Pre-Op Hysterectomy: Open House Chat Thread - Today Jul 17, 2016

My name is Carey, age 42, from York, PA. I have 4 girlies (8, 11, 13, 14) and great, hard-working, happy to help hubby. I am having a full hysterectomy, ovaries and all, this Friday the 22nd, laparscopic. I have pelvic congestion syndrome that has caused debilitating pain for the last two weeks of each cycle for the past two months, but suspect it has been causing me many issues for years, but didn't know what it was and chalked it up to other things.

Happy for relief, new lease on life, no more periods, birth control, no worry of female organ cancers, no roller coaster of hormones during long period of menopause. Praying it does fix the problem and that I won't need vein embolization later in addition to this.

Worried about lack of hormones, getting hormones adjusted properly and quickly and safely.

Some questions. Why do some docs recommend bowel cleanse, enema, etc? If my dr didn't recommend, would it still be helpful to do enema to help avoid trauma to intestines?

Also, I know doc will tell me, but wondering rough timeline for: walking, being in a car (driving is two weeks), swimming, sex? How different will my belly feel without that stuff in there? Should I wear tummy support while things heal? Lifting guidelines?

Praying for us all this week and whatever our situations, God has good things planned for us all.

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Originally Posted by Nicolobolo Hi! I am 43, 44 on Saturday. I have 2 grown children, ages 21 and 25. My total hysterectomy is scheduled to be done on Thursday, July 21st. It will be done with the Da Vinci robot as long as there is not too much scar tissue. My ovaries will be left as long as they are healthy. I have had 6 previous abdominal surgeries. The reason for my hysterectomy, is I have a large uterine fibroid, that is causing heavy bleeding and large clots, along with pain and bloating. This is the second time I am needing surgery. I am very nervous to undergo this procedure. Is there anything I need to have for recovery? How long can i expect to be in pain?Any advice from those who have gone through this? Are any of you afraid of loss of sensation during sex? There are so many negative articles out there! I also suffer from chronic pain, Fibromyalgia, and ankylosing spondylitis. I am afraid this surgery will cause a flare, making my pain worse. I work as a teacher's aide in a Kindergarten classroom. I will be back to work 3 days shy of 4 weeks post op. I am hoping this will be enough recovery time! Good luck to all of you having surgery this week! I hope we all have great outcomes, and little pain!

Nicolobolo
I made sure I had a some meals ready and in the freezer for after surgery as I didn't feel like cooking for a few weeks. I had my laundry done and the house cleaned as well. Maybe have some good books on hand to read and check out some good movies on Netflix.
Everyone recovers differently, in a month you should be feeling much better, but your body and your doctor will tell you if you are ready for work after a month.
Don't ready the negative article about sex and life after surgery, we are all different. It takes time to learn what your new normal will be. Wishing you all the best, see you when you reach your Recovery Thread!

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Originally Posted by Tazmia Hi, I'm 47 from Perth Australia mum of 2 active boys. I'm having a laparoscopic total hysterectomy on 21/7 and feeling a little nervous about the whole op. I had a D & C on 1/6 to stop bleeding as I had Been constantly bleeding since 1/4 nit jus bleeding but huge clots as well. Finally found a doctor who listen to my concerns. From D&C and test and pathology results I have numerous pre-cancerous cells, evolving hyperplasia. Well tonght I have started my period anyone know if this all eff. Surgery? I'm planning on remaining in hospital as long as I can and having 6 weeks of for recovery. Good luck everyone who's surgery is this week and hopefully your recovery is easy.

I too had Hyperplasia, you won't miss having those heavy periods one bit Tazmia. As for your period starting again, I don't think it will effect your surgery, but you could check with your surgeon for peace if mind.

HysterSisters

I am attaching a few articles that you may find helpful before your surgery this week.


50 Things I Wish I Had Known Before Hysterectomy
Tips To Prepare
Do This - Not That: Hysterectomy Recovery
What Are My Ovaries Attached To Now?
Weight Gain After Hysterectomy
Chronic Health Concern and Hysterectomy
Special Considerations For Overweight Hysterectomy Patients
Should I Do A Bowel Pre Before Hysterectomy
Bowel Prep Before Hysterectomy
Bowel Prep Before Surgery/No Instructions
Do This- Not That:Bowel Prep Tips For Hysterectomy
Liquid Diet/What Can I Eat Before Hysterectomy?
If Your Hysterectomy is Your First Surgery
Explaining your Hysterectomy to children

Hi all!! I am 51, with two kids, one still at home. My lap TAVH is on July 19th due to a fibroid. It's been 10 weeks since I made the decision to do this, and now it's finally here! I'm scared of the unknown, but happy to get on with my life. The hardest part for me is that I teach group fitness, hike, lift weights, etc...and will need to take a break from all that. I am a Physical Therapist, so my job is physical as well. I am taking 4 weeks off and hope to be able to enjoy some of it!! I wish you all the easiest recoverries and will see you on the other side!

WOW, there are a lot of us! I'm having everything out. Fibroids and who knows what else. I'm having them take my ovaries. I'm 48. My monthly cycle has been an emotional mess my whole life. I can't see menopause being any worse. I have an appointment in a month with a doc for possible HRT. I always wanted kids but it never happened. A few years ago I wouldn't have made this choice. I'm mentally ready now but a little nervous how I'll feel without my raging ovaries. Good luck to all! Oh, and that red pre-op band! Drove me nuts, I'm swollen and it's too tight. I took an warm iron and towel.. and end of scissors and wedged it off. I'll glue back on the day before surgery. (I'm not recommending doing this LOL).. They said if I took it off I would have to come back the day before which I am prepared to do.. I can't even wear rings they drive me NUTS. my main question would be to those near my age and having ovaries out, are you going directly on HRT or waiting?

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Originally Posted by shellersinsi Hi pre-op sisters! I'm 40 from Richmond, VA (USA) and my surgery is tomorrow Jul 18 first thing in the morning. EEK! Sadly I was never able to have children most likely due to fibroids taking up all the space in there. I am having a robotic da Vinci total hysterectomy and will have my tubes removed as well. I am supposed to keep my ovaries, but wonder about my right one that seems to cause me the most pain during ovulation/menses and has had several cysts on and off over the yrs. I did not have bleeding between periods, but they started getting longer and came more frequently to where I was having 2 per month. I had veeeeeery heavy bleeding during my periods and scary large clots due to 4 fibroids (2 tennis balls and 2 golf balls) and a few polyps. I suspect there are more hiding out in there too. They were a bit smaller around Christmas time and now I can feel major pressure and bloating. I am eating a lost less now because of stomach pain and suspect my angry uterus is pressing on my intestines now too. I am soooooo done with tests and scans and probes and labs and ready to get this monster out of me! I was very stressed and anxious at first especially when my surgeon moved my surgery from Aug 3 then called the next day to change to Jul 18. I went into panic mode because I went from having one month to prepare to 1-1/2 weeks. My employer is awesome and my husband is a teacher and out of school for the summer so I have a helper. There goes his summer break. He has no idea what he is in for playing my role for a while. Haha! I was very anxious trying to get everything sorted around the house (cleaning, laundry, dogs, bills) and read all I could about prepping for surgery and recovery. My nerves have calmed down and I am ready to do this! I am worried they will discover other issues during surgery, but am confident in my surgeon and know she can handle whatever is going on down there as a gyn/oncologist. She is worried about my increased risk for infections since I am type 2 diabetic and also taking immune supressing meds (for an eye condition). This is also the reason I am having robotic surgery rather than abdominal. I haven't been sleeping well due to my anxiousness and stomach pressure, but there will be plenty of time for sleeping during my recovery. Not looking forward to the bowel prep "lemonade" that I have to start drinking later this afternoon. Ugh! Anyway, sending well wishes and healing vibes to you all and hope everyone feels better once you're back to your old self. I look forward to deleting my period app, charting my flow for my regular gyn dr, and throwing away my tampons and eventually pads! Buh bye uterus!

Good luck! Your symptoms sound like mine but I'm 48. I chose a top oncologist to do my surgery. I had a long discussion (with myself) about removing my ovaries. The doc said "I can't put them back" ha. I decided to rid myself of them. That's the hardest decision I felt I had and only time will tell if I made the correct decision. Glad you have your family and hope were symptom free soon!

I am so ready for tomorrow! Total LAVH. I have been in so much pain, surgery pain will be a welcome relief because I know that pain will go away.

I am a 45 year old empty nester with an amazing husband who cooks. (Good thing, because I don't!) I have gotten everything I need, just ready to get going! Best thing about being off work for six weeks is that we have a newborn granddaughter that will be coming by to brighten my day.

Blessings to you all and good thoughts and prayers tomorrow!

Hello, I am 33 years old married to a very supportive hubby with no children. I will be having a total hysterectomy leaving my ovaries July 21st assisted with the davinci robot. I have pcos, uncontrolled prolonged heavey bleeding, clotting, pain, and endo. I have a great supposrt group and our congregation will be providing meals till Aug 1st for us. I have a couple family members who have caused undue stress due to me going in for surgery, they are very self centered and feel I am taking attention away from them. My plan is to only allow positive people to be a part of my recovery. I am very anxiouse about the anethesia. I have had surgery before with no complications but just the unknown, the thought of being out of control of whats happening scares me. I wish everyone the best this week, may we all have a successful surgery and a restful recovery. Soon we will be pain and period free.

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Originally Posted by Tazmia Well tonght I have started my period anyone know if this all eff. Surgery

Hi Tazmia! When I asked my surgeon if we would have to reschedule if I was on my period she said No. I imagine it makes things a bit more interesting on their end, but she said it would not matter for her. Not sure how other drs feel about that though and likely also depends on surgery type as well. Good luck and I hope you feel much better after 6 weeks!