Any useful tips for abdominal hysterectomy?

[NoMoreFlowers]

I am due to have an abdominal hysterectomy early in the New Year. I’ve started thinking about what I might need but I’m a bit stumped. I’ve bought some large comfy knickers and a couple of nighties (I would usually wear pyjamas but I think the waistband might be uncomfortable).

I’m not sure what I’ll be able to wear after the surgery. I’m thinking of buying a couple of pairs of joggers a size bigger than my usual size. Is this a good idea? I’d be really grateful for any input as I’m quite nervous about the surgery and want to be as comfortable as possible afterwards. Thank you.

I’m thinking that when I come round from the anaesthetic, my belly can’t be any more swollen than it already is as the massive fibroid will have gone. Am I being naive?

I took in a couple of soft pull on bras, as I wanted some dignity. My husband brought in a shed load of small drinks for me, water, juice etc. I drank plenty after surgery as it helps your bladder to get going and your bowels. Laxatives are a must, my GP prescribed Laxidol to take.

I took four nighties in and needed them. Ear plugs were essential as the ward was noisy. Also iPod.

A soft cushion is useful for protection of your wound, if you sneeze or cough. Also brilliant for the journey home.

As soon as you possibly can, get out of bed and walk about. This is so important to get you going and prevent blood clots.

Prepare to be recovering for weeks and even months. It shocked me how long it takes. It’s major surgery and your poor body needs plenty of rest afterwards. Warn your family that you will need looking after!

Good luck.

Your whole body will feel huge after, it’s the gas they put in during surgery. Walking gently will help. The sooner you walk up and down the ward, the sooner they will let you home.

I don't remember feeling huge after surgery. I had another operation keyhole and yes was very bloated after that, but not with my hysterectomy. Comfort is key though and agree that for the first couple of weeks you'll want to be in leggings, jogging trousers or pyjama bottoms.

As for the photo - I was covered by private medical insurance so had my operation on BUPA rather than in a NHS hospital. So the doctor was a bit more accommodating. She did say though that it's usually a total no-no to take photos in surgery when the patient is unconscious, all sorts of privacy and ethical issues. She did though completely understand why I wanted a picture on the thing that had been bothering me for so long.

I was 44 when I had mine, it was the last week in November. That Christmas was quieter than many! But although you'll have to take it easy I wouldn't write off weeks and weeks. I was walking 5 minutes up the road to the local shop within about 10 days, and gradually built it up from then. I did things like going to the school's christmas concert about 2 weeks after surgery. But everyone's different and you need to take things at the pace which seems right for you. You will definitely not be able to do things like push a trolley round a supermarket or unload a washing machine for several weeks.

The only other thing I would take into hospital is a sports type bottle for water, and squash or something if you find drinking water a chore. After you've had a catheter in the nurses are absolutely obsessed with how much your weeing and will ask you to drink lots of water. My nurse was so delighted with me the first time I weed post-catheter that I thought she was going to give me a gold star and a round of applause.

An epidural and a GA sounds a bit odd. Maybe ask for clarification on that. Ear plugs are great but if you have a soft eye mask like they have on long distance flights that'll help you get decent sleep. If you have trouble sleeping the night before the op. you can ask the nurse for something to help you drop off.

I had a vertical scar due to the size of the fibroids and found small knickers that came below the scar were more comfortable. The waistband of clothing was irrelevant because he scar didn't reach that high.

I was in for a few days but this was 20 years ago so things might have changed now.

Listen to the physios and do everything they say.

Have plenty of ready meals in the freezer at home. I didn't have any difficulty going up stairs but twisting round was difficult, for example, drying the dishes and putting them away. When you start driving after 6 weeks you will be surprised at how much you use your abdominal muscles.

The nurse said that the epidural will control pain for up to 16 hours after the general anaesthetic has worn off, so they use both. I’m having a vertical incision too.

Ah - vertical incisions are harder to manage, from what I remember and take longer to recover from. Mine was horizontal. Take lots of advice from the physio!

@RaspberryCoulis

Here it is. The stringy bits at the top are my Fallopian tubes and the round bit is my cervix. Unfortunately there's nothing to indicate scale. It was the best I could do to persuade the consultant to take a pic.

That swab is likely to be 45cm x 45cm.

@Oversize

An epidural and a GA sounds a bit odd. Maybe ask for clarification on that. Ear plugs are great but if you have a soft eye mask like they have on long distance flights that'll help you get decent sleep. If you have trouble sleeping the night before the op. you can ask the nurse for something to help you drop off.

I had a spinal and a GA.

A spinal/GA will give pain relief for several hours, but you can’t top it up.

Epidural/GA will work as well and the epidural can be kept topped up.

That swab is likely to be 45cm x 45cm

Sounds about right, the MRI put the fibroid at around 20-25cm. They were debating about whether to do some fancy procedure to cut off the blood supply to it rather than just whip the whole thing out, but I ended up opting for the hysterectomy.