Next week I am having a hysterectomy,everything out but ovaries,I am 44 and have had 2 prior csections thats?

Question

Its because of fibroids and endometriosis.Do they have to cut through the muscles?IM SCARED please If you have had this procedure please share how painful it was and how long do you bleed afterwards? and why?and what would you suggest I bring with me to hospital? Thank you

Answer 1

OMG! These people answering your question are HORRENDOUS!!

I know your fear b/c I lived through it. You feel so alone, so scared and everything. I'm going to tell you my experience to hope to help you better cope. I promise it will not be as bad as it sounds....

I was 36 and diagnosed with CANCER! of the uterus and they told me I would need a complete hysterectomy. This SO came out of the blue for me and they told me this over the TELEPHONE! They said it was caught very early and everything, but I would definitely need the procedure.

Then they scheduled it for 3.5 weeks AFTER they told me about this. Those weeks were the most hell-acious of my life. I thought I was going to die, and there were moments when I would have rather been dead than go through this. Because they used the word cancer, I was already sort of planning my funeral.

All of that was for naught, of course. I can tell you when the worst moment for you will be (at least it was for me). It is going to be walking into the hospital like your regular self, KNOWING that they are going to do that. That was the WORST PART of the whole thing! Thinking that they are going to take your womanhood away from you and all.

When they had me in the pre-op area, they gave me sedation, but they couldn't give me enough in my opinion b/c I was so scared. I remember them rolling me in, and when my husband had to leave the area. I remember going into the operating room, but by then they had drugged me enough to the point where I was talking jovially with the attendants...for a moment. Then I was out.

I woke up in recovery...absolutely NO pain...the usual groggy, foggy, sleepy.

That evening they had me on serious morphine, and I remember laughing and trying to be funny with the nurses and stuff, mainly b/c I didn't feel anything at all.

The next morning (or the first day afterwards) was hard b/c you are in SOME pain. They gave me a morphine drip to administer to myself as often as I needed (and yes, I pressed it alot). Everyone was very nice.

They try to get you up and walking as soon as possible, and that was VERY hard to do, b/c you can't believe you're supposed to be up and about! Very slow going at first, but over time it got better.

I wasn't hungry the first day, but the next day I was. I'd say pain-wise, the first day was the worst, but it isn't all THAT bad b/c they give you almost as many drugs as you want.

I went home after a couple of days. Everything was very slow going, but a lot of people helped me. I can honestly tell you that a week and a half after getting home I was playing outside with the kids in the snow.

The one thing that lingered, though, was my sexuality and all of that. I am being honest and truthful here, I noticed NO DIFFERENCE at ALL in sex, sexuality or anything! My husband noticed NO difference! I swear to you this is true. You still get the same sensations and everything. I promise you that that will remain the same (despite the earlier poster). That was the one thing I worried about the most.

Everyone always says "at least you won't have your period anymore". I always poo-pooed that, and it was the last thing on my mind. But after awhile it really makes you feel free. NEVER have to worry again.

I took no estrogen anything after all of that. I just finished off the pain perscrip. the doc gave me and that was it. Like two months later I started getting hot flashes, but they came on slow (I called them at the time "warm" flashes). I took Estroven and later Andrew Lessmans "Positive Passage", all natural stuff. They have made a remarkable difference to me.

It is just weeks short of a year since this has happened to me, and I am TOTALLY my OLD self! I swear! The hot flashes are very few and far between, and I feel awesome.

I know it is very very scary...but please know that you are not alone!

There is an awesome website that might help you, too, if you want even more info. It is www.hystersisters.com, and is terrific!

Best of luck to you!

Answer 2

WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!

Have you tried to balance your hormones first??
The uterus is one of the first organs to manifest symptoms when a woman's hormones are out of balance.

98% of hysterectomies are unnecessary!
* Women experience a loss of physical sexual sensation as a result of hysterectomy.
* A woman's vagina is shortened, scarred and dislocated by hysterectomy.
* Hysterectomy's damage is life-long.
* No drugs or other treatments can replace ovarian or uterine hormones or functions. The loss is permanent.
* The medical term for the removal of the ovaries is castration. 76% of women are castrated at the same time of the hysterectomy.
* The uterus and ovaries function throughout life in women who have not been hysterectomized or castrated.
*** Gynecologists, hospitals and drug companies make more than 8 billion dollars a year from the business of hysterectomy and castration. ***

The problem with fibroid tumors can simply be resolved by restoring proper progesterone levels, which restores normal growth and shedding of the endometrium.

Recommendations for healing fibroids by Dr. John Lee:

WHAT TO DO:
*Use natural progesterone cream.
*Eat a plant-based, fiber rich diet (at least 20-30g fiber per day)
*Take a liver-supporting and detoxifying herbal formula that includes the following herbs: Bupleurum, milk thistle (silybum marianum), barberry or goldenseal, burdock root, yellow dock, dandelion root.
*Take a uterus-healing herbal formula that includes some or all of the following herbs: myrrh, red raspberry, cayenne, Bupleurum, yarrow, vitex and lady's mantle (Alchemilla mollis)
*Use a castor oil pack 2-4 times a week (many books on herbal healing have instructions on how to make and use a castor oil pack.)


WHAT TO AVOID:
*Unopposed estrogen
*Dairy products
*Feed-lot meats (eat only range-fed, organic meats free of drugs and pestiside residue)
*Coffee (heavily sprayed with DDT)

Answer 3

No that has under no circumstances occurred to me. What did they imply by means of selected ones? Anyone who accepts Jesus will get his grace. There is a aspect within the Bible that talks like youngsters are not held in charge untill approximately the age of 20. It needed to do with the folks travelling round within the wasteland for forty years.

Answer 4

I'm surprised you haven't been all over this with your doctor already. Most hysterectomy's are done vaginally, as surgeons like to avoid doing abdominal surgery unless there is no other option. They should make a tiny incision just below your belly button for the laproscope to see what they are doing and for the tube used to fill the abdomen with gas. The gas helps separate things and make the procedure easier. If they are not able for some reason to do it vaginally, they will make a bikini cut through your old c-section scar. The muscles are never cut, they are spread apart and then sutured to reinforce them and prevent hernia later. Because I am not your doctor or surgeon, I can't tell you which procedure they will opt for. I would imagine they will attempt to do it vaginally first, which is the easiest to perform and recover from. If when they have a peek through the scope it looks like the endometriosis is really badly advanced and there are many adhesions, they may well do it through your old scar.
In a vaginal hysterectomy, they normally also leave the cervix intact, which will make it much more comfortable for you later during sex. It will mean, however, you will still need an annual pap smear. If you have not been through menopause, you will still experience whatever hormonal changes occur with that- it is the result of ovarian function and hormonal production, and you will still have yours. You will still note monthly hormonal changes, the only difference is obviously you won't have a period.
How much pain you have post op depends mostly on you and your pain tolerance. You should be getting up out of bed within 12 hours of waking up, and I recommend you get up and moving as soon as you can force yourself to do it. Even if it's just a shuffle to the bathroom. If you get up quick enough, you can take advantage of whatever pain medications are still in your system from the operation, which makes it less painful. The first few trips are the hardest usually. You shouldn't have much post-operative bleeding, though you will have a pad for them to check to make sure of that- if it's done vaginally. If it's done as an abdominal surgery, recovery will be much the same as you experienced after your c-sections. Your tummy and the incision site will be very tender, and of course you will have sutures or staples to contend with. How long you are hospitalized depends on your post operative recovery and how soon you are back on a normal feed and moving about well enough to take care of yourself.
The longer you lay about and the less you move around, the harder and longer recovery will take. I would recommend you take some really comfortable gowns, as opposed to pj pants. Then you can have something a bit more covering than the standard hospital issue. I don't suggest pants, as you won't be able to wear those afterwards so they can check on you. And if you have the abdominal procedure, of course it won't be possible or comfortable at all. I'd recommend a pair of sweat pants to come home in, as opposed to something with a zipper, so in case you are bloated feeling or have stitches, you will be able to have something comfortable for the ride home.
You will feel rather bloated when you wake up good, after a vaginal procedure- because you will be full of gas, literally. It will pass, no pun intended, in a few days- sooner if you are up moving around. So I'd take a sense of humor if you can, as there is nothing to do for it but, well, you get the picture.
If you have survived two c-sections, you already know how that went for you. Most importantly, you did survive them- so there's nothing really going to happen you haven't already been through so far as the surgery goes. They should give you medications for the pain for a few days, starting with stronger medications and easing off onto Tylenol after a couple of days. The thing that will actually help the most, believe it or not, is simply getting back on your feet and up out of bed. If you stay in bed you will get stiff and sore, and stay that way. If you get up moving, it won't be a waltz in the park the first day or two, but I promise you will be feeling easier and better by late on the second or third day. If you have difficulty with the pain in your belly, it's worth asking the nurses for a heating pad or warmed blanket from delivery to hug against your belly. It does help in many ways- from moving the gas along, to simply feeling good on the incision. Laying on your side with your knees tucked up does as well, by relaxing the abdominal muscles.
I give you this advice after working as a nurse and paramedic for over 20 years. I've had to boot people out of bed post operatively. Folks who lay in bed fare far worse than those who creep about slowly and quickly after waking. And although it isn't a wonderful experience, I am sure you can get through it and will do just fine. If you have really bad preoperative nerves, confide in the nurse or your doctor, and have them go over the whole procedure with you to make sure you understand it all. But honestly, there is nothing to dread that you haven't already been through before bringing your children into the world. You did that, and you can do this too. Good luck and God Bless.

Answer 5

I haven't had the opp but my sister has, yes it is pain full but you get plenty of pain-relive. Take in sanitary towels as you do bleed after the opp.Just think once its all over no more periods ever again.

Answer 6

youll be just fine