea. I will be 2 weeks post op tomorrow and aside from being a little extra tired i feel great. Good luck to you.

I had my TVH in an outpatient setting. I went in at 8:00 am and was home by 3:30 in the afternoon. I was pretty sore the first few days, mostly my belly and sides. My doctor had me take pain pills every 3 hours for the first 24 hours and then as needed. I stayed home for two weeks and really didn't drive until three weeks out. I did go back to work half days the third week but had my mom drive me to and from. I wasn't able to get out and around like some of the other ladies but I think all in all it wasn't too bad at all. I felt ok if I was lying down. The worst part is once you feel well enough to look around the house you want to clean and organize and you can't because you need to rest. Now I feel almostly completely healed and have more energy and pep than I have in years.

Hi jajabentley. I had my TVH on Sept 20 of this year.

1. I was in the hospital for 4 days. I had some minor bleeding problems but nothing to serious.
2.When I left the hospital I was in quite a lot of pain. But my doctor said that it was because I had a lot more work done on my left side then my right. I also had a small hematoma on my left side.
The firt day I actually went out with my husbund was about 1 1/2 weeks post op. But I definately did not feel up to it that much. I am now 3 weeks post op and still do not have a lot of energy to go out just short trips.
4. On a scale of 1-10 when I left the hospital about a 5.

I hope that that helps take care and good luck.
Jacqueline

1. I checked into the hospital at 5:30 am Tuesday, September 13th and left 3:30 pm Thursday, September 15th.
2. No, not a lot of pain. The worst of my pain was the night after the surgery and about 80% of that was gone after they removed the packing.. which I believe was putting presure on all the stitches I had. When I left the hospital, what I had was more of an aching then out and out pain.
3. I didn't leave the house for a week when I had to go to my GYN for an appointment. I really didn't want to go out, because I knew if I did, I would have a hard time staying home and taking it easy.
4. My pain was maybe a 3 when I left. I was sent home with a prescription for Percocet and out of 60 tablets, I still have 58 or 59.
Good luck with your surgery!

Hi jajabentley,

I went into the hospital on Friday,6-10-05@5:30am. Surgery was at 7:00am. I was discharge on Monday,10-13-05.
2. Yes, when I left the hospital I was still in pain. One of the reason for this is because I am unable to take narcotics of any kind. Like jess 352, I had dilaudid in my IV, but it made me very sick :cry: and I puked my guts out for the first 24 hours or so before they figured it out. They decided to take out the catherer and the IV. By Sunday, I was back on the IV and fluids because I was running a fever, etc. They put me on oral meds and thats when the pain kicked in. I was on 800mg of ibuphren around the clock and tylenol.
3. I was unable to do anything for about 1and 1/2 weeks. I went walking; an outing was more like it. No lifting or bending. I was unable to drive until my 6 weeks. I tried but was in pain @ about 3 weeks, so I knew I wasn't ready.
4. I guess, like the other ladies, I was about a 5 when I left the hospital. Naps helped and lots of rest. When they say rest, they mean it. I wish you much success.
I will say, I have no regrets and my quality of life is much better.

Donise
TVH/BSO-everything is gone-HRT.

I have a TVH on Oct 4 and stayed in the hospital one night. I didn't have any pain and didn't take any pain meds in the hosptial. I was sore when I stood up and when I walked but Ibuprfen took care of that. The worst pain was the gas pains that seemed worse at night so I took Percoset the first 2 nights for that. I was up and about most of the day on the 5th day and went out to eat on the 4th day. I did 3 loads of laundry on day 6 - just had my husband dump the hamper in the laundry room, but I folded and put them all away. I drove on the 6th day- had dinner with a friend and was fine. It is now day 9 and today I went out and had my nails done and did a little bit of shopping. I didn't hurt at all - just went slowly. I am still having gas pains but am taking GAS -X which helps some. Don't dread it like I did because it isn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. My mom was put in the hospital in FL today and is in very bad shape. My biggest concern now is if I am going to have to go down there to tend to things if she dies or goes into hospice. I have my 2 week check up on Tues and will find out then when I can travel. She has had lung cancer for 3 yrs, was only given a year to live and my fear about having my surgery was that something would happen to her when I was unable to travel. Sure enough it did, but if I can't I can't. My brother is going down there on Fri so that eases my mind somewhat. Hope all goes well for you and dont' worry!

Hi Amanda lynn,
1. I was at the castle for 48 hours (or so).

2. I was feeling no pain when I went home. My tummy just felt a little "weak". I was in a euphoric mood, because it went so much better than I had imagined.

3. My DH drove me to WalMart about 9 days post-op (I was stir-crazy), but my doctor said no driving for 6 weeks. I had to start driving(to work) at 4 weeks because I ran out of paid time off. Anyway, I felt great and couldn't wait to get back to work.

4. I wasn't in pain the day I left the hospital. As a matter of fact, as others have said, I took pain meds the first week, along with ibuprophen, to stay on top of the pain. I'll never know what the pain would have been like had I not taken pain meds. DH told me that I woke up in post-op saying "ouwie", but I fell back to sleep and don't remember the incident.

5. I added my own number 5. Remember that a positive attitude and a sense of humor will help immensely, and it's not as bad as you may have been imagining.

Best wishes to you!

Jennifer

Hello Amanda lynn,
You have come to the right place to ask questions... that is what makes this site so great! Here are my answers to your questions:

1, How many days did you stay in the hospital ?
I was in the hospital for for one day.

2, when you left the hospital did you still have alot of pain ?
No... I was given 600mg of Motrin and 500mg of Vicodin and I was in NO pain at all. The drive home didn't bother me one bit!

If you did have pain ,What was hurting?
The only pain that I have had since I have been home has been related to being constipated... I had some problems with that for the first three days then I was ok until my two week anniversary. At my post-op my Doctor said that I wasn't eating enough in general, and specifically I wasn't eating enough bran. I asked her why I was having this problem again now, and she said that as my body is recovering it's needs are changing.

3, How soon after the surgery did you leave the house and do things again (like shop or drive a car)
My doctor said I could drive after one week if I wasn't on drugs and IF I FELT LIKE IT. I drove and did some LIGHT shopping ten days after surgery. It felt great... and then it felt great to come home and take a nap. I make a point to not overdo things and LISTEN TO MY BODY and GET LOTS OF REST in between activity. I don't push the limit when it comes to lifting things ~ that seems to land women into BIG PROBLEMS! I can take a bath after two weeks and have sex after four weeks. My Doctor likes that I am easing my way back into work (starting this week... I am at 2 1/2 weeks post-op). I have started going to some meetings and am working from home some with plenty of rest in between. By the end of week 6, I will be back full time.

4, On a pain scale of 1 -10 what was your pain like the day you left the hospital ?
I'd say a 1 or a 2.

And I coulcn't agree more with JenninAZ's number 5. Those things make ALL THE DIFFERENCE!

Good luck to you and ask us ANYTHING!