I Am Having a Hysterectomy.....

I remember when my mom had the same thing done. The hardest part for her was being unable to lift things. You will be on the couch with this one, and then very limited in what you can carry. I'd prepare hubby and kids for this. You will really need their help.

G.:

When I had my complete hysterectomy - my sister was here to care for me and my family - I had the Di Vinci method done and was in the hospital for 23 hours....yes. 23...not even a full day.

All I had to do was relax and sleep. My sister took care of everything...laundry, grocery shopping, meals, etc.

Follow the doctor's orders. DO NOT lift things. Do NOT walk up stairs - I was not allowed to. I could NOT drive for 2 weeks. I was up and walking and shopping Thursday morning.

I did NOT have pelvic floor repair done. So I do not know how that will affect your recovery time.

DO NOT rush out to have sex...I know laughing - really - there are women who have babies and then rush to have sex before the six week marker is up. If the doctor says no sex for 6 weeks - no sex for six weeks.

A positive attitude will help more than you will EVER know!! Attitude is everything!!

Good luck! Hope all goes as smoothly for you as it did for me!

Hysterectomies have changed so much over the years. It used to be a major, scary, very painful surgery (back when my mom had hers 15-ish years ago). Now it's a rather quick surgery with a much faster recovery time (my bestie had one last year and was almost completely better in a few weeks).

Follow your doctor's orders. Pay close attention to your body and don't overdo it (because you can go back and undo what you've overdone!).

Best to you! You'll do great!

I had a partial (still have my ovaries) 2 years ago through my vagina. Be prepared for how tired you will be and take naps. You're restricted on driving and carrying and that was a huge challenge. Also, bending can really cause pain - loading/unloading the dishwasher or laudry. Take the help when offered and just take it easy. Get some books or magazines and movies.
I did a bunch of decorating and craft projects. I could do a layer of paint and then take a nap while it dried. After I had it done, friends were telling me how tired they were and nobody prepared them for that part.

I had a complete hysterectomy, abdominal bikini line incision, they took everything 12 yrs ago this week.

It was the BEST thing I ever did and I never looked back!!

The WORST part of the entire process was the wait until surgery day because it is scary due to the unknown factors.

I got a lot of info from hystersisters.com which at times has way TMI but a lot of reports of personal expereinces, pros cons, etc. Like you, I was confident with my decision from the get go.

My concern was the side effects I read about which was swelly belly, no sex drive, weight gain, etc. I will say, I never had any these issues.

I wore a binder from surgery and daily except when I was in the shower for weeks to make sure I didn't get the swelly belly.
I never gained weight.
My sex drive skyrocketed because of no threat of an oopsie!
I am on HRT and my natural perky boobs did perk up more and I am now a 34DD which I personally LOVE because it is like a boob job without silicone or surgery!! My Dr says it is more than likely from the HRT.

I was at a track meet within 3 weeks watching my daughter. It sucked that I couldn't drive for 2 weeks but I made it.

I think if you go into this surgery (or any surgery for that matter) in good physical shape and a good attitude that your recovery will be much easier. Attitude has a lot to do with a good recovery.

You do need to be careful of lifting and over doing it afterwards for a few weeks and believe me, if you do overdo it, you will know.

I had the morphine pump at the hospital and after they took it out, I have a couple of pain meds but I tried not to take the pain meds at home. The pain was not to a degree where I had to continue meds to stay on top of it.

Bottom line, I have never felt or looked better. I wish you the best and if you have questions or want to vent, PM me!!

My mom had so much pain after hers, G.. She was taking the pain meds the doctor gave her, but they only took the edge off. FINALLY (after I threatened to call the surgeon myself), she called and talked to him. She described the pain and he said it sounded like inflammation. So he told her to take ibruprophen.

It WORKED. And it worked really well. So...if you have this problem, try ibruprophen. I really was amazed that it worked. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself!

Good luck with the surgery.

My mom had a similar procedure done two years ago. The only thing I would say is to follow the doctor's instructions EXACTLY. My mom didn't and her recovery took much longer than it should have. When they say "no lifting", they mean no lifting!

You may need some help at home if your children are very young for 2-3 weeks after. If they are older, then make sure to ask them to do most of the housework.

I haven't had one, but my mom had hers when I was 17, so he was 36. She didn't listen to the doctor about what to do, or NOT do actually, and now, 20 years later, she still has abdominal problems. She had the bikini line one because she had already had 4 c-sections before that, but she still has her ovaries, and this has really helped with the hormones, etc.. My aunt, her older sister, also had it done, these were both for Fibroids, and she had it like you are doing. She did not want to lose her ovaries, but the doctor accidently damaged them, so they had to take them out. From what I understand, this is a risk that you take from not doing the c-section one. I hope that all goes well for you! Really, remember to follow your doctor's orders and don't plan on picking up the kids for quite a while! I think its like 6 weeks, but I can't remember for sure. Good luck! and good for you for taking care of yourself.

It really is an easy surgery. Only restriction is lifting . That is it. Recoup is really maybe a week and you are back to feeling like yourself. Sore for a couple of days but no real pain involved. Good luck.