Hysterectomies - it's gotta be done but over here for hand holding part two

[Oddsocksrus]

Over here for the hand holding.
One in five women in the uk will have to have a hysterectomy at some point in their lives.
Come and join us if you are waiting, pre op, bleery eyed on the ward or recovering afterwards.

Santa and ledkr, hugs to both. You have both been through a lot.

Ledkr, don't worry. The OP is absolutely fine. TBH I didn't really even have any pain - I never touched the morphine- and I was lucky with recovery, mine was completely boring. No bleeding after day 2, no infections, nothing.

I am doing nothing tonight, early bed, my highlight will be watching Sherlock tomorrow, which I will do in my pyjamas as it ends So Late (10.15!!!!).

Rhonda, xpostede.... Good, your friend did sound very ill. Much more than you would expect just from this op. Do they have any idea what this is?

Oh gosh Rhondajean that sounds very worrying hopefully they will see her straight away to both of you.

Have a lovely evening all, quiet night here with a meal, Veuve and DH which I am really looking forward to.

The DCs are currently tucking into homemade pizza and then we will head out into the garden for some fireworks before they go to bed. We are planning to wake the older 2 for midnight for the first time.

It sounds as if your friend has a systemic sort of reaction Rhonda. What a way to spend NYE. I hope she gets 'processed' out of A&E (NYE is full of drunks) quickly and onto an admissions ward and starts some sort of treatment plan to get her back on her feet.

I have 'DP' here and friends around for drinks and nibbles. I doubt they will make midnight and tbh that's fine as I'm feeling a bit maudlin and introspective so socialising will be hard work.

Prolapse wise I feel ok and the aqua flex has been tucked in a drawer. I will use them. I'll make that a NY resolution but probably not broadcast it

ledkr I had both ovaries and tubes removed and have been in oestrogen 75 mg patches since. At 42 my consultant explained that they were just giving back to my body that which they had removed- therefore no recorded risk. I did have a look at the science sites/medical literature as have access via my work and discovered that all the evidence relates to those over 50 as no recordable risk has been found in those under this age. Try not to worry sometimes DR Google can be a very scary thing. I think it's important to balance any risk of HRT against that incurred by not using it.
fhonda hope your friend gets the care she needs

You have no idea (well you probably have actually) how much your posts have helped me today, thank you so much.
Ill have a lovely couple of days now.
It's just nice to not be some in all this.
waiting that is so reassuring.
Two lovely mumsnetters came to see me with champagne and chocs how amazing is that?
rhonda I hope your mate is ok.
I'm happy on my champers now, am going to do karaoke with my dd.
happy and healthy new year to you all.

Happy New Year in advance to you all

Rhonda I hope your friend will be fast tracked onto a gynaecological ward, NYE in A&E will be chaotic. Glad the GP has taken her condition seriously.

Thank you for the welcome kevin, they did take my cervix too so pelvic floor exercises will be essential for me. As I understand it often even if they leave your ovaries they can degrade within 6-7 years so I may need HRT in my late 30's/early 40's.

santa hope you feel able to let your hair down a bit later, good to see you are able to find positives in your life. Think I may be joining you in your NY resolution, what is Aquaflex?

twinkle enjoy the champagne and fireworks :)

shewho enjoy your party, rave away on my behalf will you? It has been 5 years since I have gone out on NYE!

Ledkr sure your op will go fine, have you got arrangements for care of your youngest in place for afterwards? Enjoy your champagne, chocs and karaoke :)

Have been taking it easy today and managed to catch a nap, which was great as my newborn was cluster feeding in the middle of the night so I was shattered.

Plan for NYE is a small glass of red wine, nibbles, chocs and to watch a film with DH. Haven't really had any time alone with him for the last two months as I was in hospital with recurrent bleeding during my pregnancy.

NYE resolutions are pelvic floor +++ and to enjoy time with my family, I am so grateful to be here with them I intend to enjoy every snot and vomit filled moment!

That's me just home. She got sent to the gynae ward where a lovely young doctor (he looked about 12) was very worried about examining her so sent for a registrar who never appeared, eventually he looked himself, satisfied himself it wasn't a fistula (which seems to have been their main concern) and sent her home with an emergency appointment for Friday mornings gynae clinic.

I kept waiting, the staff were lovely, they fed my 9 yo, let me watch mamma Mia in the day room for bit, kept saying it shouldn't be long now!

She looks awful poor lamb, and she's gone home to an unexpected house full of teenage girls which is just what she needs. I did offer to go in and send them home!

Happy new year to all of you and hope its a healthy and pain free one.

Best wishes for 2014 to all of you. My top advice to the waiting ones is be prepared to rest. I wasn't. It is your best way to recover

Happy new year! This has been a great thread and a great community.

I'll second that.
You lot really got me through a bad day yesterday thank you so much.
Can I stay. I will update you Friday on how it went.
Will I be in agony like a c section or mild discomfort. Will I bleed. Do I need to take San pads?

Happy New Year to you all!
Sorry I haven't been able to keep up with the thread but I hope everyone has a fantastic 2014.
And thanks for all your help and support.

Open surgery or keyhole Ledkr?

I had laparoscopic and stopped pain killers after 3/4 days. My bleeding was minimal until day 7 and I've had a light period type blood loss since then.

They gave me a pad and as I came home same day I used my own since then.

Some of the earlier posters are not still posting. I hope they are ok. They helped me enormously. I imagine this thread could roll on with newer posters joining. It's been a great place of support for me

Other than the bowel/wind pain Ledkr I have been in a lot less pain this time than after my two previous c sections. I think because I have no uterus to contract back. I am more aware of tenderness when urinating and opening my bowels though and generally feel more tired.

I haven't had any bleeding, but then I lost so much blood during surgery I reckon that my body is hanging onto it all. I would take pads just in case.

Start taking lactulose, prune juice, fybogel, lots of veg and fruit etc... from now and try to make sure you open your bowels before surgery. After surgery introduce foods slowly, I started with smoothies and vegetable juice then moved onto soups and porridge. It was only when I tried to rush into eating other foods that I got into trouble and had to go back to fluids only due to an ileus of my bowel.

Agree with Anotherstitch re the bowel. The removal of uterus, tubes and ovaries was a doddle. The bowel didn't like the surgery one little bit. I've had no earl issues thanks to a regime similar to the above but have had a lot of pain for the first 3 weeks every time I ate anything.

Ledkr, you're just losing the ovaries and tubes, right? So you won't have the big internal wound where the uterus was. Assuming its keyhole (surely it is??) I would have said barely any pain from that.

I came up from theatre at 8.30 pm and by 10 am I was walking up and down the corridors on just paracetamol and diclofenac. The anaesthetist said be brave enough to go easy on the morphine (makes you sick and constipated) but not so brave you lie huddled up not moving.

If its just the ovaries I can't see why you would bleed at all, TBH, but take a few pads, cos what they hand out are those granny pads from the 1970s :)

Also, if no hysterectomy then your bowel won't get moved around, so I doubt it will sulk all that much. Personally I just ate a lot of stewed fruit when I got home, didn't open the movicol.

Happy new year everyone and welcome to newbies!
Rhonda hoping your friend has had a better night and is improving.

I understand the fear pre-op. It's much worse than the actual op .
To everyone today

Happy New Year to all
I'm 11 weeks post op this Friday and can now say that I am FIT!!! I feel better than ever although am also heavier than ever oops! The waiting pre op is def the worst bit.

Happy New Year

It is really encouraging to read about the recoveries and that this journey is worth it.

Rhonda hope that your friend is starting to feel better, I was quite shocked to read that they had suspected a fissure - ouch.

Santa how are you today? And Crem hope that you are feeling better too.

I think that I need to start using this waiting time to do some constructive preparation so am going to start planning freezer meals and upping my excercise levels. Not the easiest when our bodies are so uncomfortable

Not long to go for you now Ledkr

Another stitch hope that you had a nice evening and congratulations on your new arrival.

I've just planned some childcare help and dds party and am working on panto rehearsals. Need to be organised.
Also working on an online shop between arguing on mn.

So tell me, is the weight gain inevitable?
I need to shift two stone as it is.
In planning to use my time off work to eat healthily and do some exercise.
How soon can I swim/take walks after my keyhole?
Anyone know?

I haven't gained any new weight.

I was walking an hour a day by week 2 and 2 hours a day by week 3.

Swimming, it will depend on a number of things. It takes six weeks for soft tissue to heal, and PP here were told anything from two to six weeks before swimming. However, if you are only having ovaries and tubes, I would think you might be at the quicker end of that. If you want to swim, ask if they can seal your wounds with dermabond not dressings. It's waterproof so you can bath and shower right away.

Online shop, I have a standing order with Ocado that comes every Sunday morning at 8.30. They price match with tesco and they hardly ever substitute- because you book the slot before you do the order, so if its out of stock they tell you when you are shopping.

Thanks kevin where did you walk to for two hours? Outer Mongolia?
I love this thread where we can say things like
"It's only your tubes and ovaries they are taking out"
Ha ha everyone else looks horrified when I tell them!

What did u have done kev?