Got operation date...questions about fibromyalgia & staying occupied during recovery

Hello This is my first post on here..

I was at the hospital yesterday and was finally told my operation will happen in January 2012 the doctor did offer christmas week but as I have 3 children I decided to wait a little bit longer.

My problems started a yr ago and they have tried one thing after another to try and fix things but now as my Fibroid has swollen so large there is nothing else left to do( its the size of a 14 wk pregnancy) , I must admit I was shocked when my doctor told me I needed to have the abdominal cut because my fibroid is so big its too dangerous any other way..

A week in hospital and 8 weeks recovery I have been told. My boyfriend will help watch my boys and my family are great but Im a very independant lady and like doing everything myself but I will have to learn to stop and do nothing which will be very hard for me lol
I wanted to ask what sort of thing I could do when I get home to keep me occupied I have books, puzzle books and dvd's ect but has anybody got any other ideas ..
I will stack freezer up before I go into hospital and just hope my kids don't eat everything before I get back out of hospital.

I am really scared and dreading having the cut across my bikini line and what recovery will be like, you see I suffer from Fibromyalgia and have a slipped disc with osteoarthritus to deal with Im already on morphine everyday so Im worried what the pain will be like for me.. Is there anyone else on here with fibro thats had the same hysterectomy as I will have..

Thankyou All..
Amanda xxx

I have a couple suggestions for you!

One, be sure to check out all the Pre and Post Op articles we have. You can click on the purple Articles tab at the upper right side of your screen to find them. You can also check out the Hints sub-form. Between the articles and hints members have shared, you should find a lot of tips for preparing for surgery and managing recovery. One of the Pre Op articles is also about hysterectomy and fibromyalgia.

I would also suggest you do a search for fibromyalgia to see what other ladies have shared. I tweaked your title so there should also be some threads listed at the very bottom of your screen you can check out.

My best tip for fibro and surgery is to make sure you are working with the doctor who manages the fibro. I was not diagnosed until after my hysterectomy but I did go through a gynecological surgery with fibro. I made sure to sit down with my neurologist prior to surgery and he helped worked out the pain management for recovery. In fact, I ended up not taking the meds prescribed by the surgeon but instead went back on the medicine regime ordered by my neurologist.

You also need to be aware that positioning during surgery is critical. Thus, you need to talk to the anesthesiologist about your fibro and disc issues. Mine was exceptionally careful and it helped a lot!

During recovery, you will have to be careful to move around enough to prevent yourself from stiffening up. But, you will also have to be careful not to overdo it.

If using your own pillow will help--that was huge for me, take it with you to the hospital. You can also check about having an eggshell on your mattress to help you get better sleep there.

The doctor who manages your fibro and disc issues may also have some suggestions that would be helpful.

I wish you all the best and hope that your surgery and recovery go well!

Thankyou so much for answer my post I will take a look at some other posts and the articles in the other sections on here..

Amanda xx

I have fibro also, and I just had my hsyt on Monday. I didn't have the abdominal cut this time but a few yrs ago I had to have the full cut on my bikini line because I developed a large cyst on my rt ovary that could not be safely removed laprascopically. The best advice I can give is to pamper yourself, let your loved ones take care of you, but yes do get out of bed and walk around. The worst part of it for me when I had the bikini cut, is how quickly I got exhausted even weeks later. So just take things slow.