Hysterectomy

[Jay]

Evening All 

For those who have had a hysto I have a few questions. How long was your recovery time? Like before you could return back to normal activity for example walking not sports. What was the outcome? Did you feel any different? What extent was the pain? How long were you admitted for? Where you given strong pain medication? Any advice before the surgery? I am hoping to have my hysto next year and just enquiring on to what the results and the pain was like as i have heard some horror stories about them. 

Thanks in advance

Jay

[sneakersjay]

The lifting thing got me for about 5-6 weeks, which is what they recommended anyway.  Walking but not strenuously 2-3 weeks; I did airport travel at 3 weeks (conference) but found it difficult walking around busy airports slugging a small laptop and regretted having to carry anything, and was kinda gee, maybe I shouldn't have done this this soon?

If I sat still, no pain.  Moving not as bad, but the lifting.

Not really bad pain, like I said, unless I tried to do too much too soon.  Which I do, because I can NOT just sit on my arse.


Jay

[Mister]

How long was your recovery time?  I was in the hospital for 2 days, out of work for 2 weeks, back to normal in 5 or 6 weeks.

What was the outcome?  Uh... i had no more reproductive organs? 

Did you feel any different? Sore, obviously.  I expected to feel somehow 'empty' but I didn't.

What extent was the pain? Fairly intense aching.  Felt as if my guts had been scooped out with a melon baller, which is fairly accurate.

How long were you admitted for? 2 days.

Where you given strong pain medication?  I'm always on strong pain medication!  I was on a morphine drip for day 1, went down to my usual + hydromorphone from then on.

Any advice before the surgery?  Sign up for netflix.

Also, Jay, there is a big difference in pain/recovery based on how this surgery is performed- abdominally, vaginally with laproscopic assist, vaginally w/o assist, and any of these w/ the addition of vaginectomy.

[sneakersjay]

Also, Jay, there is a big difference in pain/recovery based on how this surgery is performed- abdominally, vaginally with laproscopic assist, vaginally w/o assist, and any of these w/ the addition of vaginectomy.

??

The OP didn't specify which procedure he was specifically asking about.



Jay

[Mister]

No kidding.  But if he's collecting info on recovery times, he should probably note that there are different surgeries and recovery times associated with them.

[Nero]

I expected to feel somehow 'empty' but I didn't.

I always wondered about that. Do you feel the absence of them? Hollow? What about during orgasm?

[Mister]

I always wondered about that. Do you feel the absence of them? Hollow? What about during orgasm?

I never had internal orgasms really, especially not after starting T.  I felt more absence post-vaginectomy than post-hysto.

[sneakersjay]

I always wondered about that. Do you feel the absence of them? Hollow? What about during orgasm?

I had large fibroids that were putting pressure on things in there, and I also had an elongated (annoying!) cervix, so when I woke up from anesthesia and the pressure was gone, I was relieved.  Also knowing they were gone permanently was a huge relief -- I had a lot of dysphoria over the monthly curse.

My hysto was laparoscopic assisted vaginal with complete removal of my lone ovary, uterus, and cervix.

Hysto did not change anything about my orgasms; if anything they're more intense on T.

Jay
Post Merge: August 03, 2009, 04:54:46 PM

No kidding.  But if he's collecting info on recovery times, he should probably note that there are different surgeries and recovery times associated with them.

True. But you did not specify which procedure you had in your reply, for comparison purposes.


Jay

[Jay]

No kidding.  But if he's collecting info on recovery times, he should probably note that there are different surgeries and recovery times associated with them.

Thanks for all the info guys.

I am like you guessed just trying to get anidea of the recovery times. I am unsure what hysto procedures they preform here (uk) for transmen.

Jay
Post Merge: August 04, 2009, 02:24:39 AM
Flame boy could you help me out at all?

Jay

[Mister]

I am going to assume that for once, the UK and US are similar.  Abdominal is considered last resort and is typically only done if the works can't be removed through the vagoo or if this is some sort of emergent get it out NOW! situation.

Transvaginal w/ laproscopic assist is most common.  You end up with two small incisions (sometimes they go through your belly button) from the tools used to assist your surgeon remove your organs.

Transvaginal w/ no assist is generally only done on folks who have fairly large vaginas (i.e. everything can fit up there w/o obstructing view).

I'd put money on your surgery being transvaginal w/ laproscopic assist.

[Jay]

Thank you Mister for explaining the difference methods of the operation.

I do hope it is the transvaginal with the laproscopic assist.

Jay

[Flameboy]

Flame boy could you help me out at all?

Jay

Sure can, dude!

I had my hysto last December, so it's recent enough to still be relevant.

I was in hospital for 3 nights, one being the night before surgery. I was off work for 4 weeks altogether; my GP wanted to sign me off for another 2 weeks, but I told him I felt fine and that as I do a desk job it wouldn't be a problem. I would probably have been OK to go back sooner, but since I get full pay I didn't feel any need to rush it.

I was up and about less than a week after my surgery though, going shopping etc - though I had a friend with me to carry bags etc.

I was advised not to do any heavy lifting or housework for 3 months, though I probably didn't leave it that long as my partner was, ahem, keen for me to resume hoovering!

The pain wasn't bad at all, nowhere near as bad as I'd expected. It was fairly intense as soon as I woke up, but I was given morphine immediately, and had access to the morphine in self-administered form for the first night. After that, I had pain killers that were given to me by the hospital, but I didn't need them all anyway.

I felt different in that it was really important psychologically for me to have a hysto. I didn't feel any different physically, or any feeling of emptiness. And I haven't noticed any difference at all sexually.

I had a laparoscopic hysto - not trans-vaginal at all. When I saw the consultant for my initial appointment, he asked me about whether I'd had vaginal intercourse, and based on my reply (no) he said that I wasn't a good candidate for a trans-vaginal hysto, and so he would do the surgery laparoscopically if possible - he explained there was always a risk that it would not be possible and he'd have to revert to the abdominal method after starting the surgery - but that if this was necessary he would make a vertical scar rather than the traditional horizontal scar which is only ever used for hystos and therefore would be a huge give-away if it was ever spotted by anyone who had an idea about these things - this was the advice given in my referral letter from the GIC.

Because he was planning to do the surgery laparoscopically, I didn't need to have any sort of internal examination prior to the surgery - I would have been extremely uncomfortable with having one and would possibly have opted for the abdominal method if that had been the only other option. Fortunately my surgeon understood this and this was a second reason why he suggested the non-trans-vaginal laparoscopic method for me.

Hope that helps mate!

[Jay]

Thanks alot Flameboy

One more question did you get it done at a local hospital or did you have to go to one which your GID deals with?

Jay

[Flameboy]

Thanks alot Flameboy

One more question did you get it done at a local hospital or did you have to go to one which your GID deals with?

Jay

No worries Jay, happy to help mate.

I had it done locally; CX GIC wrote to my GP and asked him to refer me for it in the same way he'd refer a woman needing a hysto, which he did. He asked some of his contacts first for a recommendation about who would be a good surgeon for me to be referred to, and I have to say I was very pleased with the guy that I got.

[Jay]

Thanks again mate! That sounds brilliant!

Was there a wait time at all?

Jay

[Flameboy]

The wait wasn't too bad - I think I had my appointment at CX when they said they'd write to my GP in about July, then saw my GP a couple of weeks later, once I'd received my copy of the letter. He then spent a while finding out who to refer me to, and I think that my hospital appointment was in early October-ish. I then had my surgery just before Xmas.

I might be wrong on those dates though - I'll have them in my work calendar, but I can only access that at work. I'll try and remember to look tomorrow, but I have a memory like a sieve so I'm very likely to forget!