I have had a large fibroid for this past year; it’s gotten big enough to be of concern and looks like it’s pretty well in the tissues of the top part of the uterus. After consulting with my regular doctor, and then a gynecological surgeon earlier this week, I’ve decided the best thing to do is have it all taken out.
Well, it wasn’t an organ I’d ever put to use anyway. I’ve been expecting menopause any month now for over a year–and this means that my next period will definitely be my very last.
I know that other ladies here have had hysterectomies. What can you tell me, please, about the procedure and getting through the days immediately afterwards? Any advice?
They say that if they can do it laparoscopically, it’s less invasive and the recovery time is shorter. I may or may not have to stay at the hospital overnight. The surgeon’s office has emailed me some instructions for prep before and after, but I’d like to hear something from women who have actually been through it.
My hysterectomy was cancer-related and a minor part of my surgery so my surgical experience isn’t really applicable, but I know there are other women here who can weigh in. Mostly I’m bumping because this was pretty far down the page.
Afterwards, full-blown menopause kicked in after only a few days. Everyone’s experience with it is different. Mine wasn’t too bad. Since you have a fibroid, menopause symptoms might even be a relief for you! If I had to do it again, I’d learn a technique or two for getting out of bed BEFORE having surgery instead of after. Your incision won’t be as large as mine was, and will be negligible if you have surgery laparoscopically, but it still can’t hurt to learn. You can Google for different techniques. I didn’t use this one, but it would’ve been much more comfortable for me than what I did:
I'd guess leading up to your surgery will be stressful, but that overall it will go smoothly. Please let us know how you do, and the best of luck!
Had my gut open a few times so I was already aware of the hold a pillow to the abdomen if you need to cough or sneeze, and you really don’t want to vomit! Anything using the core muscles is agony for the first few days, then the pain with using them diminishes. Getting up from a low position [bed or couch] can be agonizing, maybe check into those props for bed legs to raise the level of your bed so all you need to do is swing your legs over and stand up? Maybe a stand assist? And one for the bathroom if you don’t have a handicap height toilet? They also make belly bands to support the incision site. I had a DaVInci robot for mine, but I still ended up with about 5 holes in my gut instead of one big slash. Much better recovery, I was pretty much up to anything except lifting in about 2 weeks, though I think I ended up with a few more adhesions that I did when I got ipened up old school lap with only 2 holes. And watch out for the referred pain, I felt like someone was peeling my shoulder blades off with a butter knife while the gas was resolving.
And if you don’t have someone at home for the first few days to a week, I can highly recommend getting a good cooler and stocking it with ice packs to keep the contents cold, and bottles of your swill of choice [I prefer water but I know people who refuse to drink water and go for juice and soda] crudites [cut up raw veggies] and dip, cut up fruit, those little individual serve jello/pudding/fruit/yoghurt cups, wrapped sandwiches [or a cheese/meat plate if you are carniverous =) ] and whatnot so you don’t need to keep getting up. Though you really should get up and walk briefly about once an hour or so to help circulation and breathing. <as an aside, the cooler of drinks and really cold fruits and veggies was what I did post cancer surgery and post chemo, I had issues with eating anything warm and with a fat content, I was off meat for a few months and got my major protein from cheese and hard boiled eggs. I still adore deviled eggs.]
My bed is a 4-poster, up pretty high. It has a small set of steps that came with it, that I’ve been using as a little DVD shelf since I don’t normally need them to get in and out of bed.
I was thinking of it the other way around–that the bed would be too difficult to get into and I should stay on the couch for the first few days. But I’ll clear the steps for the bed instead.
I’m not supposed to drive for at least a week, maybe more, after the surgery. But this is something I’ll look into if I need to drive after that. Thank you.
No, really, I’ve been flayed the past day for suggesting the “Are you really sure?” question, but this is something even I know about. I’d suggest laproscopic (“You moron, you had major surgery. I just made some minor holes.” Don’t get cut by a guy your spouse went to HS with. And lives next door to her sister.), but if I had an opinion I wouldn’t have one.
My mother had a hysterectomy at 48, and they didn’t remove her ovaries. She ended up dying at 77 of ovarian cancer. I don’t know if there would have been earlier warning signs of the ovarian cancer if she’d had a uterus, but I do know that if they’d taken her ovaries out when she had the hysterectomy, she’d most likely be alive right now. The idea was that menopause would be easier because she’d still be making her own hormones, and she’d be at less risk of breast cancer because she wouldn’t “have” to take artificial hormones to get through menopause. Given that menopause is a very individual thing, and some women who don’t have any kind of -ectomies still take hormones, and some women who have their ovaries removed when they are pretty young make it through without artificial hormones, my mother could have been fine.
Anyway, I would go with having my ovaries removed, if the choice is being left up to you. If your history suggests that you will need hormones, and you have a strong history of breast cancer (my mother didn’t) maybe that’s not good advice, but after you consider your own history, it’s something to think about.
My mom-in-law is a nurse, and her comment about the hormone thing for menopause is they are just to moderate the hot flashes. She opted [as did I] to just tough out the ‘change’ and do without the HRT and possible side effects.
My advice is to consider keeping your ovaries. My GYN wanted to remove both, since then ovarian cancer is impossible. I said no, leave both. We compromised at one. I just had this hunch that ovaries (Mine were still functioning, though I was too old to have more kids.) might still produce trace chemicals or hormones that might be valuable. I am now vindicated:
I fought having a hysterectomy for three years, mainly because of the recovery. (I’m very active.) Mine was for severe adenomyosis–the uterine lining had permeated the full thickness of the uterine wall. My doc promised to do it as a lap unless he ran into too much scar tissue from my C-sections. Definitely the way to go. Recovery was swifter and less painful than it had been for C-sections.
I was in the hospital overnight. I’m the stubborn, independent type and had nobody staying with me when I got home. I was told I’d need to walk to recuperate faster so did not have beverages, etc. in a cooler as I’d considered doing.
Don’t throw away your sanitary pads if you have them: you’ll probably need them at least a week or two after surgery. (No tampons allowed.) But then it’s goodbye forever. For awhile, I bought something fun every month on what I would have spent on tampons.
Life without periods is great. I wish I hadn’t fought surgery so long.
This is what the surgeon told me when we were talking last week–that they used to think the ovaries stopped doing anything with menopause, but recent research suggested otherwise.
I had intended to keep them for that reason, but at the surgeon’s advice get rid of the Fallopian tubes, which he said most ovarian cancers begin from. My family doesn’t have a history of ovarian cancer; the only thing I’ve heard about is my sister had a benign ovarian tumor removed last year.
I had my hysterectomy over 15 years ago. I also had fibroid issues. I was cut vertically. I still have my ovaries. I think I was in the hospital a few days but part of it was because I had practically bled out one night (because of fibroids) and had to have a blood transfusion. So my hysterectomy was an emergency surgery.
The nurses had me up walking that same day (later in the evening). After that I made myself walk around the ward a few times a day. It was painful at first, but I think that really helped in my healing. Once I was home I really noticed how tired I was. Took lots of naps on the couch. I didn’t need anyone to stay with me - my husband went to work and we had just our son at home who was 17 at the time so he was able to fend for himself. I had 6 weeks off from work (desk job), but I think I could have gone back after 2 weeks. But I enjoyed the full time off. I’m salaried and my boss paid me while I was off. My incision healed quickly and I never had any post-op issues. Best thing I ever did!
My poor sister, on the other hand, had the type of hysterectomy where they remove the uterus through the vagina. She had it done over a year ago and she’s still having side effects from it. She has scar tissue inside that is very painful. She’s been told that she may have to just live with it! She’s done different therapies, but nothing has given her any relief. She says she wishes she’d never had it done.
I had one last year and it was done laproscopically, I think. They make a tiny incision in the abdomen and the navel, cut along the dotted line, then slide it out through the vagina. My remaining ovary was also removed. (Basically the tamoxifen is good for keeping cancer out of the breasts but not the uterus, so it was a proactive surgery.)
I spent the night in the hospital and couldn’t work out for six weeks. My abs were definitely tender and let me know when I was lifting something too heavy. I also didn’t have an appetite for the first couple of days. The way it was explained to me was that my body was used to maintaining a uterus, and it had to get used to not maintaining an organ.
TMI spoiler
About a year later I was suffering from vaginal dryness, so much that intercourse was painful. My gyno recommended Replens, which is an estrogen-free vaginal lubricant that’s inserted every three days or so. It has helped. No change in sexual pleasure, fortunately.
I live alone, but I’ve arranged things with my regular cat-sitter and one of my friends so someone will look in on me at least once a day for the first few days. I’ve also arranged to work from home once I feel up to it. I have a follow-up visit with the surgeon two weeks after the surgery, and we’ll see if I continue to work from home or try to go in after that.
I’m sorry to hear that it turned out so badly for your sister. Apart from the procedure itself, I’m trying to look at this as generally a good thing for me in the long run, and hope there aren’t complications like that.
When I was posting in someone else’s thread about breast cancer a couple of days ago, I remembered that I’d taken tamoxifen for a while but stopped because of abdominal pain. That was about 3 years ago, but it’s made me wonder if that and this current problem are connected.
Could be. About eight years after I was on the Tamoxifen I started bleeding. Og bless my chemo doc…he whipped out his iPhone and sent me straight over to the women’s center, where I met the lovely Dr. T. After a few years of her snipping my benign cysts she told me we’re yanking everything. No need to take risks. Now I’m on Letrazole.
My wife had a hysterectomy. I became somewhat educated as we considered the options. She had an ovarian cyst, so they took both out. Arguably, they should have left the healthy one as she is on hormones now. She kept her cervix. Keep your cervix if it is healthy, which it probably is. It will strengthen the structure down there.
