Hysterectomy- Have You Had One?

My M. had a partial one done many years ago. She had no complications and she did not start menopause until many years later (at the average age), and that was back when they had to actually cut you open. A friend of mine recently had a full one done laproscopically and she said recovery was very fast.

Best of luck and Blessed Be

If you had three c sections what are you concerned about. I had abdominal hysterectomy, colon and rectum out on a Tuesday and went home Friday morning. Was functioning full speed ahead within two weeks. Necessity necessitates. Laparoscopic surgery is fairly painless. First 12 hours some discomfort but that's it.

Yes I've had one and I am so glad I did. I also had large uterine fibroids and went through similar problems as you mentioned. I put it off and spent so much time worrying about it and wondering if it would be the right decision, if our family was complete, etc. I should tell you though that my hemoglobin level had dropped to a 6 (normal is 12-14) all due to heavy periods. I had to have blood transfusions before the hysterectomy could even be done. At that point I no longer had a choice, I had to have it done. Best decision EVER!

Feel free to private message me if you want more info. Don't believe any horror stories...join the "hyster-sister club!"

I had a hysterectomy at the age of 35, and haven't looked back. We left one ovary since I didn't want to go into menopause so young, and the other ovary often had cysts. Like you, I had massive fibroids and massive bleeding that caused periods that lasted 3 weeks or more.

My surgery was done almost 10 years ago and went smoothly. I had the surgery on a Thursday and went home the following Monday. It was done abdominally, as the fibroids were too big to go through the vagina. The pain in the hospital was fairly significant the first 24 hours or so until they were able to get it under control. My surgery was fairly major by the time I had it done. (Should have had it done earlier.) My recovery time was about 6 weeks or so, but pain wise, after we got it under control in the hospital, I only needed prescription meds the first two weeks or so (and the strength and dosage changed frequently during that time). I tapered off to tylenol after that. I don't remember the pain being all that bad. After I started using tylenol, I recall just being tender and being extra tired.

I have a scar that runs from my belly button to just above my pubic bone, but I can hardly see it. It took about a year to change color from a deep purple to a pale flesh color, and the scar was raised, and over that year, in flattened out and there are no bumps in it.

I'm wondering if they need to do yours abdominally, can they go through your c-section scar? That might make it easier for you.

I don't regret mine at all, and the recovery went extremely well. To be honest, it did have it's moments, especially in the hospital, when the pain was hard to control at times, but the care I had was wonderful. I did have a bit of an infection around the staples they used to close the incision but that cleared quickly by the use of antibiotics. I'm sure that by now that medicine has changed that they use other techniques to close incisions than staples!

What helped me the most to heal were positive thoughts, a good support system, and lots of friends. I really encourage you to have the surgery. Do keep in mind that while my surgery went well, no two experiences are the same, but I do think the surgery will make you feel much better in the end, and if you go in with a positive attitude you will do just fine.

Please feel free to PM if you have any, and I mean any, questions.

M.

ETA: I have some suggestions for you regarding the surgery. The recovery time also depends on having a surgeon who has done this type of surgery before, is confident doing it, and also being in a top notch hospital. Are you outside Chicago? Do some research about the surgeons in your area, plus the hospitals. Ask around. Do you ave friends who have had similar procedures? Who do they recommend for hospitals and surgeons? Just a thought.

I had a complete hysterectomy over 10 yrs ago and it was.......

THE BEST THING I EVER DID FOR MYSELF!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of course I was nervous about it and read all about horror stories as well as success stories. I got a lot of info from the website www.hystersisters.com It can be TMI but it has everything you want to know and much of the info comes from others who have been through it.

I had a bikini line incision that you can't see anymore, I opted for the Dr. to take everything. You'll hear a lot of pros and cons on that but you have to do what is best for you. My thoughts were that even tho taking ovaries raises the chance of breast cancer PLUS I was going on the HRT patch, I felt like breast cancer would be much easier to detect with a higher survival rate than ovarian cancer which is difficult to detect until sometimes much too late. I wore an HRT patch from the day of surgery up until September 2013 when I just went cold turkey because I kept forgetting to put it on and after forgetting for 2 weeks and no symptoms... my Dr. said see how long you can go without the patch and without symptoms.. Here I am still going strong with no HRT.

I spent 2 nights in the hospital, had an epidural, they immediately put an abdominal binder on me which I wore faithfully because I feared weight gain and swelly belly. I had none of those... I still weigh about 116, wear the same petite (0-2) sizes I wore before surgery.

One benefit I did get from the HRT was that my boobs grew to a 34DD and stayed nice and perky. Everybody thinks I had a boob job but I didn't. I have never felt or looked better. My sex drive did not skydive to Zero like you hear about... my sky rocketed because I knew without a doubt that I was free and could not have an oopsie.. I had stayed on the pill and hubby had a vasectomy when daughter was 2 for years to make sure we kept our complete family at 3.

Like I said, it was the best thing I ever did for me. It sucked that I couldn't drive for 2 weeks but all in all, I healed very well and on time. I strongly believe that if you go into the surgery (any surgery for that matter) with a good positive attitude and healthy, your outcome is more positive.

My M. came for 4 days to get my daughter to and from school. My husband was on the road again within a week with his sales job. I was at a track meet for my daughter in 3 weeks. So, attitude has a lot to do with your recovery. I had 1 day of horrid pain in the hospital when they removed my morphine pump... I loved that thing!! After that 1 day, I rarely took anything stronger than Tylenol if needed.

Feel free to PM me if you like. Best wishes to you!

I bled almost every day for a year and a half-without having fibroid tissue and such Then, I had a hysterectomy-left the ovaries-piece of cake-do it-it will change your life! Good luck! I

It's been 20 years this year that I had mine done a complete. I felt that I was done having kids and the fibroids were causing problems. In fact I had the bikini cut way low and had no problem at all. My doctor made sure all the other items were going to be in place with reconstruction. He also said I looked better after surgery than before. Before I went home I had to have one staple removed because I was healing up so quickly.

I do not miss the monthly flow or the cramping. It took about three weeks to get back up to speed and drive around. I had my son move the frig and clean under it before he went in the service back then because of the size. By six months I was mowing the lawn and other things.

Some is mind set about the surgery and the loss of having more children. Other is cultural about losing your female bits. Do it for you and being able to live a few more good years.

the other S.

Yes, I had it done when I was 23. My situation was a pap smear showed abnormal cells. It wasn't cancer yet, but would be if left untreated. I opted for the partial hysterectomy and have never regretted it!

I had mine laproscopically. The only pain I had was when I first woke up after the surgery because they literally pack you with gauze to stop the bleeding so it is uncomfortable. But they take the stuff out in short order and after that, no pain whatsoever. My doc took me off work for six weeks, but truth be told, I could have gone back MUCH sooner. Within a couple of weeks I was swimming and just enjoying some time off with my daughter.

I think you will be extremely happy with this choice.

I had years of problems with uterine fibroids and finally had a hysterectomy a few years ago. Life has been immeasurably better since. I had a laparoscopic procedure, which made recovery time much shorter.

I should mention that my maternal grandmother died young, and my mother and aunt both had hysterectomies, so one reason I decided upon the hysterectomy was that I have no way of knowing when menopause is likely to hit. I kept my ovaries, so no hormone therapy. And based on certain indicators, I'm 52 and not in hormonal menopause yet, so I'm doubly glad I had the procedure when I did. I could have had 10 years of periods so heavy I was anemic and unable to leave the house on certain days due to uncontrollable bleeding.

The bottom line is that it's an extremely personal decision. But for years, I resisted, and now I'm free of a lot of pain and inconvenience.

Best thing I ever did for myself was a hysterectomy at age 42. I had fibroids and very heavy periods for quite a few years and was real tired of it. Alternatives didn't work for me.

Mine was supposed to be a vaginal hysterectomy, but the fibroids were so large they had to do it abdominally. So my recovery time was a little longer than I had expected. But it was still well worth it. I was in the hospital for three days, and a week later I was at my daughter's first high school softball game. I moved a little slowly, but I was fine.

I kept my ovaries. I have had no problems. I'm just glad I did it when I did. Like I said, best thing I've ever done for myself. Good luck with your decision.

My fibroids disappeared after age 50 just as my Gyno predicted. No need for hysterectomy.

I also had problems with fibroids several years ago... (don't remember how long... maybe 2006?)

Anyway, rather than a hysterectomy, I chose a Uterine Fibroid Embolization..... they injected something into the different uterine arteries that were feeding the fibroids, and it caused them to die off....

I pretty much didn't have any periods for about 6 months, and when they came back, they were MUCH lighter...

We were also done having kids...... I had already had a tubal several years before..... I don't believe they want to do that procedure if you might have more... they don't know if the remaining blood vessels can sufficiently supply the uterus to sustain a pregnancy, I think....

Just tossing out another option.... I didn't really like the idea of a hysterectomy....

However, I was fairly close to menopause at that time... I just wanted to get me through another few years until I was done with my cycle. (Just finishing menopause now). This might not be as good an option if you are still fairly young, since the fibroids can come back, I think.... (fibroids typically go away during/after menopause, if I remember correctly.)

Thankfully I haven't needed one yet, but I am prepared for when I need one. However, I do remember my M. having hers when I was a senior in high school. She was 36 and still to this day she will tell you it was the best thing she ever did! We couldn't go anywhere, she was always sick and anemic, she was white and pale all the time. She had already had 3 c-sections and 1 exploratory to take out the staples from the last c-section, so this was her 5th and final.

She kept her ovaries so she didn't have any hormone problems for another 10 years or so. I'm not really sure since she still won't tell me when she started peri-menopause....

Anyway, do it if you are sure you are done having kids and be done with the pain, bleeding, and embarrassment! You'll feel so much better. Actually, all 5 of my aunts all said the same thing after theirs. You can see why I'm preparing for mine. :)

Good luck, you will do great, and the recovery is like a c-section, but less if it's laproscopic I hope.

I had a hysterectomy four and a half years ago, (uterine cancer -four year survivor woohoo). Anyway, they took everything out even ovaries. And the dumb cancer. Well, other than a little bit of a fleshy stomach (so whose fault is that anyway) I still do the couchycoochey! I didn't get it done laproscopically, but looks like those who did are happy. Good luck to you!