Hysterectomy and rectocele repair ~ so scared

Okay, newbie here. I will have my surgery on December 18th and am so scared I am close to cancelling it. I will have a hysteretomy and rectocele repair. I want to know what I'm in for. I am mostly afraid of nausea (I actually have a phobia about it) and taking time off work. I was told by my doctor and his nurse (who supposedly had the same surgery) that I will be able to work again after 15 days. I am really REALLY scared about the whole thing. Any advice and comments will be much appreciated.

Thank you!

Hi Alaska_Rio,
I was super scared too. I had to wait a year and spent the entire year dreading it, fearing it, wanting it to be over. I had cystocele repair and perineal repair too, plus revisions to my breast reconstruction AND some lipo, and I am doing GREAT. Everyone's experience is so different. I think you just need to plan to take your recovery one day at a time, no matter what it is like. You WILL get through it and it will be in the past on Dec 19th. Then you can look forward to the future!

alaska-rio
i know exactly where you are coming from. the night before my surgery i entertained the idea of cancelling in all....i am so glad i didn't!!! i had a total vag hyst with an anterior and posterior repair and a urethral sling (just in case you haven't gotten all the cool abbreviations done that we use). i am 2 weeks post op as of monday (15 days total). oh and i had a perineal repair as well for an episiotomy gone horribly wrong. i feel relatively good aside from the fact that almost 100% of my pain is due to the perineum repair. feels like i had a huge baby...again....and it is soooo sore. i think, for me, i wouldn't be able to go back to work right now (not that i planned to, i took 6 weeks off). i just don't have the energy and boy do i get sore after standing and walking around for a while. i think i am doing awesome, but even my stride in walking is very small because the perineum is so tender. and sitting for longer than 20 minutes is bothersome as well. so just keep that in mind. you could always see how you felt at 2 weeks post op, and then in the event you couldn't return that soon, just tell the boss that you need more time off. oh and about the nausea....i had hyperemesis gravidarium with my last pregnancy (violent vomiting for 7 months), and i had no nausea with this at all. granted everyone is different, but i told my anesthesiologist about my fear of nausea being greater than my fear of pain, and they put on a scapolomine patch behind my ear and gave me enough antiemetics (antinausea) meds for a horse!!! my advice is to avoid constipation. it is your worst enemy. i bought colace, pericolace, and milk of magnesia prior to my hospitalization just to have in the house post-op. boy am i glad i did. i had to take the peri-colace and 2 doses of milk of mag to get things moving in the right direction when i got home. i didn't poop for 5 days but then pooped all day on the 6th. i felt so much better afterwards. sorry...TMI

alaska_rio

I'm sorry you find yourself facing surgery, and it's only natural to be scared, but hope you'll enjoy being part of this wonderful support community.

If you've not discovered it already, you'll find our <link> Pre-Op Page absolutely packed with information, which will answer most common pre-op concerns.

Which hysterectomy procedure are you having? Recovery will vary depending on which type. When you have a moment, filling out your Member Survey will help when replying to your concerns, since this includes information such as why you're having surgery, what type/which procedure and whether or not you're keeping your ovaries, etc. You can do that by clicking HERE.

Sending all good wishes and we're here to support you ~ every step of the way!