Wanting Some Advice on Total Hysterctomy and Bladder Repair

Hi J.,

I am a 52 year old grandma. I am also in excellent shape for a 52 year old. I had a hysterectomy when I was 47. I also had bladder surgery for a prolapsed uterus. My Doctor told me that the bladder was not in bad shape, but that it was a large uterus sitting on top of the bladder. I had a pubovaginal sling for the bladder and it has been great. I was constantly wetting myself everytime I coughed or sneezed, not to mention that everytime I had a period the blood would be all over my clothes and underpants.

The recovery time is not bad, of course I am resilant and bounce back quickly. I think my recovery time was maybe a month.

I'm not sure about a total Hysterectomy, but I'm scheduled to have a partial hysterectomy and my doctor told me that the recovery time is 2 weeks. Good Luck!

I just had a vaginal hysterectomy and bladder sling done in march if it weren't for the very small incisions for the bladder sling I would not have known I had anything done. I personally had a great recovery 4 weeks and I was released. I haven't worn a pad or pantyliner since I don't have to go to the bathroom every 5 minutes nor do I feel the urge. I never have to deal with 2-3 week periods. Just make sure you don't want to have any more children I'm 38 and have no doubt I did the right thing. Good luck!!!!!

I had the same thing done a year and a half ago. How is your doctor doing it, some cut you open and some go vaginally, I was cut open. I dont remember exact recovery time but I do know that I was supposed to be off work for 6 weeks and was back to work in a month. The main problem I had was that afterwards some people's bladders can take a while to start working again, and of course mine had to be one of them. I had to go home with the catheter still in, so be prepared for that (just so that if you are one like I was you wont be disappointed). I was definitely pleased with the results. Hope this helps a little. A.

Healing should take about 6 weeks, but it really all boils down to whether or not you're having your ovaries removed. If you do, you have a host of other issues to address - dryness, tenderness, hot flashes, ect. And as a young breast cancer survivor, I cant recommend having your ovaries removed just to wind up taking fake hormones. If you dont have a medical issue predisposing you to ovarian problems, you may consider leaving them... :}

My total hysterectomy was done in 1979. It was abdomenal and took a couple of months recovery time. But then, recovery time used to be much longer than it is now.

Last summer, I had a bladder sling done. I was supposed to not do anything for 2-3 weeks. Unfortunately, we had a girl staying with us who was pregnant, slovenly and lazy. I had to take care of her. My bladder sling operation gave me some relief but could not be considered a success because I did not take the recovery time I should have.

Go by what the doctor says. If you have someone to help with the kiddos and housework, take it gladly. It's wonderful when a surgery works like it should and depressing when you don't give it a chance to heal properly.

My wife had a total hysterectomy and bladder sling implanted at the same time. We were VERY sexually active before the surgery and this surgery was a couple of days after our wedding so we had to wait until the doctor said it was ok to consummate our marriage. Which was fine because I love my wife VERY much and don't want anything to hurt her. But after waiting until we had the doctors ok, she still had severe pain. So we went back to the doctor and he advised waiting 4 to 6 more weeks. Ok, we did that with the same results. Here it is 5 years later and I can't as much as touch her without causing her to cry and have severe pain. As bad as we both want to be together, I can't bring myself to go through with it when I see her crying and in pain. How can either of us enjoy what's supposed to be a special time for a husband and wife? We have both been depressed and frustrated over this because what we once enjoyed, that doctor stole from us! Yes she had a lawsuit and won but no amount of money can replace what we lost. My advice: think long and hard before considering this procedure, it may ruin your intimacy as it has ours. I wish you all the luck in the world. Just please consider all the options before surgery because once it's done, it's done. Even if you have it removed you won't notice there's an abnormal problem until it's too late. Once again, good luck and God bless

Wait a minute. For prolapse, you can see an acupuncturist. There is also a device you can wear, called a vaginal pessary, which is perfectly comfortable for most women and you don't even know it's there. You can ask the acupuncturist or a physical therapist.

If your doctor says that your prolapse is too severe for a pessary to help with, then acupuncture can improve the prolapse to the point that a pessary would take care of the rest.

Acupuncture might help with your bladder prolapse, too, and will certainly help with what I am guessing is a hormone issue that is causing problems with your ovaries (cysts, is that right?). If you are suffering from cysts, you might have a hormonal imbalance. I was suffering from a hormonal imbalance that was causing severe palpitations. One session with the acupuncturist was all it took to give me complete relief. You might also want to see a naturpath or an herbalist to learn what is causing your imbalance (I know what caused mine). It's usually too much plastic in your life: plastic food storage/Lean Cuisine and other frozen dinners microwaved in plastic; household cleaners, especially bleach products, and using bleached tampons and pads, bleached coffee filters, and styrofoam. Get these out of your life, and you will feel so much better all-around.

Having a hysterectomy causes so many problems afterwards, and there's nothing you can do about it - it's final. I know you know this, but I hope you will reflect on what that might mean for you, either soon after surgery or years down the road. The problems that result from having a hysterectomy can be worse than the ones that led you to have this invasive surgery; meanwhile, you can use other approaches that are easier on the budget and easier on your body, and they're as effective or almost, without the savageness of strangers taking an organ out of you. So I hope you'll consider trying these other methods first. With acupuncture, you will probably see improvement well before the 29th. You can try the pessary, and you might find that you can cancel that surgery on the 29th. Call and make an appointment with an acupuncturist in your area today! If you need help finding acupuncturists (or naturpaths or herbalists), tell me what town/city and state you live in and, if it's a smaller town, tell me what larger towns and cities are nearby, and I can help you search.

Oh, and don't be scared of the acupuncture needles. They're nothing compared with even a single minute of post-op. Usually you don't even feel them go in. Sometimes you'll feel just the tiniest prick. But the needles are so tiny that they don't hurt. If you're afraid of needles, you can ask for acupressure instead.

L.

I had this done last year. I went to our Fourth of July party two days later, and then totally regretted it!!! It was about two weeks before the pain was tolerable, and about five weeks before I felt back to myself again. Even after that, it took awhile (maybe three months) before I had all my energy back and was totally pain-free.

For me, the worst part was emotional. For the first few weeks, I had no ability to hide my emotions. They weren't out of control or anything as far as how bad I felt, it was just that I would start crying and then not be able to stop. My normal stoic self took awhile to come back. So make sure you have someone who has been through it to talk to, make sure you have help with the kids and to cook and help you when you need it. My kids stayed with family for a long time, because I couldn't pick them up for awhile.

Good luck -- this is a hard thing to go through, even if you are done having children. But as long as you have a good support system, you will do great. Try www.hystersysters.com for some great advice and support.