I had a TAH-BSO on May 1, 2014 (Hospital Day #1). I was as prepared as I could be and was definitely ready to get the surgery behind me. Unfortunately the recovery has been a little more eventful than I had plan. Like others, I woke up in the recovery room in pain and it was medicated by the nurse. I really don't remember my first night in the hospital very much due to the drugs and looking back that is a good thing. The surgeon did come by and see me that night, and I remember that. She stated that my surgery took twice as long as usual because a had more arteries and veins attached to my uterus than normal. She also stated that I would not have been able to carry a baby to term due to multiple issues. That definitely gave me peace in that I did make the right decision.
Hospital Day #2 was tough in that the IV I had stopped working, so they needed to start another one. It took hours to get someone to start another IV, therefore I was without IV pain meds for a while. Once the IV was started, I had some relief from the pain and did well the rest of the night.
Hospital Day #3 was the day when everything became a little more exciting. I started having difficulty breathing, and my oxygen levels were low. So the doctors did at CT scan to make sure that I did not have a blood clot in my lung and a chest x-ray. Fortunately, the CT scan was negative but the chest x-ray showed pneumonia. By that night, I was started on strong antibiotics and other medications to try and help my lungs.At that point I was dependent upon oxygen in order to keep my levels in the appropriate window.
Hospital Day #4- I was seen by the lung specialists. They were curious about the pneumonia due to it coming on so quickly after surgery. So they ordered some tests to be done on the next day due to it being Sunday.
Hospital Day #5 - I had multiple lung tests. The conclusion at the end of all the testing is that I had a phrenic nerve energy due to a past injury of my neck. Strange, right? Basically, I hurt my neck several years ago playing soccer. At that time of the injury, it is thought that I damaged a nerve that runs from my neck down to the diaphragm. Since the nerve helps make the diaphragm go up and down when you breathe, if it is injured it does not allow your lung to inflate and deflate appropriately. Therefore, it causes shortness of breath and low oxygen levels. My question was why is this just being discovered now. And the answer was that due to the stress of the surgery and having pneumonia and fluid on my lungs it let them look at everything a little more closely. They stated that my lungs looked abnormal for someone you had never smoked or had allergies or asthma. I asked what needed to be done to fix it and all the lung doctor could tell me is that I would need to follow up with the neurologist to have some more testing done. At this point, I am still dependent upon oxygen.
Day 6- Continued receiving IV antibiotics for the pneumonia. Received pathology report from surgeon. I had endometriosis on my left ovary and a fibroid on my uterus. Conituied to remain depednent upon oxygen.
Day 7- Discharged from the hospital with portable oxygen.
So, the first thing is that I feel blessed to have undergone the hysterectomy successfully. Second, I am grateful that an underlying issue was discovered during the recovery process. But third,how did I go into surgery not having lung problems but come out with a lung issue and being dependend upon oxygen. It blows my mind. But all and all, I am coping ok and am pleased with my recovery from the hysterectomy. I have an appointment with my lung doctor tomorrow, so hopefully we will figure something out
Hysterectomy A Little More Than I Expected
