I just wanted to tell you good luck in your decision. Please let me know when your surgery is going to be I will be thinking about you. Take care.
My surgery is scheduled for April 3rd. I truly appreciate you kind words and thoughtfulness throughout this situation. It is good to know that other people actually care.
I absolutely love this web site. Thanks to everyone who has replied to my posts. It means a lot to me.
Attention Elaine444 - I see you are from the Twin cities & am curious as to who your surgery was with...I, too, had a hysterectomy in May of 2006 & it has been a nightmare ever since. I suffer from nerve damage, my stomach is swollen, & I feel like I have an orange up under my rib cage. I'm going to a general surgeon on Monday in hopes that he'll do exploratory surgery & find out exactly what is going on inside me. I've been on pain meds constantly since the surgery. If I could've done this again, I think I would've had a vaginal hyst...my mom didn't have any of the problems that I had...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Elaine444
I am the poster on the other thread that mentioned that the doctor always removes the cervix with a vaginal hysterectomy.
By all means ask your doctor. He/she should provide this information to you anyway.
Personally I had an LAVH with removal of both ovaries in August of 2005 and my life has been a nightmare since. I wont go into detail about what happened to me but I did sustain nerve damage and lots of scarring in my vaginal and lower pelvic area. I was in the hospital for three days trying to get my pain under control before I could go home. The doctor also performed an episiotomy on me to get my uterus out (which I did not find out about until my 6 week post op appointment) because I was so small and narrow in there and had never had children. I have had to have more surgery since then (with another doctor) and am now seeing a pelvic floor physical therapist. I also suffer from urinary incontinence since my hysterectomy and find this frustrating, ironic, and humiliating since I have always been very thin, active, and never even had children. I am only 35 years old now. I did everything right in my recovery and was off work for four weeks, and light duty for three weeks after returning to work. I share this information because so often women think a vaginal hysterectomy is so much easier to recover from than an abdominal hysterectomy but there are just as many risks involved and complications are still possible. It is important to be prepared for all possible outcomes and hear both sides of the story. Best of luck whatever you decide to do.
Last edited by HarleyRyder; 04-17-2008 at 02:31 PM.
Attention Elaine444 - I see you are from the Twin cities & am curious as to who your surgery was with...I, too, had a hysterectomy in May of 2006 & it has been a nightmare ever since. I suffer from nerve damage, my stomach is swollen, & I feel like I have an orange up under my rib cage. I'm going to a general surgeon on Monday in hopes that he'll do exploratory surgery & find out exactly what is going on inside me. I've been on pain meds constantly since the surgery. If I could've done this again, I think I would've had a vaginal hyst...my mom didn't have any of the problems that I had...
HarleyRyder,
I am so sorry you've had such a rough time too! Just curious...did you have an LAVH or an abdominal hysterectomy? Even if you had an LAVH your doctor would have removed your uterus through your vagina. Personally I don't believe it matters what type of hysterectomy you have, there are still serious risks involved. You are not alone in what happened to you. I hope that you get some answers with the general surgeon!
I can not for legal reasons post the name of my doctor on here, but I can tell you that I did not have the surgery in the Twin cities. It was elsewhere in Minnesota. In fact I had not wanted the hysterectomy and tried to get an opinion from a doctor at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester but my insurance refused to pay for any of it and I could not afford it. I could not get a doctor to perform a simple laparoscopy just to remove the endometriosis I had. I tried at least one other doctor at the facility where I had my hysterectomy and he would only perform a hysterectomy also. Ironically I had no problem getting a lap done 1 year AFTER my hysterectomy. Some minor adhesions and scar tissue was found. I am not in as much pain since that surgery, but still suffer pelvic pain to an extent. Some days are much worse than others and it is unpredictable. I also take daily pain meds. Unfortunately a lot of types of nerve damage can not be seen by the naked eye. It sounds like you may have other things going on too with the pain under your rib cage. I hope that this surgeon is thorough with you! I too have the swollen abdomen. At one point I was so sick my weight plummeted to 102 lbs at 5'6" and I still had that swollen abdomen!! Argh!!
Good luck with everything! Please post on the board and let us know if the surgeon is able to find the source of your pain!
Elaine
Elaine,
I can't remember the exact name but I had it laproscopically where they made 4 tiny incisions around my stomach area & my uterous was taken from my right side, not vaginally. There in lies the problem...I had major trama on my right side. I kept both ovaries & my cervix.
Yes, I'll let you know on Tuesday what we find out...I'm so uncomfortable sitting & sleeping & just want someone to cut me open to remove the source of my pain.
Thanks for getting back to me, Elaine!
Elaine,
Just thought I'd give you an update...I had surgery again on April 25th. I had a cyst on my left ovary (which was removed) which was causing a lot of discomfort & swelling in my abdomen. He also found SEVERE adhesions in my left & right side & up into my rib cage. He told me I had a reason to be complaining. The adhesions were wrapped around my cervix, ovaries, colon & intestines. He cut it all away. It has been almost a month now & with physical therapy, I'm hoping to be back to normal someday.
