Thanks for helping with my decision

I finally got my second opinion(which I should have done months ago) and was told that I need a TAH because my uterus is now 20 weeks size(due to very large fibroids) and they can't go through an old scar from the removal of an ovarian cyst. I just wish I was told earlier, when it was alot smaller, that it should come out. I can't believe I thought pain, swelling, contstant peeing all night and 14 day periods were acceptable! What was I thinking? I'm 46 and although I'm relieved just thinking about not being anemic and possibly having a somewhat flat stomach again, I'm really concerned about how it will affect me. It's been great reading about how well most everyone has done and it made me get moving in a forward direction. I would just love to know how some of you have dealt with some of the challenges of both pre and post-op. First of all what did you wear? Thank god the empire waist is in so it can cover the fact that I can barely button my jeans. I never did get to wear maternity clothes, and I don't want to have to buy much more, but what can you wear after you are left with a big scar across your abdomen? I'm afraid that I won't want anything to touch it, but I have to wear clothes. I also am still having difficulty with the idea of losing my cervix. I've never had a bad pap smear and I don't know if it really needs to come out too. My surgery is scheduled for Nov 28 and I would really appreciate it if I could hear from some of you on both sides to help me decide. Sorry I have been going on, this is my first post and I still can't believe this is happening.

I was in a similar place as you, watched the fibroids grow and grow until I was tired of the constant peeing and pressure. I started to second guess why I had waited as long as I had to my gyn. Hee very quickly said to me "You are here now, never look back. There is a reason why you weren't here before, but here you are here now".
What to wear? I went to Target and got some drawstring capri length PJ bottoms to wear in the hosp and at home. I lived in those for the first week. The planned LAVH turned into a TAH, so I woke up with a nice six inch horizontal scar (he used the same site from my c-section), AND the swelling from the gas used in the LAVH portion of the surgery. If you're having the LAVH, you will only have 3 tiny scars from the instruments used, if the plan is for TAH, ask ahead of time if you will have a vertical or horizontal incision. My cervix was removed. I wasn't fixated on keeping it/not keeping it. After talking with the gyn, I decided that I'd have the BSO also, I'm 53 and was nearing menopause and I felt it risky to keep them.
My recovery has been amazingly easy. I have been resting and doing lots of self reiki.
You have time yet to do a lot of reading. If you do read in the post-op forums, realize that everyone heals at a different pace. Good luck.

I was 54 when I had my tah/bso with a 7" bikini cut incision. I was very sore and didn't want anything on the incision at first. I wore 2 hospital gowns at first - one facing front & the other facing back ( was covered that way ). I wore nothing else , no undies even. After I got home, I wore knee length gowns for a few days ( nothing under still ). After that, I wore loose elastic waisted pants & t-shirts, loose jumper type dresses etc.I heeled pretty well and was released for normal activities at 7 weeks. Now the scar is barely visible and I wear whatever I like.

S

Hi kcoboss,

Just had to respond to you.
I and had my hysterectomy the belly smile way due to 2-lbs worth of fibroids. It put so much pressure on my bladder and bowels. Waited to long to have the procedure.
This is my story in a nut shell.
I saw 4 different DR's before I decided which surgeon I felt most comfortable with.
Nothing wrong with the ovaries or cervix. No history of cervical cancer in the family, no abnormal pap smears (I'm 45, 3 kids) I do have a family history of breast cancer due to HRT, so I wanted to keep my ovaries. The surgeon I chose is most involved in womens studies and has been for several years. This DR went over options for which I knew I was not a candidate for any of them. He went over statistics etc... (don't want to get to long winded) Anyway, he told me he would just remove the uterus and leave the cervix and ovaries. Without me saying a word. He said it gave more vaginal support and could even help sexually.
I weighed each DR and considered what each of them had to say. Ultimately I kept my ovaries and cervix and it was the right decision for me. I feel most at ease with myself.
At this time, I have not experienced any mini periods, no bladder leaking and bm’s moving right along. Sex is fabulous!
Which is exactly what my surgeon said would happen .

Talk to your DR and discuss all your options, pros and cons.

Pre-op was pretty uneventfull, didn't have to do a bowel prep. The waiting was the hardest.
On what to wear? I liked pants with elastic (expando pants) or great big tee shirts, panties that are 2 sizes to big.

Best of luck to you and speedy healing.

Lauren

Yes, I too thought I was normal....peeing all the time, bleeding to death. My friend would say to me, "you think you are normal when you DON'T bleed for 4 days and then go back to bleeding."

I am still in my comfy sweats. I have a vertical scar, plus when wearing the belly band the sweats are very helpful.

Continue to ask as many questions as you like. That is what we are all here for.

Hi,

I feel the same way. I was just examined by the urologist friday, and he said he would do the bladder sling, but my obgyn had major work to do. Which made me pretty nervous. I will need an a&p repair(because of cystocele and rectocele) and hyst. He sent back over the information to obgyn. I am waiting on obgyn to call me back with a surgery date and tell me exactly what type of hyst I will need. I have had a call in since monday. They are definitely taking there time. I guess once I hear a date, I can start preparing. I am 33 years old and have an 8 year old and 4 year old. I am so tired of feeling miserable. My obgyn also said he thinks I have adeno and my 1st obgyn said he thought I had endo. Of course when I am there I don't think to ask enough questions. I guess they can tell about the adeno by an pelvic exam. I am wanting them to schedule my surg for dec 12 or 19, so I can carry my sick leave into the new year and get paid for it. I hate having it right at x-mas, but my dh assures me it will be o.k. I have so much to get done before then. If I had it done right now I would be 4 weeks without pay. The uro told me basically it was pelvic prolapse. I have so much pressure all the time and pain, by back kills me. I stay so fatiqued. I wonder if any of you had the same symptoms. I hope this is what is causing my to be fatiqued all the time, so after this all over with I will feel great again. Well I hope I didn't bore y'all too much. It makes me feel better to talk to y'all. I love reading on this site. I am very nervous about this but I know the lord will take care of me and he will y'all too. Y'all keep me posted and I will pray for you all. Take care

kcoboss,

This is my first post here too. I had mine done about 7 years ago when I was 43. I read the other posts which seem to be mainly focused on the what to wear question. What I wanted to weigh in on is the cervix issue. I read a lot and struggled with what to take away and what to leave in. i was in no way ready for menopause so the ovaries staying was easy. Not so with the cervix but I decided to keep it and am glad I did. Like you I'd never had a bad pap and no family history of cervical or other reporductive cancers.
More male docs than females that I spoke to were adamant about the cervix going. I could not go there. Each part of us serves a purpose and keeping that little thing has contributed to my quality of life I believe. (You can read about all the possible side effects of not keeping it which to me vastly outweigh the rare possibility of cancer.)
Overall my life has been improved 1000%.
Look, we each know ourselves best and if your gut is asking you to question that decision then do.
Best wishes for a healthy outcome.

I also waited until symptoms were unbearable. I am 46 and had a very troublesome grapefruit sized fibroid. My first doc said any hyst would have to be abdominal. My second opinion doc had no problem doing a laparoscopic supracervical hyst. Yes it's magic - she removed a grapefruit-sized fibroid via a 1" diameter tube! I am 5 days post-op and I keep compulsively checking these forums to compare my story with others, and I'm telling you, if there is any way you can possibly go laparoscopic - it is such a low impact surgery. I am recovering really fast and feel great. Clothes aren't a problem with LSH because you just have 3 tiny incisions. Sometimes people take lupron to shrink fibroids prior to surgery. I see you live in Boston. I don't think we're allowed to mention specific docs or hospitals but I had my surgery in Cambridge. However your surgery is done, you are bound to feel a lot better once you stop losing blood all the time.

Hi

Like you I had to have the TAH procedure due to size of fibroid (you could see it sticking out of my belly) and I am very happy with the result. The scar healed very quickly and is now barely visible and I feel like I have a new bladder!

My personal choice was to lose the cervix.The reason was that the cervix is part of the uterus so fibroids can grow on it. My fibroid grew very quickly and I wanted to avoid the possibility of more surgery.I am still happy with my choice.

Regarding clothes, I bought a couple of loose nightie come tee-shirt dresses which were decent enough to answer the door in - but it was May! and some soft joggers. After 2 weeks I was back in my jeans - but not so surprising when the 4lb fibroid had previously been filling them!

Good luck with your decision.
best wishes
Liz

Hello kcoboss and others...

I am scheduled to have a TAH w/removal of my cervix on Nov. 13th. I discovered a hard mass in my lower abdomen last Aug., after experiencing problems with incontinence. I knew something was wrong so I consulted my GP doc right away and she scheduled my first pelvic ultrasound in Oct. I had a follow-up u/s in Jan. and finally a third in July. During this time, I was steadily gaining weight and becoming more and more uncomfortable by the week. I had constant abdominal pressure to the point where I couldn't eat very much for already feeling very full, I could barely make it to the bathroom in time to pee, and I was extremely fatigued all the time. I was told I had several fibroids. I finally went to see a Gyn and he told me my uterus was the size of a 22 wk pregnancy He was ready to do my hyst right away, but I wanted time to get things in order at work & home, so we set it for Nov. Plus, my doc prefered to give me Lupron injections to cause a drug-induced menopause, shutting off my estrogen, therefore shrinking the fibroids. I received my 1st Lupron shot on 9/1 and then went back for a follow-up on 9/29. Success, my fibroids did shrink and my uterus is now the size of 19 wks. I got a 2nd dose of Lupron and will go back on 10/27 for another f/u exam and shot #3. My doc said if he stopped the Lupron, my fibroids would spring right back to their original size. My largest fibroid was the size of a softball. I still have to have a TAH with a vertical incision because of the size of my uterus and the fact that I've never had children. But, my incision will be lower and smaller now (he was going to have to cut me above my belly button. I can't wait to have the surgery! I'm ready to get on the recovery road to feeling better like I once did pre all of this mess. kcoboss, since your surgery isn't until Nov. 28th, maybe you should inquire with your doc about whether Lupron is right for you. It's definitely worked and working for me; just losing 3 wks in uterus size has alleviated the urge incontinence, the abdominal fullness, and some of the fatigue. I do experience occassional hot flashes but it's an exceptable trade-off, believe you me!
I wish you the best with your surgery and recovery. I'm sure you will do great! After your surgery, rest and be pampered, you deserve it.

Sorry for the novel!
~Pam
TAH, possible BSO for several large fibroids & ovarian cysts