Hysterectomy. What to take to hospital, how to recover at home ?

[TheDogsMother]

I'm having a hysterectomy next week (and admit I'm pretty scared). I found a really useful thread on here about what to take to hospital eg wipes, bottle of water etc but I can't seem to find it again. Does anyone have any advice on what I should take with me to help feel a bit better when I come round. Also any little changes at home to make recovery a bit easier ? I don't even know if it is even possible to walk upstairs to go to bed ?

a grabber for getting things off the floor

Long cable phone charger and a clothes peg to clip it to the bed so you don't struggle to pick it up off the floor

You might be pleasantly surprised how well you are after! I had a full hysterectomy on the Tuesday, could have gone home the day after (but a cock up with a prescription- so didn’t). Was home on the Thursday and went out for a 15 minute walk on the Friday. The hardest bit was not knowing how to take it easy and doing a bit too much! The tiredness for a couple of days was the worst bit. Good luck!

Depends what type you're having. The recovery from my keyhole surgery was pretty quick & easy.

I loved my Camelbak for easy sipping of water. The gas pain was the worst part of my gynae op recovery, so mints and mint tea.

As for stuff to take to hospital, I took a few small things to keep me occupied while sitting around waiting, plus all my meds & their original packaging as instructed - the nurse's surprise that I followed the rules told me not everyone does this!

After I came round post-op I was still pretty out of it, so I asked the nurse to call my DH & let him know I was OK, & she did. ❤I knew he'd be worrying.

It was a private hospital & the food was good (I knew from previous times). Otherwise I'd take some snacks.

Good luck OP
I'm In similar position 😱

Like @ConfusedGin the gas was the worst for me- once I realised that's what it was. So a hot water bottle and anything minty!

Dulcoease stool softener as you will be a bit constipated. They may give you Lactolose but the side effect is horrible gas pain so Dulcoease is way better. A rolled up towel taped with micropore to hold to your stomach, if you are cut open it's invaluable. Peppermint capsules to swallow for the horrendous gas pain. Warm socks. Light dressing gown as your hormones can make you hot and sweaty. Easy to get on slippers. Big dressings for at home. The dressings the hospital used didn't cover all of my scar. Eyemask with earphones in to drown out nurses talking as if they are on opposite sides of a field. Extra long charger at least 3m. Loads of ready meals for at home and ginger biscuits in case you are feeling sick post op. Good luck.

Thank you for all the suggestions everyone they're really helpful. That sounds really promising @soundsgreektome ! Hope it's the same for me.

It's laparoscopy and they've said it's a day procedure though I was told this on another surgery I had and ended up staying in overnight. I might put a bag with a few overnight bits in the car.

Good luck @Unex ! When is yours ? Mine's Tuesday.

In hospital, I took kindle, adult colouring book and coloured pencils, a few snacks, etc.

If keyhole, you’ll recover quicker than you expect. However, you must not lift anything heavy, hoover , iron etc.

If I recall, the first week, I took it easy and lounged on the sofa, read books, watched films etc. (quite enjoyed it!). Anaesthetics always makes me feel a bit woozy for a few days.

Second week I was more active, went for short walks etc.

You could be constipated for a few days and then on from the gas is horrendous. Sounds weird, but it gave shooting pains in my shoulder blade area. Too combat this, walk around, hot showers, plenty of water, jelly babies peppermint tea etc.

Listen to your body and rest when needed, but don’t be tempted to overdo it if you feel fine.

Hi Op :)

Good luck with your surgery.

Just to say that medical staff have often compared hysterectomies with c sections in terms of type and gravity of surgery, and the advice you’re getting above is the same as I had for my section, so you might find it useful to google ‘c section recovery mumsnet’ for lots of useful threads on recovery tips :)

@op
17 January
Total hysterectomy with full cut 😱

If it's keyhole, you'll be up and around quicker than you think.

Be prepared for a catheter to be in for a few hours when you come round. Peppermint tea for the gas pain. Long phone charging cable for hospital. A magazine, kindle or book to read as it's pretty boring in hospital once you've come round properly.

Good luck OP.

My recovery from my hysterectomy was quite slow - in part because I also had stents from my kidneys for 8 weeks as well as endo removed - but I would say the best advice I received was not to expect too much of myself or think some people are up and about quickly so I should be too, listen to your body.

In hospital I found it helpful to have vest style pjs so my cannula was easily accessible and the nurses could put the blood pressure monitor on easily - I did stay for a couple of days though, you may not need that if you’re a day stay.

For when you’re home, a good comfortable pillow, maybe one of those ‘v’ ones.

Also, just a note to take care of your mental health, I had some time of feeling a bit down about the finality of the op, although ultimately it has been the best thing for me! Painful periods are a distant memory!

Wish you lots of luck and a good recovery.

I wore nighties in hospital and after for a while - catheter in hospital until the next morning and my bloating was insane for at least a week - the trapped gas was the worst bit (blood thinner injections were pretty grim too - they sting like fuck, don't rub them or you'll bruise badly if you need to have them).
I was home 15 hours later, couple of days of feeling rough then started to move more freely though still being careful obv and having lots of naps - completely wiped me out. I slept propped up partly due to trapped wind, partly because I was like a stranded beetle when flat. No lifting or bending for a bit but was back in work 2 weeks later. I was terrified too, so completely understand, but BEST THING IVE EVER DONE!!

I went to stay with my friend for a couple of days after she had one via keyhole. Picked her up and she hobbled out, able to walk but felt sore.
Next couple of days we really enjoyed ourselves to be honest 😂 lots of lying about in her bed watching telly while I got food and drinks for us both, she said it was like a girls mini break! She slept a lot and felt quite sick when we first got home but wasn’t actually sick.
she was able to get up and down the stairs okay and if alone could definitely have made herself some basic food in the kitchen. We went out for a short walk on the third day before i went home and she slept for the rest of the evening.
She was just in for the day and she only had a small backpack when I picked her up, probably phone and book, some comfortable clothes.

Good advice about mental health. Even though I had no plans to have any children, and the menopause was knocking at the door, the finality of the op got me as well. It was worst for me leading up to the op than afterwards.

If its laprascopic its not too invasive (unless they find other stuff they have to do.)

They inflate your stomach with gas so they can see what they are doing, then the day or two after surgery it rises up into your armpits and shoulders to escape from the body which can be painful, so a heating pad to drape around your neck can be very helpful

@Unex good luck with it. I hope you will let us know how you are getting on. Speedy recovery.

I had a robotic laparoscopic total hysterectomy. My advice is don't leave hospital till you've done a wee which can take days. They discharged me with a catheter and no antibiotics, so within days I had a UTI which took months of antibiotics to totally get rid of.

The recovery from the actual operation though was amazing.. within a few days I was sprinting up 2 flights of stairs.

This is all so helpful thank you all. I've been menopause for a while so I'm very much hoping the finality side won't hit me. I do know that this procedure can be completely transformative for so many women which is wonderful. For me it's not to do with periods but because cancerous cells were found in the endometrium. This should deal with it all though.

I recovered really quickly from mine (this summer) although I stayed in hospital for a week because it was much calmer than home (private healthcare, non-UK).

I also had pains in my shoulder in the days afterwards, I thought I had slept funny until the doctors explained it was gas.

Apart from that, I had zero anything! I prepared with stool softeners, etc, but had nothing, not even bleeding! I rested, (I was fortunate that my DM came to take care of the kids) and recovery was fab! I also had a daily nap for the first 6 weeks...

As PP said, do not lift. I was told not to vacuum, lift pans... nothing more than a cup of tea. It was so tempting because I felt so well, but my family were pretty good at making sure I didn't do anything strenuous.

There is a Facebook group called hysterectomy sisters, I think. That was useful in the lead up.

Good luck. It was the best thing I ever did.

@justchristmas A week in a private hospital with DM looking after the kids. That sounds like a mini break to me 🤣