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 had similar fears. I have health anxiety and was absolutely convinced I would die. I was scared of the surgery, the anaesthetic, the pain, side-effects, complications, regrets. I was a ball of terror. I found a few forums on FB helpful and also, Mumsnet of course. Plus, several colleagues had had the surgery as well and all spoke positively about it.

I am 3.5 weeks post op and today have been out for tea and cake with DH, had a walk round the local beauty spot, picked ds up from school and went for a short walk with him. I'm in no pain at all and haven't been for nearly all of the time since recovery. I was in daily pain while waiting for surgery and bleeding incessantly. My iron levels are normal for the first time in years. I had forgotten what normal felt like.

How are things affecting your day to day life at the moment? Can you write a list of what would change with surgery? I assume from your post that you have endo? Has your surgeon discussed the risks of it coming back even post hysterectomy? Have you tried other treatments?

I found emailing my surgeon's secretary quite useful as I could list my concerns and questions and always got a response that way.

I was the same as @ShowOfHandswith the health anxiety and proper fear of it all. I actually ended up spending a few hours writing letters to all my family and friends as well as detailed notes for DH of my passwords for anything he might need to access (including for here and thread titles on here that I would have wanted him to update as well) as I had convinced myself I wasn’t going to survive the surgery. I took great joy in burning all of that after I got home from the hospital.

I’m now 6 weeks past mine and I’m slowly getting back to “normal”. (I do have other health conditions so my normal is very different anyway, I’m using a walking stick to walk but I have chronic pain so I have to take things easy anyway and I’m definitely starting to get there now). While I did have pain after it I did get past that faster than I expected and like said, MN was a huge help to me before and after mine.

I did mention my anxiety both during my pre-op appointment but also on the day where they wrote it in large letters at the top of my paperwork and all the different members of staff there were amazing at keeping me calm.

My surgery was due to cancer so that was obviously top of my list of “why I need to have the surgery and not back out” but since then the lack of bleeding and cramping from the bleeding has been amazing, my energy levels are improving and I’d also struggled with bladder leaks at times which have resolved since surgery so I can only assume my enlarged womb was squishing that a bit so all of that has made me so glad I had the surgery.

Thank you.

I had suffered from very heavy periods for decades, put up with it all until the age of 49 when I became very anaemic. I opted for a uterine ablation which cured the bleeding but every 'period' after that was agony. A year later a MRI revealed diffuse adenomyosis and some endometriosis. The ablation had made the adenomyosis worse apparently and not something I should have had done.

Because I was too scared to have a hysterectomy I've just put up with it but last year the pain each month was so bad I went on the waiting list. I haven't experienced the pain for a few months now and I think I'm heading to menopause but I have other issues such as some pressure and a very unpredictable digestive system and suffer with pressure in my bowel area (my uterus is very retroverted) with nausea, constipation and diarrhoea, there isn't a day when I don't have some sort of gut issues (I've had colonoscopies, gastroscopes and scans and nothing seen). My endo gynae says it's not related but many adenomyosis sufferers online say they too had bowel issues, so I'm not sure what to believe.

If the hysterectomy helped the bowel issues that alone would improve my life vastly but I'm scared it could make it worse, I'm petrified about so much to do with this operation. I'm going to the pre-op tomorrow and see if the nurses can help? I have a telephone appointment with my gynae on 30/7 to discuss my concerns.

Tarkan Good luck with your recovery, wishing you well.

I had a hysterectomy aged 40 due to Adenomyosis so a different reason than you. Kept ovaries and everything else gone. Best advice I have is do take it easy for the 12 weeks after the operation. I did and recovered well. I did have bad constipation post op, so watch that. Didn't really have any pain post operation at all and it was the best thing I ever did after a lifetime of women’s problems. Now over 15 years ago and been great since, plus no smear tests so thats a bonus. I was so positive at my post-operation consultation my gynaecologist actually joked not to tell all my friends as they’ll all be wanting one. Good luck, just make sure you rest afterwards and keep life easy.

Hope your pre op goes well and helps put your mind at ease @CateyeKate. The thought of the surgery was far worse than the reality of the surgery for me.

I’m 6 days post op now. Pain wise I feel completely fine. I feel a bit of pressure low down in my tummy which gets worse if I’ve eaten a full meal or need a wee. I’ve not needed to take any pain relief for a few days now. l’ve been constipated, finally managed to go today 🥳 I am also now on antibiotics as my belly button incision is a little aggravated.

i am able to walk round the house fine, and I’ve been sleeping well. I am getting frustrated at not being able to do the ironing and hoovering - I’m just not very good at resting, I’m also a little bored!

The boredom. Oh. My. God.

I thought I'd like the idea of enforced rest but my goodness, the BOREDOM.

I'm 4 weeks post op tomorrow and while I haven't hoovered, I do all other housework and have even started light weight lifting again (arms only, no core engagement and I am a v experienced lifter who knows how to isolate muscles, plus the physio has okayed it). I can't wait to start hiking and running again but won't be doing either for at least another 4 weeks, if not longer.

It really has transformed my life not being in pain, not bleeding and not being anaemic.

My belly button incision still has the stitches in it. The other lap incisions lost their stitches at least a week ago. It's such a weird place to have stitches!

Sounds like you are doing really well! I think I’m going to call gynae tomorrow as all 3 incision sites are red now and I’ve got red trails coming off them, the one from my belly button runs down my abdomen. I’m also wondering if the low belly pressure is anything I should be concerned about as it only started yesterday - no bleeding though so I’m presuming if there was a problem with the cuff stitching then I’d have bleeding or discharge. I’ll go direct to gynae though and skip the GP as they weren’t remotely interested in seeing me yesterday, just prescribed antibiotics over the phone in 30 second phone call.

Which antibiotics are you on? I was given flucloxacillin and was told they would take at least 2 days to start to work but that if the tracking worsened or there was further pain or swelling or fever, to see somebody asap. I was also told how to clean and dress them daily and was using antimicrobial wash, antiseptic and then medicated dressings to help manage the infection. The pus abated after 2 days and the red tracking reduced, along with the pain.

I'd want them looked at tbh. Plus maybe a swab to check you're on the right antibiotics.

Also, how long are you standing/walking? My infection turned up at 6 days post op and I was told I was doing way too much and I should walk/stand for no more than 15 minutes. You do feel like you can do way more than that I know but they explained that gravity can have a really detrimental effect on the new structures. I dialled back massively for the next 2 weeks and made sure I was resting regularly and only pottering and going on short walks before sitting and recovering. I got pretty good at noticing how my stomach swelled when I'd done too much. Maybe slightly easier to see with the open incision because it swells in a sort of weird shelf above the cut.

Thanks @ShowOfHands, my tummy definitely swells as the day goes on! I guess I probably have been doing too much, I’m just not good at sitting down and resting when I can see things need doing round the house. My DH has been great but he’s working full time from home so he I don’t see much of him through the day, and the cat is on a single cat mission to create as much mess as is physically possible with fur, twigs and leaves! I’m on flucloxocillin 1 x 4 daily, I’ve had 6 tablets up to now. The pus isn’t pus as such, it’s clear fluid and is almost leaking from my belly button incision.

There's no prizes for getting through this in record time. It's not a race. Everything above your uterus drops down and this can cause issues or not ! Women need to rest and take it easy. I sometimes think the idea of laparoscopic surgery makes people think it's not a big deal. Take your rest .

Oh I did too much and ended up with stitches catching on my clothes and pulling so it was agony (and ended up with a small infection there too). Pleased to say it did resolve with rest. I also have fibromyalgia though so I’m used to sitting and having to rest. I’m very much a “put something on the TV then play a game on my phone so I only half pay attention to the TV” person though. 🙈

I can't rest either. If something needs doing, it's almost irresistible and I am similarly owned by a cat who thinks knocking things over or dragging a pile of leaves through the cat flap is somehow going to cheer me up. DH is great but works 12hr shifts (plus a 1hr commute each way) and I simply have to get on with it sometimes. However, a very lovely friend pointed out that I have only one change to recover the right way and the whole point of the surgery was to buy me the best life possible after the crappiest of crap times so I deserve to be as fit and healthy as possible. This really resonated and I want my life back so am willing to be sensible. I just break up what I want or need to do with very regular breaks, enforced rest and careful adherence to a few rules.

I was on the same antibiotic schedule and it worked. The clear fluid might be serous fluid which I had with my CS incision and with the hysterectomy and it really is a sign to take it easy as you can end up with it taking weeks to close, repeat infections and utter misery. Take it easy now so you are better asap. How's it all looking today?

Much worse today! I’ve been back to see my surgeon and she’s swab my belly button but given a different type of antibiotic to take along with flucloxacillin in the mean time. She said it’s unusual for all 3 sites to be so inflamed. Having done a bit of googling I’m leaning more to it being an allergic reaction to the surgical glue 😕

Oh bugger. That all sounds a bit miserable.

Have you tried an anti-histamine? It might help a little bit if it is an allergy. If the antibiotics don't help pretty soon, please go straight back and ask for a review.

Have you been told to clean the wounds? I found that cleaning mine dislodged the glue but equally, you don't want to remove any remaining glue if it's still needed.

No, I wasn’t given any information or guidance on cleaning by the wound. I’ve been gently wiping over my belly button incision with cooled boiled salt water and cotton pads. I took an antihistamine last night and the redness and hotness has calmed a little this morning. The other incision sites don’t have fluid, they look good apart from the red flashes - it’s got to be an allergy in my head.

Where I am we’re told to use hydrogen peroxide to clean the wounds in the first week to 10 days, then nothing except neutral soap in the shower and leaving to air dry completely. Nothing anti microbial as it doesn’t help with the stitches finally dissolving. We get told to use betadine if anything looks clearly infected, but it’s of limited use if the infection is in another layer. If you’re taking antibiotics that should help, it might not actually be an infection but a skin reaction. Being in the belly button perhaps it stays moist for longer? That doesn’t help I’m told, the wounds need to dry completely between showers.

My annoying incision is the one nearest my rib cage, it pulls when I bend over, is hard and raised and itches the most. It’s also the one where the stitches have already disappeared from, I still have white threads in my other incisions. I have my follow up appointment next week so I will ask them to look at it, but it does appear this is all part of the healing process and is normal.

That’s reassuring thank you. May your recovery continue going well.