Ashleigh’s Laparoscopic Hysterectomy

I was diagnosed with fibroids at age 29, due to me having very heavy mensual bleeding. I started out with 3, 2 the size of grapes, and 1 the size of a small orange. Before I could decide what to do, I got pregnant. After delivering my daughter at age 31, I had to get a colposcopy after my 6 weeks check up, being that I also had HPV found during my pregnancy. After another 6 weeks of healing from that, I got the Mirena to try and stop the fibroids from growing. It did stop my periods but was very uncomfortable. I felt pressure all the time and sex was painful. I left it in the full 5 years but did not want another one. I suffered with the heavy periods again for the next 10 years. My HPV was back, and at age 43 I had a severe pain in my back/ left side. I went to see my OBGYN and my fibroids had tripled in size, and I had developed 2 more, making the count 5 now. This OBGYN was not very social, nor did she seem too knowledgeable with my situation. She put me on Norethindrone. It made me severely ill, suffering from Nausea, chills, shakes, and diarrhea for 2 1/2 weeks. I stopped taking it myself. My only other option was to have a procedure. I did not trust this OBGYN so I got a 2nd opinion. I loved this new OBGYN but he wasn’t trained with laparoscopic hysterectomy and reffered me to his collegue and told me he was one of the best… and he was right! He also found Endometriosis on my left side that I didn’t even know that I had. That explains that shooting pain that I experienced that day!

My laparoscopic hysterectomy took an hour and 15 minutes. I had my uterus, both fallopian tubes, and cervix removed. I was able to keep both ovaries. I was discharged the same day. I checked it at 7:30am and went into surgery at 9:30 am. I was heading home by 4pm. I’m not sure what anesthesia I was given. I’ll look through my paperwork and add that later.

My recovery from surgery was 12 weeks… mainly to be released for sexual activities. I was driving and doing laundry at the end of week 2… which was not wise. I ended up with a temp of 102 and chills… I think from doing too much too soon I developed a UTI. I was put on an antibiotic for 7 days. I started doing light workouts at week 4. My recovery was more on the easier side, compared to the stories that I’ve heard. The worst thing that I dealt with was the gas. It didn’t travel up my shoulders and neck. It just stayed in my abdomen and it HURT! I had a very hard time passing the gas, so it lingered for about a week. Holding a pillow against my stomach while I walked helped some. Walking is definitely the key to passing the gas.

I am very happy that I had this procedure. My iron is still low, but it’s improving. I still deal with fatigue some days, but I dealt with it worse before surgery. I have more energy now. I no longer have pain in my lower back or pelvic area. I also deal with hot flashes and insomnia sometimes. And I still feel urgency when it’s time to urinate, it’s very hard for me to hold it and sometimes I have accidents. I also deal with constipation and bloating still also. I’m taking Miralax and it helps keep things moving. I know I’m still healing but I already feel much better.

I know that it’s easy to say “don’t worry”, because I did. I was actually petrified because this was my first surgery ever. I will say that with the other procedures that are out there, I feel that this one is the best option. UFE, ablation, etc. They seem like a temporary fix… if they work at all. The surgical team that I ended up finding were excellent! If you don’t feel comfortable with who you’re seeing, get a 2nd… even a 3rd opinion. Trust your gut. And during the prep pre surgery and the recovery post surgery, listen to your medical staff and do EVERYTHING they tell you to do.