Anyone in their 20's?

Alright ladies,

I have read quite a bit different threads and have some questions. I have dealt with the symptoms of adenomyosis for almost 10 years, but it has just recently been diagnosed. I have tried medications and pain relievers to manage since the diagnosis, but an not getting any relief. On Wednesday I have an appointment to discuss surgical options, with a hysterectomy being the most obvious. I am 27 years old with two little boys at home.
If I choose to go a head with the hyst, what can I expect? I see a lot on here from ladies over 40, but haven't come across anything for me in my twenties.

Please Help!

Hi, there are a lot of women on here that are wonderful resources. Hopefully, you get response on this post. If not, maybe post something like "Anyone in their 20's" in the title, I thought you had 20 questions!

I'm 37 with adeno. I have two little girls at home (ages 3 and 5). I am scheduled for hyst. next month...I recently waded through possible options for treatment before deciding on surgery, if there's anything I can help you with let me know.

I am so sorry. I see the problem now when I read it. I will try to repost under a new title. My little ones are 1 and three and both very active. How will I keep up with them after a Hyst? What type are you having and what made you finally decide on the hyst? Sifting through research is something I enjoyed in college, but have grown to dead now that I have to do it for my own health benefit any advice would help.

Don't be sorry...I wanted you to get the most exposure so you can hook up with the women you're looking for.

I was offered Mirena and ablation for adeno. I scheduled an ablation, but changed my mind since pain was more my problem than bleeding. I also have a prolapse and the ablation wouldn't have helped with that. Trying to address the issues individually wasn't working, so I decided to go ahead with the hyst.

Good Luck!

Hello!

I'm 24. When I was 22 I had a partial hysterectomy for adenomyosis and endo. This past December I had my ovaries out.

Having the hysterectomy (before my ovaries removed) wasn't a huge deal physically. The worst part was, and has been, trying to grieve the loss of having my own children.

Having the ovaries removed was a whole other ballgame, the implications of that are effecting me every day. I cannot sleep, literally I'm lucky to get 3-4 hours a night. I won't bore you with the details, because if you are suffering from adenomyosis, they'll likely just be removing the uterus, right?

Good luck, if you have any specific questions, feel free to ask. I'm not shy

Wow! and I thought I had it bad. I had a baby in high school and gave him up for adoption. I guess I always worried that I wouldn't be able to have more children. The thing I am most thankful through all of this is that it wasn't diagnosed sooner and was able to have two beautiful boys. I really do feel for you and your plite. There is always adoption. I myself was adopted and very happy that I was.
What type of hyst did you have? How long did it take you to recoperate? Thank you for all of your help.

Clays-

I just want to give you an official "thank you" and big giant hug (I couldn't find the hugging icon though), choosing adopting for your baby was such a selfless decision and if you only knew how much you are loved & appreciated by those people that you made to be parents. We are definately going to adopt (next year I'm hoping) and I really want an open adoption with our child's birthmother because I want her to know how awesome she is for making me a mommy. Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now....but, seriously, you are an awesome person for choosing adoption!

I had a vaginal hyst. They took everything except my ovaries the first time. I was in the hospital for 2 days. Without a doubt, it wasn't fun, but like I said before-it was an extremely emotional time for me (as it is with many women) because of the "baby" factor. The worst part is-they put me on the maternity floor!!! So, as I was trying to walk the halls to get moving-women were walking around with their new babies. I hated that. I thought I asked a lot of questions before my surgery (and in college I used to work for an OB/GYN so this stuff wasn't totally foreign to me), but there were a few things I didn't know would happen.

I had a catheder (sp?), I didn't know I would have one of those! I didn't ask, but it never occured to me to ask, but no one told me either. Also, the day of surgery, I woke up in the middle of the night and they put "packing" of some sort in your vaginal cavity, and it was extremely uncomfortable. I was drugged and it was the middle of the night, and I was panicked because I didn't know something was "supposed" to be in me. I paged the nurse and I was better once she told me it was normal, but it was very scary for me (sounds stupid now, but, everything is amplified with pain and medicine). I asked her to remove the packing, and she did, and the cath at the same time, so from that point on I was able to go to the bathroom on my own (I was so glad!).

I spoke to a few people who had hysterectomy's before I did, but they were all in their 50's, and I found I was able to recover much quicker, which was very nice.

I would suggest you definately have someone at your house with you for a few days or go somewhere without the kids. You will NOT be able to safely care for your kids immediately after your hyst. I stayed with my mom for 1 week (I was not life-disturbing to do so though, I wasn't married at the time and lived alone). Definately for the first few days, make sure someone is there to care for your kids, let the dog out, cook you food, etc.

If you have any other questions, just let me know.

You sound amazing. My adoption is an open adoption. We are actually going to the zoo at the end of May with my little family and his. His parents are so amazing. If you ever have questions of the adoption process, I can be a resource. I was also adopted out of the foster care system with two of my half bothers. So I do know a bit about the whole process. Someday we would like to adopt a daughter from the foster care system. I simply believe it is my destiny. Thank you for your kind words and good luck with the process. It is actually as overwhelming as the whole hyst process too.

Now with that said, you have helped alleviate many of my concerns with recovery. I plan on sending the boys to grandpa's for about 2 weeks afterwards, so I should be ok. My husband is a realtor and nurse, so he can schedule time for me and is super wonderful about helping me afterwards. I am so sorry that they put you in the maternity ward, but I am sure it is cleaner there than other places in the hospital. Still it would have played tricks with my mind and emotions too.

What did you do before the surgery to get prepared for it? Did the hyst itself change your hormones? I am very hormonal to begin with, so I don't think my husband would like even larger mood swings. What types of medications were you on after the surgery? Did you have to be on them very long?
Well I had better go for now.

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If you ever have questions of the adoption process, I can be a resource.

I'm so going to take you up on that! Thank you! I have the most strange question ever-but I have to ask. Would you have been ok with the adoptive parents breastfeeding? I am planning to breastfeed (yes, it can be done), and I want an open adoption but I'm so afraid that the expectant mother will be freaked out by my desire to breastfeed. I want to give my baby the most nutrition and health possible, and breastmilk is best for that. I don't want to infringe on her "rights" as the baby's first mom, but I also want to be able to make my own parenting decisions: and nutrition is one that I'm very strict about. Sorry if the question offended....I've just been dying to get advice from a birthmother about it.

Now, back to the topic at hand...

Are you having your ovaries removed?

I'll answer your questions based on my partial hyst (they left my ovaries orignally), because I'm assuming they are leaving your ovaries if you have adenomyosis. If you are having your ovaries out-let me know-because these answers would be much different.

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What did you do before the surgery to get prepared for it?

Nothing. Just made sure my dogs had someone to care for them. Since you have kids, just make sure laundry is caught up and stuff like that. If you have an upstairs in your house, you can't do stairs for about 2 weeks or so....make sure you get anything you might need from upstairs. And, set up the guest bedroom-you might not want your hubby sleeping next to you. His rolling over, snoring, or other annoying husband stuff might bother you in the middle of the night if you are uncomfortable or can't sleep.

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Did the hyst itself change your hormones? I am very hormonal to begin with, so I don't think my husband would like even larger mood swings.

Let me just say, husbands don't get a vote about whether or not they are willing to deal with mood swings. It comes with the territory! But, I don't think there was any hormonal changes (medically speaking), but there was a ton of emotions. Some women, even after having completed their family, still really struggle with the finality of a hysterectomy, so be prepared for that to hit you. It's totally normal if you are sad about it. You can, and should, grieve the process of not being able to carry another baby.

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What types of medications were you on after the surgery? Did you have to be on them very long?

Just pain medicine. I took pain medicine in the hospital (2 days) and then another 2 days after surgery. Some women are on it much longer, and that's ok. I went through hell before my hysterectomy with many medical issues, so the physical pain was something I was used to.

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I plan on sending the boys to grandpa's for about 2 weeks afterwards

Great idea! Your tummy will be sore even after 2 weeks, and you shouldn't lift your kids (I'm not sure how old they are), so just be prepared for that when you get home. Make sure it's safe for you to be home with them and not lift them, obviously that depends on their age.

Good luck! Do you have a date scheduled for the surgery?

[quote=firefly07]I'm so going to take you up on that! Thank you! I have the most strange question ever-but I have to ask. Would you have been ok with the adoptive parents breastfeeding?[quote]

I have heard of doing this. And the question doesn't offend me at all. Actually I am not shy either.
The first time I heard of it, I was weirded out. But you are absolutley right about nutrition and bonding. I would be completely open with the birth mom. I myself would not of had a problem with it. At age 16 I really didn't know a whole lot about the process and was really excited about finding the right family. I am sure when the right woman presents herself, ya'll will know it and be ok with open dialogue. I would have been upset to find out later that breast feeding was invloved, only because of not being told right off. Honesty is huge in this process. Let her know that you are being frank and that you expect the same in return. This time is extreemly overwhelming for her and she may not realize what questions she should have asked. You will have to work through things together. It will be okay to feel scared, lonely, and betrayed at times, but as long as the love for the child's well being and for each other stays intack and center stage, you should be ok.

Back to the hyst. I do not have a date set yet. I go tomorrow to decide with my doctor. I believe that I get to keep my ovaries and am very excited about that. I know that husband's don't get a huge say in anything female, but I do like him to think that I am concerned for him too. It keeps him happy, which helps keep me happy, and that's what this is really all about. Isn't it? lol

You have been such a great help. I feel really good about this decision and the whole process. I hope that I can turn to you time and again as I go through this. I am sure we can't exchange email adresses, but that would be easiest for me when it comes to the adoption stuff for sure. Not because I don't want to speak about it, but because I like keeping the process personal.

Anyway, I had better get back to work. When were you able to return to work after having the partial hyst done?

Thank you so very much!