I'm New Here & I'm Freaking Out

Hi All,
I'm brand new to this however I've been reading your posts for a couple weeks. Now its my turn. Please bear with me.
I have had "problems" with excesive bleeding, clots, etc for years. As the years have passed they have become worse.
I finally told my Gyn enough was enough, we needed to do something. Well, I made the appt for a hyst that day and boy did his bed side manner change. He was a total idiot and very uncaring. (I ended up cancel with him)I decided to track down another Gyn and found a great one fairly close to home. He did an ultrasound and found 6 fibroids, enlarged tipped uterus and thickening of the lining. He did a biopsy and that was ok also.ANyway, temporarily he put me on Prometrium and the periods have been less in clotting etc. He told me we could do whatever I wanted, it was up to me.
NOW...I just turned 50 and he said I would probably be going thru meno in a couple years. He said if I was going to do it I may as well have a TAH. He said he thinks my uterus is too enlarged for the vaginal way but he would try. No guarantees once he's in there.
after reading all of these posts about no orgasms, depression, headaches, etc., I'm wondering if I should just try to wait out.
The problem is, the bleeding DOES tke over my quality of life. Please help I AM SO CONFUSED.
THANK YOU

Hello and

We're happy you joined the Hyster Sisters community! It sounds like you are researching your options and carefully considering having surgery. That's always a good idea, because the more you know, the more confident you will feel in the choices you make, in partnership with your doctor, on your journey to good health.

Most hysterectomies are performed in order to improve a patient's quality of life. It does sound like your life has been compromised. Like any major surgery, there are good outcomes and not-so-good outcomes. Since Hyster Sisters is a support web-site, you will find many women here posting about difficulties. The majority of women who are happy with their life after a hyst, don't ever come to this site, because they don't need any "support." Bear in mind that, although you will read about lots of problems like those you named, not all women have them....in fact, some do not have any! If you decide to proceed with having the surgery, we'll certainly hope that you're one of the fortunate ones!

Many s and Best Wishes to You!

Hi - I too was freaking out about the surgery, especially after reading alot of the messages on this website. They scared me so bad I wanted to call it off. However, the horrible periods for the last two years were far worse than the surgery and recovery. I am two weeks post op - TAH kept one ovary.

I've noticed alot of women complain about gas & BM. HANDY HINT: I ate fiber cereal for one week pre op and continue to eat fiber cereal every morning. My doctor told me chamomille tea helps relieve gas, so I have three cups of that every morning as well. Don't eat any food that would cause gas, no fresh vegies, beans, etc., nothing that is not cooked, no salads, no sodas. I have had no problems. Once things got going in the hospital, I had surgery Mon AM, by Thurs AM I was out of there having accomplished the gas & BM. I had my 2 wk post op appt this morning and my dr. said everything looks great.

Another handy hint - walking, walking, walking helps get things moving. Hang in there all of you anticipating your surgeries, really the anticipation is the worse. Good luck to all of you, Rbncharlie

Hi Taxi1954,

Glad to hear you went to another Dr.. Its a hard decision to make. I had a LAVA on Oct 6th, and I feel great. Had multi-fibriods and endro. For me it was the best decision I've made. Went back to work part time after a couple of weeks and full time now. I'm 43 and did not want to wait for meno.. The bleeding, clotting and feeling in a daze made me say enough!

Please think about whats best for you and what you can handle. The support here is great and all my questions were answered and it helped me alot.

No problems with orgasms, no depression and no headaches. Life is good!

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

Karen

Not everyone has problems. I've had no headaces, less actually than before, no dizzyness, no weight gain, no depression, no regret, and the Big "O" is still as good if not better than before. No complications, and was doing fabulously well at 2.5 weeks, so much so that I went back to work. Did I mention that I stopped taking all pain meds at day 4, and only extra tylenol for bedtime. No problems sleeping, sleep like a log. Everything has gone better than expected.

What about giving yourself more time to make your decision or find a doctor that you can talk to? My doc spent an hour with my DH and me in his office while I was trying to decide what to do. This was on top of two other phone calls I had with him alone. Had real peace of mind going into surgery which helps a lot with how you will be able to deal with recovery.

Peace of mind after talking with your doctor - Priceless!


Good luck on your decision!



Sara

PS By the way - no compalints about recovery - no headaches, depression - or anything!

Sara:

Poor thing.
Giving all my pad/diapers. Tampons away was so wonderful!
Buying really pretty underwear and throwing away those "save these for the really bad days or nights"
Wearing white pants any day of the month.
Having sex any day or nite of the month!
Having a life everyday.

My TAH was quick. The recovery quick. I am not an athlete. I am a middle aged, overweight mom.
I drank lots of water before. High bran (Yoplait smooties every day) for 2 weeks prior to surgery. Drank lots of water after, and walk. Walk. Walk. Walk. I don't vacumn, sweep, mop or push grocery carts. But do pretty much everything else at 3 weeks.

I am real proud of you, getting another doctor. You listen to what is right for YOU!
There are some scary stories on this site. But so much encouragement, and knowledge. Jeez, my nurses were asking me questions.

I am always so concerned when I hear new members to the site freaking out because they've read too many of the messages describing difficulties. It is too easy to get suckered into thinking that this whole experience is, by definition, awful. For some of us, it isn't. You just don't hear as much about the less difficult experiences. Here is what I just wrote to another person about my experience. I hope it helps you, as well:

Before my surgery, I did lots of reading and studying. Due to some suspicious discharge, I had ultrasounds (internal and external) and an endometrial biopsy. The biopsy was not fun but thank goodness, no cancer. My pre-op physical, 2 weeks before my surgery date, consisted of a urine test, blood tests, EKG and a chest x-ray. They also gave pre-op instructions which included a fleets enema, a medicated douche and a medicated scrub from naval to thighs the night before surgery.

The surgery and hospital stay went well. I was under general (full) anesthesia, but it was a breeze. The IV going in was painless and the initial drug to relax me is the last thing I remember. My voice was raspy from the breathing tube but my throat wasn't sore. I had no nausea from any of the drugs and managed my pain easily with the patient-controlled morphine.

I had jello and broth for lunch the same day as my surgery and was on solid food that evening. I was discharged after 2 nights in the hospital.

I went on Climara, a transdermal estrogen (bio-identical estradiol) patch a couple of days after my surgery. I intend to wean myself off sooner rather than later, but so far, surgical menopause has been a breeze. No symptoms whatsoever... no hot flashes, no abnormal moods, etc. I just replace the patch once a week and forget about it.

I also do not have a DH and in my case, no kids, so I was fortunate that my sister and brother flew in from Boston and Minneapolis, first one and then the other, to help me out. Between the two of them, I had on-site help from the day of discharge when my sister arrived, until 8 days later when my brother left. That was enough to get me through the worst and from there on out, I managed on my own.

I went downstairs every AM right from the beginning and back up to bed in the evening. I walked up and down the lane next to my house at 4 days post-op and was off the pain pills within 10 days post-op. I had no problems with my incision nor any spotting. I was able to bend over and scoop cat litter or freshen water bowls within a day or two of coming home.

Currently I am 7 weeks post-op and in my 2nd week back at work. All is well. I have some swelling, numbness, skin sensitivity and jabbing pains, but nothing too terrible.

I encourage you to read all you can, as you mentioned. Be aware that while there are some stories and experiences that may frighten you a bit, there are also some of us who do very well through all of this. That's why I took the time to write about it.

If you have any specific questions I can answer, send me an email (easier for me than private messages).

Good luck to you!

TO EVERYONE THAT ANSWERED MY DESPERATE CRY FOR HELP...I THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT. I AM SO PETRIFIED OF THIS WHOLE THING.
MY MOTHER NEVER HAD ANY OF THIS. JUST ONE DAY SHE WOKE UP AND MENOPAUSE WAS DONE. I DO RECALL A LITTLE GRUMPINESS THOUGH.
THE DR CALLED AND TRIED TO SET ME UP FOR 11/17, BUT I PANICKED AND SAID LETS WAIT UNTIL AFTER THE HOLIDAYS.
WHEN I FEEL GOOD, I DON'T WANT TO GO THRU IT, BUT THEN I GET MY PERIOD, FEEL LOUSY AND SAY "LETS DO IT TODAY".
I NEED TO TRY TO REMEMBER THE "BAD" FEELINGS.
I'M THINKING ON SCHEDULING IT FOR IMMEDIATELY AFTER CHRISTMAS.
MY MOM USUALLY GOES DOWN SOUTH WITH MY SISTER AFTER THE HOLIDAYS, SO I DON'T KNOW WHO CAN "TAKE CARE OF ME".
MY DH WORKS FOR THE COUNTY AND WILL BE OUT PLOWING SNOW BECAUSE I LIVE IN THE GREAT NORTHEAST. HE DID TELL ME HE WOULD TAKE A WEEK OFF THOUGH.
ANYWAY, PLEASE BEAR WITH ME...ALL OF YOU. I KNOW I SOUND LIKE A BABBLING IDIOT, BUT I AM PETRIFIED. THANK THE LORD YOU ALL COME TO THIS SITE FOR PEOPLE LIKE ME :hair: :hair: