LSH: count down

I made the mistake of reading some of the stories and found that some were very encouraging and some were downright frightening. I am resigned to get this over with and can't wait for thursday. Even though so many questions have been answered I feel trepidation. I am not having second thoughts though I worry incessantly. I know there will be pain and I hope can handle it. Has anyone had mild to moderate pain postop or is it horrific. i have a high pain tolerance but hope that it will be controlled. Bowel prep tomorrow and I am sure a sleepless night ahead. Am all packed and ready for my stay at the castle. Have tried to get all my ducks in a row. Nothing more I can really do but accept what it to come and hope for the best.I still can't internalized the loss of my uterus...I look at my kids and know it has done a great job but feel a sense of loss alredy nonetheless. On the otherhand, I can't wait to finally be pain free in the coming months. I haven't been able to eat today and my sg is 1pm on thursday....Have been exercising regularly and have done all I can, yet I don't feel much better. Is this common you all of you. I promise to post my story as soon as I am coherent enough to do so. The waiting is almost over...yeah!!!

risa

There are so many good pain relief options out there. If one doesn't work for you, don't be afraid to speak up and see if something can be changed. You are in charge! And remember to stay ahead of the pain! That is, take meds on a schedule and don't wait to be in pain to take them, because it will be harder to "catch up."

You'll do great! Hang in there, and let us know how it goes!

I'm just 10 days post op from my TAH/BSO etc with a vertical incision. I spent 4 days in the hospital on IV with morphine pump for the first 3 days. Then sent home with oxycodene prescription. I took the meds every 4 to 5 hours at home and was able to keep the pain at the moderate level. If I didn't take them on schedule the pain was worse and took longer to get back to a controllable level so definately take them before you need them. I'm not going to lie and say there's no pain but honestly I'm still in my early stages and I don't regret one minute of this. It's manageable. I've dealt with pain for years and at least now I know it's only going to get better from here on. Just make sure you take it easy during your recovery. Sleep as much as you can and let your body heal itself. You are going to do great!!!

Oh and forgot to add....I steered clear of the post op stories until after I had my surgery. Like you I wanted/needed this and didn't want any of the scarier stories to put more fear in me then I already had. If I had specific concerns or questions I either asked them or looked for threads that seemed relevant.

rfaith, what kind of surgery are you having?
I don't think the pain is all that horrific, luckily i got to stay a little over 24 hrs in the castle and had the pump with morphine or whatever in it. that was great. once off of that I took the hydrocodone, and they told me to alternate that with advil. That is what I did for the next few days, like clockwork. No super hero "try to go without pain pills for me". then I started just advil and the the hydrocodone at night, mainly just to stay sleeping. I still have some of the original rx left, if that helps to show that I didn't have problems.

I thought I would be bed ridden and in terrible pain for weeks; but nope not the case. I was up and shuffling around the house the first day home.

Get lots of rest and keep up on your fluids!! before and after

I had LAVH and removed ovaries and cervix. Though I had prescription for vicodin and motrin, I didn't need any pain meds. I could wear my regular clothes very quickly, drove at 8 days to see how it would go and returned to work in 12 days with no problems. I had no swelly belly that so many mention. All in all a very easy recovery. Don't concentrate on the pain. I think the more you think about something the worse it makes it. I'm 8 weeks post-op and feel great!

What you are experiencing is all very normal. I would encourage you to stay away from the negative threads even after your surgery. Don't borrow trouble.

Good luck tomorrow! Let us know how you are doing. And they can help you with pain, so ask for help if you need it.

I have to say my pain was easily managed. I had morphine injections in the hospital (whenever I asked for one) and my first night I went 8.5 hours between injections even though I was awake alot and not feeling very mobile.

When I got home I was on T3's and I just stuck to the prescribed amount for the first two days in order to "stay ahead of the pain", but because of the constipating side effect, I weaned myself off of them as quickly as comfortable. I was done by Saturday (four days later).

I still take the antiflammatory twice/day (dicolfenac) but other than that I am actually using the discomfort/twinges that I have as a means of reminding myself that I'm not healed. I wouldn't call it out and out pain.

You're having the same procedure as me and I sure hope you have the same minimal pain that I had. GOOD LUCK TOMORROW! You will be GREAT!!