LAVH 3 days post-op & feeling good!

I just turned 48 and have 2 teenage daughters. About 2 years ago, I started having a lot more pain during & in between my periods and they started getting much heavier. Over the last year I experienced a couple 'rogue' periods in between my regular cycles. Other than that, mother nature kept me on a rigid 26 days to the day schedule. However, the flow on the 1st & 2nd days was getting so incredibly heavy that it was affecting my ability to do anything. And, when I started on a work day, I felt like I was a pack mule because I had to pack so many "supplies" for the day..UGH! When I went for my annual exam, I spoke to my doctor and we discussed ablation and I was referred to a gynecologist. The gyn. performed an internal ultrasound and found I had an enlarged uterus & several fibroid tumors. Due to the enlarged uterus, I was not the perfect candidate for an ablation procedure - especially if my goal was to eliminate my periods. We discussed hysterctomy options at that same appointment and I decided to go home, think about my options, talk to others, do a little research, etc... At first, I felt guilty for saying I wanted to completely stop my periods. After all, we are women and we are supposed to endure this, right? I just had to be honest with myself and my Dr and admit that, yes, honestly, I wanted my periods to stop. Ultimately, I decided to leave my ovaries and scheduled surgery for 6/19/12.
I arrived for my 8:45 surgery at 7:15. They got me right back to Pre-op, got my IV started and then my hubby & my girls came back & sat with me for a while. Once they took me back to the holding area for surgery, I found myself getting very nervous. Shaking, having to pee (twice :-) )...but the warm blankets helped. My Dr came in to talk to me & then the nurse anesthisist (sp?). The last thing I remember before waking up in recovery was the "take the edge off" medicine being pushed through my IV. I don't remember being wheeled into surgery...nothing!
When I woke up in recovery, I really wasn't in much pain at all, but my throat was really dry & sore (from the breathing tube). I think I was in recovery about an hour before they took my to my room.
Once in my room, I remained on oxygen with the BP machine still hooked up & the catheter still in place. I had morphine available as I needed it via my IV & the buddy button I had in my hot little hand. My BP runs on the low end normally (usually around 110/65 or so) and ran very very low (80/40, then by evening up to 90/47) the remainder of the day. The checked my hemoglobin twice that afternoon/evening to make sure there was no internal bleeding, etc.... Was on liquids all day that day, but really didn't have much of an appetite. Day after surgery I woke up with an excrutiating headache. The pain medication wasn't touching it so they suggested I drink some pop (aka caffeine since I do drink pop daily). Pop didn't help either. They gave me some Tylenol in addition to the 600 mg Ibuprofen & the Morphine. It helped a bit, but still didn't get rid of the headache completely. My BP was back up the day after surgery, and they removed the catheter. I was lucky as within an hour or so, I had to pee & was able to go. The first time was start & stop, but at least I was able to go. The gas pains were come & go but they had been giving me gas tablets since right after surgery in addition to a stool softener.
I was dismissed just after lunch the day after my surgery. I went home, put on my jammies & crawled into bed. Napped off & on, ate a light supper and slept through the night (yay!). I really haven't had much abdominal pain, but 3rd day post op & I still had that same terrible headache. Decided since it was Friday to call the Dr. She asked that I come in to be checked. My incisions looked good and I wasn't feeling dizzy or having other symptoms. She called in a prescription for Tylenol w/caffeine (the same medication she prescribes for pregnant women w/migraines). I took 2 pills as soon as I got home & then laid down for a bit. Woke up later w/ little to no headache at all...thank goodness!
Now...hormones...I left my ovaries, but let me tell you...when you read other articles & blogs about your ovaries kind of shutting down for a few days... be a believer! I found myself crying for no real reason this afternoon. I'm sure my daughters & my husband think I'm nuts! LOL! I really wasn't too concerned about having to go back in to see my Dr about the headaches, but I couldn't even get out two words before the waterworks started. I think I scared my husband! Both the nurse & the Dr assured me this is normal & if I still felt the same way next week at my check-up, we could discuss a light hormone treatment to help me out in the interim. Hoping my body adjusts on its own - not too hip on any kind of hormone therapy..but we'll see.. All in all this has been a decent experience for me and am looking forward to the future!