dVH/RALH: Symptoms seem to be better, should I wait??

Well I am scheduled to have my LAVH, on Monday, Nov.9, and I am just finishing my last visit from Aunt Flo. Now, maybe it is my imagination but I feel that even though I have been in pain, and bled for 12 days, it wasn't as bad as it has been.

I have been diagnosed with fibroids, an enlarged tilted uterus, a mass on my remaining ovary, and doctor seems to think I have Adeno. My question is can this really get better, or is this just a tease?

I don't want to cancel, and then be like oh, no here we go again. I am driving my wonderful husband crazy, he doesn't say it, but I know I am. I am sick of the waiting and worrying, I was cancelled on Oct.5, due to a temp in pre-op. I wished it was already done, and behind me, and then no more second guessing.

I have scheduled an appointment with my doctor for tomorrow, I want to see what she thinks about waiting this out. My DH wants me to have the surgery, he is worried that the ovary may become cancerous, and doesn't want me to take any chances, and he doesn't want me to be in pain any longer. Don't get me wrong, I don't want cancer, but I don't want to make the wrong decision either way. I want the doctor to tell me it has to be done, I hate this being an elective surgery. I just don't want to feel as if I am playing God, don't get me wrong I would rather do this and prevent anything getting worse in the future, then have to look back and think I should have something about it. Am I putting off the inevitable?????

My mother-in-law, says it is the best thing she has ever done, and so does my friend, their only regret was not doing it sooner.

Does this post make ant sense?? Sorry for the long post, and thanks for reading.

I love this site, you are all such great listeners.

sleonard

	Quote:
I want the doctor to tell me it has to be done, I hate this being an elective surgery

I hate this as well!! I believe there should be another category added to Emergency and Elective and that would be Necessary.
This has to be a personal decision for you, but I often find that when you finally get to a about something, it doesn't seem so bad. Then the next day . . .
Have you gotten a second opinion yet??
Good luck on making this decision.
Hugs,
Suzanne

Suzanne,

I did get a second opinion, I love this new doctor.
Actually, I had scheduled to have surgery last November, and cancelled.
Thanks for your reply.

Hi sleonard

You can always postpone and have the surgery later, but once it's done, you can't change your mind. So if you're having doubts, it might be better to cancel. It's great that you're meeting with your to make the most informed decision possible.

That said, are the conditions you have realistically going to get better? I had fibroids and a tilted uterus. Although some months were better than others, my symptoms were getting worse. One month would be bearable, and the next month would come back to bite me in the butt. How does your experience now compare to where you were a year ago? two years ago? three months ago?

As I saw my symptoms get worse over time, I realized that it was never going to get better on its own. For me, this helped me know that a hysterectomy was the right decision for me.

Have a good conversation with your doctor, and know that we are here to listen no matter what you decide!

:starhugs:

Hi,
My surgery is scheduled for Dec 3, and some days the pain is less or the pressure is less intense and I think, "maybe I don't need the surgery". But the next day the pain is really bad or the fibroid is pushing against my bladder and I have to pee every five minutes. I guess my point is, I am guilty of trying to talk myself out of the surgery and then I get reminders of why I need my uterus and fibroids removed. I admit I am scared of the surgery and everything that I perceive goes with it. Do you think that could be happening to you as well?
(I am glad to hear that you are going to talk to your doctor about it.)

mukwaa,

yes I am scared too, and I have way to much time on my hands, as I don't work right now. I spend every waking hour thinking about this, it has pretty much consumed me. I think of every scenario, whether good or bad. The mind can do a number on us, huh?

Good luck to you.

Time to think is sometimes not a good thing. I get the "consumed" part too. Sometimes before I go to sleep I will start thinking, get myself scared and then I have to turn the light and read for awhile to get focused on something else.
One thing that I am doing that seems to help is I am planning a holiday to Europe for June.
Do you have something, positive, that you can focus on?

sleonard~I was just like you. In 2002 I started having pain, pressure, bloating, painful intercourse etc. I have always had bad periods from the time I was 14 but they were getting worse. I waited until 2004 to try to figure out what was wrong and my doctor recommended a hysterectomy. I didnt want it, even though I had my tubes tied in 2001 and I was done having kids. I had surgery to remove fibroids, a D&C and then an endometrial ablation and all the problems were back in less then a year.

For the past 1 1/2 years I have been expierencing the same problems plus added in the fact that I havent had a solid BM in about 3 years, heartburn, horrible lower back pain and a few other problems added on. I went to one doctor after another trying to figure out the new symptoms only to find they were all related. Once they figured that out I was told again that I had to have a hysterectomy. I didnt want one, cried for days at the thought then pulled myself together and a wonderful friend told me about this site and I felt so much better.

I am now 5 weeks post-op and my ONLY regret is not doing it in 2004. I am still achy and sore but feel like a different person, more energy and a lot less pain. I am now in surgical menopause but thanks to HRT I am doing ok with that.

I know it is normal to second guess yourself and I dont want you to regret having it done but if you already wish it were behind you then I wonder if you are more worried about the surgery or what they are taking out? Does that make sense? In other words are you worried about the pain from surgery and possible problems from that or are you worried about how you will feel after you no longer have your uterus?

Talk to you doctor but look inside and ask yourself "if the period I just had was a bad one would I be reconsidering?" If the answer is no then remember that the bad period can be right around the corner and why go through it and have to reschedule again?

Good luck in your decision.
Edited to say that I also thought about it every waking moment and kept thinking of all the scary things and bad things that could happen and afterwards realized that it wasnt half as bad as I thought it would be.

Hannie,

I hear what you are saying, totally, and I am also done having children, God blessed me with a beautiful daughter, and a loving son, and due to complications at the time of both of their births, my husband had a vasectomy.

I keep reading your reply over and over, gosh I have to say you are right, if this were to have been a bad period, then yah, I wouldn't be thinking twice about it, and you are also right, I could have been 1 month post-op tomorrow, and I wish I were.

I am so glad I posted this, I really needed to put into words about how I was feeling, and the responses are so helpful, thanks again.

Wow, I feel like I wrote your post! I felt the same way you did before my TAH on 10-08. I lived in pain for the last two years same exact symptoms along with the fibroids and a cancer screen which cane back not so good. I finally had scheduled my surgery and was feeling really good and thinking do I need this?Well let's just say the Sat. Before my surgery I ended up in the ER with a ruptured cyst. Guess it was my body answering for me and that's when I realized this is exactly what needed to be done. I am 4 weeks post op and have NO pain, soreness, but nothing like what I had in the past.
Pray over it and listen to your body, believe me it will let you know!! It was the best thing I ever did!