Having Hysterectemy Soon

[angie8471]

I am 40 years old and I am having a hysterectemy in 4 days.  Aside from the anxiety over the surgery, most of my worry now is about my recovery and health after surgery.  I will have to go on estrogen replacement therapy and I was wondering if anyone could offer some wisdom about how I should go about working with my gynecological oncologist.  In the past, I have just taken the advice of my physicians, but found that my insticts at times were better than theirs.  I think this is a pretty important time in my life to be assertive.  Also, I am wondering if anyone has tried non-traditional medicine as a form of estrogen replacement and if so, was it effective?  Finally, will these terrible feelings of nausea and general discomfort go away with the removal of my giant cysts and organs alltogether?

[jacqui199]

Hiya
You've probably had your op now. Hope it went well. Like fatcat105, I can't say about the hormones as i still have my ovaries.I had TAH 5 weeks ago and am already back at the gym! But they say that your level of fitness and general health prior to surgery has a significant impact on how well we recover. I think this is true. In may case, I took up power walking, jogging, and strength training over a year ago. Lost 6 stones in that time and the consultants indicated that my level of fitness has contributed to my healing so quickly.
Once you pass the first 2 weeks after the op you will feel much better. Yes you will still be tender, but for me the most important thing was avoiding constipation and drinking plenty. Swelly belly will be around for a while...mine starts to inflate from late afternoon!

Hang on in there...

[fatcat105]

First good luck on your surgery and recovery.  I am 41 and had a laprascopic supra cervical hysterectomy.  The hormones they gave me to stop bleeding made me very uncomfortable and aside from a little gas pain right after surgery I was fine.   Still I took 4 weeks off from work to avoid lifting.  By the end of week 2 I was doing more, week 3 I did some light exercise and by week 4 I was ready to return to work although I slepted like the dead once I did return to work.  It took till week 8 for the bloat to leave.  However, 6 months later and I am struggling to loose the last 10 lbs.  I can't tell you much on hormones, I still have my ovaries.  I did use a bit of acupuncture and it helped but its not like hormones.  Take care of yourself.

[remar]

I do believe that your pain and nausea will be gone right after the surgery. It's kind of hard to say because it may be longer than that. The cysts are causing all of this and they will be removed.
You will need at least 6 weeks for recovery. Even though you will probably feel great way before then, take things easy. No lifting, taking stairs or having sex. Your body will still be healing and you need the 6 weeks to fully recover.
The hospital will send you home with a script for pain meds. I would recommend taking them as prescribed to stay on top of the pain and not let it get out of control. No, I'm not trying to scare you. I had a complete hysterectomy myself and I was more sore I think than anything else. But, I did take my pain meds as prescribed the first few days.
I was given a hormone shot while still in the hospital and given a script before I left the hospital for Estrogen. I've taken it for 25 years with no problems. I have tried some over the counter products, but they did not work the same.
If I were you, I would listen to what my body is telling me and don't be afraid to ask questions.
We're here to help and answer your questions if possible. Please keep us up to date on how the surgery went and how your doing.