Aleta145

I had the exact same thing on April 25th because of unexplained sustained bleeding. This is long, but you DID say "...tell me exactly what to expect before and after the surgery..."

First of all, do not eat or drink anything after midnight on the day of surgery. (A nurse will call and tell you the same thing probably.) Also, no makeup or perfume the day of. Try to get a good night's sleep. (I took a Tylenol PM which helped me relax enough to fall asleep.)

When you go in, you'll change into the stylish outfit you'll be wearing for surgery You'll be visited by the anesthesiologist and possibly your surgeon, if you haven't already talked to them. The pre-op nurse will take some blood and then start the IV. That's painless after the initial pinch of the needle going in.

The nurse will walk you (and your IV stand) into the OR where you'll lie on a table shaped like a cross, and a couple of nurses will be getting things ready and the anesthesiologist will come in and put some anesthesthetic into the IV.

Then you'll wake up in recovery, probably with the post-op nurse hovering over you asking if you're feeling any pain. I was cramping pretty badly and said so, and the nurse injected something into the IV that worked instantly and I drifted off again. When I woke up again I felt no pain at all and my husband was there, and the cobwebs cleared up pretty fast after that. I think I was ready to go home after an hour or so.

When I got home I went straight to bed and slept for several hours. I had some soup and crackers for dinner and was able to sit in the LR and watch TV, going to bed at my regular time. The next day I felt well enough to go back to work, but you're not supposed to drive for 24 hours after anesthesia, so I waited until the afternoon before I went to the office.

I'm not sure why you're afraid of bleeding. It's like having your period, but with solid tissue which will come out in chunks. Don't worry about that, it's normal. You're getting rid of all the endometrium that's still in there because the D&C doesn't clean you out completely. I had about 5 days of that afterward, with some cramps. You have to use pads. No tampons. Then about 5 days of spotting after that, for which pantyliners were adequate. Then, halleluia, no bleeding for the first time since before Christmas!

I hope this helps you. I was anxious about it myself, but it was really quite easy. The most difficult part was the panic attack I had when I got the hospital bill, LOL! It was over $7000!

I hope this helps with your anxiety. If you have any questions, feel free to post them and I'll check back later.