Jenn’s Hysterectomy Story

Hysterectomy Date: March 5, 2014
Hysterectomy Type: LSH Laparoscopic Supracervical Hysterectomy
Age at Hysterectomy: 46
Location: Oklahoma

I normally had very light periods. Several years ago I started to notice definate perimenopause symptoms: heavier periods. I just figured that was normal and I would deal with it for a while. However, during the past year tmy periods were getting heavier and heavier with some clotting and I started to get very concerned. I made an appointment with my gyn and he said it might be from fibroids. He used an utrasound to check things out. There were two fibroids found but not very large in size. The doctor recommended trying an ablation to see if that would eliminate or minimize the bleeding. He felt like I would be a good candidate for the procedure. It seemed like a relatively easy solution – I was excited. However, after being scheduled for the procedure, I woke up to discover my doctor was unable to do the ablation. I was disappointed and surprised as I hadn’t considered that an ablation might not work. It was time to change doctors! I did some research and soon found a GYN who did a high volume of minimally invasive procedures. I was impressed with her credentials. She did an exam and said that it shouldn’t be a problem at all to do my hysterectomy laparoscopically. Score one for me!

The actual surgery took only about 1.5 hours and I was in recovery for several hours and then went to my room. I wasn’t really in much pain. There was some tenderness, but it really wasn’t bad at all. Really, I’m serious! IV pain meds are awesome! I’d say my main discomfort that night in the hospital was my bladder because I was laying in a position that wasn’t allowing the catheter to drain. I had the nurse help me stand up so that I could help it drain. Once I changed positions my bladder was much happier! The catheter was removed the next morning. I was discharged at noon and I headed home. One night in the hospital and barely 24 hours all together for my hospital stay including my surgery time.

Pain was easily controlled with Ibuprofen.  I loved getting info my bed to rest.  My toughest night was the fourth one. I hadn’t had a bowel movement yet even though I had taken prune juice, and stool softeners. So I was in a lot of discomfort from that. The next day I finally had success with a BM. As I continued to heal, I still tired easily and my biggest challenge now is to not push myself on doing too much.

My health has improved – and my quality of life is much better than before my surgery. Although surgery is never easy, having a minimally invasive hysterectomy was the best choice for me. My recovery has gone MUCH better than I anticipated. I was really not in much pain, just some soreness at times. Really for me the worst part was before surgery thinking about it.

Do your research, take advantage of a support website like HysterSisters.com. It sure has helped me immensely!