Surgery scheduled for Friday, July 13th

Hello ladies!
This is all happening so fast for me, and I am feeling a little lost and overwhelmed. I just had arthroscopic surgery on my knee on April 9, 2001. While recovering, I had an extremely unusual period. I am a 37 yearl old mother of 4, had my tubes tied in 1994. My periods from then on were 1 day (ususally the day before) of cramping, followed by 3-4 days of light to mod. bleeding. For the past 10 months, I have been experiencing alot of fatigue, had thyroid check, diabetes test, everything negative. Then, all of a sudden this April old faithful comes along and I felt like I was in the transition stage of labor. Serious pain abdominally and in my back. I had some muscle relaxers left over from my knee surgery (Soma) and they helped with the pain but knock me out. After 10 days of heavy bleeding with no sign of it tapering off, I went to my gyn. He did an exam, and told me my uterus was about the size of a two month pregnancy, and that I have Adenomyosis. He explained that there is no cure, he could put me on the pill to control the bleeding, but I should have a Hysterectomy. So I took the BC pills, and thankfully my monthly episodes have been much more manageable, but not at all "normal". I still have intermittant cramping all during the month and a feeling of pressure in the uterine area.

I feel like it will be a big relief to have the procedure. He is going to do it vaginally, most likely keeping the ovaries because of my age. I asked him if he needed to do an ultrasound or something to see if there was any Endo or cysts on the ovaries, but he said no. When he pulls the uterus down, the ovaries will come and if they look good, he will leave them.

My concern is this. My 17 year old daughter is coming to visit me (she lives w/dad) for 3 weeks. She arrives on the 10th, surgery is Friday the 13th. I think I will be in the hospital overnight. I have heard that post op you can't carry or lift anything more than 10 lbs. Will I be ruining her vacation, or will I be able to go to the beach with her (we live on Florida's Emerald Coast between Pensacola and Panama City), walk around, etc. In other words, will I be bedridden for 2 weeks or just for the weekend. I could have elected to have the surgery in August, after she is gone. But friends say it will be good to have her here to help me out. I really want to do it ASAP so I can start feeling like a new woman (my old self) soon and get back to work!! What can I expect? My friend had a TAH so I don't think I can compare my recovery to hers.

Sorry this is so long, it is my first post, and like I said I feel a little lost/nervous.

Someone please help!
Heather64

Hi Heather Welcome to Hyster Sisters. I'm so happy you've found us. It really is a great place.

Sounds like you've been having quite a hard time of it. It can somehow be overwhelming, dealing with all these issues.

I had my hysterectomy last December for fibroids and rectocele repair. Thankfully, at the last minute, my doctor decided to attempt a vaginal hysterectomy and was successful.

Initially, I was amazed at how little pain I felt. This led me to do too much too soon and I ended up delaying my recovery.

Initial recovery from a vaginal hyst is the same as for an abdominal hyst: 6 to 8 weeks. While you will not be exactly bed-ridden during that recovery, you will most likely not feel like running around the beach a few days after your hyst. It is a major surgery, involving removal of an organ.

Not being able to run around the beach with your daughter will not necessarily ruin her vacation. It might turn out to be the right occasion to bond with her and to enjoy quiet time with her. It will also give her a chance to pamper you for a change.

You only have one chance to heal right, make sure that you take advantage of it.

Wishing you the best of luck in your quest for answers. We'll be right there with you every step of the way

Welcome to Hyster Sisters Heather!

I'm sure that your daughter will be a big help to you. It's great that you will have her around. Don't feel like you are going to ruin her vacation. Allow her to help you. Don't feel like you have to entertain her.

Wishing you the best,

Hi Heather! I am scheduled for the 13th as well - a castle buddy! My mom was going to come help me but had emergency herself and is recovering in a nursing facility...that caused a 6 week delay in my surgery (TAH - keeping "the girls"). My 19 year old daughter and 14 year old son will be my primary "nurses" as I am divorced (ex lives in your fair state). I have a boyfriend but he is involved with things in his family as well. Your 17 year old daughter is certainly old enough to undertand that YOU need her now and she should be glad to help. I would not wait for the surgery if it can be helped. My uterus was the size of a 16 week pregancy months ago and already too large for a vaginal procedure. I can hardly WAIT to find out what all my doctor finds in there. I just know that as long as someone is around to help me get to the bathroom, bring me water and get me back in bed or wherever I want to be, I will recover just fine - thank you very much. I have spent my entire life seeing to the needs of everyone around me and I am being totally selfish when it come to this. No one around me had to deal with the bleeding, clots, falling asleep at work due to dangerouly low iron or the numerous procedures. I can't speak about your recovery but I have friends who had a TVH and they were pretty much down for 2-3 weeks. I'll be checking your posts! Good luck.