Recovery Progress Reports for Hysterectomy dates Dec 12-Dec 18,2011

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Originally Posted by Sherijo71 Just home today after a repeat abdominal hysterectomy on 12/15. No real incision pain but a lot of lower back pain. Oddly, feels like back labor. After a "failed" first hysterectomy attempt in September, just glad it's all over with. Hope everyone heals nicely and is on their way to a speedy recovery.

Sorry you had to do that twice. Do you mind if I ask why? I had a TAG on the 12th and also feel pretty good except for low back pain. Getting my staples out Tuesday and you can bet that will be my first question...why back?

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Originally Posted by UCFlady I have a quick question - Many of you are talking about slightly blood discharge and needing to wear a pad.... I haven't had any of that- no blood, no brown (or clear or yellow) discharge, no need for a pad. Is this normal as well?

Hope it is normal and that everyone is different. I have had nothing either. I am at day 7.

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Originally Posted by ihearttd2 well this is my first post here - I spent some time reading before my surgery and i have found myself several times over the past couple of days thinking I wonder if this is how other women feel - so here goes. I had a TAH on 12/14 and just came home yesterday. I expected everything except a massive headache that finally went away yesterday - nothing they gave me in the hospital worked on that pain! I think it had to be a reaction to the anethsia or the scopalamine patch. I am aware that any time I use narcotic pain relievers I am horribly sick so I refused them and am just managing pain with Ibuprofen. I am wondering when to not reach for the Advil every six hours and "see what happens". I feel very swollen and achy - my doctor said she had a real battle to pull my large uterus out (heavy lining, fibroids) it was fused to my bowels and she had to dissect my left ovary to pull it away from everything it was stuck to. At least she confirmed - "it needed to come out" and the pathology report was normal!

Hi Ihearttd2. My doctor prescribed me Tylenol 3's and Extra Strength Advil for my recovery. The Tylenol was for pain relief, but the Advil was as anti-inflammatory and blood thinner. Not sure how long I am supposed to keep taking the Advil but I know it helps healing in more ways than just pain relief.

Glad you are doing well Blossom!(:

I had my hysterectomy (uterus, cervix) removed Monday, December 12th. When I saw the doctor after surgery she said she had to do a mini-laparotomy as my right ovarian cyst, which everyone though was the size of a baseball, was in reality the size of a grapefruit! I saw the ultrasound of it, I saw the measurement numbers - nothing showed it was that size. I will be asking the doctor how it was able to hide something that size in my little abdomen (I'm only 5 feet tall with no waist to speak of!) as my curiosity is killing me how it did that!

I'm so thankful I had told the doctor that if she had to open me up to remove the cyst (I really didn't want to keep it!), do it! She said the fluid in the cyst was over 500 cc's (think half an IV bag) which is why it wasn't coming out any other way.

The real surprise is that I don't have stitches or staples - I'm glued shut. Wow! I am so impressed with how far surgical procedures have come and what amazing things they can do.

And to the ladies who have gone before me - THANK YOU! You have no idea how all the helpful hints allowed me to be prepared both pre and post operatively for my journey.

For the ladies that are making their plans - read all the hints that are out here! You will know which ones will fit your lifestyle, your medical situation, your post-op recovery time and your family situation. And definitely - accept help from friends, family, neighbors, church members, etc. - not only will you allow them the opportunity to have that 'warm-fuzzy' feeling for helping you out but you will not feel the stress of trying to do things on your own.

Thank you Hystersisters for providing this site. I'm thankful that my first week of recovery has gone pretty smoothly and look forward to more good days to come.

vah

ihearttd2,

I am one week ahead of you (had my TAH on dec 5th) and decided to try to cut down on my pain meds on Day 7 although I was still in some discomfort. BIG MISTAKE!! I ended up calling the doctor two days later. I refuse to take narcotic drugs (eg Tylenol 3 has codeine in it - refused). So the doctor has me on 2 extra strength tylenol 500 mgs every four hours and 1 Advil extra strength 400 mgs every four hours. I find that this keeps the pain under control and works well for me. No problems with passing gas or BM's either (am on a high fiber diet).
Hope this helps you.

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Originally Posted by UCFlady I have a quick question - Many of you are talking about slightly blood discharge and needing to wear a pad.... I haven't had any of that- no blood, no brown (or clear or yellow) discharge, no need for a pad. Is this normal as well?

I haven't had any discharge either. I'm hoping that's normal too! I see my doctor again this week, so I'll ask him then.

Hi sistas

I had my LAVH on 15th, removal of cervix kept both ovaries as GYN says they are both very healthy. Surgery went really well and apparently I woke up smiling and giggling.

I spent 3 nights in hospital with only a couple of hiccups.

First was the catheter. It stopped feeding urine into the bag, so lucky I kept an eye on it. Nurse managed to get it unblocked and then about a liter of urine filled the bag. Now that's an experience I don't want again. My favourite nurse says "it's ridiculous that the doctor wants this to stay in when you are up and showering. Let's take the dang thing out" well I could have kissed her. Hehe

Have had no trouble passing urine or bowels. BM day after surgery and daily from then on. Keeping up fluids has helped there and Metamucil.

Next hiccup was reaction to pain meds. Vomiting And nausea. Have not had much of an appetite since but that is probably not a bad thing seeings though I will be more idle than usual.

I am glad I stayed in hospital for 3 nights but am glad to be home. Just finding it challenging to stay put. As I feel like I can do more. Pain is minimal now and gas is not painful any more either, I actually found it helpful to sit on toilet to pass gas. The instructions I was given by physio were awesome for this.

Sounds like we are all doing ok....

Oh on a parting note I will share this funny...

My doctor says to me before I left hospital....

"don't get constipated, no driving for three weeks, no sex for four weeks"
Then nurse pipes in
"but have a merry Xmas"

Hehe

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Originally Posted by amybchristian I am 5 days post surgery. Still hurting but am trying to come off of the medicine. I have very little help at home. My husband tries, but doesn't understand I just want to be held. I was in severe pain and had a hard time making some of the nurses understand. They kept telling me I was just stressed and needed Xanax. Being a nurse myself this did not go over well. I stayed up most nights crying. Finally the Dr. saw me and gave me some effective medicine. I am glad to be home but sure need someone to just hug me and lay in bed with me. I'm 34 and have no children of my own, obviously this option of biological children has been removed and I am having trouble coming to terms with this.

I am so sorry you are feeling this way. Not coming to terms of what having this surgery meansfor you and having bialogical children is not to be taken lightly. It took me a couple years of therapy with LOTS of reading before I came to terms that there was something "different" that I was put on this earth to do. I embrace the life I live with my husband, 3 cats and many friends. I highly suggest a therapist, and possibly some medication to help you keep your head straight while sorting ill of this out. The meds don't need to be a forever thing if you are against them. For me, they helped for the time I needed to be on them.I no longer do but I have worked hard to get to this place of "peace of mind". Stay strong and keep asking for what you need.....Hugs to you.

Had the da vinci total hysterectomy on Friday. They found stage 4 endometriosis with a frozen pelvis (surprise to me but much better than cancer). Surgery went well, but they pushed me out of the recovery too early after less than three hours. When I got home at 2 p.m. to lie down I could not breath (gas on diaphram I found out later) and was coughing up blood clots (due to tubes down nose I found out later), so we drove to the ER where I was not treated well and subjected to many unnecessary tests. I was admitted to the hospital for observation but could not sleep due to the noisy IV. I really blame the hospital for not keeping me at least one more hour and letting me use the breathing device I had been instructed to use after surgery. If they had done that none of this ER experience would have happened. The ER doctor said that I had psychosis when I came in, but I really could not breath deeply and did cough up a large amount of blood clots.