TAH surgery wasn't bad at all

Hi LIW,

My experience is similar to Arlenes...nothing that can't be managed. The waiting is the worst part...Try to do one nice thing for yourself each day...taking your own soft blanket or throw is a great idea...especially when sitting in a chair in your room to have something soft to put around you...Also, take a Chapstick or something for your lips, small flashlight, and stereo headphones to block out hospital noises and noisy roomate visitors. Best of luck to you all.

(Glad to get out big ole Fred the Fibroid - TAH 9/3/01- and also tired of people asking 'when are you due?'.)

Warm wishes,
Debra

Debra,

Is your tummy flatter now that you've gotten rid of "Fred?" That's what I'm focusing on......at least even with swelling I'm hoping that I won't have the bulge that I have right now. That will be a weight lifted off my shoulders........er, I mean abdomen.

I've read posts that say some women have fibroids the size of a 6-month pregnancy. I've been wondering how that happened? Why do women wait that long to get them out? I'm just curious. Mine was the size of a grapefruit a month ago, and I got my surgery scheduled at that time. However, I had to wait 5 weeks for the date. While my abdomen has gotten larger, I still don't look THAT pregnant. But I sure wouldn't want to wait any longer to get this taken out!

Thanks for your input and support. Good luck to you in your continued recovery!

Best wishes,

BlondieA770 s

Hi Blondie,

I am just a 3 weeks (TAH, vertical incision, 18-week sized uterus). Before surgery, I looked pregnant...probably 4-5 months or so and was always trying to suck in my stomach so to speak. I am 5'2" so it probably had nowhere to go but out.

My tummy is flatter, even with the swelly belly. In profile it is sunk in just above the pubic bone area and there is a little pooch above that. I imagine it will go down with time as many of the ladies have said in many posts.

You know, why did I wait so long? Well here goes in a nutshell (I explain in my Castle Story): The fibroid was found in a routine, annual--I go every year without fail-- exam...it was quite a bit smaller. I was just finishing residency in my dental specialty (I'm a dentist) and moving to another state to take a job teaching at a university, so it definitely was not a time for surgery. Plus, even at the age of 37-38, considered myomectomy so I could maybe have a baby (but was told this would still be iffy). Got moved and it took 2 tries to find a great DR... she and I decided to monitor it every 4 months...very busy demands at work--new career, research, patients, board certification--then back 'home'-sick parent for a year, then death of sick parent, then also mother-in-law, then more work demands left me without a good time to plan a major surgery. So 5 years passed and it grew. Last December, right after Dad's death, I went to a physician for routine physical for all the non-gyn stuff, and she commented, "What can I do to convince you to get this out? It's so big and you're so little?" I thought, boy, she must think I'm nuts for walking around with this giant thing I'd come to call Fred the Fibroid. So I decided to talk with DR at the next visit in March about surgery. It is major surgery and I didn't have the bleeding problems and severe pain like so many ladies have expressed...just some bladder pressure, back pain that may or may not have been related, pain after gardening, and intercourse was becoming painful. If my symptoms had been worse, I certainly would have done it sooner...as a matter of fact I wish now I had done it sooner and might not have had to have a vertical incision...that was the tradeoff. I will say I came to hate my pooched out stomach and the wardrobe became more outies than innies (shirts).

So you can see there are so many factors to make this decision and everyone has to figure out what is right for them. My doctor said I would know when I wanted it out and she was right. I was ready....

So guess what...I haven't had any lower back pain since it has been gone....hope that's a good sign. I look forward to the swelly belly diminishing and having a flat stomach again.

Best wishes and heres to flat stomachs for all of us!!! :

Debra

Debra,

Thanks so much for sharing your experience. You had many good reasons for postponing the surgery.

I suppose I'm 'lucky'......At 52, my children are college students, so I don't have little ones to look after. My parents passed away in 1998 and 1999, but I did have major responsibilities looking after them the last few years of their lives. I've worked part-time as a Marketing Director at a small community bank for 11 years, and I have loads of sick leave I can take without penalty. (My bosses are really going to miss me while I'm gone, however. I often assist the CEO and CFO with top-priority projects.) So the timing isn't a factor for me.

My husband is principal of a local high school, and he will have some flexibility to help me out at home. Things could be lots worse!

Good luck again in your recovery and your new career! I hope things continue going well for you! It sounds like you have a bright future ahead.

BlondieA770

Hi Blonde, I am one of those too that look 8 months pregnant.
And I waited because my doctor had told me that after I had my baby that it would shrink and it didn't. I waited and waited. Then the timing was bad because I would need my husband to watch my daughter who is now 3 1/2 and 13 year old. Just had problems with timing. Finally I just had to make up my mind that maybe there is no good timing and just have it done. I am 41 and have only had from the last 6 months had the heavy bleeding, back pain, bad cramps - the kind like you are giving birth kind. That was another reason why I waited because I did not have any severe problems with it except for the size and pressure. I have multiple fibroids and will be getting a vertical cut too. So I really hope my stomach goes flatter.
Thanks for your email about what you will be doing afterwards. I have not been taking any calcium supplements but I need to do that too. Thats really great Debbie that your stomach is getting flatter. Wahoooo can't wait til mine gets that way. Now I am getting nervous. I have my surgery on Tuesday at 9:30 - day after tomorrow.
Kathie

Kathie,

My surgery is day after tomorrow at 12:00. We will definitely have to check back with each other through our recoveries! I believe that you are the only person who I've communicated with over the past month who also has the same surgery date as I !

Since I don't have severe symptoms either (heavy bleeding, cramping, discomfort), I had a hard time deciding that I should have the TAH. The enlarged abdomen and pressure are my only complaints. I kept asking, "Is it worth going through major surgery to get rid of this enlarging abdomen?" After careful consideration and research, I decided that living with what I have would cause me too much emotional stress, if not physical pain. Every day I look at my enlarging profile in the mirror and realize that the fibroid has to go! Also, from what I've read, it's likely that the tumor will keep growing, as it has since it was discovered in July.

I think you should definitely begin calcium supplements. At 52, I had a bone density test this year and had a very good report. I've taken calcium since I was 35. (Of course, check with your doctor first!)

I'll think about you on Tuesday! May we both have successful surgeries and smooth recoveries!


BlondieA770

Kathie and Blondie,

Best wishes for smooth surgeries. Once I got to this point, I said "Don't look back" and now glad to be through that and I know you will be too.

Blondie, I don't think you have to wait for your fibroid to be the size of a melon to feel ok about the surgery...every woman has to do what is right and good for them...the best we can do is get all the information we can and then make our decisions.

I read the book 'A gynecologists second opinion'. It's on Amazon, but I picked it up at Barnes & Noble. It was great and I especially liked the chapter that took you play by play through the surgery day. It is written by a gyn with a lot of sensitivity and compassion. It doesn't seem to be too biased. He stated regarding fibroids and the surgery decision that he felt it was reasonable to remove a 'twelve week size' uterus. Mine was 17-18 weeks so that validated me right there. Not to mention the fact that I looked PREGO which is fine if you're really going to have a baby.

Anyway the book was helpful and you might wish to check it out. I have also ordered a couple of other books dealing with hysterectomy, including of course the HS book. They got good ratings and I will report back.

I will be thinking of you both on Tuesday and wish you well with easy recoveries.

Best,
Debra

Debra,

Thanks so much for your comments! I suppose I really didn't feel as though my surgery was justified in the beginning. My best friend suggested that I was just being vain about the size of my abdomen, since I have not experienced extreme pain and suffering. After all, a fibroid won't kill me, right???

My doctor of 20 years was good at listening to my concerns and said he feels "completely comfortable with my decision" and that my uterus (5 weeks ago) was the size of a 12-week pregnancy. He also said for the "whole person" that I am, he feels, speaking "as my friend" that the hysterectomy is the right thing to do. I think he knows me well enough to know that I'm going to stress about the fibroid and its growing size until I do something about it. Might as well be sooner rather than later!

I have read a couple of books that suggested the criteria for a hysterectomy for fibroids should include large size PLUS heavy bleeding and/or cramping. The book you referenced, however, seems to indicate that my surgery is warranted because of the size alone. That makes me feel better about my decision!

I see that you are just a few weeks into recovery. I wish you continued good health! Thanks again for your encouragement and support!

BlondieA770 s

I'd also like to add my thanks to the women who are posting their positive castle stories. My TAH/BSO isn't scheduled yet, and hearing the more positive stories is really helping me. I see my gyn in 3 weeks and we'll schedule the surgery at that time, I'm aiming for early December.

As for why to wait, in my case, it was fear of surgery (I've had multiple surgeries and just didn't want anymore) and not wanting to take time off from work. However, I have multiple fibroids and at last year's ultrasound, the largest was the size of a large grapefruit. I've never had children, so that was a lot of "stretching" for my uterus. I also have extremely heavy bleeding, constant low back pain, bladder problems (and now I think I have a prolapsed bladder), and chronic fatigue. The scale finally tipped toward having the surgery---but I admit to having moments of doubt. I'm going to have my ovaries removed because there are cysts on both of them and I have a family history of ovarian (and breast) cancer. Because of that, I'll be doing menopause "au natural," no hormones for me.

This site and hearing these true-life stories are really helping me to get through this LIW time. Thank you all.

Gayle

This is a great site and am so happy to be able to read of other peoples experiences too. I also was scared too because I had a bad experience with the anesthesia when I had my last baby. I thought I was going to die. I couldn't breathe and everyone was paying attention to my baby and my husband - not me! So I am kind of scared of the anesthesia this time too. I will be praying for you too Blondie on your surgery on Tuesday. I keep on learning and learning from this website. Thank you!

Kathie