Surgery in March

[Ohiocat]

If you have been reading the Feb. birthday topic...you know that I have asked for the whole month for my birthday.

To give you the short story - I guess i want that since on March 1, I head to a hospital for surgery.   According to the paperwork I got today i am having

              "Robotic Assisted Total Laparoscopic Hysterectomy, Bilateral Salpingectomy"
(say that 10 times quickly......)

So get to go through all the process of getting medical leave from work and all the pre-op things in Febrary.  And then surgery and recovery in March.   Not exactly what I was planning to do in March.  I was originally planning on a vacation in March to Florida to visit my parents.  That now has been postponed.

And i was just reading through the possible side effects of a hysterectomy.   It seems to be quite list.
Just a bit hard to be happy about this, but based off the problems that I have been having; this does seem like the best option.

Any advise as to what to expect on the side effects or about the process would be helpful.

[Patze]

I'm sorry to hear that you're having to go through a Hysterectomy Ohiocat, and I can't give you any advise other than to send you some tested and proven seriously soft

( ( ( ( H U G S ) ) ) ),

and I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

And don't forget to keep us updated, okay?

Take special care of yourself -

Patze

[genko_b]

Take care - I''m sure the surgery will go smoothly. The main thing is not to lift anything too heavy for several weeks, like with all abdominal surgery.

I had that surgery many years ago when I was 42 and it helped immensely. I was losing so much blood from fibroids that I was severely anemic.

Genko

[lynnmarie219]

Good luck with your surgery Ohiocat!

I had a hysterectomy about 10 years ago and there is not a moment that I regret it! I feel so much better now and don't have to plan my life around the pain and other things that went along with it (anemia, fatigue, etc).

Of course you have to heal and insure your hormones are straightened out...but after that....its clear sailing!

I wasn't diagnosed with sjogrens when I had my surgery...it came not too long after that. Just insure that the doctor and anesthesiologist are aware so they can take a few extra precautions during  your surgery to help with dryness or any of your other symptoms if needed!

Good luck and keep us posted!

Hugs to you.....

[Smudge]

I had mine ten years ago and it was the best thing I ever did for myself.  My boss' wife just had one as an outpatient surgery and was back to work (she's a teacher) in 8 or 9 days.  I couldn't believe what an easy process they've made of it.

As mentioned, avoid lifting, and what they won't tell you is to also avoid moving your feet too far apart when standing/walking.  Keep them pretty close together or things will "pull."  Also, don't try to push things with your feet.  I learned the hard way.  You want to avoid causing adhesions which will be problematic down the road.

Good luck!  I'm sure you won't be sorry.   

[sis]

I had the exact same surgery a year and a half ago.

I had the da Vinci and I'm so glad I insisted on it.

I had very little pain and hardly have any scars!
The worst was the gas pain from the surgery.  Have some gas med ready and walk a lot.

My recovery period was not as quick as a lot of the success stories I'd read about.

It took a full 6 weeks before I could drive.

Plan on taking extra good care of yourself

You only get to heal once.  Don't screw it up.

A site that helped me so much when I was nervous about the hysterectomy was hystersisters.

Hope it goes well for you.

It helped me so much.

[sis]

oh I forgot to mention I watched a video of an actual surgery on the web.

It was fascinating to see the machine and how the Dr. worked it beforehand.

My sister thought I was nuts for watching it but i wanted to know what was going to happen.

[irish]

I had mine done the old fashioned way 21 years ago and never regretted it. The gyne put me on Premarin the day after surgery and I took it for 13 years. I was 46 when I had my surgery and just decided on my own that with all the talk about the hormones I better quit them.

The thing is that when we have no ovaries we are not taking extra estrogen, we are taking a total replacement that probably is not exactly the same or as much as our ovaries produced on their own. Also, I really can't say that it affected my sjogrens in any way. I had the sjogrens long before I had the hysterectomy and had no huge change in my health.

Make sure to keep track of you thyroid as women in their 40's are very prime candidates for the thyroid issues to occur. Also, I had a more complicated surgery with removal of a tumor on my appendix with exploratory done then. I did well after surgery, but it too about 1 year before I was able to lift a 40# softenor salt bag without struggling due to weakness in the abdominal muscles.

Rest after surgery, but keep active. Sounds confusing, but walking does help recover muscle strength. Irish

[Ohiocat]

Thanks for all the replies,  I know this is the right thing to do, but anytime someone starts taking about surgery.....i shudder a bit.     

Irish - I don't have to worried about my thyroid in this - it got removed back in June of 2007.  And I have been doing very well at having my daily medicine balanced.   My doctor checks my level once a year to verify that.  (And it was checked in January this year already).

They are leaving the ovaries, so I should not go into immediate menopause.  I have been experiencing some skipped periods the last year - so i am probably in pre-menopause, but have not had any other major issues with that  (so far at least)

Sis - you are braver than I am,  I could not watch an actual surgery.  I still turn away from the TV when they show someone getting a needle stuck in them (from a shot, or drawing blood or from anything like that).

My sister called last night.  She and her husband live about 2.5 to 3 hours away from me.  She has offered to come down and spend a few days with me after the surgery.  She said that as long as I had an internet connection she could use (and i do have a wireless connection), that she can arrange to work from here.  That way I would have someone in the house for a few days to help make sure everything is okay.  (Her hubby would stay home and take care of the foster kids they have.)

Last time I had surgery in a hospital (getting the thyroid removed), Mom and Dad came up from Florida.   But that is just not possible this time due to all the issues my Mom has been having.  I think that having my sister here, would also provide some relief of my parents  worry.

At this point, I had just made arrangements for a friend to drive me to the hospital and to take care of the cats while I am in the hospital  (outpatient with 23 hours of observation is the plan at this point).  I have one cat that needs to be given medicine twice a day.

So I am really considering taking my sister up on her offer.  She had this done about 5 or 6 years ago, however hers was not the laparoscopic kind.  So I figure she will understand what I am going through.  And since she is my younger sister, I guess I have lucked out, not needed to do this until now.   Issues like this run in the family, since my mom also had one of this many years ago.