what to expect after total hysterectomy

Toyamjj

Hi!

Im having a complete hysterectomy in about 5 weeks. Ive been having some cramping so during an ultrasound they found that one of my fibroids is growing and they should be shrinking because I'm on a monthly lupron shot ( prior to diagnosis I had very heavy periods and multiple fibroids). They won't know if its anything to worry about unit I have the surgery but my doc said he is not real concerned from seeing my images but its best to have the surgery so I'm pretty calm about that aspect of it. I can't seem to find much info on what to expect regarding sex, weight gain or preferably some weight loss lol etc. I was put on lupron back in 2019 and take anaztrozole so my body is already use to having less estrogen. Im trying to figure out if I can expect a drastic difference in change with my sex life/dryness etc after the surgery or will side effects be mild because of what i'm already going through. Any advice will be helpful.

AliceBastable

I was older when I had my hysterectomy.(58), and it was due to endometrial cancer. The surgery wasn't too bad - I apparently had a lot of adhesions that the surgeon cleaned up so it took longer than the projected hour. I was only in the hospital one night - with the Covid situation, I wonder if they'll send you home the same day. I don't remember being particularly uncomfortable, just had to take things slowly for a bit. I don't think I walked enough because I developed "swelly belly," which was annoying and unattractive, but I also wasn't in very good shape going in.

I hadn't been through menopause yet when I had surgery. I had a few episodes of night sweats while I was recovering, but that's it. I've still never had a hot flash and it's been almost twelve years. I've never taken HRTs, before or after surgery. On the other hand, I still was cranking out estrogen even with everything removed, since my 2018 breast cancer was estrogen positive.

Physically and otherwise, no problems afterward. Once your doctor says it's okay, enjoy! It's normal to go about sexual activity a little tentatively at first because you don't know just what physical capacity you have. Just be patient. Not only do things work just fine, one rather odd thing was having a very active, satisfying dream a few weeks after surgery - and I found out it's something that happens to most women, like a little reassuring gift from your body that everything is still working!

Oh, where the stitches at the top of the vaginal tube are can get a little twingey at times. I still get a little zap there out of nowhere once in a blue moon. It's just nerve ends, but if it's frequent, tell your surgeon just in case.

What helped me tremendously was signing up at hystersisters.com. it's very similar to this site, full of friendly, helpful women on the forums, plus lots of articles and information.

Good luck!

Veeder14

Hi Toyamjj

I had a complete hysterectomy with parts removed through the vagina. I was 62 and already in menopause but due to Tamoxifen causing my uterine lining going from 2 mm to 17 mm in 4 months. Thick lining is a cancer risk and because I am BRAC 2 and needing to continue taking Tamoxifen I decided on the surgery. Never had hot flashes and worried they would start after my ovaries were removed but didn’t have that issue,

I spent one night in the hospital mainly because I lived 2hours from the hospital and I have chronic back pain and wanted to have pain meds available since position in surgery aggravates my back. The surgery pain wasn’t too bad however be prepared that you bleed for a time after surgery. I was able to slowly walk laps around the unit a few hrs after surgery.Even though my uterus was removed I seemed to have some sort of cramping for about a month. Weird. Maybe from scar tissue? It does take several weeks to heal inside where the upper portion of your vagina is closed off. My doctor let me know when it was healed enough to have sex. I think the dryness I have is from taking Tamoxifen not from the surgery.

Due to inactivity compared to my regular exercise routine I gained a little weight but lost it after resuming my regular exercise. Good luck with your surgery

Toyamjj

Thank you Alice! and thanks for sharing the website, its like you read my mind I was hoping that there be a site similar to this breast cancer site. And interesting about the dream! Thats great to know, Im so worried I will dry up down there, I still feel young and I don't want to no longer be able to satisfy myself or my husband. Ive read a few horror stories on here about being dry as a dessert, sounds so scary

Toyamjj

HI Veeder, Thanks for responding to my post! Im happy to hear you lost weight once you got back into working out. Being on lupron I've had the hardest time losing weight and was hoping the silver liniing to the surgery was being able to come off Lupron and then maybe Ill be able to lose the 30 pounds I've put on the past three years since diagnoses.

AliceBastable

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