Hysterectomy.

[Beanfield]

Hurrah and Hallelujah. My uterus has been given an eviction notice!

30 years of being a complete bitch. Let me down twice (miscarriage and ectopic). Did what it should do twice (2 grown up DDs). Never officially diagnosed with anything but suggestions have been PCOS and endometriosis. 30 solid years of hideous periods. 30 years of being fobbed off by assorted GPs who told me it was normal to faint, vomit, incapacitate and take over my life for one out of every three or four weeks.
It’s got to the point where my cycles are just 18-20 days long, I bleed huge amounts for 5 days (emptying cup every 2 hours), overflowing, clots. Light bleeding on and off for a further 4 days. Bleeding on and off randomly mid-cycle. Puking and dizzy. Period diarrhoea, excruciating, labour style pain. Another 3 days of pain while i ovulate plus bleeding then too.
Tried everything. Mirena - I bled for 8 months then it fell out. Painfully. Pill - unhinged. Drugs - I’m allergic to the good ones and the others don’t work so well. Herbs, flowers, tea, homeopathy, diet - all bollox.

Finally saw a Dr who actually listened and agreed to whip the bugger out. Not sure how yet as apparently it's ‘bulky’ (like the rest of me) so need a scan to see how big it is. Also waiting on smear results and endometrial biopsy (which hurt like a bastard and is still hurting 4 days later).

I’m so sorry I can’t help on that Foo but hope you feel better very soon.

Foo2 sorry to hear you are struggling. I went back to work week 8 - it’s a real struggle- I’m week 11 today and apart from the odd pain if DH rests his hand heavily on my incision scars im fine pain wise and haven’t been on painkillers for ages. I hope the GP can help when you see them.

To all of you waiting for your op who may be nervous about having it done I just want to say I am thrilled to have had it done. It is amazing to be able to walk around going about my daily life without panicking about how far away the nearest loo is or leaping out of bed 4 times a night to change pads/tampons/bedsheets or being afraid to stand up in case I have leaked through and left an embarrassing puddling. It is unbelievable to be pain free after 34 years of monthly suffering, being doubled over and retching in agony and having to phone in sick. Plus being peri menopausal I was turning into a raging lunatic every month, seriously out of control rages, tears and depression. HRT has totally sorted that and up I am hopeful the hot flushes and night sweats stop soon 😊

Foo sorry to hear you are still in pain. Hopefully the GP can offer some help.

I am now 8 weeks post op and feeling pretty well apart from adhesions which are giving me a bit of grief. I was warned I would get them because I was riddled with them to begin with. Deep massage is the way to deal with them so I have started with that. Is that a possibility for you Foo?

My scar has completely healed and no issues internally although I am finding that I need a bit of help in the lubrication department despite keeping my ovaries.

On the whole I feel so much better than I did. I was lucky and had a really easy recovery despite doing everything wrong. I was back working from home 2 weeks post op and travelling again (including flying) from 5.

I am a textbook case of how not to convalesce properly because your boss is a bit of a dick and you are feeling vulnerable in a new job. Luckily I seem to have got away with it.

How are you doing Foo2?

I had my pre-op yesterday (a little early as I needed to speak with an anaesthetist about meds). I will need an IV iron infusion prior to surgery. He didn't seem phased about the episode of apnoea I had when under for my previous op...collywobbles still very much here!

Hi Ladies

I did post a few months ago but have had a mn break since then so not been back on for awhile. Hope everyone is doing ok.

I have just been given a date for my hysterectomy, the 11th July so a week and a half away i have a 4yr old, 2.5yr old and 15mth old. My mum and partner are juggling the first 2 weeks childcare and looking after me between them.

Any hints, tips or advice on making it as easy as possible? Im feeling slightly nervous now. They are hoping to do it via keyhole but because of c section scarring its likely to end up being abdominal.

Same day @smilingthroughgrittedteeth.
I have 4 dc (though 2 are teens).

nordstrom we can go through it together

Im a little nervous but my head is full of things i need to organise so am focusing on that. I only found out the date on saturday so its short notice to be organising help with the children although timing wise is good as it means i have the summer holidays to recover without having to worry about preschool runs and will be recovered by the time my son starts school in september. My biggest worry was that id miss his first day.

@smilingthroughgrittedteeth we can!
Wow that really has been sprung on you! Especially with such young dc to organise.
I am steadily working my way through my to do list whilst ds 2 is still in nursery. My mum will be coming to stay for the first week post op. After that we'll need to play it by ear (dh is a freelancer and could do with taking as little time off as possible!)

Are you having full or subtotal?

@nordstrom full

DP is self employed so we are having to minimise how much time he has off, hes the only earner since im a sahm so the plan is he will take the time im in hospital off with the kids then once im home my mum will take over and help for the first week then DP will take the second week off then hopefully ill be back on my feet enough to manage with a little help from friends who can amuse the kids for a bit whilst i rest

Hi all trying to work my way through the thread. I had my laparoscopic hysterectomy 5 days ago, out of hospital the next day, taking paracetamol, ibuprofen, buscopan and nufopam. Not really that much pain, uncomfortable yes and scary when I need a poo but doing okay.
My question is what does rest look like seriously, I get no lifting but what did you do/ not do during your recovery?

@smilingthroughgrittedteeth how are the preparations for tomorrow going? I'm being an idiot and am cleaning the house instead of doing something rather more fun

I'm on the afternoon list, so not going in until lunch - how about you?

nordstrom ive spent all week cleaning, today ive been doing fun things with the kids because mum guilt has kicked in and i feel bad that im not going to be able to do anything with them for awhile ive wrote so many lists i feel like im leaving an instruction book on how to look after them

Im afternoon too have got to be at the hospital at 11am am starting to feel a bit nervous now.

Ive been awake since 5.30 i feel sick with nerves and am seriously wondering if im doing the right thing. Then i think about the fact im due on, on saturday and that, that would mean being housebound for anything from 48hrs (because at its heaviest i can literally have a period in a day) and that ill be curled up in a ball of pain for a week. Goodbye weird shaped uterus

Good luck nordstrom

Thanks! I have dropped dd2 at school and been for a nice walk with dh and ds2. And I'm bloody ravenous!
Good luck - see you on the other side

Good luck Nordstrom and Smiling - no more periods ever!! It’s brilliant. (macaroonmayhem here, under my normal name. Five months on from mine and I feel fabulous!!)

Hello ladies. I've read a lot of the thread but not all of it (there's a lot!) and I wanted to ask how people decided about whether to keep their ovaries?

I've got masses of fibroids, and after several years of gynae appointments, been recommended a hysterectomy. (An abdominal one, oh joy). I've asked four different doctors at various appointments whether they recommend removing the ovaries at the same time and they have all said yes because it removes the risk of ovarian cancer (a general risk, I don't have a raised risk specifically).

What are most people's thoughts on this? I'm 50....

@littlequestion I left mine in. For me, everything happened quite fast between diagnosis and the op and no-one talked to me about options beforehand. I only saw the consultant doing the op an hour beforehand. He was going to take everything out but I didn’t want to go straight into menopause so asked him to leave them in. He said that he would leave them in if they looked healthy and they did so he did.

I still don’t know if I did the right thing but I you just have to make your decision and stick with it, based on the info you have and your circumstances. There’s no ‘right’ decision, just your decision.

Thanks @Piffpaffpoff
Well, I'm back home and all went well. They managed to get everything except my ovaries so I am really pleased. Anaesthetic recovery was horrible (never had such a bad one!) However, I am feeling so much better today. I have 3 laparoscopic incisions. Oh the wind! 
How are you @smilingthroughgrittedteeth??

Im still in hospital going home tomorrow am. Consultant managed to do keyhole finishing off vaginally as my bladder was attaches to my womb with c section scarring. I am very very sore and had a bit of a cry earlier but dp bought the kids and a kfc in so we had dinner together and now theyve gone home so i feel a bit brighter

Glad to hear you are both through it. Smiling, I found it amazing how fast my pain improved from brutal to tolerable. Hope it’s the same for you - keep taking all the drugs offered!

Thanks. To be honest I've been avoiding the dihydrocodeine I've been given as can't face the thought of constipation!

How are you doing nordstrom

I am in a lot of pain but found i can move easier today

@smilingthroughgrittedteeth. I felt like I was doing really well and my pain is minimal now. However, I've got some sort of virus I think as my throat is bad and I have developed a raised temperature. Hence I am wiped out again today!

Sorry to hear you're still in a lot of pain.