Date moved up to this Friday- Aaack!

Hi - I am a new member and thought I was having an LSH for Adenomyosis at the end of July - lots of time to get info. Today it was rescheduled for this Friday.
I trust my doctor and know that this is the right thing to do. I've been having too much bleeding, clotting and pain for about three years now. I am almost 49 and have 3 grown kids.

I am lying awake worrying about:

What to expect?
How much pain?
What to bring to the hospital?
Any special goodies to help with discomfort?
Any over the counter meds that help with constipation or gas? I understand those are a problem.
How long till I am up and about?
I have to travel exactly one week from surgery for a one week business conference! Will I be able to manage?
Will my clothes fit after or will I be too swollen?
Even though my cervix will still be there, will sex feel the same?
What if she finds something else!!!??? (no positive test results to make me worry - just worrying)
Will I lose weight :-)

Can any of you wonderful Hystersisters send me some answers and some quick support?!

Thanks!!!
Danielle

You sound like me. I dont have any answers for you since my surgery is LSH on July 12. I am scared to death, but also want this over with. I wanted most of your questions answered too. And what about this blood clot socks my girlfriend told me about. She had an TAH. POB, do you have to do a bowel prep?
Someone please help us both.

Hi Jennice,
I don't go for my pre-op until Thursday morning and then the surgery is on Friday morning. I have no idea about bowel prep or anything else. I am just counting on them giving me nice "go to sleep" drugs and then it will be all over. Hopefully the sisters can answer what the docs don't seem to think is important for us to know until the last minute.

Hang in there

Hi!

One of my favorite places here on Hyster Sisters is the Hysterectomy Checkpoints where you'll find answers to your questions and all sorts of other information. Feel free to print off any pages you want and take them right to the with you!

As for what to bring to the hospital, I've posted many times that I could have packed in a large ziplock bag, but it's really true. I wore the same thing home from the hospital as I wore to the hospital, right down to the undies (I was only in them for about an hour the day I went in, after all -- and I didn't even wear them home ). Loose-fitting sundress and comfy, slip-on shoes. I left my nightclothes at home (let the hospital do the laundry -- just think of the things they use on you or the stuff that might leak out of you! And dealing with IV's? Forget trying to snake them through a nightgown. Oh, and they wouldn't let me wear my cool slippers -- I had to wear their blue ones with the gripper bottoms for liability reasons.

I used a small notebook and pen (to jot down questions for the nurses and doctors), a comb, a hair binder, toothpaste and a toothbrush, and a small battery-operated alarm clock so I didn't have to fumble around at night to see the time... I also read a magazine on day 3 (finally felt like doing something more strenuous than running the remote on the TV).

Anything you need can be brought to you. Remember, the less you bring, the less you have to worry about and the less you have to worry about getting home.

Hope this helps.

Other

Danielle-

I had a LSH on May 25th. Everyone is different but I can tell you how it went for me. I was very nervous about the surgery like everyone is but it really was not bad. I was out of the bed and using the bathroom about 5-6 hours after. I had 3 sites but the only one that really ever hurt was my belly botton. It was very uncomfotable for me to get in and out of bed and in and out of the sitting position for a couple of weeks. Every day got better though. I was given pain killers but did not take many for pain. I did however take them a few times to help me sleep. I found it's hard to sleep at night after you have been resting all day. I just packed a standard overnight bag for the hospital. Change of clothes (lose and comfy), toothbrush etc. My only real discomfort was sleeping. I sleep on my side and it was uncomfortable to roll too far over so I used a pillow kind of tucked under my side for support. I took gas x for about a week after just incase but never really experienced much gas pain. I was up and about the next day but it was really a couple of weeks before I was really up and about. Getting in and out of the sitting position was really uncomfortable for a while. You should talk to your doctor about a conference one week after surgery. I would not say I was in "pain" a week after but I don't know if I would have been up for traveling. I did not have any problems with my clothes fitting. Not yet 6 weeks post-op so I can't speak for the sex. Hopefully it will all go well and they won't find anything else! I lost a tiny bit of weight but that's all. Overall I thought my surgery went extremely well and I am so happy I did it. My post-op pain and discomfort was nothing compared to what I was living with before the surgery. My recovery has been fast and problem free. Good luck to you!!