Jenny’s Laparoscopic Hysterectomy

Laparoscopic Hysterectomy
Age at Surgery 44
Location: Harrisburg,PA, USAI decided to have a hysterectomy after I was hospitalized due to severe anemia from fibroids that caused extremely heavy menstrual bleeding. I had multiple fibroid that grew very rapidly, from the size of a tennis ball to the size of a canteloup in only 6 weeks. Medicine and vitamin D treatment was not effective at keeping them under control.My surgery and hospital experience was as great as could be. I had a laproscopic supracervical hysterectomy and salpingectomy, but I kept my ovaries. The procedure was done under general anesthesia. I stayed overnight at the hospital because I was still quite anemic and also unable to tolerate any pain medications by mouth.

I think my recovery was easy enough. I went back to work after three days, but I only work 2 hours per day, and my job does not require walking or standing.

I was cleared for driving after 2 weeks, and resumed intercourse after 10 days.I can not believe how much my life has improved since my hysterectomy! I had no idea how much my quality of life was negatively affected by my fibroids, and how much better every aspect of my life is now.

I was so worried about how the surgery would affect my appearance, my weight and my sex life. But all those worries were for nothing. My sex life is greatly improved now that the fibroids are not restricting blood flow in my body. I no longer have to avoid leaving the house due to uncontrollable menstrual bleeding. I can even go hours without needing to pee now that my bladder and fibroid uterus are not competing for limited space!

My weight is back to 110 and my pants size actually dropped. I can’t even believe I was carrying around enough fibroids to equal a 4 month pregnancy. I looked so bloated, but my belly is flat again now
I know the decision isn’t easy for everyone. I had already had 3 children and did not want more, so that was not an issue for me. But, for me, it was a great decision and I am so grateful every day that I get to live my happy, healthy life again!I think it’s hard to give general advice because every woman is has to make the decision based on her own age, general health, desire for children, job, access to information and quality health care, and support at home etc.

I would offer one word of caution to women researching their options. The horror stories you find on the Internet do not accurately represent the experiences of most women who have a hysterectomy. People are less likely to go online to share positive experiences, so you will usually only find information about bad ones. Women who have successful recoveries are living their lives-making up for lost time-not spending time posting information about their own misfortunes. There are women who have bad experiences with hysterectomy, and they deserve compassion and support. But their stories are not the norm and you should not make your decision based on anecdotal information. Ignore the fear based pseudo- science stories and get real information from credible sources. Talk to your doctor and then make the decision that is right for you, because you are the only one who will live with the outcome. My hysterectomy decision turned out to be better than I could have ever imagined. I hope that every woman will feel empowered to make her own informed decision about hysterectomy, and that her outcome is as wonderful for her as mine is for me!