Hysterectomy questions

[HappyFun Ball]

I am not looking for medical advice, I have already asked all the questions that my Dr can answer:

What I want to know is what problems/ side effects if any has anyone who has had a hysterectomy had?

I am going to get one after the baby is born, my Dr is considering doing it with a C-section (I've never had a C-section before). My ovaries and tubes will stay where they are. I am getting it done due to very heavy and very painful periods and the fact that no form of birth control seems to work with me (Seriously, I've had my tubes tied and the babys father had a vasectomy)

[AccountingDrone]

TMI for delicate little flowers like men

I had one 2 years ago and I absolutely love love love mine. Not having the horrors of PCOS and tormentuous cramps and bleeding out nor having to take drugs to supress is amazing.

I did get hard core hot flashes, as in middle of winter rolling over and opening the window to cool off hot flashes. They have pretty much tapered off to maybe one hot flash every month or so [I am fat, and estrogen hides in fat cells, and just every now and again some sneaks out] I also have vaginal dryness, and that is easily dealt with by using personal lube. I have more trouble with my arthritis and positioning. I did have a couple months of mild incontinence as the nerve endings healed up. It was more a case of my not realizing how full my bladder was as soon as pre-hysterectomy, so I had to make sure to remember to go pee before it got really critical. The nerves got to working again, and I am back to normal, though my doc did tell me kegel every day anyway.

Ask away. There is also a website called hystersisters.com that is great.

Immediately post op, you will wake up catheterized. Enjoy it, not having to get up and pee is nice. You will be encouraged to get up and walk around shortly after you get the catheter out. Be gentle with yourself and have someone help you stand, your stomach will be sore enough. You might need a belly band to support the surgical site, I didnt use one and had no issues but my bed is also set taller off the floor than most peoples. You will also need a stool softener like colase. Use it, become friends with it. Trust us on this, you do not need to strain to poo, it will hurt. Pain meds can cause constipation. Drink lots of fluids to help the colase. Please DO feel free to ring the nurses, it is not sucky, you are stuck in bed and in pain, you will need to ask for meds or drinks, or possibly even have questions they can answer.

[LillFilly]

My mom had one, but a complete one (ovaries too) or as her Dr. put it "We're taking the toys but leaving the playpen!"

She felt great and was up and about in a few days, though she had to take it easy. Didn't notice much change in mood in her; she was happier because she wasn't having so much pain.

Good luck!

[trailerparkmedic]

Please DO feel free to ring the nurses, it is not sucky, you are stuck in bed and in pain, you will need to ask for meds or drinks, or possibly even have questions they can answer.

OMG yes. And don't get up without a nurse there until they tell you it is ok. It's always the ones who say "I didn't want to bother you" that end up on the floor. Guess what? You are a LOT more of a bother when you fall.

[AccountingDrone]

OMG yes. And don't get up without a nurse there until they tell you it is ok. It's always the ones who say "I didn't want to bother you" that end up on the floor. Guess what? You are a LOT more of a bother when you fall.

I got lucky, mrAru is trained as an EMT and he got the time off to stay with me while I was in hospital. He slept in the recliner the night I spent there. I process anaesthesia quickly, I was awake and out of recovery in about half an hour, was eating and drinking about half an hour after that, had my catheter out in 6 hours with fully emptying my bladder, and out of the hospital by 2 the next afternoon. He helped me get up and steadied me while I gimped back and forth to the head. Though I have always found canadian crutches more stable than axillary crutches thanks to the forearm brace component.

AND TAKE YOUR DAMNED PAIN MEDS. You heal faster when you are not in pain, and you can always taper off if you are worried about addiction.

[Luna Baby]

Everything AccountingDrone has states--listen to! I had mine done about 5 years ago. Actually, I had a hysterectomy/cystocel repair/rectocel repair all in one surgery. Mine was all done vaginally so I don't have any belly scars, but I can attest that you will be sore, very sore. I even looked at my doctor and told him flat out, "I don't like you anymore!" but then again, I was on some good drugs at that time, too.

I still have my ovaries, so I can't speak to what to expect if you are having yours removed. I still "suffer" PMS symptoms every month, just that I no longer deal with a period.

Do listen to your nurses, take advantage of the fact that they are there and won't mind helping you at all. Do take your pain meds before you let yourself get into much pain at all. Also, don't try to do too much once you get back home. I was restricted to less than 10# lifting at any time for about 6 months due to the cystocel repair.

Hystersisters.com will have some much needed information for you. I didn't know really what to expect and when the depression hit, I was blown away. Talk to others and know what to expect.

[Teskeria]

I had the mild version due to fibroids and periods so bad I was changing every 45-60 minutes. They called it a d&c, but it was basically using a tool that seared the sides of the womb. worked wonders.
I Second TAKE THE PAIN MEDS. It is hard when dealing with a new baby, it is much harder if you are in pain. Do it for both of you. Depending on your own tolerance, you may only need them a couple days, but it makes a big difference.

[Lyse]

Second the "take your pain meds". And take them regularly, allowing them to work before the pain sets in instead of trying to play catch up with the pain. Quite a few people will try to tough out things, which can lead to not just a more miserable recovery than was necessary, but a longer one. If your body is trying to deal with pain, it's not putting the best effort into healing.

[HappyFun Ball]

Yeah, my Dr called the burning of the uterine lining a Labrasion or something like that. She said that 60% of women who have that will still have period, my Dr said that since I am prone to abnormal papsmears, she leans towards the hysterectomy.

I will have 3 small incisions and they will pull the uterus out of my vagina. I've had many surgeries, I've learned for the first few days to take the pain meds, even if you don't really need them.

[SuperRTL]

Wow, was this thread timely. I'm looking at having one too, because hemorraging for no reason anybody can determine and scary family history of ovarian cancer (seriously, only 1 woman in my family over 50 hasn't had a hystorectomy, all the others died in their 40's from ovarian cancer that they got in their 30's . . . I'm 29).

I wanted to ask what recovery time looked like. I'm all about the take the damn pain meds but I was wondering about realistic recovery time.

[AccountingDrone]

Wow, was this thread timely. I'm looking at having one too, because hemorraging for no reason anybody can determine and scary family history of ovarian cancer (seriously, only 1 woman in my family over 50 hasn't had a hystorectomy, all the others died in their 40's from ovarian cancer that they got in their 30's . . . I'm 29).

I wanted to ask what recovery time looked like. I'm all about the take the damn pain meds but I was wondering about realistic recovery time.

Keeping in mind I have an insane pain tolerance ...

Even after 2 years I get occasional scar twinges, and I have a few adhesions along my intestinal tract [while he was in there he ran the length of my intestines so I don't need a colonoscopy for at least a couple more years] from moving innards around to get all of the tumor and making sure I didn't have an alien chest burster or whatever he was looking for so if I get even slightly constipated I get really bad pain from the pulling on the adhesions so I do have to make sure I get plenty of fiber and liquids to keep things running smoothly.

I was amazingly sore for the first month just existing - which is to be expected - someone just rummaged around inside. I had a couple days of what would appear to be an extremely light day. More than a couple days is something to be worried about. The soreness slowly went away as the healing progressed. When they tell you no lifting, they really mean it. You have no idea how much work your lower back and abdominal muscles do to getting you upright and keeping you upright until you have one or the other or both injured in some manner. Arrange some form of grab rail for your bed unless it is tall enough from the floor to let you simply roll your legs off the bed and stand up without unfolding your torso. Get a seat lift for the toilet unless your toilet is already handicap height and you have grab rails. They make a grab rail frame that you set around the toilet so it is not a hard install. Do not lift or carry babies, groceries, the dog, the cat or heavy air for at least 30 days minimum. Get someone else to do the housework. You *may* feel OK, but you can still strain the healing bits inside.

Do your kegels. You may have a bit of incontinence while healing, some of the nerves may have been snipped or bruised and your sensation of fullness may be short circuted for a bit. Besides, kegels never go amiss.

[Seshat]

Yeah, my Dr called the burning of the uterine lining a Labrasion or something like that.

Ablation.

[Dasota]

I wish I could find a doctor that would be willing to give me one. I understand why not though based on the fact that I am young(23), and that I also don't have any problems with my reproductive system.

But I do have Hep C, and I also have a horrid horrid family history of cancer, addiction, major overweightness, diabetes, and unstable mental issues. And that is just MY family.

Seriously, it's really a matter of what will get me first, Cancer or Liver failure, though my mom ended up getting liver cancer from the Hep C.

I'd rather not pass those kind of genes on, and if I ever want kids down the road, I see no problem at all adopting.

[Der Cute]

Dasota:
A friend of mine has chosen to sterilize herself, at the age of 24. She had to pound down doors, for ages. And sign a form releasing Doc from malpractice "I swear I won't sue you because I'm sterililzed, I promise" or something to that effect.
You need to convince a doctor you want this to be permanent.
It can be done, you just need to do a lot of legwork.

[HappyFun Ball]

Ablation! I knew I didn't have the right word, lol.

Dasota: You might want to make sure that you can adopt a child when you have Hep C, I know that with my 2nd born and this one the couple adopting was completely put through the ringer. I am not saying this to be mean at all, I just thought you should check into it. Mind you, that is for adopting an American baby. I have a family history of cancer (My mom has had 5 different kinds and addiction) what I'm saying in that sense is that even if you adopt a child, that child might have a real worrysome family history.

On the sterlization/hysterectomy, it can be very tough to find a doctor willing to do that since you are so young and have no children, I do know they are out there and as Der Cute said you will need to convince them that you really want this done. Doctors today are afraid to do anything, I knew a lady that tried to sue a Doctor for giving her a tubal ligation, she claimed that the doctor knew about Post Tubal Ligation Syndrome and did not tell her about it.. Personally, I think it's a bunch of BS made up by women who had a TL done and want it reversed and have insurance pay for it.. But I could be wrong on that, I had a TL and did not have a single problem, but everyone is different.