alot of questions and 5 days to go.

Hi im Mishelle.. im having a TVH and bladder repair done on Thursday 11th of Novemer @ noon. My gyn is also taking both my overies. I have a prolapsed uterus that I can see with a mirror and have been bleeding for going on 3 weeks. My questions and concerns are coming and I dont have any one to turn to besides my mom and mother in law who had the stomach surgery. and both were already menopausal. I am 34. I am wondering without overies will I have any hormones to live on? Will I be nice afterwards? Will I be thrown in to menapause?
They are putting a bladder sling in because my bladder is also prolapsed and I have IBS. Has anyone had the sling and will it stay there? . I know I need the hysterectomy. Oh by the way also have endo.. Im a smoker and drink alot of caffine. Will coffee and smokes effect the hormone meds.?I already tryed a hormone pill which caused headaches and crying spells and chest pain. What happens if I dont take any hormone meds?? Has anyone been ok without overies
and hormone meds??
Someone out there please help me. My 16 year old son wants to come to the hospital when I have surgery is that wise?.. But what if something goes wrong?.. sorry for so much but I need some help here. freaking out.. Mishelle

Hi, Mishelle

I am having a TAH next Tues also for prolapsed uterus. Besides really hellatious periods, nothing else is really wrong that the Dr. could tell. He's planning to repair the Bladder and tack it back into place if it needs it, and repair a few other things caused by the prolapse, but basically it's just my uterus that is causing my problems.

I also started wondering why he wanted to take my ovaries. The Dr. told me taking them now was just avoid the possibility of Ov. cancer in the future. They have always worked right on schedule, and there is no history of Ovarian cancer in my family. But I do have osteoporosis in my family. Ovaries are supposed to help prevent that in later years (post menapause) So I asked him to leave them if he couldn't find any compelling reason to take them out. He agreed without an argument

From what I have learned I understand that when the ovaries are taken, the patient undergoes immediate "surgical menapause" This menapause is basically as it would have been had it been a natural mena. but there will be no trace hormones being produced to help you with other issues (osteoporosis, heart disease, etc.) The Dr. can give you hormone suppliments (Hormone replacement Therapy--HTR)


I'm no expert on these matters, but this is what I based my decisions on. Hope it helps. The best thing to do is ask your Doctor all of your questions.

Also... All three of my teens are planning to be at the Hosp. during my surgery. They are 18,16, and 13.

Good luck to you!

Hey Michelle,

I can answer some of your questions. I had a TVH with repairs and the SPARC sling procedure done on October 14. I had a cystocele, small rectocele, and my uterus was also prolapsed. Stage 2 I believe. I was able to keep my ovaries. My surgery went well. I was in the hospital for three days and had to have a blood transfusion because my hemoglobin was really low and my blood pressure was really low. I did have some pretty bad pain for the first 24 hours. They give you a morphine pump which helps tremendously. You will be pretty out of it when you get out of surgery. I pretty much slept through the first 24-36 hours I was there. I only remember waking up when the nurses did rounds. The sling procedure I had has really helped. I am very pleased with the results. No more leaking when I laugh, cough, or sneeze. You will be in pain for a few weeks. I am almost a month out, and my bladder still hurts when I go to the bathroom. I have lower back pain that doesn't always go away with Tylenol, so I have some percocet on hand for the really bad pain. As far as I know, you will have to take some kind of hormone replacement because you will go into menopause immediately and will have to worry about hot flashes, thinning hair and bones as well as muscle and skin elasticity. This means that your repairs might not hold up as well over time because your hormones help keep those muscles tight. As far as the smoking and coffee go. I would think that coffee in moderation would be just fine however the smoking can hurt you as far as anesthesia goes. I don't want to scare you or anything, but you should have your doctor or anesthesiologist explain to you exactly what can happen when you smoke and have to go under general anesthesia. Has your doctor recommended that you stop smoking a few weeks before surgery? Smoking while taking an HRT prescription can increase the risk of heart attack or stroke. Of course I am not a doctor, so please talk to your doctor about all of these concerns you have so he or she can explain all the risks. My doctor was great. I took a list of questions in to ask my gynecologist at my pre-op appointment. I felt much better after she answered them for me.

If your son wants to come, I would say by all means bring him. My husband wasn't able to stay in the waiting area because we have three kids under 5. I sure wish I would have had a familiar face to see after I woke up. I wish you the best of luck with your surgery. Take care.