Type Of Pain?????

Although I am pre-op, I have a questions for you that have already "gone thru it".
When everyone is taling about the pain factor, what kind of pain are you talking about? Muscle pain, sore, burning, stabbing pains? What type are you talking about? Can you give me an example? I am already freaking out with my 1/5/05 date, so I may as well add to it

Taxi,
You didn't say whether you were having a vaginal or an abdominal hysterectomy. It makes a difference and I can only speak for the vaginal type (LAVH). And I think I had a "fairly easy" recovery, compared with a lot of people. (I'm sure part of this had to do with the skills of my surgeon and part of it was sheer luck !) . . . For the first 1.5 days, when I was still in the hospital, I really didn't feel any pain. Most of that time, I was getting pain medication intravenously. I just felt sleepy, groggy, yucky, and bloated. Maybe slightly achy -- like I had done too much exercise the day before.

After I left the hospital, I mostly ached. Not bad. More like moderate menstrual cramps. If I was completely still, I felt O.K. But as soon as I walked to the bathroom or bent at the waist or reached for anything, I ached. Again, this was the "too much exercise yesterday" kind of ache. Also, my tissues "down there" felt sort-of bruised. . . . Then, there were the gas pains. These were intermittent. Every once in a while, I would feel a pain. I would think, "Oh, gee. That hurts. . . . O.K., now it's gone." After a week or two, these went away.

Anyway, my experience was that the pain was not bad. Also, pain control is much better than it was even a few years ago. Some hospitals even have a "Pain Management" department which oversees this. I think the fear of the unknown is the worst fear. Best of luck to you. I hope everything goes well.

Barbara

Thanks Barbara -
I actually have no idea about the type of surgery. I told the dr I would like it done vaginally and he said I have a 50/50 chance for that type. He said my uterus may be too enlarged and he doesn't want me on the table too long because of bleeding?
So, I'm really not too sure. I would love it the way you had it done, but who knows. I have a pretty high tolerance for pain but I am still scared to death. I am so glad you didn't have much pain. I guess you made the right choice.

I hear vaginal takes longer to recover from meaning discarge, still need pads.....and the trauma to the vagina. as for myself I had a c-section insicion. my insides do not hurt any more at 2 weeks 2 days post op but the insicion burns like it feels itchy like it is healing I ache a bit when I laugh or cough and sneezing is the pits!!!! but as long as you talk with you doc about pain management PRIOR to the surgury you should be ok.... make sure you talk with them prior becasue there are SEVERAL options for pain management after you are released I like was given toradol, and demorol I later called the docs office and said the toradol helps but the demoroal just knocks me out I wase 1 hour later still in pain I need something else, I have take Tylox in the past it worked great can I have more of that please. when I ran out of it I called back and asked if I could have something less powerful than tylox but more powerful that motrin. I was given Darvocet. I am 2 weeks 2 dasy post op and I am only taking a darvocet in the evening to help with the 'I over did it pain' and to assist in sleeping!!! as for hormone I would suggest that you keep track of the hot flashes after surgury if you start getting them tell you doc or if you have mood swings, and a mood swing does not neccesarily mean you are laughing one and crying the next, I watched a trailer for a movie that was endearing (about a little boy who wanted 2 hunting dogs to love and raise) I cried that was ABNORMAL for me I called the doc he said my remaining ovary was probably in shock and I needed a injection of estradoil (estragen) and would probably need about 4 shots to kick in the ovary and get it working right!!! He did say that I may have to continue taking the estragen in the future but he was sure it was a temp thing for a few months to get i working again!! Just make sure you walk in to the odc office for yout pre-op with a knowledge of what is going to happen and what y our options are. Bye the way you are ENTITLED to pain managment that works for you. if you doc is not providing the proper level of pain managment you can fight to get proper care, when you check into the hospital, read the patients responsiblity and the hopsitals responsiblities And in MY experiance if you start yelling I am entitled to pain meds that work for me the nursing staff will usually start jumping... cause if the meds were working for you the nursing staff would not have to listen to you complaing cause you would be knocked out!!!
OK I am sorry I could complain about doctors all day!!!!
Good luck I hope your surgury goes great and as painless as mine did!!!
Becca

I had a TVH on Nov. 3 and I can tell you that there really isn't much pain at all when the surgery is done this way. My uterus was prolapsed so it was the easiest way to perform the hyst. The gas pains afterwards were probably the worst of it. No pain meds needed when I got home and what they gave me in hospital made me sick and I stopped taking it on day 2. If you have ever had a baby then I can tell you that the pain involved wih a hyst. is much much less. Dont worry - you will be well taken care of by your Doc and nurses.

I'll put in my two cents' worth here...

I was scheduled for a vaginal, but ended up with an abdominal surgery because of the size of my uterus (16 wks) and "only" first degree prolapse - the muscles were too tight and uterus too big for my surgeon to feel comfortable doing a vaginal surgery.

My pain was different at different stages of recovery. When I first awoke, it felt like my bladder was overly full. I had a catheter in, so that wasn't it... it was more likely swelling from the "trauma" of everything being moved around for surgery.

Then, when I was more awake, it was an achiness from hip bone to hip bone across my bikini line incision area - probably the nerves waking back up along with the swelling. In the Castle, the PCA pump helped with this and then the oral meds that I switched to after the IVs were done. Gas had a hand in that "still full" feeling that I had, too.

After about a week post-op, it became an itch that I knew scratching wasn't going to reach - I found that an ice pack helped with the itchiness very well, and the Percocet I had been sent home with helped me cope with achiness just enough to fall asleep comfortably.

When I became more mobile, my belly would be sore and bloated feeling if I had tried to do too much time upright. Again, ice pack helped a LOT, and the occasional Tylenol did, too. Also, once mobile, there were the little "zing" pains that would come and go within a couple minutes - I think they're mostly the stuff inside finding a new location now that there's so much more room in there. I can't say what would have helped with them, because by the time I reached for something to help they'd be gone. Staying really still and breathing slowly until they passed seemed to be the best "treatment" I could come up with.

Now, I do have a high tolerance for pain - child birth with no meds was not really my plan but was the reality 18 yrs ago because I didn't have enough pain to warrant meds until it was down to the wire and too late to get meds into me. I've also had a couple of broken bones (mostly toes) in my life without realizing they were broken for a couple of days. But I would say that my belly aches were not any worse than some headaches I've had, and certainly nothing compared to the monthly cramps that used to send me to bed with Tylenol #3 for a day.

All in all, I'd say that your best pain management is simply not to try to suffer in silence. If they give you something for pain and it doesn't help, speak up - there may be other choices that will work better for you. Doctors are very careful these days not to get their patients addicted to pain meds, so no worries there.

If you are at all able to practice relaxation it will help you cope with pain tremendously. I would find that putting on the headphones, listening to a relaxation CD that I bought at a discount store and closing my eyes for 20 minutes, breathing slowly and purposefully relaxing each of my limbs helped a LOT in keeping pain levels low. My hospital even let me wear my headphones into the OR and have the CD playing when they wheeled me in.

Since I am just out of the hospital yesterday, I am pretty familiar with my pain experience. I have to honestly say that it was not half as bad as I expected. I had a TAH/BSO at 2:30 in the afternoon and that night was the worst. I would say it was a matter of just being very uncomfortable. Stabbing type pain that was numbed by morphine when I moved. Not a constant pain. I hated the morphine. It made me slightly nauseated although I never threw up. The next day I was able to get up and walk and it was not bad. I would say it's a stabbing type of pain although not so bad I couldn't stand up straight or that I had to double over or anything. More like I just had to catch my breath and say OW! I told them no more morphine that morning and they disconnected it and gave me Percoset which I also didn't like (I guess I have a problem with narcotics - I don't like that fuzzy headed feeling - I think it's worse than the pain) That afternoon I told them I wanted Motrin and have been taking that ever since and it works fine. Today (5 days post - op) I feel really good with very little pain. Only when I cough. I have a 7" vertical incision with the staples still in until Mon. and they pull a little and the incision is sore to the touch but otherwise I feel pretty much pain free. Am still taking the Motrin 800 which is prescription strength. I think I will go to regular strength tomorrow. Of course this is my experience but I would say it isn't that bad and don't be afraid of it. A positive attitude and visualizing yourself coming through it easily and with very little pain has some effect because that is what I did. Good luck!

I was told buy the ansetatist that if you are using pain meds for a legitimate reason i.e. surgury your body would not become addicted it swhen you use the drugs when you no longer need it that you will become addicted so as you feel beter ween your self off if you need one take it if you dont dont!!!

it depends on how you tolerate pain. Me I was in pain for 6 years and had many many surgeries before I found a Doc who said enough eas enough. She said hysterectomy and we did it I was uncomfortable for about two weeks. The first wekk I took pain meds but after that I have only benn taking ibu 600 and I fell fine. Just remember take it easy and rest LOTS of rest Don't do anything you don't fell you can do. If you need the pain meds take them. From my point of veiw I felt 100% better after the surgery because of the pain I was in. Every one is different and every one heals at different paces. But if you are in lots of pain now you will be very thankfull that you had it done.
Georgann

For me the first two weeks the pain was like a combo of burning hot and blunt force trauma pain, and a feeling that my guts would fall out.

Later it was two spots right above my hip bones that were like appendicitis-like pain, and a spot in the middle I call "the stump" that feels prickly and stabby.

Overdoing it gives me the "raw meat" pain.

And then there are the occaisional zingers and the pain of intestinal gas, which is the worst of all to bear.