Your Idea's/suggestions to Have or Not to Hysterectomy

Viola:

You have two things going here...first:

Hysterectomy - I had the Di Vinci hysterectomy done in 7 Feb 2011, it was a Monday. It was the best thing I did!! My sister came out and took care of my family for me. I was in the hospital 24 hours. I was in bed for 48 hours - I was shopping for a new stove on Thursday.

My pain? minimal. I did have some discomfort at 36 hours as the gas that they put in your abdomen was dissipating...my dog (who was sleeping with me) ended up stepping on my belly - yes - it hurt - but the gas came out both ends and the pain was over!! The burp and gas I passed from that - was all that was needed.

Attitude is also VERY important. If you think you are going to be in a ton of pain. You WILL be in a ton of pain.

As to the kids? Puzzles. Coloring Books. Movies. outside playing. Seriously. If you have the Di Vinci method done - you will be good as gold in 5 days. If I had been working when I had the procedure done? I would have most likely gone back to work on the following Monday. Now, I admit I could not drive for 2 weeks post surgery...but I would've had one of my friends from work pick me up as she lived/s 5 minutes from me.
Issue 2 - your weight - my best friend, who needed to lose weight and according to her doctor's was morbidly obese (they classify this as anyone who is 80 lbs over their "perfect" weight) and was able to get the lap band. She had tried every diet - Weight Watchers, Nutri-System, etc. but the weight would go back - even AFTER changing her habits! She had it done in January. She has now lost 45 lbs and is doing GREAT!!!

She is exercising as well as losing weight so she doesn't have the loose skin problem. Talk with your doctor and see if that procedure would be covered under your insurance. Hers was and she had to pay $150 out of pocket.

GOOD LUCK!!!

I had a total hysterectomy 2 years ago, and I am thrilled that I did! No looking back.....Just total relief! The pain wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, although I did have the IV drip with the 'magic button' as I called it for the first 2 days. After that I had oral painkillers for a bit. I don't really remember how long...maybe several days. After that I just took Motrin. The recovery wasn't awful, but my Mom came up from Florida to help & my husband took a week off from work. My daughter was only 2 1/2 then, and I couldn't pick her up for at least 2 months. That was the worst part. I could still hug her & snuggle with her, though! I used to sit with a pillow in my lap to protect my abdomen, and I did the same when I started driving, too. I would definitely say that you will need help caring for your children, even though they are old enough at 4 & 5 to do quite a bit for themselves. One really important bit of advice: Don't start doing too much (such as housework, vacuuming, carrying laundry baskets, etc.) as soon as you start to feel better, because you can easily injure yourself & cause internal bleeding. As far as your weight goes, I'm not sure if there are any added issues because of it; I have to admit that I'm on the thin side. Hopefully your recovery won't be more difficult because of it. Good luck!

You'll get very differing reviews, some are posted I believe to scare you to death. In any case, everyone is different, every case is different.

I found a lot of good information (sometimes TMI) on www.hystersisters.com

I had my complete (everything including ovaries) abdominal incision (you can't even see it anymore... I still wear the bikini) about 10 yrs ago. I thought long and hard about it, had multiple discussions with my Dr.

I was immediately placed on the HRT patch and I am still on it. Many people say keep your ovaries, you have to do what is right for you. In my case after discussion with Dr., I know that breast cancer is a higher risk with ovaries out, I also know that ovarian cancer is a risk. I prefer to take my chance with breast cancer which can be found and treated much earlier than most ovarian cancers that are pretty much caught too late.

IT IS THE BEST THING I EVER DID.

FOR ME... I was not and never have been overweight, I weighed about 116# which is same as I do now and I in shape and in good health. I never had the weight gain, swelly belly, etc. side effects. I was at a track meet in 3 weeks... carefully of course.. My sex drive sky rocketed. I've never looked or felt better in my life.

Recovery has a lot to do with how you make it,your attitude, and your health when you went in for surgery. Some people love to prolong recovery but I am not that type... I am up and at it as soon as I get a Dr. go ahead.

The worst part for me was waiting for the day of surgery. That wait seems like forever.

Again, I would have this surgery again in a heartbeat if I needed to. It is one of the best health decisions I have ever made.

Many people state medically necessary, huh. I would never elect to have a surgery if it weren't medically necessary and most people I know wouldn't either.

Good luck to you. Feel free to PM me if you want.

After a lifetime of suffering, a hysterectomy changed my life. For the better!
The recovery time, for me, was very brief and the procedure was not nearly as painful as some that I'd been through.
My son was only 15 months old, but my mom came to stay for a couple of days and my daughter was 10. My husband took a few days off. The hard part was not being able to pick up my son or carry him for a few weeks, but overall, it wasn't bad at all.

I have no regrets. My endometriosis came back with a vengeance after my son was born and it was to the point I couldn't even ride in a car. I was in so much pain. My doctor just finally said, "It's time. You can't go on like this."

I felt great after my hysterectomy. Like I said, it changed my life. I was able to gain weight, my health improved, I was able to be active again.

It was the best thing for me.

I wish you the best.

I have a friend that is an OBGYN.. She says if you are not using it, you are of a certain age and no plans to get pregnant..AND it is causing trouble.. Get rid of it.. It will just continue to break down and cause you grief.

See if they can remove it by taking it out through your vagina. That's a much shorter recovery.

Hope you can do it that way!

Dawn

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