Do’s and don’t’s for hysterectomies?

[Teawithfrenchtoast]

I have been on the w/l for a hysterectomy due to fibroids for the last 10months. I’ve had some recent complications and ended up haemorrhaging and being being admitted to gynae twice recently. Due to this my hysterectomy has been expedited. I’ve received my pre op appt for the end of June and now I’m a little nervous! Is there anything I should be doing to prepare for surgery? Any advice from those that have had hysterectomies as to how best to prepare? Any tips for pre and post op? thank you ☺️

I was out of hospital after an abdominal hysterectomy after 2 days. There is a huge difference in the recovery if you're having pinhole or abdominal. I could only walk really slowly for at least 2 weeks and then sped up a little.
For me pyjamas would be better so that you only have to lift up your top when they're changing your dressing, that's if you're having an abdominal? If not wear whatever you're comfortable in.
I bought a long charger for my phone and make sure you take lots of snacks and drinks. The food was terrible where I was.
When I'd recovered I felt much better in general, anaemia can affect your health in so many ways.
Has anyone mentioned hystersisters? Lots of information on there

Firstly I want to tell you that I thought the waiting then run up to the operation was worst. I expected way more pain and for it to be harder than it was. Looking back yes it was tough, but at the time didn't feel like the worst.

I'm almost 9 weeks post op abdominal hysterectomy with cervix and ovaries removed. I had spinal and general anaesthetic, this helped with pain greatly for first 24 hours however I couldn't get out of bed due to not feeling much in my legs. Out of bed unaided next day, sat in chair or had short walks around the room. Showered unaided on day 2 and home. Set alarm every 4 hrs for meds. I wore nighties in hospital as had catheter for first 24 hrs.

Gas pain was the sorest thing in early days - Rennies wind relief pro and peppermint tea were great. This pain continued for around 10 days along with burning hot pain in my bowels when I needed to go to the toilet. Lactulose kept everything soft. No shoulder pain for me. Few panic feelings early days but think my body was just adjusting to being able to breath deeply after the op (my womb was size of a 20 week pregnancy)

Had to sleep propped up first week or so. Couldn't sleep on my side till around 3 weeks and even still can be a bit sore/pulling. You will need help to get out of bed early days.

Expect to feel tired - rest up. Early days I tried to walk up and down the garden a few times a day but that was enough. I am only now managing to walk up to 8000 steps a day, however last week on a short break I managed almost double that one day.

Good luck, hope you don't have much longer to wait

What type of surgery are you having?

I had robotic laparoscopic removal of cervix, uterus and fallopian tubes.

I was in and out in a day. Up and about daily - slowly and carefully and driving after 6 days and back at work 3 weeks later.

I agree about lose clothing. I wore towelling shorts from primark (was also a June OP) and cotton t shirts.

My wounds were glued so it stopped it rubbing and allowed for healing.

Yes to dulcoease etc - especially if you plan on a codeine based painkiller!

I don't think trying to minimise this surgery is a positive thing. Ok I had a full horizontal incision due to the size of a fibroid and the pain relief used was an epidural so I was confined to bed initially. My hospital stay was 5 days. You have to remember that there is a great deal of internal healing and adjustment going on . A space is going to be left - your intestines drop down, your bladder and bowel may be temporarily irritated by the procedure , your cervix has to heal. There are no prizes for being a martyr here or a wonder woman. Take the rest. It's major surgery and depending on whether you keep your ovaries or not you may well need to start HRT. I was living on my own at the time and developed a daily routine eg breakfast in bed with TV, then shower and lunch and up in a different bit of the house for the afternoon. Dinner and back to bed early evening with books, tv whatever. I had a cleaner cone in once a week to change bed, do bathrooms etc. A stock of groceries, frozen things is a good idea. If you have a partner let them do it.

Wise words from @corblimeygvnr

My surgery was Tuesday and I got home on Wednesday. They monitored how much I was peeing the first 3 times I went but that was it. Thankfully I didn’t have to poo while in hospital that didn’t happen until Friday, it wasn’t painful but reaching to wipe was awkward.

I took comfy PJs in with me but I was kept in the hospital gown and just had to put my dressing gown and slippers on when I went to the bathroom.

My surgery was robotic so I have five little cuts from that. They seem to be healing well so I’m constantly having to remind myself that everything inside will be taking longer to heal. The shoulder pain has actually been really bad for me but I used some heat pads on them yesterday and it’s much better today.

My incisions are also really really itchy right now so I can recommend ice packs if you get that. I don’t put them on for too long but it takes away the itchy feeling without needing to scratch (which could be a nightmare for me with the stitches being in so many different areas).

Not directly but it's a known risk because the removal of the womb also takes away some of the structures that keep everything in place. My surgeon described the way the organs around there support each other as a bit of a spiders web.

I was in for 4 days but my surgery was a bit more complex because of the level of adhesions from endometriosis and my poor tolerance of anaesthetic. I was in surgery for about two and a half hours and it took another 3 hours to bring me round enough to send me back to the ward.
I had a spinal too so couldn't get out of bed for 24 hours as my legs were too numb. Personally I couldn't bear anything remotely tight so I took a nightie. It was a good thing as I lost total control of my bladder the first time I went to get up and totter to the bathroom- I was mortified but the nurse was very reassuring and it never happened again!
After a couple of days at home I switched to very stretchy lounge pants. I liken it to how you feel when you're pregnant- you want support but not too tight and nothing that's going to go near the scar.

Thank you everyone. Im having my uterus, tubes and cervix removed but my ovaries are staying. I’m not sure whether I’m having laparoscopic or abdominal incision yet, my consultant said it would depend on whether the fibroids had shrunk with the Decapeptyl injections or not as they are quite large. I presume I’ll have an ultrasound when I get to hospital and she’ll decide from there.

I’m wanting to be as organised as I can be, so I’ve bought peppermint tea, dulcoease and fragrance free shower gel. I’ll take both a nightie and some PJs just in case.

DH and my teen DS will be around to help at home.

I was told overnight for laparoscopic and 3 - 5 days for open. They were going to try for laparoscopic and switch to open if they needed to in the hope that the Zoladex has shrunk everything but I've switched to a new surgeon (shorter waiting list) who only does open. My previous surgeon starts laparoscopically and then switches if necessary. No ultrasound.

I'm taking nighties following a lot of research and have peppermint oil capsules but might order some dulcoease now as well. I've also ordered a grabber thing and some waterless body wash.

I'm keeping my cervix and ovaries.

I was due to have vertical incision but Dr had explained that once I was asleep he would be able to examine me fully to decide which cut to go for - I think it would hurt if I was awake. Woke up with bikini cut so was pleased. He had to take my uterus out in 2 parts as it was very long due to the fibroids and my cervix separately which is unusual. Surgery took 3 hours.

Do you mind if I join you? I’m having a TLH and bilateral oophorectomy at the end of the month. I’m feeling quite apprehensive about the pain and recovery, even though I know it’s for the better in the long run. Good luck to everyone else waiting for their surgery

I had the same & other than anti inflammatory suppositories overnight needed no painkillers, I was up & dressed with full make up on by 6.00am & on my way home by 8.30pm despite only returning from theatre at 8.00pm. I got sent home with dihydrocodeine, Co-codamol & diclofenac tablets bit never needed them, I was out for a pub lunch 3 days after my op & back driving on the school run 8 days after.

Thank you ever so much, this is what I needed to hear. My consultant is confident I’m going to bounce back, I just feel my pain threshold is fairly low and I can’t take codeine due to side effects, so my pain management options are limited. I’m generally in good health so hoping it won’t be too bad, but feeling quite apprehensive.

Also, kudos on being fully dressed with make up at 6am in hospital - I have literally never managed that at home 😂.

I wanted to make sure I was in a fit state to go home, even though I was in a private hospital I just wanted to go home, my partner had been allowed to stay over with me because I have PTSD from my hospital experience when ds was born. 8.30am we were on our way home, 9.00am my partner was cooking me a full English because I was starving, I even managed a 5 minute walk down to the pharmacy because my drain site was leaking & I needed some waterproof dressings to soak it up. The only rubbish bit of my experience was bloody Wimbledon was on while I was recovering & he made me sit through the whole thing even though I hate tennis, he must have felt guilty because he either went to the shop & bought me a Magnum or got me a double 99 when the ice cream man came every day.

While it's possibly useful to hear others' experiences we are all so different. I remember seeing a woman stride into the maternity ward, bounce on the bed and proceed to sit cross legged. I was gobsmacked lying there getting my transfusions. 😳 It's the same with this - there are so many variables : age, method of surgery, surgeon's choice of anaesthesia, complications etc. I remember my surgeon telling me to take the time to recover in hospital ( I was in 5 days) as he said other family members tend to think it's nothing serious if you are in and out and acting as if all is normal. There is so much internal healing and adaptation going on.

Preparation beforehand also depends on help you will have at home. I knew I would have little help. I had a small fridge, travel kettle, microwave, toaster and disposable crockery and plates in my bedroom. When I had no help, I could make snacks and ready meals in my room. After two weeks I could manage simple cooking. I also slept a lot for about two months.

It’s been 9 days since my surgery and I’m only just hoping to get out the house today. I’ve been sleeping so much too (yesterday was my first day going from two naps down to one but it was a super long one) but I’m also on blood thinning injections which definitely make me more tired. I had robotic surgery so 5 tiny incisions but one of them is still healing and it’s sore if I bend over so DH is still putting my compression socks on for me and picking up things I drop. I’m better than I was but there’s definitely nothing wrong with taking time if you need it. As the PPs say, there’s so much more healing going on than you can see and everyone heals differently.

I meant surgeon's choice of post op pain killer.

I had a hysterectomy 2 years ago, mine was keyhole vaginal assist. I was in hospital for 24 hours, had my surgery at 9am and was out by 9am the next day. My recovery went pretty well. I did have an infection during week 2 but wasn’t too unwell with it and it didn’t really set me back. The first 2 weeks you really do need to take it easy (longer if abdominal), after 2 weeks I started building up walking distance and was able to drive during week 3. By week 4 I was walking 5k, by week 6 I was pretty much back to normal.

Having the hysterectomy was the best thing I could have done and I felt amazing as soon as I woke up from surgery, I was on a high and stayed awake all night. I never really felt tired after surgery and during my recovery I still managed to get up and dressed every day.

My top tip would be to exercise as much as you can before surgery, it will aid recovery. I was so anxious about surgery so I used the anxiety to exercise, I am sure that it helped my recovery. I only had 4 weeks notice for my surgery as I was pushed to the top of the list for suspected cancer after a failed biopsy. I kept my ovaries but not my cervix (as I tested positive to HPV the week before surgery).

@Moonlightfrogthank you, I’m having similar in two weeks and it’s really reassuring to read about your recovery. Really appreciate it 💐 and glad you are better following the procedure

Thank you everyone for the tips and guidance. I’ve just received my operation date for early July and I am nervous all of a sudden 🙈

Best of luck for early July @Teawithfrenchtoast and you too @ShowOfHands. The waiting time can be one of anxiety (it was for me), but you’re about to wave your problems goodbye and embark on better health. Very soon this will be behind you. x

This lead up to the op is the worst time I think, as it's the fear of the unknown. I couldn't speak about it without crying as I was so anxious about it. once it's done though, you can concentrate on your recovery. Sending best wishes