Upcoming hysterectomy 7/26: What will healing really be like?

Hello everyone,
My surgery is set for the end of this month. My mother-in-law (who had a partial hysterectomy) acts like this is going to be the worst pain of my life. I have had 10 previous surgeries on various parts of my body, 3 of those were major abdominal surgeries with bikini cut. I am terrified because I really cannot be completely down for more than 5 days. I will be having complete laparoscopic hysterectomy (cervix taken as well) and oophorectomy. Honestly, right now there is only about a week each month when I am not in debilitating pain, but I have learned how to live through it. I was figuring healing from this probably won't hurt any worse, but then she had to "warn" me. The doctor told me 3-4 weeks of taking it easy, and with my husband and my mom to help I can take it easy, but being completely off my feet is just not possible.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by tmdb1980 Hello everyone, My surgery is set for the end of this month. My mother-in-law (who had a partial hysterectomy) acts like this is going to be the worst pain of my life. I have had 10 previous surgeries on various parts of my body, 3 of those were major abdominal surgeries with bikini cut. I am terrified because I really cannot be completely down for more than 5 days. I will be having complete laparoscopic hysterectomy (cervix taken as well) and oophorectomy. Honestly, right now there is only about a week each month when I am not in debilitating pain, but I have learned how to live through it. I was figuring healing from this probably won't hurt any worse, but then she had to "warn" me. The doctor told me 3-4 weeks of taking it easy, and with my husband and my mom to help I can take it easy, but being completely off my feet is just not possible.

Hi , my surgery is July 25th so I wanted to say hi : ) I've had 7 major abdominal surgeries. ( 6 c sections ) and one salpingo-oophorectomy. I have a lot of anxiety re this one too ! But I've had so much bleeding and so much pain that I'm hoping things will be so much better. I'm 54 and it's still such a big deal. I'm scared to leave my remaining ovary and scared to have the doctor remove it ! Right now I'm going with if it looks good to leave it. Are you having abdominal hysterectomy ? Anyways , hang in there and hopefully we can encourage one another seeing our surgeries are so close.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by tmdb1980 Hello everyone, My surgery is set for the end of this month. My mother-in-law (who had a partial hysterectomy) acts like this is going to be the worst pain of my life. I have had 10 previous surgeries on various parts of my body, 3 of those were major abdominal surgeries with bikini cut. I am terrified because I really cannot be completely down for more than 5 days. I will be having complete laparoscopic hysterectomy (cervix taken as well) and oophorectomy. Honestly, right now there is only about a week each month when I am not in debilitating pain, but I have learned how to live through it. I was figuring healing from this probably won't hurt any worse, but then she had to "warn" me. The doctor told me 3-4 weeks of taking it easy, and with my husband and my mom to help I can take it easy, but being completely off my feet is just not possible.

Oops ! I just saw yours is going to be a TLH. Those are suppppsed to be a lot easier to recover from , from what I've read on this site.

It's funny, so many people get upset because others tell them before surgery "don't worry, it won't be bad" because they feel it's being minimized, and I always wonder if they would really rather hear the kind of comments your mother in law made. I don't think so! I had never had surgery before and was pretty scared. I had multiple large fibroids and felt lousy 3/4 of the time. Cramps that weren't even touched by 800 mg of Motrin. I also continued to function though I felt lousy. I felt better immediately post surgery. I had very little pain, didn't even need any narcotics at all. I felt good from the beginning and my entire recovery was smooth, the biggest problem I had wasn't due to the surgery itself, but rather an asthma flare up. Don't let your mother in law get you down! I was out and about right away, and able to be pretty active while still following my Drs orders. It doesn't have to be horrible and incredibly painful. Good luck!

It was very thoughtful of your mother-in-law to lay out the worst possible case scenario for you so that you didn't have to try imagining it yourself.

My own "worst possible case scenario" was that I figured if I could get from my bed to the bathroom and back, I'd be okay. I could put bread, fruit and bottles of water next to my bed and just stay there until I felt better.

That's not what happened at all. I had minimal pain - really just some soreness and twingeyness - and no complications. The nurses at the hospital had me up and walking the first day after surgery, and by the second day I was doing so with enthusiasm. I spent much of recovery outdoors, going for walks (short and slow at first) and sitting outside to read and sew. I had no trouble doing enough minimal food prep and housework to take care of my cats and myself.

The healing experience was a relaxing one for me because I didn't focus on work I needed to get done or meetings I needed to attend. I focused on my body and how it felt and what it wanted/needed to do. My recovery was like a vacation from "real life."

I hope that yours is similar!

	Quote:
Originally Posted by tmdb1980 Hello everyone, My surgery is set for the end of this month. My mother-in-law (who had a partial hysterectomy) acts like this is going to be the worst pain of my life. I have had 10 previous surgeries on various parts of my body, 3 of those were major abdominal surgeries with bikini cut. I am terrified because I really cannot be completely down for more than 5 days. I will be having complete laparoscopic hysterectomy (cervix taken as well) and oophorectomy. Honestly, right now there is only about a week each month when I am not in debilitating pain, but I have learned how to live through it. I was figuring healing from this probably won't hurt any worse, but then she had to "warn" me. The doctor told me 3-4 weeks of taking it easy, and with my husband and my mom to help I can take it easy, but being completely off my feet is just not possible.

For me, childbirth still ranks #1 in the pain rankings without question. I would say this surgery was more of "great discomfort" for me. The first few days were not so bad, just really uncomfortable. Staying in front of the pain by following the pain meds protocol and paying attention to what you are feeling is crucial. As is often said here, you need to focus on your recovery, and actually take the time to heal. Don't push yourself, just allow yourself to feel uncomfortable, relax, and take it a day at a time. Most likely your surgery and recovery will be straightforward; just ask your doctor questions up front, listen and follow the instructions about your medical care and recovery care, and tell anyone who tries to tell you what to feel or what to do ("You should be taking care of your family!") to shove the &*@% off. (You can blame it later on the surgery.)



You're going to feel SO good when this is all behind you!

Healing is a different experience for everyone, but please don't be discouraged by comments of others who are trying to "warn" you of impending disaster. Some people mean well - others say "oh you'll be fine" as if surgery were a piece of cake.

The key to managing pain I think is communication. Speak to your doctor if pain management is of concern to you. When you are in the hospital after surgery, let the nurses know how you feel. They are there to help you. Following the directions for taking your pain meds can really positively impact your recovery. Do not stretch out doses trying to deal with pain. Your body will need to concentrate on healing and not fighting pain, so please take your pain Meds as directed.

I did not have an easy recovery in the sense that I was a very slow healer. Others here have had much faster and easier recoveries than I. But my pain was well managed and I had realistic expectations.

Have confidence in yourself and your doctor. We are here to support you on your journey so please don't ever feel discouraged if the peanut gallery pipes up with scary predictions.

Thank you all so much! I was originally going into this with the idea that surgery can't possibly be worse than the pain I am in now, and even if it is, at least there is an end in sight. She had hers so many years ago that my mom told me maybe since methods were different back then hers really was horrible. She is the only woman I know that has had one, so that was the only input I had on it. I am so glad I found this site! With all the other surgeries I have had, I don't think it will be as bad as she had me expecting.

Thank you, I am hoping it is not going to be as bad as I am imagining it to be but I am still getting cold feet and have no one to confide in. So great full for this sight

Hi! I am 12 days post op and I can say I feel pretty good. I can tell a huge difference now that that thing is out of me! No more back pain, which I did not know was caused by my uterus, no more bleeding, cramping...makes me ask why I took so long to do it. I don't have any children so I can't compare. The first few days, I faced the battle of the bowels (lol) which was where most of my discomfort came from. Once I jumped that hurdle, it was really just soreness and tenderness I deal with. But, like everyone says, stay on top of the pain by taking your pain meds as directed and following your doc's orders regarding when you will be released to do things like lifting, pushing, pulling, etc. Everyone's experience is different but please remember to make time to heal, in other words, do nothing! Camp out in front of your TV, read a good book or catch up on magazines, work on a craft with your hands, just take a break and do nothing. And when you feel guilty for doing nothing, tell yourself it's for your own good! Good luck to you!