Getting NERVOUS!! - Hysterectomy Message Board

Lil'Pea · 07-01-2005, 01:30 PM

Hi again.....just venting a little. I am getting really nervous now. My surgery is still 2 1/2 weeks away, but it is coming up FAST! I am not really nervous about the actual surgery, but just about the fact that they want to take my ovaries. I know many of you have told me that you feel great on the hormones, but what are they like at first? Does it take time to adjust? What are the risks of that procedure? Will I gain weight or get a hairy lip?? LOL....I know that sounds silly, but I am serious!! lol.....I just want to know what to expect...they will be doing it abdominally not vaginally.

ANY support or info would be helpful.....thanks in advance!

djl · 07-01-2005, 02:16 PM

Hey Lil'Pea

It will be fine. I know it is scarry. I am 7 weeks post op from a abdominal hyst, they took everything but my cervix. I FEEL GREAT !!!!! I don't remember EVER feeling this good !!!

Listen, you will be on pain meds after surgery. Probly like me a Morphine Pump. It DOES help !! You will need it. It is going to be hard and painful to get out of be, so make sure you call the nurse to help you out. Also very important YOU MUST WALK !!!! The day you have the surgery, don't worry about the walking then, but PLEASE make sure you start walking the day after and so on. Otherwise you could end up with scar tissue.

That night right after my surgery they put me on Estroderm Patch 0.05 mg. It does help. There are different doses and I am on the least due to my Adenomyosis that I had. My doc wants to avoid me getting Endo again. Estrogesn can trigger it again.

I am dealing with insomnia, I do get some hot flashes and night sweats exspecialy the day's before I have to change the patch, but I will deal with that over the pain I was dealing with anytime !! I probably do need a strnger patch, but I want to see if I can handle this because I don't want to take the chance of dealing with Endo again !!

I do have to say I forgot to put the new patch on the other day....well, I was not a pleasant person.... was I moody !!!! You could deffinately say that I was a real you know what !! Then all I wanted to do was cry !!

You also must make sure you take 1200-1500mg of Calcium and a multi-vitiamin daily. Due to bone loss that can occur after having your ovaries removed.

Any questions, please feel free to ask !!!

Good luck and keep me posted !!!!

Lil'Pea · 07-01-2005, 10:56 PM

djl......

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

Your input really helped me alot! Especially knowing your surgery was so recent....can I ask if you've had sex yet? Is it uncomfortable? How about your energy level? Do you feel fully recovered? I am glad that in your post, you also included the bad parts (like the night sweats!

) because I really want to know the good AND bad of a procedure like this so I know what to expect. Thank you thank you thank you. You answered one of my questions ahead of time too.....'what will happen if you forget to change the patch/take your hormones?'....lol....I figured it would probably mean b**** city!!

lol....

How long was it before you felt well enough to really get up and walk around.....like grocery shopping/etc? For example, my surgery is on the 19th, and some friends are coming to visit us on August 6th....will I feel up to it by then? They want to go to the Aquarium so that means some walking around. That visit is only 18 days post op....what do you think?

Again, thank you for your post......and quick reply...it seems this board doesn't get much activity....I wonder why?

Lil'Pea

spongebobgamma · 07-02-2005, 01:31 AM

When I had my hyst I was more worried about losing my ovaries than anything else. I was worried about losing it mentally and gaining alot of weight.

I was on lupron for 3 months before surgery so I got a taste of what to expect. It was no fun but it took the fear away..after surgery I had to go without hrt for 3 more months because of endo..The lupron menopause was alot worse than surgical menopause..

If you go straight to the estrogen after surgery you will still have a store of estrogen in your body which will help. Since I was so depleted it took 2 weeks for my levels to go up..then I felt great..

Im using the climara patch..at first it didn't last the whole 7 days so my Dr wrote my prescription to change every 6 days and I got a extra patch every month..

I feel great on the estrogen,, no weight gain or even pms as long as I don't forget to change my patch. If I forget for a few days the hotflashes will remind me..

I had some trouble sleeping too and joint pains but I started using natural progesterone cream and I'm doing much better now.

Good luck and try not to worry..

Lil'Pea · 07-02-2005, 09:42 AM

spongebobmama:

Thank you! All of this helps so much....mostly just to know that other women have/are going through it and survived! lol.....my aunt had everything removed years ago and the loss of hormones caused her to have heart failure...I know this is an extreme case, but having it happen to someone so close to me is just kinda scary....I am starting to feel better now that I am getting some input.

Also, thanks for adding about the weight gain....I hate to admit how worried I am about it. I am not so worried about gaining SOME weight but I don't want to gain alot. I have been so small my whole life and don't want to just start gaining weight rapidly ya know?

How soon do the hot flashes start after surgery? A few days? Hours? So you say I should ask to get on the patch immediately? Also, have you tried other HRT's other than the patch? How do they differ? I think I would prefer to use the patch if it works for me....I am not good at remembering to take meds everyday so I definitely don't want to do that. What about the shot? Has anyone tried that?

Sorry to keep bugging you guys with more questions!

I just like to be prepared for all aspects of things. I like to know the good and bad. I have a tendancy of expecting things to be really bad and then I am always pleasantly surprised! Works for me!

Thanks guys for your support! You can be sure I will keep checking back for more info, and also, I will be sure to let everyone know how the surgery goes. I will be tremendously bored

, so I will be spending tons of time on my laptop......

Thanks!

Lil'Pea