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Re: hysterectomyFrom: anonymous@obgyn.netWed, 4 Mar 1998 13:55:02 -0900 (AKST)
At 11:38 PM 3/3/98 -0600, you wrote: >I have been reading many of the previous posts regarding hysterectomies >so please do not direct me to read over old messages. I am 40 years old >and 3 weeks ago had emergency surgery to remove endometriosis from my >colon (it was totally blocked) and I now have a temporary colostomy. My >surgeon and gyn have informed me they feel it is necessary to perform a >total hyst. when they go back in me to put my colon back together. >After reading the posts here, I am terrified! Is it necessary to remove >the ovaries and cervix (my gyn said that is what he will do)? I am >concerned about changes I will experience both inward and outward. No >one person seems to really tell the whole story here. Debbie: (this is pretty long....but I hope it helps) Wow. I really, really feel for you. Reading your post is almost like looking in a mirror. I don't have exactly the same problems as you have, but I had a very destroyed uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries due to endometriosis and multiple misscarriages and some poor decisions by a doctor about ten years ago. What all of that eventually led up to was hell on earth for me for about the past year, and actually, hell for about 16 years. I had terrible PMS, bladder infections, heavy bleeding, severe anemia, and was unable to have sex with my husband because of extreme pain. Now, I'm not trying to give you my sob story, I just want you to know the background....I'm going to try to give you the whole story because it happened so recently to me. I am 35 years old. I am very active, I am a professional dancer and actress. My life requires me to be very, very healthy and look a certain way. Because of this, I was terrified about weight gain, and changes in personal appearance. I literally bank on my ability to play younger roles! So, I was petrified. Sounds vain, but it is true that that kind of thing goes through your mind. But I knew I couldn't continue the way I had been. Debbie, they had tried everything under the sun to control my condition, so I was very afraid that the hysterectomy wouldn't work. And that would break my heart. I was afraid I'd die in surgery. All these things go through your mind. I was afraid that I'd become an old woman overnight! Yes, the doctors can act like it's a walk in the park. Well, it might be for them. But I assure you, they don't take it casually. The surgeons are VERY good. That was my experience. The offhand attitude can be frustrating though. For you, it's not a walk in the park. It's a very major, very scary decision and prospect. Let yourself feel what you need to feel. I had to do that. Then I gathered as much info as I could, and then I looked at it OBJECTIVELY. Realize that everyone has a story, and each is individual, with it's own sorts of personality quirks and conditioning. Then I listened to my heart. I got the answer. It was probably the scariest decision I've ever made, but also the best one. I can say that without hesitation. It's also something I knew as soon as I made the decision. So, what's it like? My hysterectomy was on February 12th, not even a month ago. I went in that morning, they brought me to my room. They started an IV on me, (this was one of the worst parts for me, I'm a weenie and I have real skinny hands so they had to try 2 times. Blech. But it only lasts a moment. Just breath, and it really helps to have someone there to talk to and hold your hand.) Then I laid there on the bed (same room they bring you back to) and waited for the anestheiseologist to come in. He let me know what he was going to do and so on. Then it was time. They put me in a wheelchair, and wheeled me down to surgery. I got an extra bonus because the anestheseiologist had put valium in my tube before they started wheeling me, so it was a most excellent ride! I was totally calm going in. The last thing I remember was my obgyn holding my hand and telling me that I was going to feel so much better when they were done, then I floated away. Then I woke up. Wow. Boy howdy, it hurts like the dickens when you wake up! But it's only for a moment. Really. They started me on heavy duty stuff as soon as they knew I was awake and OK. It hurts when they transfer you to your bed too, but that it also only a moment. Keep in mind, I am a big weenie when it comes to pain. I was amazed at how much it DID NOT hurt. I had a push button thing for pain. Every ten minutes I could pump some more pain medication in...So that part is not too bad. I had a catheter for a day. That was weird, but OK. After one day, the IV came out and I was on pain pills. The second day I was walking, and the third I went home. Weird things that were painful: gas. It goes away in a couple of days-you have some righteous farts! The food: only clear stuff, pretty much a drag. The hospital: pretty boring, but the nurses and the visitors were great! I bled a little from my incision, but it didn't really bother me. My tummy was numb,(still is a little) and that's normal. It didn't even hurt to get the staples out, and I really dreaded that. You con't use your stomach muscles at all for a couple of weeks. I would practice getting up using your arms and legs to see what it's like. But after only a week, I could sleep on my side and move around a lot easier. It's not that it's painful all the time, just painful when you do something your body is not ready for. When your bowels come back to life, the first week of BMs can hurt a bit. I've bitten down on a lot of towels! That becomes easier too. Just take those dorky stool softeners, they help. I also had a little pot belly (you may have read that post) but that's going away very rapidly. Walking seemed to help. I'm almost back to normal. But I knew, the same day as I had the surgery, laying there in my bed, and looking at my sweet husband, that I had done the best thing I'd ever done. I already felt so much relief, so much better. I felt like my life had started anew. And that feeling hasn't left me. And I know it won't. Yeah, I had a bad day after I got home. Depressed, crying, very sad. But it's natural. I'd just gone through a very major thing. A part of my life had ended. And even though it wasn't a great part, it was an ending. And your body and mind react to it. It might have been partly hormonal. But it was only that one day, then it was gone. And as far as hormones are concerned....I was given a prescription for premarin 1.25 (strongest dose because of my age) when I left the hospital. My doctor told me that the residue hormones would carry me through about 3 days after surgery. I went home on the third day after surgery, so that's when I started. The only menopausal symptoms I had were a few hot flashes a day for about a week(hot flashes feel like what you feel like just after you work out and have that hot flush for a few minutes) then they were gone, and that one day of feeling blue. That's all. I feel fantastic, I just want my body to catch up to my mind. But it is! I walked 1/2 mile yesterday, worked out my legs and arms with light weights yesterday, went out last night with friends, and will walk 3/4 mile today, and who knows what else? It's important not to lift anything! Don't get a hernia...I make sure I lie down for 1/2 hour in the AM and 1/2 hour in the afternoon regardless of whether I'm tired or not. This is important in the third week after surgery (where I am now) because you think you can be normal and you really can't yet. I'm surprised at how fast the time goes. Six weeks of recovery is not a very long time. It seems like it to you now maybe, but not in perspective of the time you've been in pain...Enjoy some luxury. I can work on my laptop and had the phone next to my bed, so I didn't lose much work over it. My husband was great too. And speaking of boys...I did not lose my libido. In fact, I'm real sorry I have to wait six weeks. It seems like my libido is stronger than it has ever been in my life. So, no worries there... I'm looking forward to my life being my own. I don't have to spend 19 days out of 30 in pain, no periods, no birth control. I'm myself for the first time in my adult life. It's a scary gate to go through, but it is possible. It's not easy Debbie, but it's worth it. And believe me, the nightmarish way it looks from where you are now, is just not the way it happens. Oh, there was one other thing. They thought they would have to rebuild my ureter. And they didn't know it would be successful. THAT was scary. As it turned out, they didn't have to, and I'm a healthy girl down there as far as that's concerned. I look the same as I did before. No big changes, except that I look WELL. No more dark circles, no more anemic skin. No outward changes like becoming the bearded lady at the circus or anything. I'm still a girl and still 35. Nothing scary like that happens. As far as anemia? I have never heard about that. Sounds bogus to me. I spent one night very aware of my intestine shifting, but it didn't last very long (and hour or so), and was kind of fascinating! I'm sorry you are so scared, Debbie. My heart goes out to you. But I can't tell you enough how happy I am I did it. NONE of my fears even came close to coming true. It's really amazing. I know you probably think you will be the exception, I did too. I was convinced I was. But you are the one in control of yourself. The doctor will control the pain. The drugs are effective, and our bodies are very good at adapting. Being sick isn't natural. Being well is. This is a way towards wellness. But being scared is understandable. It helped me, once I made the decision, to think positively, to think objectively. Don't look for trouble, you'll make yourself sick with fear. Just ask the questions you are asking. This is a good resource. It just about saved my sanity three weeks ago... hope this has helped. It's a pretty long letter, but I wanted to give you the blow by blow from a "freshie". Please feel free to e-mail me if you want more info or support. I'd love to help. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Don't get crushed by anxiety, keep asking good questions. -Katie Jensen PS: Look up the posts on HRT (hormone replacement therapy) in Women's Health (this site that you are on now). I found them absolutely enlightening and comforting.
My gyn acts like
>all of this will be a walk in the park ("you are young and otherwise
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