daVinci hysterectomy scheduled for 4/13/21 - questions on pain management, hospital stay. Very anxious.

After backing out twice I am scheduled for hysterectomy on 4/13/21. I'm a liitle nervous about it but I think I'm more nervous about post op. Pain associated with it & If I can pee, I can go home same day. Anyone had issues not being able to pee & staying overnight? Was the pain manageable?

i stayed 2 nights (was scheduled for same day release) for pain control. i was grateful to be able to stay for IV pain meds. once i was discharged i felt really good and basically got on with my life (kept my cervix and ovaries). if you have to stay overnight, it's not a bad thing.

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Originally Posted by dressedupinblue i stayed 2 nights (was scheduled for same day release) for pain control. i was grateful to be able to stay for IV pain meds. once i was discharged i felt really good and basically got on with my life (kept my cervix and ovaries). if you have to stay overnight, it's not a bad thing.

Did you have the DaVinci Robotic as well?

no had a laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy.

My surgery is 4/14; the plan is da vinci unless it's too big. We're supposed to start around noon, so I already know I'm staying overnight.
Doctor told me she usually leaves catheter in until 7am the next morning unless I want it out before then; I can get up and walk around that night, but I won't have to worry about using the restroom all night long.

Hello! I had an abdominal hysterectomy and had to stay overnight. I did have a catheter but my doctor said the only reason I had one was because he had to make the incision larger and didn't want me to have to get out of bed. They took it out the next day and I didn't feel that at all. I was up and moving slowly around the floor within 24 hours and went home a day and a half after my surgery.

I was very scared of the pain but the nurses are very attentive to managing it. When I woke up I was in an after care area and the nurse wasn't going to move me to my room until it was a certain number on a level 1-10 (I can't remember what). I was pretty out of it and it is uncomfortable but I expected much worse. The good thing was I slept a LOT.

Getting out of bed was difficult but if you take it slow, it's not that bad. I also moved myself into the bed from the gurney and just inched myself over. You find out really quickly what movements are best.

One thing I think made my pain worse was that I read so many posts about on demand pumps, which I didn't have. My nurses had me on a pretty strict schedule. I think because I had this expectation, that my mind made my pain worse. I think I would have managed better if I'd asked ahead what the first 24 hours would be like and how they'd manage it.

I would say the first 24 hours are the most uncomfortable and it's so much better within a day. In the first week, I was mostly resting and so the only pain I had was the occasional movement, or laughing I was watching a funny show and had to plug my ears to stop! Even laughing or getting up a certain way was still not too bad since the pain goes away once you stop moving. To describe it, it just felt like a sort of bad cramp

I had a c-section but that was 25 years ago...lol. Ive also had my gallbladder removed laparoscoptically. I remember having alot of pain with my c-section but hopefully this will not be as bad as that. I'm scheduled for 7:30am surgery. Do they automatically put a catheter in to do the surgery?

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Originally Posted by ltaylor3 I had a c-section but that was 25 years ago...lol. Ive also had my gallbladder removed laparoscoptically. I remember having alot of pain with my c-section but hopefully this will not be as bad as that. I'm scheduled for 7:30am surgery. Do they automatically put a catheter in to do the surgery?

I don't think a catheter is guaranteed since my doctor hadn't planned on putting one in until he started surgery. I think things have changed quite a bit in 25 years ago so hopefully this is a better experience for you.

Hi ltaylor3 -

I think a catheter is not unusual for the surgery. I had an open abdominal surgery, and they put mine in after I was asleep. They also left it in until the next morning. I had both general anesthetic and an epidural, so I could not walk right after surgery.

They will usually put it in after you are asleep. They may leave it in for a time after surgery, or it may be removed after surgery is over and while you are waking up. You can ask your doctor. The will tell you if they are going to use a catheter

The bladder sits next to the uterus, so a catheter is used to keep it empty during surgery. I had one put in after I was asleep, and removed the next morning; the nurse supervised my first bathroom vist to make sure I was peeing okay before I could be released from the hospital. After living with a grapefruit sized fibroid pressing on my bladder for several years, it sure did feel weird not to have to get up umpteen times to pee! For pain management, I was prescribed Oxycodone, naproxen - an NSAID like ibuprofen - and acetaminophen. I had to stop taking the Oxycodone on my family doctor's advice after it made me throw up, and I found that I was okay alternating the other two; I also had issues with hyperactivity, heart palpitations, and anxiety, which I later learned was a reaction to dyes in the naproxen pills. If you wait until you're in pain to take your pain medications, that will be too late, so be sure to take them on schedule. Best wishes for a successful surgery and a smooth recovery!