Katie’s Abdominal Hysterectomy

Abdominal Hysterectomy
Age at Surgery 37
Location: Brooklyn, NY USA

Ok I’m ready to discuss it. I had surgery Aug 1st, 2018. I had my cervix and Fallopian tubes removed. They did not remove my ovaries. I decided to have a hysterectomy because I had 5 fibroids or so I was told in the beginning. After surgery, I was told I had 18-20 of them. My periods were so heavy, I wore pampers. It made it difficult to lead a normal life during that time of the month. I suffered for over 6 years. I did so much research and decided this was my only option. I didn’t want to have a myomectomy because of the chances of the fibroids returning. I already have two children so that wasn’t an issue. My doctor said the fibroids were too big for any other procedure. I did not get a second opinion and I don’t know why I didn’t. I would recommend others to get a second opinion.
The month before the surgery was mind wrecking. I couldn’t stop thinking about if I should do it, would I live through the surgery, would my sex life be the same. So many questions.

The day came and I felt ready. I only got a little nervous as I laid on the table. I received general anesthesia. I woke up drowsy. As I realized what pain I was in, I would press the pump which delivered the pain medicine. They said the pain med was something like morphine. It was really good. It kept me pain free and asleep. After it wore off I was in terrible pain. I stayed in the hospital for 3 days. I didn’t want to go home in that kind of pain but I didn’t have a choice.

Recovery was very difficult and slow. I never experienced such pain. I was happy to get off pain medicine after 4 to 5 weeks. The recovery took so long in my eyes that I thought something was wrong with me. But reading posts on this website kept me sane knowing that other people did in fact experience exactly what I was feeling. My greatest challenge was accepting that I had to stay still and that I needed help to do everything. I was released from my doctor at 9 weeks to resume normal activity. My incision did get infected which lengthened my recovery. I had a hole that leaked for over 2 months. It just closed up 4 days ago.

Right now im feeling so much better. I get tired quickly. I’m in no pain. I get occasional cramping but nothing serious. I’m walking at a normal pace now. My sex life is back to normal. I’m glad I did do the surgery. I’m not 100% back to normal but I’m almost there.

Make sure you do your research. There are other less invasive procedures. See which one suits you. Ask a million questions. Get three opinions. Make sure you have help at home for at least 4 weeks. I believe having a support group is necessary. Being a part of Hystersisters helped me tremendously. I knew I wasn’t alone or going crazy. I read stories of people who were going through what I was going through and that was comforting for me.

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