abdominal myomectomy Nov 24 -nervous

Hi nannicori,

I don't have experience with fibroids but a little over two weeks I had an abdominal hyst due to endometriosis. I have a vertical incision because of the size of the masses on my ovaries (huge!) and I had an intestinal op as a kid and had scarring that added another reason to do it vertically. My surgeon told me a horizontal incison only allows you access to the pelvis and in my case he was concerned about finding cancer too and said if he did it would require staging which means going all the way up to your diaphragm and looking around. He said you don't want a verticle and horizontal incision at the same time. Made sense to me. A family member of mine is having a large fibroid removed next week and was told by two surgeons that it would need to be vertical due to the size.

As for being nervous - it's totally normal. I have even had surgery before and am a nurse and I was FREAKING out!! I recommend the Versed in pre-op to relax you. You won't be loopy and anything, you just won't get worked up about things and will feel calm. I had a cath that they put in while I was under. It came out 24 hrs later and I couldn't pee so had to be straight cathed and then re-cathed. It wasn't pleasant, but I had natural childbirth twice so compared to that it was a minor irritation. I was so scared I would have to go home with a cath, but it turns out the Scopolamine patch they put behind my ear before surgery to prevent nausea was part of the problem. It can cause urinary retention so I had them take it off and then things started to work a few hours later. Drink LOTS of water. Yes, infection is a risk every time you get a cath, but you will appreciate not having to get up that first day/night. When I got home I started taking Cranberry caps and pro-biotics and they both help prevent UTIs.

I got myself worked up about the bowel prep too but it wasn't nearly as awful as I imagined it to be. It did make me a little dehydrated despite all the water I was drinking with it, but once I got to the hospital they started some IV fluids and I felt better.

I am so glad I had this surgery though. Even though I am a little sore and tired, I don't have the kind of pain in my pelvis I was haivng before and I really don't miss bleeding! I was bleeding almost every day of the month and the flow was undpredictable so I had to carry extra clothes with me all the time. I am so happy about not having to deal with this anymore that I could do a happy dance - if I could dance right now!

Take care and good luck!!

Well I'm now 9 days post-op and I wanted to share my experience. I can't post in the Success Stories forum so I will just put it here.

Bowel prep was fairly easy. I ate lightly the 2 days prior so it wasn't so bad. I drank 2 bottles of clear magnesium citrate as ordered by my OBGYN. I had to be at the hospital at 5am for a 7am surgery. I had to give an urine sample so that was kind of annoying since a full bladder and fibroids are rather uncomfortable. My mom stayed with me in pre-op while the RN put in my IV and all the pre-op stuff. The anesthesiologist introduced himself and asked if I wanted a spinal block (epidural). He explained it would bypass the liver and I wouldn't need vicodin or percocet for 20-24 hours after surgery so I consented to the spinal block in addition to the general anesthesia. He gave me the spinal block in pre-op and it started working within 10 minutes - I lost feeling in my legs and started feeling sleepy. I remember my OBGYN came in, I left pre-op for the OR and the last thing I remember was someone said something about "cell saver" and I knew they were talking about the blood recycling machine. The next thing I knew was waking up in recovery and the RN asked me to flex my toes, which I was able to do. After an hour or so I was taken to the Pediatrics Plus unit, which is where they put OBGYN patients.

Results - ovarian cyst on right ovary removed, 2 fibroids removed (1 grapefruit size, 1 orange size), 1 8cm fibroid and 1 3cm fibroid remain in my uterus, stage 4 endometriosis.

I was disappointed she couldn't remove all the fibroids but they are too close to major blood vessels and she felt that cutting there would require a hysterectomy. I had told her I wanted to keep everything so she left the other 2. I now have a 12 week uterus instead of 20 week uterus. I lost a liter of blood but the cell saver machine was used so no blood transfusion.

Recovery - I started vicodin late Monday night and took the last one Tues at noon. I was also on liquid ibruprofen, a stool softener, an antibiotic, fluids, and gas-x to help with gas pains. The incision was the least painful - the gas pains in my abdomen and shoulder were worse. The catheter came out at 2am Tues. It just felt like a slight tugging, sort of like a tampon. The RN also stopped the fluids so I wouldn't be getting up a lot to urinate. I was able to pee right away and haven't had any problems since then. I passed gas Tues at 11pm so my doctor approved a Wed discharge. The first few days at home were exhausting. I got dizzy and an awful headache and I thought I had a spinal fluid leak from the spinal block but I really just had very low blood sugar. Making sure to eat regularly and drinking plenty of water was my only thought, while also getting plenty of rest.

1 week post-op appt - Surgeon removed staples. She wants to put me on Lupron to shrink the fibroids and calm the endo. I've never had any pain from the endo plus I'm trying some natural alternatives. Lupron is not an option for me because of the potential side effects. I may decide to go on birth control.

I'm using Rolfing and massage therapy to get my muscles and nerves back to normal. I'm also getting my estrogen levels tested and will be making more of an effort to eat only organic meats and dairy. My goal is to not need another surgery or drugs.

Thank you for all your advice and support!