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Original poster

Hysterectomies - it's gotta be done but over here for hand holding PART 3

999 replies

LackaDAISYcal · 27/03/2014 13:26

New Thread...
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 or just need a bit of advice.

OP posts:
BubaMarra · 12/05/2014 14:13

Welcome Jenny
Good luck gingeme for today
Thekingfisher, you are so active. I just got into the stage of working out 5-6 days a week and LOVED it, but now I put everything on hold and got really lazy.

gingeme · 12/05/2014 16:55

Well that wasn't as bad as I thought. Nothing untoward seen on the monitorSmile Thought it was funny though every time the lady doing the paperwork asked one of the ladies ' any chance you could be pregnant ? ' a resounding NO was the answer Grin

defineme · 12/05/2014 18:51

Thank you kingfisher that's made me feel much better about the school run Smile

JennyOnTheBlocks · 13/05/2014 11:57

have bought some peppermint capsules, naice biscuits and will make sure DH brings some fresh fruit in when he visits

nerves are really setting in now, and i've remembered to organise a by-proxy vote for 22nd - i can't NOT vote Shock

notapizzaeater · 13/05/2014 13:20

Rushes off to order peppermint capsules - what do they do ??

Can't wait for food ! I'm on a protein shake diet to loose some weight before the surgery - am looking forward to "convalescing"

JennyOnTheBlocks · 13/05/2014 14:21

Peppermint helps with digestion, all that prodding and shifting about during surgery causes quite a bit of discomfort after.

Peppermint also helps trapped wind escape

Has anyone else used arnica? I know you said you weren't impressed after the hysterectomy kingfisher, but the worman in H&B was keen for me to buy some

gingeme · 13/05/2014 15:00

I use arnica on my ds when they bump themselves but you must not use it on broken skin . x

gingeme · 13/05/2014 15:01

Peppermint tea is really good for trapped wind Blush

JennyOnTheBlocks · 13/05/2014 15:45

these were arnica tablets - maybe i was right be sceptical then

gingeme · 13/05/2014 15:50

Oh I didn't know you could get it in tablet form Shock

JennyOnTheBlocks · 13/05/2014 15:53

i've got a pre-op physio session on Friday, i'll ask there - i've been clenching my pelvic floor for months, and now can see/feel the difference, are there specific exercises for post-hysterectomy i wonder?

gingeme · 13/05/2014 16:04

My chiropractor is going to show me some body core exercises next week and she suggested I get an exercise ball too and she will show me some stuff on that too Smile

JennyOnTheBlocks · 13/05/2014 16:09

i suppose that's a few weeks afterwards though, isn't it? i'm hoping they've read my notes and won't use steristrips at all on my skin, i'm terribly allergic to the glue

i'd love to get straight back to it, i know i've said before, but i'm such a shit patient Confused

any idea how long until we're allowed to swim?

marymoocow · 13/05/2014 18:20

Have finally received my admission letter. Sounds like I've booked a holiday.....please arrive at 8am on 21/5/14. You are booked in for 3 nights. Please make sure you have arranged someone to collect you by 11am on the day of your departure!!!! Glad they know I will be well enoughWink . It advises of wind, tells me to go to bed early, have a nap in the afternoon, and to get up lateGrin Grin .

notapizzaeater · 13/05/2014 18:24

Paperwork I've seen says gentle swimming from 2/3 weeks ...

gingeme · 13/05/2014 18:29

lol Mary yes it does doesn't it ? Bet you won't be out by 11 am though . From what experience I've had of hospital you never get to go home on time. Wow seems really real now huh ?

defineme · 13/05/2014 18:56

Hi everyone
Had my pre admission appointment today (total hysterectomy and ovaries) and would now like to know what people's thoughts are re HRT?

My consultant just said 'and we'll give you HRT' so I'd assumed it was a done deal, but the nurse today was very clear that it was a choice I had to make and told me to go away and research it!

My feeling is that I'm 39, hadn't thought about the menopause and would find it difficult to cope with that and recovery at the same time.
However, I know there are risks associated with HRT and it also might take time to find the HRT that suits me.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

On the plus side, I'm NHS but it's a private hospital they've outsourced to and so I'm getting my own ensuite room Shock

Original poster
LackaDAISYcal · 13/05/2014 19:16

defineme, I was quite clear on the fact that as my overies weren't diseased I would rather keep them. Is that an option for you? My oncologist tried to get me to change his mind and have them out as well "just in case you may contract ovarian cancer in the future" but I'm only 45 and from a family of late menopauses and wanted the benefits for as lng as possible. And, as far as I could research, the benefits of leaving them in outweighed the risks of future ovarian cancer as they continue to produce testosterone and androgen even after menopause which help maintain sex drive (and goodness knows I need all the help I can get there!). He was all "ah well have HRT" and "post menopausal ovaries are useless" as well.

Anyway, not sure if it's even an option for you, but speaking to friends who have had ovaries removed, getting the right HRT was definitely a process of trial and error and for some the menopause itself was quite a hard thing to go through. I don't think I could have coped with that as well as the recovery from the surgery itself, and in fact I wonder if that's why my recovery has been relatively straightforward.

OP posts:
Original poster
LackaDAISYcal · 13/05/2014 19:17

and bahahahaha at ready to pick you up by 11! I was told at 8am I could go home and was finally ready for discharge at 5pm!

OP posts:
JennyOnTheBlocks · 13/05/2014 19:24

I'm down for a side room, so that DD can visit without being too nervous of other patients, but not sure if I'll get en suite.

I'm already having major night-sweats (almost 47 you see) and mood swings like a woman possessed, but since I'm not certain if my ovaries are staying in place or not, we've not had that conversation to the final end yet.

My gut instinct is they might leave one, to see how I cope, but if going to be sorted by this, I want it all now Grin

Have you all been given the carby drinks to take the day before/ morning before OP?
Mine is 'neutral' flavour, you know that's going to be revolting Sad

defineme · 13/05/2014 19:25

Thanks lackadaisical my ovaries have to go -so many complex cysts in and around they couldn't actually see them on my ultrasound and had to have MRI specifically to find them. I feel like they're going to burst out of me some days!

I think you're right-I feel apprehensive enough about recovery without piling menopause on top. What I've read seems to suggest that the risks are low if you take it for less than 5 years and have no history of breast cancer in the family (I haven't) so I'm leaning towards taking it.

It's so helpful to talk this through Thanks

defineme · 13/05/2014 19:30

No mention of drinks-neutral could be just like water

My side room when I had twins had a sink which was nice!

I know what you mean about wanting it all out. Ever since January when the ultrasound person got all serious and started talking to me like I was very unwell I've just wanted all the bad stuff taken out of me asap!

Original poster
LackaDAISYcal · 13/05/2014 20:05

I never got any carby drinks

I was on the NHS and also got a lovely single ensuite room! The ward was split with four bed rooms on one side and single rooms on the other and it seemd like all the old ducks were on the ward side and younger patients like me on the single room side; I suppose they assume that the younger women like their privacy and the old ducks like company. It was a gynae cancer ward though so I suppose the single rooms are maybe prioritised for people who are very ill.

Lots of ops in the pipeline. I feel fine now (lupus and all that stuff excepted) but am seeing the doctor this week to get an extension of my fit note...

OP posts:
JennyOnTheBlocks · 13/05/2014 20:25

Yes, I'm definitely aware of all the different reasons and circumstances of all the other patients, it's hard to remember at times though.

I feel awful some days, really drained and I've had to stop trying to lose weight because I was bleeding so heavily at times I was very light-headed. I was fasting and it wasn't healthy to carry on like that. Even though I felt like shit, my consultant called me 'healthy and fit'.

But I see my op as a positive move, I'm sure there will be others who will be mourning for many reasons

Original poster
LackaDAISYcal · 13/05/2014 21:00

sorry, am reading and responding in fragments. I started some new meds for my lupus and they are having an interesting effect on my ability to retain and respond to information!

I ditched my surgical stockings after less than a week Blush, but I was up and walking about as much as I had been pre-op.

I swear by arnica cream, as it has a therapeutic level in, but the homeopathic tablets, I'm not so sure about; they are effectively just sugar pills. I did try them after my CS with DD, but felt they had no effect compared to my un-arnica'd CS with DS1.

The cream is fabulous for bruising though; I used it for all my DC, and tried it on myself when I walked hard into a table and had a socking great purple bruise on my hip. I wore day and tight jeans the day I applied it and when I took the jeans off at night, the bruise had faded away where the seams had been putting pressure on and obviously increasing the amount of arnica absorbed by my skin.

OP posts: