Well, I hope she wins big in the hormone lottery and some of the issues clear up. It can happen; it’s just not something you can count on.
But they can remove the ovaries laparoscopically later if they need to, for what it’s worth. Much shorter recovery than the hyst in that you don’t have all those ligaments to move around in there.
I had a heated discussion with the wife regarding a second opinion. She has decided to forgo another opinion and plans to go ahead with the surgery as planned. I hope the outcome is good and the post-surgery issues few. As I browse the Hystersister support group, it seems that most women experience problems of some nature. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
Many women do experience problems. But keep in mind that many don’t, and those women don’t go to bulletin boards for support, because they don’t need any. So I hope everything works out okay.
The weeks after hyst are funky whether you keep your ovaries or not. I would say at this point let your wife make her own decision and start to implement some of the tips on the Web site about how to make the surgery and recovery easier. It’ll give you something to do while you’re worrying and make her really feel she has your support, which she’ll need.
Whatever happens, you can deal with it, and it may turn out just fine. Just don’t let her in the grocery store while she’s recovering. That just wipes women out post-hyst.
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I had a heated discussion with the wife regarding a second opinion. She has decided to forgo another opinion and plans to go ahead with the surgery as planned. I hope the outcome is good and the post-surgery issues few. As I browse the Hystersister support group, it seems that most women experience problems of some nature. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
Like Denise said, find out how you can support her and help her through this. I suspect that she really needs to feel like she is making the right decision - she has done all her fretting and weighing of opinions, and has been thinking about this for a long time, and now she needs to buy in to a plan and try not to second-guess herself. So the notion of opening up a decision that was hard to come to is making her really uncomfortable.
Most women, I daresay, struggle at least somewhat with the idea of having a hysterectomy. So once they’ve decided that it IS the right thing to do, the last thing they’d want is someone suggesting that maybe they should think about it a little more. There may have been an opening for a second opinion somewhere earlier in this process, but the opportunity is past now and that’s okay.
Denise’s advice about anticipating and supporting is great.
Mary
Well, today as I write this post, my wife is in surgery. The procedure is being performed at the facility that employs me. I plan to check on her as soon as the case is completed. I think she fully expected me to scrub-in and observe the case. We did meet with the surgeon prior to the case as well as the gas man, the senior ob/gyn resident and the MS-3 observing the case.Well, I guess I can only wait. Thanks for everyones support and advise. I know my post was somewhat off-topic in this forum.
It’s okay–it’s scary stuff to deal with; sometimes you look for help wherever you think you might find it. Hang in there.
Things you can do while you wait and worry:
If you know what floor she’s going to, drop off a big box of candy at the nurse’s station. Nurses in general work very, very hard and try not to show inappropriate favoritism, but a little appreciation in advance goes a long way. They don’t get much of it.
Get your wife some Chapstick or something. While you’re still in the “no water” part of recovery, having SOMETHING moist SOMEWHERE on your body feels darn good.
I’ll be thinking of you both today.
Thanks for your kind thoughts. You’re right, nurses are often under-appreciated, and I will be sure to drop-off a basket of treats, this does go along way. She emerged from surgery fully intact less a grapefruit sized uterus and two “healthy” ovaries, “I know, I will not make a issue of this to the wife, or bring it up again”.There were some issues in recovery with pain management. Her pain level was preceived to be “8” on a scale of 10. An additional 45minutes in recovery helped to remedy this. I must admit, I am somewhat impressed with how lucid she is. Asside from being drowsy, she is very coherent. urine output is good and there is very little drainage from the incision site. BP, temp and HR all look good. I know the road to full recovery is going to take at least a year, but she appears to be off to a good start.
I’m so glad it went well, and that they got her pain under control after a bit. Thanks for letting us know how it’s going. I know it’s been hard for you, too, not just her.
Providing she continues to make steady progress, her attending OB/GYN plans to discharge her tomorrow. The state of healthcare, as it applies to “length of stay”, is appalling; major surgery on day one, recovery on day two, and “out the door” on day three. “Just my two cents”, but it seems rather hurried, if you ask me.
On the other hand, if your pain is controlled, you sleep better in your own bed and you’re safer at home with just your own germs. A lot of recovery can happen in one night and you may find that tomorrow she’s quite ready to get home and get some real rest and wear her own socks and use her own bathroom and eat her own ice cream whenever she wants it.
Home can feel pretty good on Day 3. Just try to time the car ride home so it’s not too long after the last pain meds. I wish you both the best; keep us posted!
True dat. What I’ve observed about people in hospitals is that they feel constrained from doing the things they’d do at home: like getting up and walking around (very good post-operatively for your lungs and your circulation), drinking enough water and other fluids (I don’t know about you, but those bedside jugs of tap water aren’t too appealing), even the mundane of being able to sit on your own toilet and reading the newspaper while waiting for nature to take its course…
Some of the managed care stuff prompted a lot of outrage about how quickly people are discharged from the hospital, and some of it has definitely been justified. On the other hand, some of those experiences showed us that people could do a lot better than we expected if they were discharged pretty soon.
It actually is NOT due to managed care that your wife will be discharged 48 hours after a hysterectomy. That’s an appropriate length of stay beyond which staying in the hospital could easily do her more harm than good.
My hospitalized patients think I’m kidding when I say things like, “We gotta get you out of here before something bad happens!” but I am completely serious. So take your wife home and pamper her! As good as nurses can be, there’s nothing like your own family and your own home to help you feel better.
Mary
How right you guys were in terms of leaving the hospital as soon as it is medically safe. The wife developed chest pains late friday night. They ordered an EKG to rule out heart problems. upon listening to her breath sounds, they noted congestion in both lungs and a temp of 102*F. A contrast PET study was ordered.The study revealed fluid in both lungs as they suspected. She was diagnosted with Pneumonia. Both friday night and saturday, she was treated with antibiotics.In addition, she was instructed to practice deep breathing into a spirometer to improve lung capacity. She appears to be resting confortablely except for evenings when her temperature spikes. Hopefully, they will release her tomorrow afternoon, if her temp remains stable tonight. Not to be graphic, but we are still waiting for a consistant bowel movement. A stool softner was prescribed to help this process along. Well I have better get moving to get the home in some kind of order should she be released tomorrow. Again, thanks for the kind thoughts and valuable advise.