TAH/BSO - Thus far, the wait was the worst part!

I found this site about a month before my scheduled TAH/BSO, and am I ever glad! So many questions were answered for me and so many fears allayed. Here is the skinny.....

Thursday before finds me cleaning the house frantically, making sure all the bills are paid, cats and dogs fed, kids taken care of. Lots of Prayer at this point!

Surgery scheduled for Friday at 2:50. Have to be at the castle at 12:00, but the preop nurse called and said come at 1:00. Okay. Get to the castle, do the registration, report to presurgery. There my Mom and DH sat in the waiting room. I went to the preop ward, got my pretty new dress, kind of a cotton backwards Jeniffer Lopez deal sans tape, got an IV. Got the shave. The girls all know me, I work there. Fun. The anesthesiologist came in to tell me that since I have acid reflux (heartburn) I would be treated as if I had a full stomach. Gave me three drugs, Reglan, some icky drink, and some Zantac. Got a huge dose of antibiotics. About this time the waiting was getting hard. I was the last patient of the day. I was starting to get really uptight when they came in and gave me Versed, a great (I-don't-care-drug). Suddenly they told me it was time, Kissed Mom and DH goodbye. Got my cute little blue hat and booties. Up we went in the back elevator. Got all the way up to OR--suddenly I heard the doc being paged to the ER--an emergency delivery. They took me back down to preop. I got another dose of Versed, and before long it was time. Now the part I was most worried about was the anesthesia, being put under and all. I shouldn't have worried, and don't you either. Best part of the whole thing. The nurses were putting my arms on the table, putting a belt on me, and the anesthesiologist patted my arm and said "Hi again. How are you. I didn't even have time to answer. Blackness, just velvety blackness. No memories at all. I woke up in my private hospital room after it was all over. Didn't even wake up in recovery! I hurt a bit, and they gave me more meds at that time. DH was there, kissed me good bye. He had to go home, work the next day.

Woke up the next day, Saturday, the bed was pretty comfortable. The nurse came in to show me the pain control button, the call button, TV button, bed button, etc. STill pretty groggy but able to hit the pain button pretty good when needed. The morphine worked really great. I was really surprised at how fast they get you out of bed. I had a catheter, but just a Foley, not the suprapubic number I had been expecting. I had an IV line and pole. I had these neat little booties that automatically inflated and deflated to make sure my circulation kept up while I was lying flat. My Doc came in to check the incision and the vaginal area, not much bleeding at all. They made me get up and walk a little bit, not so much fun, hurts and was exhausting. Slept alot. The liquid diet they had me on was yuck. I don't drink coffee, they brought me that. I couldn't open the popsicle. Ate about two bites of the soup and just kept drinking lots of water. They check your vitals alot at this point.

Sunday they really create a bootcamp atmosphere. Out comes the catheter! Not really an owie, more of a surprise. The Doc took about 10 yards of vaginal packing out, like a perverse magic trick! Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat! Watch me pull a firehose out of my vagina! Much relief and release of pressure from that. Off to the pottie, please pee, no pee. I remembered from having babies that they used to give me a bottle to squirt the area with warm water. All of my nurses at this point were MALE and about 20 years old. They had no clue. I finally got an aide that was an older gal, she got it right away and brought me a PERI Bottle--ask for it. Works great. Makes the bladder remember what to do right away and also cleans the area gently. They put me in the shower, I was shaking like a leaf. Then the nurse reached over and ripped the tape of the incision and I thought I would die. Just like taking a bandaide off really fast. That was about the worst. I started walking alot, passing alot of gas. That hurts at first too. Just do it, though, walk alot. It helps. And listen to your mother, STAND UP STRAIGHT!. If you guard your tummy and slump over it hurts ten times worse. STand up tall! My Doc came in and said I could go home if I wanted to, but I didn't feel confident enought yet. Still felt like I would get more rest in the hospital at this point.

Had a fever that night. Now when they tell you to do deep breathing and cough alot, do it. I had forgotten and got a little water in the lungs, thus the fever. It left by morning. Monday they let me have real solid food. If you can call oatmeal solid food, it was the best meal ever. Lots of walking. No more inflating booties. Sat in the chair alot. Got my go home instructions and meds. Mom took me home about 2:30. I have a tri-level home, lots of stairs. Took them one at a time, very slowly, and then went straight to bed! Slept alot. Took my meds. Ate a little. Watched TV. My cat was so happy to see me home! My mom was so wonderful! DH being kind of a brat, though. He can't understand that I have to do alot for my self, like getting up and going pottie, transferring to chairs and such. Then when I call him and really need him, he's like "what? Okay, in a minute......." call him again, "I'm coming......be right there". Urgh!!!! Makes me upset.

Tuesday: Eat lots of prunes and drink lots of water. Take stool softener faithfully. The bowels began to work. More worrisome than hurty. Just like after having a baby, a little tender. Tucks wipes were really nice.

So here I sit at the 'puter. It is going pretty good. Not as much to worry about as I thought! You will be FINE! At work I see lots of women who had hystos in like the 1930's and I think wow, how brave they must have been! We have so much going for us with modern stuff!!! Bless all of the Hystersisters and Thanks!