Has anyone had a hysterectomy - what was your experience?

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I’m 50 and have had gynae issues since my periods began at the age of 12.

18 months ago, after years of heavy bleeding, recurring thickening of uterine lining, uterine polyps, ovarian cysts and awful anaemia I opted for a uterine ablation.

It has solved the heavy bleeding issues but unfortunately I have had to trade it off for excessive pain during my (very light) monthly bleed.

My gynaecologist has concluded I have Post Ablation Syndrome and has given me two options,

1. Ride out the pain each month with pain killers and hope menopause brings longer lasting relief.

2. A hysterectomy

I don’t relish either option tbh as the pain every month is just absolutely awful and seems to greatly exacerbate my already awful IBS and upper gut issues and to add to the vicious cycle, pain killers also greatly upset my gut so I do try to avoid them, whenever possible.
Obviously, I also have no idea when I will go into menopause, could be in the next year or so, could be much longer. That’s a long time to put up with this amount of pain each month.

If a hysterectomy was an easier op I would have had it done yesterday but I care for my mum and have just started my own small business so taking weeks off is a bit of a problem right now. Also, (yes, I know I am a whimp) but I am petrified of general anaesthesia and so far, have had all of my recent procedures without anaesthetic!

Is it possible to have a hysterectomy without going into a GA?

How did your op go? Was it very painful, was it a long recovery time etc?

I had a hysterectomy. Pain was minimal and I could have had an epidural but preferred a general. I had prolapse so surgery was vaginal (along with bladder and bowel repair). I don't know if this is possible for your condition.
It did take a long time to get my strength and energy back. I could not have been running a business or been a carer.

I had a total hysterectomy in 2015, it was done keyhole/vaginally. My recovery wasn't too bad. I couldn't do much for the first couple of weeks though. I wasn't offered anything other the GA.

I had a hysterectomy 37 years ago (I was 33) and it was the best thing ever!
Mine was abdominal, under GA and 4 weeks post op I was pretty much back to normal. Back then you didn’t have the options you have now but I would still have opted for it.

I had a sub total hysterectomy done keyhole, 16 hours in hospital, had worse visits to the dentists. I was back on school run within a week, drove after 3 days.

I had a hysterectomy via keyhole, in 2017.

I'd say full recovery was 6 weeks.

I was uncomfortable moving around for 2 weeks then improved from then on.

Insurance company said I could drive after 4 weeks. I went back to my teaching job after 6 weeks.

Back to exercising (spin/Zumba) at 8 weeks.

Best thing I've ever done. Would do it again in a heartbeat.

Hi, following this thread - I haven't had my surgery yet, booked in for next week but it's going to be 'complex' and not straightforward due to multiple issues.

What I have found out recently is there's definitely such a thing as day surgery laparoscopic hysterectomy if everything is straightforward.

What I would ask is are you sure that the issues you have will be resolved with menopause? For example, the issues I have will not resolve with menopause so I will need the surgery either way. At the age of 50 if menopause will resolve your problems, then personally I'd wait it out and / or take treatment to put you into 'chemical menopause'. I'm older than you but haven't had any signs of menopause starting yet so you could have a few years to go.

Hi @Burgundylover

I have a question you might be able to help:

Apparently I need 'colon resection' as part of my surgery. It's been hellish even trying to get booked in for the surgery which is now due to be on the 29th (next week). But I've been given no pre-op instructions except brief verbal - not to eat after late evening the night before and not to drink from two hours before check in which is what they always say. But if they're going to do stuff with my colon shouldn't I be fasting and taking the laxative stuff? I've been given bottles of liquid and no idea how to take them. Did you have to fast and clear your system?

You really need to call the hospital where you're having the procedure and find out.

I had one 10 days ago. I'm uncomfortable and tired still but so so glad it's done.
I had tried a few things before which hadn't worked and I'm done having babies so a hysterectomy was the right answer for me.
Happy to answer any questions!

What type of hysterectomy did you have @BigBundleOfFluff ?

How long were you in hospital ?

I'm asking as I'm booked for next week and have zero info. When I complained that no-one had discussed this surgery with me I was told because it's complex and might need to be more extensive than first imagined, no-one will know until they look inside. So that made sense but I'm still non the wiser!

I'm looking forward to surgery as I'm daily bleeding since 16 months ago and in unmanageable pain (after being injured during a hysteroscopy), I have PCOS, multiple fibroids, adenomyosis, and endo stage 4, as well as elevated CA125 which would be under a 2WW cancer investigation if it wasn't for the surgery going ahead anyway.

Tough question OP. I too felt trapped by responsibilities that didn't sit well with a long post recovery period, and decided to wait it out.

Had my last period a month after my 51st birthday, and the cycles were getting really long (months) up until that point. Of course your experience may not be the same, but you are coming up to the average age for menopause (bear in mind periods stop 12 months before that) so odds are on your side if you do decide waiting is the best option.

I had a radical hysterectomy a couple of years ago. It was keyhole surgery.

I went home the following day because covid, they were sending people home if they could. Normally it would have been at least two days in hospital here.

The first few days were unpleasant. It took me about a month for recovery. I am a carer and my son went into respite for a week to give me space.

@JFT . Good luck!! I had a total hysterectomy with Fallopian tubes out as well. I left it up to them about my ovaries- during surgery they saw mine looked fine so they left them in. We had a long discussion beforehand as my mum has ovarian cancer (not the hereditary type).
My surgery was in the morning and I went home at 10pm that night - was my choice. All was fine but I took a reaction to the GA and was very sick.
I'm uncomfortable and the first few days I tried and sleep through the pain as much as possible but the painkillers worked and it was only at the time of them wearing off was it bad. The bloating is something else though and have lots and lots of windeze (simeticone) on hand as well as gaviscon, paracetamol and ibuprofen.
My care in hospital was excellent- the nurses are fab and didn't bat an eyelid when I had my epic spews.
I may have worn my last sanitary pad - that thought just makes me smile - no more bleeding!

Good luck with the op, hope it and the recovery goes well.

My gynaecologist has said a hysterectomy is the only thing which will fully resolve the terrible pain I experience. It probably will ease after menopause but there are no guarantees (especially if it turns out I have endometriosis like my sister) but that may not be for at least another 2-3 (or more) years and the pain is just awful atm with no signs of easing each month, in-fact it’s getting worse.
I have a pelvic MRI next week to check if anything else is going on as the pain radiates up through my torso and through to my lower back and hips. When the results come back he will see me and we can discuss the options (I will definitely ask about a laparoscopic hysterectomy)

Tbh, the pain I’m experiencing and the years and years of gynae issues that I’ve suffered from have left me detesting my uterus and I’d willingly rip it out myself if I could!

That’s good to know, thank you. We’re you able to get make to caring for your son in a short space or time? I care for my mum and am also a PA for a disabled lady, I worry I’ll have to take so much time off from both.

My DH did all the heavy physical stuff for a few weeks. I couldn't have gone back to my normal routine. We also had support workers coming in to help with the work I wasn't able to do. I was very careful though as my onco-gynae warned me that if I didn't take care in the early weeks I would be setting myself up for longer issues.

I didn't have a lot of choice as my hysterectomy was for cancer.

My sil didn’t listen to the advice and ended up with a prolapse and back in surgery!

Thanks for this!

The very idea of no more sanitary towels and no more every four hours doses of various pills - I can't wait! My whole life has been ruled by these things.

I'm having uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries, neck of cervix, possible bladder stents, surrounding tissues in the cavity around uterus (endo and scars) and probably part of colon removing. So it's big! And I realise by comparison to others I should need to be 'in' for about a week or maybe more if they take significant area of colon. I'm glad to have read this thread as if they try to bounce me after 48 hrs then I know that I can ask to stay longer.

You're so lucky to keep ovaries, I would have liked that but it's not possible.

Did you take sanitary towels to hospital with you? I wish they'd give me some guidance but I've got no information what to bring. I guess it can't harm me to take a pack as I've got so many here at home - ginormous Tena ladies I found best for the bleeding.

My surgeon is ahem 'very eccentric' and refuses to communicate, by which I mean she openly states that she will not communicate. I don't know how anyone can behave like that and keep their job but this is the situation I'm in. She's very experienced and highly qualified but has also had an horrific law suit against her for something just horrible and shocking. So I feel a bit at the mercy of someone a bit 'odd'. I'm sure she can't be doing anything wrong as they must have had her under scrutiny for a long time after 'the incident' which took place in private hospital and would have destroyed her private career. Luckily I'm in a large London hospital and she's not working in isolation.

What causes the gas and bloating please? How soon were you able to eat? I look at the hospital menus and there's no way I'm eating that stuff. I'm strictly vegan and gluten free, I don't eat toast and cereals or suchlike. I'll have to think what to do. But to my mind eating that kind of dry food is bound to bung people up. Even codeine doesn't constipate me! Top tip: I don't really eat anything 'dry' and I also slosh olive oil generously all over my meals, keeps things moving nicely!

I had a total abdominal hysterectomy (ovaries kept in) 7 weeks ago.
Felling well now and glad I did it. I recovered really quickly despite it being major surgery.
I kept my ovaries in as I didn’t want to go straight into menopause.
I had multiple fibroids.

Absolutely. My life was ruled by sanitary pads, flooding and pain. Anything I'm feeling now is temporary and not that bad. Don't worry about being kicked out of hospital. Mine was straightforward, done laparoscopically and didn't take long. I could have easily stayed in if I wanted to.
Eating wise I struggled as felt so sick - bring in your own snacks - I did this too but just didn't want anything. I brought in my own pads as hospital ones are the size of bricks but they are soft.
I think my fibroids were next to my bowls. Now that they have been removed I think everything is shoogling around me inside. The GA puts everything to sleep and my bowels took a while to wake up again, plus you aren't moving around a lot in the first few days. For laproscopic they pump you full of gas which doesn't help bloating - it also gave me sore back and shoulders which I had been warned about.
I was super organised before - I'm paranoid about lifting things as I've had sciatica in the past. One thing I forgot about was opening and closing my heavy curtains but that was fine for the first week, they just stayed permanent closed. My neighbour is putting out my bin for me. I cooked loads in advance and cleaned (and gardened) like mad. Dog went to doggy day care for first week everyday. It's just me and my kids so I had to be ultra organised.

JFT - The liquid does act as a strong laxative, though in my case it took a few hours to work. I had to fast from the previous evening with clear fluids up to 2 hours before my appointment, so you have the laxative and your stomach will be empty. Please call the hospital and ask.
You could also look at the Patient Info website for the hysterectomy forum. I found that useful.
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/hysterectomy-787800

I had a total abdominal hysterectomy. There was discomfort rather than pain after the operation. The worst things were having to inject myself with blood thinners (I hate needles) and the constipation / piles. I could go for short walks after a week. By week 8 I felt better than I'd felt in years. I had my ovaries removed as well, and went straight onto HRT: didn't feel any menopausal symptoms at all. I wish I'd had the surgery years earlier and avoided all the years of pain, bleeding and non-existent quality of life. I think it's a disgrace that it's made so difficult for women to have this life-changing surgery (I ended up having to have it done privately because the NHS waiting list was so long (and that was after 4 years of jumping through hoops to even get on the list) that I'd got to the point where I was considering having to give up my career and my mental health was in the gutter.

The GA was fine. I asked for a pre-med to make sure I was calm when I went down to theatre, and it worked a treat!

Ah thanks for this info.

I emailed the gynae team admin and she said the team definitely said only fast from the evening before and drink the liquids, four the day before and two on the morning.

I hope I don't have 'explosive' results, esp as I'll be getting there on public transport. I think I'll fast from earlier than stated, food wise, but drink plenty of liquids until the cut off point.

GCAcademic I also think it is pretty damn disgusting they allow women to suffer so much. I have had issues with my periods since they began at the age of 12, I’ve been anaemic most of my adult life as a result and up until my ablation last year would be housebound for at least 4 days every month (often more) with flooding, weakness due to the anaemia (ferritin levels were just 3 last year), and exhaustion but apparently all to be expected as I am female!

Sadly, my DD15 is the same and I am trying my utmost to make sure she doesn’t suffer like I have.

Can I ask, you say you went straight onto HRT, is that oestrogen only as you no longer have a uterus?

I ask this as I have awful IBS and progestogen makes it so much worse. My ideal scenario would be uterus out and oestrogen from then on.

Following for tips... just had an abdominal hysterectomy scheduled for Jan due to multiple fibroids including one reasonable sized one. I'm already in peri and on HRT, so I'm thinking that they just take the ovaries anyway - the surgeon seems to lean that way (to avoid ovarian cancer in the future, which whilst a very low risk, sounds unpleasant).

I've had lots of surgeries over the years for unrelated stuff, and I'ms struggling with this one for some reason. I think it's because the internet is full of conflicting data about recovery time (I ride mountain bikes, motorbikes and lift weights in the gym and run), and it feels like I'm choosing this. I have a choice whether to do it or not, whereas my other ones have been no brainers.