Hysterectomy - what you wished you had known

[poppetandmog]

I am having a hysterectomy next week, which will hopefully be via keyhole. I am keeping my ovaries, as only 37. I have Adenomyosis, fibroids and a polyp, and the last couple of years have been pretty miserable, so I'm really hoping this will improve my quality of life, as I am in a lot of pain and periods are horrific.

I feel really unprepared. I went into my pre-op with a list of questions and the nurse wasn't able to answer any of them (she didn't even know what procedure I was having!) It was very much a case of doing the tests and off you go. I've joined a group on Facebook which has been helpful but just wanted to hear from others that have been through it to help me prepare. If you've had this surgery, is there anything you wish you had known, or any prep you wish you had done in advance? Many thanks.

It will be done while you are asleep.

For the cannula - is it the insertion you fear? Please buy some EMLA cream and put it on where the cannula is being placed. It numbs the area and the needle won’t hurt - follow instructions carefully so it’s on long enough!

Total abdominal hysterectomy here.

The pain when I came round was horrendous and the pain relief wholly inadequate.

The gas wasn’t nice but I took the advice of lying on my left side which gave relief.

Showered the following day. Discharged the day after that.

I was given medicine including blood thinning injections to take home.

I asked for, and received, photos of my uterus. It looked like a bowling ball.

I did go privately, not sure if NHS would have been any different.

Not living with endometriosis has completely changed my life. I would have the hysterectomy again in a heartbeat.

Hi… I have been through this and I am a nurse. If you can buy some of those little charcoal hand warmers, take a some with you and use them in the areas they want to pop a cannula in and it will increase the volume of blood in the area, making it easier to cannulate and much less painful. (Also great prior to a blood test.)
Speaking of warmth, being as upright as possible and using heat packs or hot water bottles will help with gas pain and so will movement.
Get up and walk around as upright as you can manage, as it will help the gas pain and also help prevent adhesions (fibrous tissues, like scars that can (very occasionally) stick bowel or other tissues to the healing area which causes pain later on and can require surgery to fix.
Don’t wait until you are in pain for your pain meds. They work better if taken at very regular intervals. (According to directions.) Set alarms on your watch or phone and start asking nurses half an hour before your next dose is due. *If DH is there, put him in charge of this.

Full hysterectomy laparoscopic.
Minimal pain afterwards. Very woozy coming out of anaesthetic. Barely any sleep because you're woken up through the night for meds and checking blood pressure etc. Was up and showered first thing the next morning after my catheter was removed. And was home by 4pm. Was exhausted for a week but otherwise fine.

I was given a prep drink that i had to take the night before and in the morning of surgery because it had been shown to speed up recovery time. So ask for that if you can.

i had this same procedure about 15 years ago for similar reasons and once you recover from the op, its life changing just wanted to give you the light at end of the tunnel as you feel a new woman in a few months.

as others have posted, the first few days and weeks are quite rough, …

1. the Gas - I had no idea about this until the pain started a couple of days after op, moving about earlier helps ie getting up and walking as soon as you are allowed helps, as does peppermint tea. I had one really bad night on it but was still in hospital and got morphine.

2. Feeling wiped - I had the good day/bad day pattern, the bad days felt a step back ie more pain, feeling wiped, no appetite etc - this dissipated for me between week 3/4 - not too long. Hang in there.

3. lifting/pushing - you are told not to lift anything, do be careful, I had a few instances of blood after ‘overdoing’ it, the worst one was pushing a supermarket trolley - it was really bad and you use more core muscles than you think.

It probably took me 6 months to fully recover but I was back at work after 6 weeks (phased) and as I say, the relief of not having to worry about periods/bleeding and associated problems was worth it.

finally, I did end up menopausal earlier, and its been a tough menopause, probably always would have been but you have less to go on as you don’t have periods so getting help has been a bit more challenging.

Good Luck!

Just a quick update. It's now 11 days after my surgery and I'm recovering well. Not going to lie, the first week was pretty grim but I really feel like I've turned a corner the last few days. Happy to answer any questions. I'm shocked at how little information you are given by the doctors and hearing from others who've been through it has been invaluable for me.

The trapped wind pain was something else, I couldn't cope with it and cried and cried. Warm peppermint tea worked and walking it off helped to.

Good luck x

Do they even give you a six week check up anymore?

Hope you're still having an uneventful recovery! X