TAH on March 31st

My story started about 4 years ago but it really came to a head around 1 year ago. I had always gone in for my annual Pap and everything was normal, until it wasn't. I had abnormal paps, biopsies, and inconclusive results for 3 years with my first OB/GYN who then retired.

My general practitioner sent me to a new OB/GYN who was a specialist in this kind of issue. What a difference! She did all of the same kinds of tests as my first but then she talked to me about what I had! I have no idea if it was different or the same as before but I had HPV and AGUS. It was the AGUS that worried her the most. It's abnormal glandular cells that can readily turn into a nasty kind of cancer. She rescheduled in 4 months and it came back the same. She did another biopsy and it had the same AGUS. She said that a LEEP be a good idea to remove the abnormal cells since many times that will take care of the problem. The LEEP went really well and I had clear margins and a pathology of CINIII and AGUS on the cells that were removed. I had another pap 4 months later. The CINIII was gone but the AGUS was back.

She started talking about a hysterectomy which really scared me. I wasn't really ready for that step so we just scheduled another pap in 4 months. I guess I was hoping for a miracle and she was just hoping for no cancer. There was no change and she sat me down and said that I would need to continue being monitored very closely and that I may never get cancer but the chances were high that if I did, based on the pre-cancer cells, it would be an aggressive type.

I was done having children and the only thing really holding me back was fear. I actually don't know what I was afraid of. My LEEP was under general anesthesia so I knew what to expect there. I guess it was just fear of the unknown. I did a lot of research and talked to a lot of people. At the end one of my friends said "Wait, you get 8 weeks off work AND you don't have to have any more periods!? It's a Win Win!" I had to laugh. I realized that I was putting it off and this had gone on long enough. I didn't want to think about it anymore and paps every 4 months gets old real fast. I spoke with my doctor and we agreed on an LAVH.

It's weird but I had to have another LEEP first. Mainly to take samples from several more places to make sure that there wasn't something hanging out of sight of a normal pap. She wanted to make sure that she knew exactly what she needed to take. The part that was weird is that I had to wait 8 weeks to heal after my LEEP to have the hysterectomy. I asked why can't we just do it right away. She said she thought the same thing but it was actually proven to her that if I wasn't allowed to heal first I would have a far better chance of getting an infection. So, that's what we did. The pathology on my second LEEP came back adeno-carcinoma in situ.

My LAVH was scheduled for March 31st and I felt like I was ready. When it got close I started to get scared. I felt great and everything I read warned me that I had a long recovery period coming and probably quite a bit of pain. What the hell was I thinking? HysterSisters got me through the scary time. Reading about everyone's recovery and all of the support kept me going. The night before my surgery I spent hours on this site, reading responses to my "I'm scared" post. I felt like I had a huge group of people ready to help take care of me. I had found a lot of tips and I had everything ready for the hospital and for when I came home.

Surgery Day! My SO came with me to the castle and I checked in. He and I discussed whether he would come in with me and I asked him if he minded if I went alone. It would have been nice to have him there while I was waiting but going off to the operating room would have been incredibly emotional and it would have felt like saying goodbye. Way too scary and just thinking about it made me want to cry. He was really great about it.

I went back to the pre-op room and met my nurse. He got me into my gown, asked me why I was there, my name, checked my bracelet, took blood pressure and gave me my leg compression cuffs. I was a little nervous and right before they did the IV I had to go to the bathroom. My nurse was really cool and just unhooked me and took me to the restroom. When I came back he put in my IV. He put it in the middle of my forearm. I mentioned that I had never had an IV there before and he said "Oh, you'll appreciate it tomorrow. You'll be able to use your arm a lot easier". Boy was he right! My surgery was about a half hour late but I didn't really notice. I just closed my eyes and focused on waking up, feeling great, and healing. I met my anesthesiologist and we decided on a spinal for the surgery. My doctor came in and talked to me for a while and said she'd see me in the operating room. We went over what we had decided: LAVH but that there was a 5% chance that it could change to a TAH but she didn't expect that.

It was time! They wheeled me back to the operating room and it was Cold! I shifted over to the table and they had me sit on the edge and hunch over. They got the spinal in and I started going numb so fast I couldn't move my legs to lie down, they had to move them for me. I lay back. My doctor came in and held my hand and I was asleep.

I woke up in recovery with no pain, which was great! I highly recommend the spinal, it really helps with post-op pain. I wasn't even really awake yet and I noticed 'something'. I said out loud "Did I have an Abdominal?" and this very perky nurse said "Why yes you did!". I got the whole story later but it turned out that they started the LAVH and freed the uterus and the cervix. They were clamping as they went down to remove it through the vagina and they came to my pelvic arch and could not finish! My doctor said it was a good thing my son was tiny because I'm shaped more like a guy than a girl and there was a sharp turn to get to the vagina. She called in another surgeon and they tried to make it happen but they would have been working blind around the corner and so, I got a TAH! Now I had incisions from both the LAVH and the TAH and the TAH incision was a mile worse.

I was wheeled to my room and I was pleasantly surprised. It was a private room, good sized with a nice wood floor, tv, fridge, day bed, recliner, table w/ 2 chairs, and of course, my hospital bed and all the beeping things. My SO came in and he watched me sleep. I wasn't in any pain but I was really tired. I had a catheter that I didn't feel, oxygen, IV, leg compressors, and a finger monitor. He stayed for a while and ate my dinner since I wasn't able to eat and then we said good night. Sometime that evening a nurse came in and helped me to sit on the side of the bed. Dangling, the first step to recovery .

The next day was April 1st (April Fools Day) and I was slowly released from all of my attachments. I was only eating ice chips and sucking on candies. My digestive system was dead quiet so I still wasn't able to eat. My doctor came in and talked about what had happened in OR. I think she felt bad because she really didn't expect it. When I look back that first whole day in the hospital feels like 3 days! I was still a little out of it when I woke up but my digestion started to rumble, I got a little breakfast, got the catheter out and slowly all of the other attachments were removed. Once I got out of bed once and peed by myself the nurse said "You're a free woman!". I got the IV out and took a shower. It felt sooo good to wash. I was a little shaky but I actually felt pretty good. It seemed like I had to pee all the time so every time I got up I checked the clock and walked for 10 minutes. I had to stay in the hospital an extra day because of the extra surgery and I'm glad of it. I wasn't really ready to leave that first day.

On April 2nd I felt pretty good. I was taking pain meds about once every 6 hours and was able to get out of bed and walk fairly easily. My doctor came in and checked me and said I was ready to go home. I called my SO and we planned for Noon. I called the nurse and we planned my day. Pain meds, shower, go over paperwork, remove staples, dress, and go home. One thing that I asked for was I wanted my SO to look at the incision before we went home with the nurse to explain what to look for. I'm heavy and his job was to check my incision since he could see it easier than I could. It worked out pretty good and we were on our way by 1:00.

The ride home was not fun. Every little rut in the road felt like a jackhammer. I used the tip of having a pillow in the car to put between me and the seat belt. That helped a lot. I wish I had purchased a belly band. Coughing really hurt and one sneeze almost made me cry.

I had my first BM when I got home and it HURT. I was really constipated and it was so hard it scratched me inside. I hadn't gone in 3 days and it just came out all at once. That was really bad. I'm going fine now but that scratch is still there and if I'm even a little bit constipated it will bleed again. I try to keep up with my colace and prunes.

My recovery has, so far, been pretty uneventful. I walk as much as a can and I keep a journal of when I take my meds, walk, bathroom, etc. It's so much easier to just look than guess. Also, I try to walk 3 times a day. I've been increasing my time and now at 2 weeks out I'm at 20 minutes each time. I was even able to hike for a 1/2 mile on Sunday. It was a perfectly flat trail but it was really nice to get out.

I had my 2-week check today and my pathology came back : No Cancer! Whoo Hoo! I was really happy about that. My doctor says I'm right on track with my recovery. I have a slight yeast infection in my abdominal incision because I haven't been keeping it dry enough. I'm really careful when I shower to make sure it's dry but when I sit I sweat at the incision point and I wasn't taking care of it. I'm using gauze now to keep it dry.

So, 14 days in and I think I'm doing a lot better. I'm resting and taking care of myself. It's harder than it sounds. Today so many people wanted to know about my doctor appointment that I had to turn off my phone so I could rest. All in All, I'm glad it's over. The past 4 years I've been thinking about my pap and worrying about biopsies and wondering all the time. Now, I can move on and relax. I can also take up swimming again and not have to worry about stopping for a week during my period. It really is a Win Win