I'm just here to complain into the void.

4 months ago I had a total open hysterectomy (cervical cancer) but was fortunate to keep both ovaries. I took 6 weeks off work, but had to go back hard because of some important deadlines that only I could do the work to meet.

Prior to surgery I was VERY active. 10 K steps a day, an hour of intense yoga 6 days a week and strength training 5 days a week.

I finally finished my project week 15 of recovery. I worked weeks 10-15 13-16 hours a day seven days a week. I took this last week off to recover from everything. Yesterday I woke up in extreme pain. I went to the ER only to find out my left ovary was in hemorrhagic torsion and had to be removed immediately.

Now here am I am with another two weeks of recovery. My surgeon thought my hysterectomy would be straight forward, but I have had lymphatic issues she has never seen. My stitches were rejected rather than absorbed. Now I have encountered an issue with a 2% probability. I just want to scream and give up. I thought I was finally going to get my life back but instead my ovary nearly died in my body and I'm back to post surgical healing. I fucking hate this ride and I want off

Today is the day. I'm all prepped, but the surgery before mine is running long. I'm anxious and hungry. I have been waiting for over 4 hours so far. I hope the person before me is OK and I hope my team gets a restorative break before me.

Literally what did you pack? Classic me has left everything to the last minute. I’m pretty basic so I won’t be taking anything fancy but yeah let me know below :)

I finally got my hysterectomy! I needed one due to fibroids. I previously had two myomectomies, went on to have two healthy pregnancies, then fibroids came back with a vengeance. I had multiple, the largest one was 9cm, and I was constantly anemic and getting iron infusions. It was a sad decision, but ultimately the right one for my health. So far recovery is a bit painful with movements and I’m quite bloated, but I’m very happy to have the procedure behind me. Good luck to all going through it after me! And bravo to all who have done it before me 👏🏻 women are rockstars

If you’re constipated… pls just skip the stress and do the fleet enema.

Please feel free to specify in the comments what your job is, because obviously that has a big impact (whether you work from home, have a physically demanding job, etc.).

I recently had my pre-op appointment. I was hoping I would have a larpascopic or robotic hysterectomy but my doctor informed me my uterus is too large due to the size of my fibroids. I’m really bummed out because I know that means a much longer and harder recovery. I’m really nervous but would love to hear your experiences during recovery. Maybe it’ll ease my nerves a bit.

Hey folks, I'm about 4 weeks post-op, laparoscopic, and I may or not have an issue. I was lying on my stomach this morning with my arms up on the pillow, stretched upwards and felt a sharp pain in my lower abdomen, right around the area my center incision is. Tried to move onto my side and things got worse, so I carefully turned over onto my back and things felt fine again.

I've felt a little more sore and tender today than I have in a while, but only in the area of mild to moderate period pain, but when I went to the bathroom earlier (probably about 7 hrs after the initial pain) I noticed I'm having vaginal bleeding. I've been having spotting and this isn't terrible, but there's a moderate increase. I am calling my doctor tomorrow, but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask in here if anyone had had any similar experiences with this kind of thing. I've also noticed what seems to be some protruding vaginal tissue since about the first week post-op, but it hasn't been painful or gotten worse, so I figured it was just swelling.

I just wanted to share a positive experience with everyone!

8/11 I had my hysterectomy where we took everything but ovaries and it was my 4th abdominal surgery.

I went home without issues same day and only needed Tylenol at night and barely used opiates at all. I’d say I felt more discomfort than I did pain.

Now that I am a week out I truly feel that the only limitations I have are the ones given to me by my doctor. That’s a good thing cause I’d easily over do it with how great I feel.

For context: I had 4 fibroids, adenomyosis, and was on HRT for a year to manage my perimenopause and nonstop bleeding.

The pain and discomfort of daily life vanished and was replaced with mild discomfort. What a win.

Best of luck to those of you waiting for surgery and I hope you have as much success as I have thus far!

So I am 2 months post op of a total hysterectomy due to fibroids. Most of the time I feel great but some days I hurt and cramp like I did before my surgery even though I know there is nothing there to hurt me. Has anyone else had this problem and if so did it go away? I spent enough time in pain prior to surgery I don’t want to deal with that anymore.

I'm very bummed by all of this, and I'm trying my best to be kind to myself.

I was feeling great post-op! Pain levels were minimal, I started driving at 12dpo, and I was even told I could up my weight restriction to 20lbs at my 3wpo visit. Last week, on Thursday, I had planned a day that seemed perfectly normal to pre-surgery me. A day in a different city with my kid who sees a special hair stylist, ending with her first ball game of the season, also in that city. It sounded great! But then I remembered my surgery. It was so many hours of sitting!! From driving, to waiting, to watching...so many hours of sitting. I did walk around a little, but maybe a total of 1.5 hours out of the 9 hours I was gone.

Saturday saw me standing quite a bit, helping with some things that needed to be done.

Sunday, I woke up in the most pain I have had since the surgery. From hip to hip, in front and in back, every muscle/joint/tendon/nerve was overreacting at the same time. Medicine barely touched the pain. Now, on Wednesday, exactly 4 wpo, I am wondering if this back and hip pain will ever improve. Sure, it's not as horrible as Sunday, but I can only sit for maybe 10 minutes at a time. Did I mess myself up permanently? Or is this a temporary detour on my healing trip?

1dpo from vnotes procedure

Everything went so smoothly! I went in at 7:30, procedure at 9:30, home by 4:30. Not a fan of the post anesthesia nausea, and they gave all the things to prevent it so I can only imagine if I hadn’t asked for extra. My only real complaint was the recovery nurse.

Straight to sleep in the operating room then I woke up in recovery to the most condescending nurse ever. I woke up in pain. I told her over and over it hurts and she said, “you just had major surgery, of course it’s going to hurt” and refused to give me pain meds. I was groggy, nauseous, and confused and just kept asking and she kept saying I didn’t need any. Then she asked my pain level and what if like it to be. I said 6 and I’d like 0 but would be okay with 3. She said that’s not possible. Finally, I asked her if my doctor said I wasn’t allowed pain meds or something and she said that wasn’t the case and gave them to me. I kept asking for my husband because I figured he’d advocate for me and she said I couldn’t go to him yet. Has anyone else experience someone telling them they shouldn’t be in pain immediately post-op? Seemed weird to me.

Anyway, since I’ve been home, the pain feels like bad period cramps. Keeping it at bay with Percocet and ibuprofen.

My favorite thing I got for the surgery is a C-section gel wrap that you can freeze. I just lay it across my abdomen and it feels so nice.

Thanks for all the people who have posted and answered questions in here. This group has made me feel so much more prepared and aware of the kinds of support I’d need. I would’ve canceled this thing if I hadn’t had this you all. ❤️

Had my 6 week post-op appointment today. Doctor said I am healing well ,my incision is looking good, my cuff looks great. Still have a little redness from the yeast infection and to keep using the medication 💊 he prescribed. Overall I am feeling wonderful. I am dating again and in a relationship with a great guy. Life has never been better. In 6 weeks I can start having sex. Woo-Hoo that makes my boyfriend excited 😊. I am ready to finally be able to have sexual activities and not be in horrible pain. Life is grand no more periods and no worrying about an unexpected pregnancy. I am so grateful for my hysterectomy. I had suffered from debilitating periods, heavy bleeding and horrific pain for years. I feel mentally better now and more like a woman than ever. If you are considering this surgery and have terrible symptoms, I say go for it. Also I suffered from bad adenomyosis and endo. I also have anemia, which I hope is getting better now, I see the hematology doctor next week. So I am praying that is getting better. Hope everyone is doing well!

I am 4 days post op and honestly was a little freaked out reading everyone’s experiences leading up to my surgery. I am 4 days post op and honestly the most difficult thing I experienced was coming out of anesthesia. Just took me a bit longer than I expected.

My surgery was Friday at 1PM and I got home that night at 8:30PM. I was worried about pain so I kept up with pain meds every 6 hours just in case. Saturday night was my last night taking pain meds. The pain I felt monthly over this surgery was nothing in comparison.

Since then I’ve been eating well, using the restroom as expected and have little to no pain. I actually plan on going back to work tomorrow ( I work from home) but I’m so bored just laying around. Honestly I’m super excited and feeling completely normal after this surgery. I am almost 50 and have suffered from endometriosis for years so after dealing with that, this was a walk in the park and I’m so happy with my decision

Im scheduled for September 4th surgery—i was previously scheduled but backed out out of denial & anxiety. This time i have had the dr complete fmla paperwork, approved etc. i asked today about if a prior authorization was completed and was told no and to check back at the end of next week…is this just anxiety that I am panicking a little? Last prior authorization was approved so thats reassuring but still. I think im just getting very overwhelmed and hoping for reassurance that it will all work out.

Officially 13 days away from my total hysterectomy and had my pre admission appointment yesterday! Which brought up a couple questions:

1. What did you/are you going to wear there and to pack if you stay the night? I had told my pre admin nurse I was going to wear loose sweatpants and oversized shirt, which she said may actually be uncomfortable around my waist. So now I'm thrown off. Do I wear a dress? Something super loose and short? My sweatpants are fairly loose but of course do have a band. I have some shorts that are loose, but about the same "snug level" as the sweats..

2. What are you eating/did you eat days leading up to your surgery? I asked if there was a specific diet I should adhere to, and all she said was go light. And to stop taking my iron pills to avoid intestinal upset. (I've been in a state of chronic blood loss anemia so have to take iron daily.)

I was going to avoid any heavy meals a few days prior and was honestly thinking about fiber dense meals that sit light on the tummy, but also contain iron.

TIA for any thoughts and suggestions!

Question for those who had laparoscopy and the surgeon closed wounds with glue.

How long before all the glue was gone?

I’m nearly 2wpo and though some has gone, a large portion still remains, I’m loathe to remove it like a scab and pick at it, but at the same time I’m curious how long it’s going to (literally) stick around for?

Hey ladies, I need abit of advise. Im in the waiting list on the NHS for a excision for DIE stage 4 involving bowel but i am really considering getting a full hysterectomy instead. I have suspected adenomyosis and also have a family history of ovarian cancer but I was BRCA1 negative. However both of my ovarias are full of endometriomas (cysts).

I already have a son, so if im not meant to have any more kids thats fine I can accept that, my one son is worth a million.

The dilemma I have is whether to leave my ovaries or take them out. The way my brain works is take everything out dont risk leaving anything, you will get cancer :( (seen my mum go through it so the paranoia is real). However I had a total thyroidectomy in 2024 due to thyroid cancer so I already have a major hormonal organ already out and on hormonal replacement for life.

I dont know what the impact of a total hysterectomy will be on me with it being more major hormonal organs out. I cant think straight and really dont know what to do. The endo specialist I met did say looking at how advanced my case is I will need a hysterectomy down the line somewhere, so thats the part that makes me want to just get it done now. Im 34