Sub total hysterectomy in 8 and a half weeks <Eeeeeeeek>

[grinningbee]

So I got the letter about an hour ago and am feeling rather wibbly. Firstly because I'm a bit scared, secondly because there will be no more babies. Having said that I am more than happy with the two I have, and don't want any more, but I'm sure everyone going through this feels a bit sad as it's so final.

I'm going to have to rely on H to help, and there is no-one else to ask. I'm just going to have to trust him (he's not the most, erm, helpful sausage). My dc by then will be 3.5 and 1.10. And the little one has a current passion for using my tummy as a trampoline which will have to stop.

But, all that aside, what the heck do I need to organise. Meals for the freezer for certain, including the dc. What do I need to take with me to hospital do you think? How long are people normally in for?

The reason it's being done is down to a rather large fibroid we have called Freddie. Freddie is visible when I lay on my back, and is causing pain, heavy periods and playing havoc with my bladder. It has to be abdominal due to said fibroid, but I'm keeping the ovaries and cervix.

I need to shift some weight between now and then, so am going to have to resist the comfort of biscuits and chocolate and wine.

Please tell me it won't be as bad as I think!

Hi petunia hope you enjoyed your holiday. What do you work at?

My job can be very physical but I have been put in a class were there isnt any lifting or toileting so I know it will be easier for me. It will be 8 weeks since my op by the time I go back, if I go by this line. If I dont feel up to it I wont be going. I've been told anything between 6 and 15 weeks for recovery. I have to get signed off by occupational health before I can go back as well.

Hi coco I had a lovely holiday thanks and with the injections and tablets seeming to work had much less pain and NO bleeding so was able to enjoy myself.

i am an office manager in a primary school. Lots of up and down to the reception and lifting of boxes of uniform and registers. I just don't know what to say to the head I 've told him what the dr's have told me and he seems quite happy. I suppose everyone is different when I had my DD and had a planned section she was born on the Wednesday I was home on the Friday and was out shopping the following Monday so I recovered quite well, but when I had my hysteroscopy 3 years ago I took 5 weeks when I was told only about 2 . I too will have to see Occy Health before I can go back.

Hope you are feeling a bit better today.

Not feeling too bad today, had an appetite at last. The infection has moved into my bowel so still on antibiotics.

It's a hard to guess how anyone will be. The fact the you will have a wound and then lifting in your work makes it impossible to know. I will have 2 other ca's in the classic so I know I wont be expected to lift.
I'm hoping I can go back after the half term because my pay will stop completely at the end of October, because that will have been a year I've been off.

Glad to hear your holiday went well

Hello All. Hope you're still feeling up to eating today Coco? That has to be a definite improvement...
auntpetunia - as mine was done with keyhole surgery, my recovery has so far (touch wood and everything crossed) been absolutely incredible. I briefly attended a meet the teacher session at school for my 2 DDs on Monday evening, which was only 7 days after the op. Now on day 10 and I know I have to still be careful and fully intend taking it easy for a while longer, but it's easy to forget what I've had done...

Wow part-time that is amazing! I'm pretty sure mines not going to be keyhole, Dr said blob was too big and was going to be another c section type operation.

Coco Hope you are feeling better today

I was thinking about you last night petunia () and I think you should say you'll be off until after Christmas, you can get signed off earlier if needs be.

Actually got out off bed today and dressed, not that there seems to be much difference sitting in bed to sitting on a recliner, but heyho .

Could eat a horse at the moment but everything tastes funny, so not having much enjoyment from food.

DH is back to work on Monday, I'm sort of glad because he's doing my head in! He means well but, my god, men can be stupid.

Feel a bit sore where my ovaries would have been and v tired but that's all. Starting to over heat a bit a night but nothing too drastic.

Love to you all

Glad to hear you are doing better coco, everyone else seems so active.

The hospital finally told me, after I hassled them, that I have E.coli in my wee and it is resistant to the antibiotic they had given me. I am now on the Kill-Everything tablets and, astonishingly, am beginning to feel better. No thanks to the ward and their crappy aftercare though. They knew the culture results and the prescription on Monday and didn't bother connecting these two dots until my call about still feeling like shite on Thursday.

Saw GP, not my usual one though, who has signed me off for four weeks, as that will be six weeks recovery time in total. I dunno. I don't like missing work, but it is very full on and there is no breathing room during the day. There's not really an option to do less.

Eeekkk e coli at last they are on the ball finally. I'm glad youre feeling better.
Stop worrying about work. In 4 weeks you will know how you feel .

Felt poop again yesterday but have finished my antibiotics so hopefully the nausea is a thing of the past. Up and wandering aimlessly around but needing a sleep after lunch. I have turned into a toddler.

Surely grinningbee,the op, should be due or have had her operation by now? I hope she's ok.

Onwards and upwards

Yup. Small steps. And lots of naps.

This recovery business is harder than I anticipated

What's up coco?

I'm bloody knackered! Walking up the stairs is like walking Everest.
I'm just moaning how are you?

That doesn't sound good
Just take it easy, there's no rules for how each of us recovers remember, and it's still only been a few weeks!!! Suggest you go back to bed with a
I'm still doing well, actually am distracted with preparing for a job interview on Tuesday (I know! but sometimes you have to take opportunities when they're given to you). Honestly don't think my health will be an issue for the interview, lack of substance in my answers might be though. That's what I'm working on at the moment (in between MNing, obviously )

Ohh good luck on tuesday I'll have everything crossed!

DH is back to work tomorrow so I'll be able to get into more of a routine. He takes exception to me tidying if he's there .

Blinking heck part-time are you wonder woman?

Good luck for Tuesday.

Coco take it easy x

Think my interview went ok this morning but I'm not convinced I'm who they're looking for. I'll find out next week anyway and it will be good interview experience either way. Am proper bloody knackered now though.
How are we today? Is it better for you now that your DH has gone back to work coco?

Hope you hear good news
Feeling pretty good, much better being back into a routine. My bladder is a bit odd, but I hoping it's just hasn't recovered from the trauma of the op, plus the drain had been sitting on top of it.

Dh off again today so going out to get DD a birthday cake and some hair dye!

Hope everyone is getting better and stronger

Hello! How have your weeks been? Hope you're still doing well and continuing to feel better each day. I still feel that I'm doing very well, but am very conscious that I'm not yet healed inside, so am continuing to take it easy. I will be starting back to work next week, but will be working from home with a laptop doing 5 hours per day, and as I am spending a lot of my day MNing on my own laptop I figured I might as well be getting paid for it (I only get SSP).
I am really chuffed though, as the people that I interviewed with phoned to offer me the job this morning I have a month's notice to work with my current employer anyway, so the timing should (fingers crossed) be perfect
Hope everyone has a great weekend

Oh well done, that's great news !

I'm doing ok, was knackered after my couple of hours out, but that was to be expected. Walked to the corner shop and back today. Actually doing much better than I thought, but I the same about being mindful that I haven't healed inside. Still get some pingy pains.

I'm still on half pay which stops in October and I phoned for government ssp the other say. It's like the krypton factor the amount of questions you have to answer . Of course all the stuff I sent them they sent back saying it was wrong, but now want it all sent back because they need it

Have a restful and healing weekend everyone!

Hope everyone is getting better. I am on round three of antibiotics and am really fed up of it all. I think I am about ten days behind in terms of healing.

Can't believe you went for a a job and got it so soon after your op, Parttime. I went for a gentle plod in the park on Saturday morning and had to go back to bed afterwards!

Oh dear mama, that's not good. Manuka honey is very good to help with nastys. Take your time and get plenty of rest.

I'm still getting tired but I'm not doing a lot. Been out a couple of times and going to try to drive at the end of the week. I'm seeing the dr about my hrt tomorrow, but today I think I might be getting an infection again . I'm still bleeding quite a lot but I'm not sure what is normal. Really bloated as well, my rings nearly cut the circulation of in my fingers the other day!

Take care everyone.

Thanks mama, just desperately hoping that my healing is on track so that I can start new job on the 22nd of October without any complications/problems. Don't give yourself a hard time about how long the recovery takes - my sister had an abdominal hysterectomy a couple of years ago when she was 36 (so young for that surgery), and she reckons it was 3 months before she felt back to normal.

I also visited the GP today about my HRT and asked him if my bleeding was normal coco. I didn't have any at all for the first couple of weeks and then for the last week it's varied between really really light and light, IYSWIM. GP said that was completely normal, described it as basically a scab at the top of the vagina where everything taken out and once the clips/stitches are no longer there this scabbing/light bleeding is part of the healing process. For me it's also a great reminder that things are not yet healed.

Hope you have a good visit with the GP coco, and really hope you don't have another infection.

Hello all, I didn't mention anything about an infection because I don't think I do have one. I have to go back in a couple of weeks so I'll see how I feel then.

I got hrt patches, very low dose, 25mg, the Dr thinks they are too low and gave me 50mg as well. I'm starting on the low dose in case I feel sick on it again.

Feel sore around my 'wounds' hopefully it's everything knitting together underneath them!

Hope everyone is keeping and healing well.

Thanks for the update coco, I'd just checked in to see if you had an update Hopefully you will get on OK with the HRT, mine are 50mg and seem to be OK so far - I've had a few headaches which I think is from them, but am hoping that will work itself through. I was a bit when I saw my GP yesterday as it felt like he was giving me a lecture about the HRT. He said 'you'll have to take this until you're in your early 50s' (um, yeah, I knew that) and also told me that lots of women have issues with surgical menopause. The phrase that sprang to mind included horses and bolted
I have also noticed feeling more sore, so am with you in hoping it's the internal healing doing it's thing.
On another note - did I see you say on another thread that you have a DC birthday to celebrate today? Hope you have a great day with them!

Yes it was DDs 11th birthday yesterday, thanks .

I aksed my Dr about the gel you can use and she just looked blank. Have Drs never heard of Google .

I was reading that most Drs don't think the 25 mg is enough to protect your bones, but I don't want to be sick again.

I hate milk but have been eating yoghurts