surgery questions??????

Hello ladies!! I am 26 days away from my surgery. as far as i know doc is taking ovaries, uterus the works. I have spent may hours/days reading all the posts. I have read many of you have had "bladder slings" and "rectal prolapse" repair and my question is this, When you go for surgery does the doc know you need this procedure before surgery or do they know once they "get in there", or is this discovered after the surgery and you go for another? I have made a another appointment with my doc before my preop visit because i have too many questions that just one visit will cover.HAHA My other question is when they take everything out do you feel like something is missing down there, like a hollow feeling. I am not sure i am explaining myself right, I am not good with words. Please anyone that can tell me their experience would help. My surgery is being done of bilateral sist on both ovaries and enlarged uterus. I was told they wont know why it is enlarged until biopsy. Whatever that is supose to mean. I dont under stand why they dont know, they did a cat scan. Anyway i am rattling on Thank you for any info you can give.

Still in the dark
3catwoman Audi

Hello!

I can't help with some of your questions, but the one about the enlarged uterus.....They didn't know why for me either. They knew it wasn't fibroids or polups. After surgery, when the pathology report came back it was, excuse the spelling, andeomysis. Kind of like endometreosis, but not.

Good luck on finding the answers to your questions and with your surgery.

Anna

Hi....I had "everything" removed one year ago exactly. I had a huge uterus, fibroids, adenomyosis, and once they got in there...discovered endo. (never knew I had that!) Suprise!!! Terrible, heavy, heavy bleeding...huge clots...bad pain...you name it! I'M SOOO GLAD IT'S ALL GONE!!! No...you won't feel "hollow" inside. I didn't feel any difference except NO MORE BLEEDING OR PAIN!!!! I've been on 2 mg. of Estrace since my surgery and I'm doing great on it!! Good Luck!

hi--- some things they won't know and can't until they are doing your surgery. for example, no one knew that i would need a bowel resection. it is good that you are asking all of these questions. hugs, nancie

I did experience that "empty feeling" you are talking about, it's hard to put into words....I could remember moving from side to side in the beginning and it is almost like the feeling of being on a a roller coaster and you get that queezy left my stomach behind feeling.

Good luck with your surgery and hope you have a speedy recovery!!!

Hi.

My guess is that unless you are currently having symptoms of bowel or bladder prolapse, they probably won't "notice" it during surgery unless it's quite severe. However, *if* they do find something that requires repair, they will do so during surgery even if it was unanticipated and you didn't consent for it. The wording/interpretation on surgical consent forms is designed to give the surgeon the right to perform procedures that are deemed necessary and weren't predicted. (I should qualify that by saying that was the policy at the hospital where I worked as a O.R. nurse).

As far as an "empty" or "hollow" feeling is concerned, you probably won't experience a physical feeling of emptiness. The other organs shift around and get accustomed to their new space Some women report an emotionally empty feeling/sense of loss after their hyst. Personally, I did not, but that is a very personal issue that people deal with in their own ways.

Last but not least, removed organs are sent to pathology in all hysts to help make or verify diagnoses, (and rule out issues like cancer). Enlarged uterus is one of the most common reasons that hysts are performed and only a *small* % are due to cancer. (Maybe someone can chime in here with a percentage statistic). The pathology report is usually quite interesting. I found out after my surgery, that I had cysts coating the *inside* of my cervix as well as both ovaries. Fortunately, all tissues were cancer-free so it was a relief to read it. (BTW, you are entitled to receive a copy of the pathology report if you're interested).

Most of all, best wishes for your upcoming surgery I'm so glad you found us beforehand. This is a great place to come for friendship, support, guidance, information and oftentimes...humor.

We'll be looking forward to hearing from you in the future

I had a bladder swing (or my bladder pinned) and I also had major work done on my prolapsed rectum. Yes, the doctor knew I needed work before my surgery. During my internal exam, is when he discovered my uterus,bladder,rectum were all pretty much 'falling out', as he put it.
He told me the reason this happens is, it runs in your family (my Mom, aunt,grandma all have had this problem) or durning childbirth if you have a rough time. I pushed for 3 hours with my first child. All that pushing and pressure down there takes a toll on your insides.

About your question of feeling 'hollow'. I have not had that. I feel really good. Happy that I had the surgery.
I hope I helped with your questions! Good Luck!

Samara

You will be just fine. My Dr. told me to look up adenomyosis because by looking at the ultra sound and the symptoms he thought i had it. He was right. the next day after surgery when he checked on me, he said it was adeno.,1 fibroid and he removed a cyst off of one of my ovaries. He saw all of this on the ultrasound, so I don't know why your doctor don't know? Theses things were also on the pathology report. All were non cancerous.
Read all you can under "Hysterectomy" and it will help you to understand what could be going on.Also look up Hysterectomy-surgical procedures. another one is "hysterectomy removal of the uterus. sisters have posted these a while back and found them very helpful. The last one I mentioned actually has films to watch that gives you alot of info.
I have had several setbacks, but I know once I am totally healed I will be very grateful to my Dr. for saving my life. I would have bled to death very shortly as I only had 1/2 of the blood that our bodies are supposed to have.Just make sure you write down all of the questions you have and take them to your appt. That is what I do when I go. My doc is very glad to answer all of my questions. I was very lucky to find a good one, because he actually cares. I wish you all the luck in the world. Just remember we are always here to help you.

Peggy

Hi,
I knew I would have a bladder sling as I had a weak bladder when I sneezed I leaked a bit, and my uterus was smashing my bladder so i was always in need to pee, also my grandma has incontience so I asked for this before hand and really glad I did it, sneezing is a breeze when you don't have to cross your legs at the same time as a sudden sneeze!!

Hollow feeling, I had that for 2 days where my tummy felt like a bowl of jello, I did feel something missing but it was really short lived and now it feels the same as before I have no regrets.

Before the hyst I had a D and C the month before and before that an ultrasound, and my doc could not see everything causing the trouble, I had a "funky" looking ovary so he took that and it was not planned but glad he did it then, also polyups so small he said they could have been a big part of the bleeding, along with the other stuff fibroids etc...I should get my surgery report.

I hope I helped, and good luck your gonna be so glad flo is gone!!
hugs
mary

I had everything taken out and didn't feel hollow at all. I felt free, because my uterus had been stuck to my pelvis and everytime I moved I felt tugging. I noticed right away how much more freedom of movement I had.

My uterus was enlarged, too, and my doctor knew I had fibroids from the ultrasound but he was also worried about cancer. So he did a biopsy first before he started cutting. I think he called it a frozen D&C. It took 15 minutes to get the results. Since it was negative he proceeded with an LSH; had it been positive, he would have done a TAH and taken the surrounding lymph nodes as well.

Best wishes; I'm sure you'll do fine.