I guess I needed time to process, I was just unable to post this any sooner. My hysterectomy was May 2nd at 0800, courtesy of my wonderful doctor and the DaVinci robot. I’m not a candidate for ablation due to the bicornate uterus, nor for hormone overdrive due to smoking for 30 years. I opted for complete hysterectomy as my ovaries were already failing, it would be just my luck for them to act up next. Everything went fine although it was a couple hours longer due to some unknown scarring. Not like I knew anything about how long it was. I don’t remember post-op. I woke up in an OB unit room and slept between pills and meal trays. The nurses were very nice about bringing pain pills on schedule- Norco 7.5/325 and ibuprofen 600. My first two meals were clear liquids, mainly for hydration and to make sure I could keep it down. Prior to the surgery, when I talked with the anesthesiologist, I mentioned I had major problems with nausea and a little GERD. They gave me a scopolamine patch that I wore until I got home (good for 3 days), that worked very well.
I did stay overnight just to be sure everything stayed together. Prior to the surgery I had prepped the house for an invalid as I would be home alone with spotty cell phone coverage. I laid in supplies to last 2 months and had them arranged for easy access and so I wouldn’t have to do any lifting. The next morning I was walking semi-normally although slowly and stooped over, got to eat solid food, and had some visitors but I was really too gorked to converse well. My friend took me home in the afternoon, another friend brought my car home. I had pinkish discharge for 3 days, white/clear after that. I was off the Norco in 4 days, I found I could really overdo while doped up and the backlash when the drug wore off was worse. I did use the Norco or ibuprofen occasionally in the first week home, but after that I was fine without. I was told to be careful and to not lift any more than 10 pounds. I have two estradiol patches to try out, a big peachy one that lasts a week, and a small tan one that lasts 3-4 days. Neither stay in place that well, so we’ll talk about that at the 6-week checkup, when I expect to be cleared for work.
I was permitted to drive to the 2-week checkup, where I was now allowed to lift 25 pounds and pick at the scabs. He reinforced the No Sex edict. We had talked over The Rules earlier, I decided following them was better than picking cat hair out of my intestines while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. I was OK’d for a beach trip, to my surprise. It was a slow 4 hour drive to a very nice, quiet beach where I had a room for 2 nights. Good food, fabulous weather, and gentle waves to float in. I got way more tanned and toned than I expected. The drive back was as leisurely, I shopped at an oriental grocery (none around home) and picked up lettuce and tomatoes at a farmers’ market.
So, on to the fun stuff. I have 4 small (1/2 inch) scars, one at the base of my umbilicus, 2 on the left and 1 on the right. They wouldn’t let me take my uterus home to torture it, but I did get a GRAPHIC PICTURE Are you sure? This is my actual excised uterus. The bitch
This is a posterior view. The pathology report said the uterus was double the normal size (5 weeks since last period). There were some more fibroids that didn’t show up on the ultrasound. The right ovary and tube is essentially normal, what looks like a blob of jello is an emerging egg. The left ovary area is a mess of cysts and scar tissue “no wonder she had pelvic pain,” the pathologist stated he could hardly tell where the tube actually was. Nothing cancerous found. My doctor said the scarring was probably from an infection, but I can’t recall any specific time that would have happened. My nurse friends say that with being bicornate and having one functional ovary, it’s a miracle I was able to deliver a live baby.
To make up for the ick, there’s also some nice pictures of my cats: Licorice is solid black, Ripple is grey tabby, Taffy is the big male yellow short hair tabby, NutterButter is the little female yellow long hair tabby. The one with the naked tail doesn’t visit anymore. Dyslexia I can deal with. The cartoon is one of my favorites (BS in biology, minor in chemistry).
So, altogether a good experience and I can’t wait to finish healing! I’ve got some work to do!
Glad to hear you’re feeling well enough for beach trips.