Today was Pre-Op

All is good. We are all set for our planned date of Nov 5th. I tell ya, this dr is SO stinkin' awesome! My dr is confident that I will go home the next day(I can stay longer if I like tho), will only need Motrin(have other stuff just in case) after the surgery, I will most likely be on my feet and back to normal activity WITHIN 2 weeks post op! He gave me letters from his previous patients who have had complete hysterectomies and have resumed normal activity within 5 days of their surgery! One lady that was there before me, she has her hysterectomy this thursday and is going back to work in 2 weeks...her job calls for heavy lifting and is not a problem.

My dr is known all over the world and teaches his techniques to those willing to learn. He does these surgeries in such a way that it reduces the *down time* drastically. This will all be done laprascopically through small incision and there will be about a 4-6 inch incision abdominally that will be the biggest. I just cant brag enough about this dr. I am SO lucky to have found him. I went in thinking he was going to tell me that my recovery time will be many weeks and in some fairly aweful discomfort for at least the first week.

Now I just wait til DH gets home from work(he met me at the dr's office in between runs for my post op appt) so I can go get my blood work done.

I know everyone is different in how they heal but I am staying optomistic. I truely hope that this does mean less healing time. I do plan on taking it easy no matter what.

Wendy,

You are so lucky that you can have laparascopic surgery for you tah. I was supposed to have that as well, but ended up having a vertical abdominal incision due to cancer concerns.

I hope everything goes well for you & you can return to your normal routine as quickly as your dr says. Great!

Best wishes to you,

Mongie

Hi Wendy

I know you're excited at the prospect of returning to all normal activity so quickly but please consider what other sisters have said and what you've read on this website. Even with a laproscopic surgery you still have a lot of internal healing that takes place. Everything inside is being stitched back together and if you do too much too soon you not only risk injury but the chance you won't heal properly and that can lead to further surgeries.

Please, please take it easy in the weeks after your surgery. I'm not trying to sound negative or bring you down but I'd be skeptical if my doctor made such bold claims. Again, please promise that you'll be a good princess.

No problem I know not to get my hopes up and I know that it could take me weeks to heal. I definately plan on taking it as easy as I can for as long as I can. I never get a chance to relax. My Mother in law will be here so I will take full advantage of her help! Trust me! LOL! I am just hopeful that the pain wont be so bad and I can manage to get around easier than I think/thought.

You arent being negative, you are being realistic!

Thanks!

I had lap assisted surgery and I seriously doubt what your DR claims, as well. I took longer than some of the TAH girls to completely heal. The main difference is the incisions, the inside work is the same. I hope if it doesn't go as he says it will, that he will be supportive to you. Personally, I think he is not telling you like it is.

Has your Dr prepared you for the possiblity of having to do an abdominal insicsion? My Dr and I talked about doing my surgery laproscopic. But he was really hesitant as we did not know the reason for all of my bleeding. Although he thought it was not going to be a problem, he wanted to take a look. He said there was absolutly no way he could have ever done my surgery, safely, as a laproscopic proceedure. I had too much endo and too many adhesions. I did not have any symptoms of either. Both shocked my gyn.

I hope that things work out just exactly the way your Dr suggests. But just wanted to make sure he prepared you for the possiblity of needing to go abdominal.

Caren

Wendy, I was told by my doctor that he couldn't do my surgery as a laproscopic or vaginal surgery. My uterus was just too enlarged. But he told me that it would be the same recovery for me no matter how he did the surgery. 6 weeks, then he would re-check my healing and either release me or extend my down time. Luckily I was allowed to slowly start back on my regular activities, but I was told very firmly by my doctor to only add one activity every couple of days. Not to just jump back into everything at once. It took me 3-4 months to really start to feel completely normal again, and even at 7 1/2 months, I had some healing twinges that stopped me in my tracks during a trip through an airport. (No more luggage lifting for me on that trip). You will have exactly the same amount of internal sutures as someone having a TAH or TVH. All the tendons and muscles that attach to the uterus, have to be re-attached somewhere else internally. These internal sutures can take up to a year to completely heal and dissolve.
I hope that your doctor is right, and that maybe you might be able to do some things early in your recovery, but please, don't do anything that causes you discomfort in any way. You only have one chance to heal correctly and this will be your one chance. Please make sure that you listen to your body on this one. If you don't feel up to doing something, don't do it just because the doctor says you should be able to now. We all heal differently.
Take care!

Hey- I just want to say that your positive attitude is awesome! I truly believe this will help you no matter what! I would keep a lid on what the doctor said- don't share it too openly- that way you can use extra time should you need it. Sounds like your DH and mother-in-law will support you either way.
Best wishes! Keep looking up, thinking positive and be flexible with yourself!

Your signature says you're having this surgery for endo and "painful ovulation" -- are they taking ovaries as well?

The thing to remember as you go into this is that there are always "surprises" once you enter the pelvic cavity, and these may change the planned surgery. So I would ask your doctor, if your endo is extensive, if he plans to change his approach accordingly. A short healing time is great, but not so great if it means that he can't get everything "taken care of" (i.e. endo excised, etc.) on this surgery. Also, with extensive adhesions (which many of us have had, especially if there is a history of c-sections in the past) the laparascopic approach may not be feasible or you may not get as complete a surgery with that approach. My GYN-oncologist was very clear on not being held to one approach -- you want to go through this only once , hopefully, and with endo that may mean a bigger surgery than was originally planned.

I'm glad your doctor has such good laparoscopic experience...that is valuable indeed, and will help your healing process. But remember that you have as many internal sutures as those of us with bigger incisions (and actually, mine is also under six inches, vertical), and it's the internal healing that takes the longest with all those internal sutures.

You're lucky to have the help around the house. It's also a good time for teaching your kids (if you have any) about what it takes to run a house...my 7 yo learned how to get a basic meal on the table thanks to my surgery! And it was very effective for re-allocating the chores around the house, things are much more equitable now!

There is only one chance to heal, and you might as well make that time investment in your healing. I hope you have as easy an experience as you've been promised. But it would be worth your while to be careful...just in case you don't have it quite so easy. Good luck! We'll look forward to seeing you on the other side...



Audrey