dVH/RALH: 1 more day and really scared

Good Evening Ladies! I am glad I found this site. I wish I would of found it sooner!!

I go in Wednesday morning at 5 o'clock for a complete hysterectomy. The plan is the daVinci Hysterectomy. I am hoping all goes according to plan. 15 years ago, I had a laparoscopy for endometriosis. It was suppose to be 1 1/2 hour procedure - - it took about 5 hours. The Dr. said it was the worse case he had seen - -I am guessing he had seen a lot since he retired a couple of years later. My fear is that things will not go according to plan and I will have to have an abdominal hysterectomy .

I have been really calm about the whole thing. I don't like to have people fuss or worry about me. The truth is though, I would really like to cry. I am scared of the unknown.

My Dr. says that by Saturday, I will be back to my normal life style. The only restrictions I will have will be driving if I am on medication. While that all sounds fine and good, what will happen if I don't feel like normal on Saturday? I am afraid that all those around me won't understand and expect me to more then I feel up to.

Ugh - - I just want to get a normal nights sleep without worry!! I also want to know that I am ok. I don't like being so scared and feel so alone.

Thanks for "listening" and for the wealth of information I am reading here!!

You are not alone! The things that you are feeling are incredibly normal. In fact, I would be concerned if you were not feeling this way.

Having severe endo myself, I would prepare myself if I were you, for a bit longer procedure, but with severe endo, the divanci is actually the way to go. It is more precise, and can get into the places a surgeons hands cannot always get to with ease.

As for the getting back to life right away, I have my doubts. Even with the Davinci, remember it is still a MAJOR procedure, and will wreck havock on your body. Prepare yourself for a rough month. I hate to put that on you, but want you to be prepared. Hope for the best, prepare for he worst! Right?

You can cry, and you need too. Remember that this is a loss, and it's a very scary thing.

I promise you, you will get through this. And you will come out the other side, in a better place.

Listen to your body after surgery, take things easy, and let those around you know how you feel. If you don't feel up to something, tell them. Communication will be super important the next little while. the shock of menopause will be something to get used to as well. There are days I have felt a bit out of body, and not myself, but talk to your dr about things like that, and they will help you. And it gets better in time. Soon, life will be better. The pain, and bleeding will all be a thing of the past.

I feel your pain, I too have cried. I am so excited, at the same time. I will be thinking of you and praying for you!

I had davinci surgery on 12/27/11 and have had no problems with recovery at all. Of course everyone is different. I had surgery more as a preventative than anything else (abnormal uterus lining and pcos) Things were pretty rough right after surgery (day 1) after that it was much better. It did take me a couple days to feel pretty much normal. I'm now 2 weeks post op and feel almost like I didn't even have surgery at all. I only took motrin post surgery for pain and that only was for a couple days.

The only restrictions I have is no heavy lifting and no sex. I see you mentioned your doc said no driving if on pain meds but I would certainly stay away from heavy lifting and sex for a good while (6 weeks at least.) I do notice that walking the mall/ikea, or if I have a lot of activity during the day I am tired and need a nap late in the afternoon. I have experienced some "swelly belly" if I over do it too.

As the Jessiemae said, you need to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. I would be prepared for at least a week downtime. You may not need it but at least you are prepared if you do. I had my hubby take wok off till yesterday even though he could have went back to work the next day. I took advantage of him being home by having him take me shopping (I hate driving in So Cal) and getting some honey do list stuff finished.

The only thing you can do is take it day by day and only do what you feel up to doing. Take it easy the first couple hours each day to get an idea of what your limits are. The limits you had the day before may not be there the next day depending on how your healing is going. Overdoing it one day can set you back too.

Its normal to be scared.. I was like you I was scared of the unknown. I'm 8 days post op from da Vinci. I feel fine!! I do get tired easily. My biggest problem is the recovery restrictions. My doctor told me no driving for 2 weeks & to rest, rest & rest. I'm soooo over it already. But it for our own good. I wish you the best & a speedy recovery.

I am five days post op from the DaVinci surgery. I think the thing that helped me most was realizing that no matter what happened in the next few weeks or months, I would be glad that I did it six months from now, no matter what.

If he does have to do an abdominal hysterectomy, that's okay. Honestly, with the drugs on board, you don't know either way, and the restrictions are generally the same for both.

I am not back to all of my normal activities, but I'm on my way, and although I still have pain from the surgery, I have a huge absence of pain where my uterus used to be. It's a feeling of absolute relief worth looking forward to!

I think that when it is over, you'll just be so glad to be on the way to recovery that you won't care too much how you got there. Really!

My total Hysterectomy was six years ago today! I just received my "Hysteranniversary Greeting" from Hyster-sisters. There was no DaVinci surgery available 6 years ago, so I had an abdominal hysterectomy. I had to google your procedure to see what it was all about. Believe me, you are lucky to have such a fine procedure available. You also will feel so much better after your recovery! Take your time in recovery. I send positive vibes your way!