tvh

I'm having my tvh on the 27th of november. Is there anyone who can tell me what kind of pain I'll be looking at ? I'm a recovering addict and am afraid this will start something but I know I'll have to take something, right? or can I get through with motrin????? Any info would be appreciated.

Hi, I had a lavh/bso on 10/19/01 It's been 3 weeks now. The only pain I had after I came home ( which was the next day) was the pains. The did give me a script for pain pills, I only needed them 2 days. The main problem I had was being so tired, which I still am.
Best of luck to you. You will be in our prayers.



Love, Bev

I had tvh and bladder repair, and when I woke up I could not believe the pain I was in, everywhere, but they gave me a "super anti-inflammatory" called toredal, and it was wonderful. Four days after surgery, I was taking half my prescribed dose of advil, and my pain we completely controlled. A week after surgery I was no longer taking anything, so I could feel the discomfort if I tried to overdo it. Be sure to talk with your doctor and your anesthesiologist about your concerns with substance abuse. They have seen it all, and can help easeyour fears. For me, I was able to use the surgical recovery phase to rework some bad habits and blend in some good ones. Since my routine was forceably changed in order to heal, it was not as difficult to make changes as I was when I was in my routine. As hard as it might be to imagine feeling wonderful again, you can look forward to it. I cannot believe how good I feel. I look forward to you feeling better, too.
My last word on pain managemnt is to listen to your doctors' ideas and keep an open mind about the type of pain relief they give you. Each person is different for different kinds of pain, and there are some marvelous ways doctors and nurses can help us deal with it.
If you want to talk in private about your fears of replapse, you can email me during the week at lindsons@macomb.cc.mi.us and on the weekend at tinybulldog@hotmail.com
Hugs and prayers to you, sis,
Susan

You may want to ask about an epidural for post op pain management. I had one and had absolutely NO pain for the first 24 hours after surgery. It's left in and yes it does have morophine and torodol in it BUT it did not make me feel dopey or loopy. I've used narcotic pain meds before so I know the feeling of what it's like to be "dopey". I did not get nauseous from it and to my understanding it only goes in your back to relieve the pain from the belly down, not to your brain. I know when I had the kids, one reason I chose the epidural was because I didn't want pain meds through the I.V. making the newborn drugged up. Once the epidural came out the next day (some hospitals can leave them in for a couple of days so ask first) they gave me percocet. It was at that point with the percocet that I felt "dopey". I think I could have done ok with torodol a non-narcotic anti-inflammatory but it wasn't offered to me. I didn't have to much pain except upon getting out of bed and walking around.

Hi Tig,
For my recent tvh, I was given toredol (anti inflammatory) at surgery time, morphine while I was at the castle and sent home with Percoset and Motrin. The only discomfort I had was back ache and for all the medication, it was the heating pad that helped the most. I stopped the pain meds almost immediately except for an occasional Motrin. I really believe that I could have gotten along without the morphine and Percoset...those just made me sick to my stomach anyway. Like CM3 says, if you go the epidural route, they will manage your pain for the first 24 hours and no, you do not need to be awake during the surgery. I think any discomfort is very tolerable after 24 hours. Good luck and you may want to discuss the addiction concerns with your doctor, I am sure they can be sensitive to this issue and prescibe a non narcotic pain reliever if needed.

Hi TigTig
I would sure ask the doctor as there are all sorts of things that they can try to help you through this.
As for the pain itself - after that first day it wasn't that bad for me. I had to have my IV taken out on the day after surgery because my arm swelled up. I am a "hard stick" and the nurse couldn't find another place to put another IV in, so I told her just to forget it - my arm was SOOOO sore! So I promised to drink lots to replace the IV fluids, and went to pain pills.
It was pretty easy to just push the "morphine" button occasionally when I had a little pain and had the IV in - but I guess I really didn't have that much as I kept forgetting to ask for pain meds! Took the IV out at about 4 PM and before bed asked for a pain pill. Went home Thurs late AM and hadn't had naother one - guess I wasn't in that much pain!
And then took one before bed on Thurs - mostly so I could sleep - not for the pain as such. Thurs night I reacted to the pain meds (itch all over) so that was the last one of those! Have taken an occasional tylenol or motrin since then, but really could have done without those if I needed to.
Having more pain now then right after surgery - but it is mostly from constipation and - and no pain pill will help that!!!
Good luck

Thank you all for the info. It makes me feel good that there are other things besides narcotics to help me out. I have gotten my life back after losing everything. I know I need this operation. I have uterine prolapse and suspected adenomyosis, but I don't want this to begin another viscious cycle with drugs.

Wow! I am so sorry I am just now seeing this..... a hostess who is also a friend emailed me. It looks as if you already received some good advice, too! (My life has been sooooooooooooo chaotic lately that I haven't had the chance to post, read, or answer email.) I had a TAVH/BSO on 9-26-01 and am a 4+ years recovered alcoholic who is still having problems tapering off the pain medication I've been taking most of my life for severe endometriosis! This is the hardest thing I have ever done, and I hope you don't have to go through my experiences! (I have no health insurance, inpatient is not an option for me, and I have hypertension and other health problems that make this harder to do...)

A bit of advice? I spoke with my about pain control before surgery, and he knew about my history with chemical dependence. Some women have morphin drips, some just have toradol, and an epidural sounds like an EXCELLENT idea! However, I can only tell you what I did..... I was frightened about addiction but did not want to be in pain. I stayed at the castle overnight and was given 2 morphine shots IM. (My doc did not give me a "drip" or "pump" or IV narcotics because of my history with addiction. And I told him during pre- op not to give me Dilaudid, because I seemed to "like" it toooo much!) After that, my doc gave me two 50 mg. demerol tablets every 4 hours, and I took them every four to six hours "as needed," when I got home. Actually, I was anxious to get that IV out anyway so I could go outside and smoke! (You may not have a strong narcotic tolerance like I did, and you may not need as much medication!) I had bad pain for a week or two, mostly gas pains since my doc used a laparascope to see and burn away the remaining endo. Remember- all of us have different pain tolerances. For some reason, the demerol didn't give me a "high," like percocet or Vicodin would.....

Since your hyst will be vaginal, most of your pain will be in sitting, probably in your lower back. P L E A S E take pillows with you every where you go to sit on! Car rides are particularly bad.... (I still sit on a small pillow when I drive or ride in a car. I position it between my lower back and rear end, where my most of my internal incisions are.....)

You say you are a recovering addict. How long have you been in recovery? Do you have a sponsor? If not, you need one, and you need either her (it must be a woman!) or someone else you trust implicitly to dispense your pain meds. You do not need to hold the bottle yourself. (PLEASE trust me on this one,ok?)
The person you trust to hold your medication must only give to you what is prescribed on the bottle and when. If you cannot go to your recovery group for a while after your surgery, use the telephone! Keep up with your sponsor and other friends with sobriety time under their belt. Keep doing what you do every day for your recovery, whether it is praying, meditation, reading a book, writing, etc. This is not the time to let up!!!

If you are in a good recovery group, they have probably told you everything I have here. I also want you to know one other thing.... The reason I am so knowledgeable about this is that I DID let up, and am going through a physical/emotional hell right now because of it. Like you, I lost everything, fought hard to get my life back, and am not about to let this take it away from me now!!! So, Thank You, tigtig, for the wake up call, I hope you read this, and PLEASE let me know how it comes out!

A big

Gina

:email: at ginanatl@yahoo.com

Tigtig,

I "overdid" it shortly after my hyst by lifting a sofa bed and trying to clean house. It would be much better for you- and you would take less pain medicine- if you were to prepare your "recovery room" ahead of time, and arrange to have friends/family take over any housecleaning and chores for say......... 8 weeks? Just rest! Lie down and read, watch TV, get on the computer when you feel up to it. If you think that something might cause you pain, DO NOT DO IT!! And remember, just because you will not have a big external scar, you have MANY stitches inside...... Don't let that be a danger for you- thinking that since you have no scar, there are no stiches to rupture! When you get out of bed, just walk...... take it easy, no marathons!

Last but not least, whenever you get a dose of pain meds from whomever you "designate" to dispense them, think first..... Are you really in pain, or do you just "like" the pills? This is where the tough part (addiction) comes in...... Since you are already concerned and preparing yourself mentally, I know you will do great!!

:email: me anytime,
Gina
ginanatl@yahoo.com