r/hysterectomy

My fibroids are relatively small, up to 2.6cm but have submucosal component. Then there is the adenomyosis and polyp part. I've been bleeding for months, not too heavily thanks to my bc, but every single day. I have terrible sharp cramps weekly and I'm tired all the time. I'm 44 and also in peri so have many other symptoms as well. I'm just done with all this. Am I crazy to consider hysterectomy?

For those that had a laparascopic hysterectomy, was it difficult getting in and out of bed? Would a lift recliner chair be helpful while recovering? Or did you have one and were glad you did?

I see some women saying how difficult it was to get in and out of bed, and/or sleeping in a bed was uncomfortable initially.

I'm trying to decide if it would be good to get a lift recliner. The hubs thinks we should. He said it was a lifesaver when he had one of his surgeries, but we don't have the lift recliner anymore. And it's hard for me to justify getting one for short term use ... although my hubs said we'll just keep this one in case it's ever needed again in the future.

I'm not scheduled yet for my surgery ... it's supposed to be done robotic laparascopic ... uterus, cervix, tubes and ovaries removed.

I feel like I have read so many posts where people say "I was off all pain meds, and up running a marathon day 5 after my surgery." (Little sarcasm there, but you get my drift).

Meanwhile, I'm having a lot of pain - the shoulder pain is the worst as its been incredibly sharp/shooting and will last for 30 to 60 minutes after I get up for any reason. I'm also very bloated and have pain shooting down my vagina at times (not constant but when I move sometimes).

Has anyone else had a rough recovery? I feel like maybe I'm just a giant baby when I read through most of these posts/comments saying how great people felt after only a few days.

I always forget to mention this every time someone asks what they should get as they prepare for surgery. Everyone mentions digestive aids, etc…but I never see anyone mention a bidet or a handheld shower head. Also, please get a miniature sized fan for those pesky hot flashes. They’re all so Inexpensive now, and they were so helpful to me during recovery and even now. I thought I’d make a dedicated post in hopes of reaching those I’ve missed in past posts.

Hang in there and best wishes!

I’m almost 30, I have PCOS. No endo or adeno. Just cysts on my ovaries. I had a low risk dysplasia pap smear about five years ago, it was gone six months later, and my annual paps since then have been normal.

Although I have PCOS I’m planning on keeping my ovaries because my health insurance comes and goes, it’s low income state insurance. If i make too much money I lose my insurance. Right now I’m so low income that I get free health insurance. I’m in the US. I know I would need HRT if i remove the ovaries, but it needs to be prescribed by a doctor. I can’t afford out of pocket doctor appointments and pharmacy costs at times when my insurance isn’t active.

I understand it’s recommended to remove the cervix too if you’ve had an abnormal pap. I’m afraid of prolapse and the cuff. I’ve had pelvic floor issues since I was a teenager. Bloating, constipation, feeling like I always have to pee and cant empty my bladder. Can’t have a bowel movement unless I drink a hot coffee. Pelvic pressure always. In the past I was excessively heavy weight lifting and abusing substances that constipated me. I’ve asked my primary care doctor for a referral for a colonoscopy but they denied it.

I’m scared of having a cuff because my husband bonks into my cervix pretty often. I understand it’s rare but the cuff can rip from this even six years post op. I’d prefer a vaginal hysterectomy to avoid the gas pain from a laparoscopy, I don’t know if the cuff would be best for me because I might prolapse or break the cuff.

Also worried about if I need another surgery in the future due to the hysterectomy, like cervix removed or cuff repaired, it might be at a time when I’m not covered by insurance.

I started doing pelvic floor exercises i learned from youtube. I’m hoping to go to a pelvic floor therapist after the surgery.

Just to clarify I’m covered by insurance right now, and my surgery consultation is soon. If my income increases just a little bit I will lose insurance. This probably will happen in January 2027.

Any advice is appreciated so much

Anyone have menstrual symptom’s after hysterectomy? I had mine 4/27 and I would be due for my next cycle next week but I won’t be getting it thankfully. BUT I started having symptoms as if I was getting it??

Tomorrow is the day and I can't wait!!! 45 years old and excited for relief from this torture I've endured for years.

Years of this destroying my life with adenomiosis filling inside of it and elsewhere. I say goodbye from Giving me just 5-7 days a month to feel half normal and able to do things or go places.

I want my life back and it's on the horizon my friends....

My doctor finally okayed me for the surgery, I have so much pain ofc. I cannot handle birth control, partly why I've gone to this. It gets completely impossible for me to function on it, and it gives me hives. (Have been diagnosed bipolar, I manage decently without meds as long as I avoid triggers, this being one. I'm sure that has to do with it. The bipolar meds messed me up bad as well) I also see the risks especially at a young age, I don't want kids ofc.

I am scared of hormone imbalance, that's my biggest worry. I already have hormone imbalance, I have PCOS as well. I obviously see the statistics online about up to 33% of ovary failure within years of a partial hysterectomy.

I've been dealing with it for multiple years, I don't know what else to do. Nausea multiple times a week pain almost every day, I can feel the pressure on the rest of my body. Lots of other visits to GI doctors, ruling other things out.

It's very scary seeing all the women saying that they aged 5 years after they had it though, even keeping the ovaries. They saw it on an ultrasound years ago, it's gotten so much worse since then.

I feel like it should be slightly less of a worry because part of adenomyosis is ofc too much estrogen right? Kind of gone to the point that I would rather die than keep dealing with this though, tbh.

Any info would help

Anyone else experience nausea and light headedness this far out from surgery? I felt like this for a few days after the surgery and was feeling better for a while but today I went for a walk and halfway through started to feel ill. I’m taking ibuprofen and GasX as needed only. I’ve also been experiencing insomnia which might contribute. Just wondering if this is a common symptom this far out or if I just ate something bad yesterday!

I just had my hysterectomy yesterday. I feel so much pressure but I’m so scared to poop. I took citrate a d stool softeners the day before. I pooped the day of but I can feel the gas building up. How do I get through this when I get home? What should I have my spouse pick up from the store? I want it to slide right out lol without me pushing. I’m so scared. Peeing takes forever cause I push lightly

tldr at bottom

i just got the go ahead to get my surgery done yesterday and its crashing on me what im about to do. i know i want it done- i experience chronic and severe pelvic pain for seemingly unknown reasons. tons of tests, no findings yet. i dont want to be pregnant, the thought just Petrifies me. theres no doubt in my mind i want the surgery, but im terrified of the process.

ive never had a major surgery done before (only impacted wisdom teeth removal) and honestly im mostly terrified of having an IV and the sedation, plus the possible complications and the "what-if" scenarios of the source of my pain. every time i think about the surgery again i start spiraling.

i think itd help if i was able to get an idea on what might happen and how to handle it if i heard from others that had it done. reading mayo clinic and other sites like that isnt helping me at all.

im getting a robotic-assisted hysterectomy. everything out except the ovaries. i already am experiencing menopause due to hormone therapy, but im not sure what other changes i might experience.

im scared of getting a catheter removed, ive never had one before and i know they place one during surgery, but do they remove it prior to waking up? what happens if they find endo (family history, worried that might be source of pain.)? how much help am i really gonna need afterwards? for how long? my mom will be staying with me to help me recover though i struggle with letting others help me. i want to be able to walk myself, shower myself, and use the bathroom without help. will i be able to do that?

too many questions, too much anxiety, please help.

tldr: getting a robotic-assisted hysterectomy, removing everything but my ovaries. first big surgery and scared. looking to hear others experiences just to ease my worries.

Hi 👋🏽, i hope someone can reassure me..

I had a complete hysterectomy for endometriosis/adenomyosis after 3 decades of pain. I had excision surgery and adhesions removed, and they took everything out, including cervix/tubes and ovaries. I’m now 14 weeks po and getting discomfort and dryness where my cervix was and also endo type pain in my pelvis. I was told by my surgeon that it’s impossible to get a return of endo so quickly, especially as he used a special solution to prevent adhesions reforming and even tiny microscopic endo was blown up on the screen whilst he was operating, so it’s highly unlikely any endo would have been missed. Every tiny bit was taken out. But I’m getting that familiar tugging and pulling and sharp pain again. He put me on HRT day after op (oestrogen only) and I’m wondering if that had anything to do with it? I did ask for progesterone but he said it wouldn’t make any difference to me. I’m in so much pain .. I will see him again next week, but I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this? My surgeon is an expert on endo and endo/excision surgery and I’m based in the U.K..

So, I’m 25 years old and had my hysterectomy on the 15th. I’m only five days out from my surgery, and I’m doing much better than I expected. My only real limitations are what I’m not allowed to do, such as lifting anything more than 10 pounds, and a bit of pain in my bits because I’m using the bathroom after not being able to for a couple of days. All other pain is mainly tightness in my abdomen and some slight pain on my incisions, but nothing worse than my periods, which used to make me cry every two weeks and cause excessive bleeding that required me to start taking iron supplements. Outside of that, I’m doing great. I only need to take medication at night and sleep on my back.

Last year, I had my tubal ligation, and it took me about two weeks to drive home. I was in much more pain, so I suspect that my uterus was the source of many of my problems.

Right after my surgeries, I had some complications, but those were separate from the surgery due to my surgeon’s negligence.

So, for all the people who might be on the verge of deciding whether to have a hysterectomy or not, I would say yes. It’s already a life changing experience, and I can’t wait to finally live the life I missed out on.

Who here is post-op and taking progesterone? My family doctor prescribed it to me after surgery (in addition to the estrogen patch) because he said it has benefits “other than preventing uterine changes” but he didn’t specify what those benefits are. Today I saw my gyno for my post-op appointment and he said I don’t need to take it if I don’t have a uterus.

I’ve been taking it about 5 weeks and I don’t really notice a difference other than it making me sleepy and my knees always hurt after I take it, but maybe it’s doing something I’m not aware of? Just wanted to get some opinions because I trust you all more than either of my doctors lol

I have had a couple of night terrors and auditory hallucinations since coming out of hospital. Has anyone else had similar things? Is it likely to be hormones or a reaction to the painkillers or anaesthesia?

Last night I was so certain I saw a giant rat/possum thing about to jump on my partners head. I screamed and jolted so hard that it broke me out of the paralysis and woke up my poor bf. I also was so convinced I heard my sister calling my name that I checked my security cameras... She lives 4 hours away so it definitely wasn't her

My girlfriend had a hysterectomy 3 months ago was cleared to resume normal activities after 6 weeks. We had intercourse and everything was fine (according to her)no pain until I ejaculated. Within second she was in agonizing pain couldn’t really move or breathe let alone tell me what was going on. We tried to wait it out 10-15 mins go by she mentioned this was the worse pain she’s ever experienced in her life she was like screaming crying her hands started to go numb and stiff and like a temporary paralysis her faces look droopy and eyes were twitching so we went to the ER I had to wheel her in because she could barely walk. They did a scan and looked inside and said Everything looked okay must’ve just been a muscle spasm.. we felt like it was being dismissed but we contacted the surgeon and she said to wait another month. So we did.. yesterday we tried again and went slow and took breaks she said she wasn’t in any pain at all and again when I came inside within 10 seconds the same thing happened.. and the excruciating pain last for 3 ish hours and she says after the intense pain ends it’s just bad cramps for days and it hurts to poop pee or fart.. so I’m just trying to figure out if this is normal or if there’s something seriously wrong. Oh! And yesterday- a couple hours into the pain she wanted to see if it would help if she tried to douche out the sperm with water- and as soon as she squirted it the pain intensified and she was back to screaming crying. She messaged the surgeon again today we’re just waiting to hear back.

…when I realized my clitoris is basically gone 😭 I only have one ovary, but before surgery my gyn assured me it would likely still function after. I’m 4 mpo, 45 years old, and here we are. I can’t even find it. I am still getting some sporadic ovulation pain so I figured it was still working. My libido sucked enough as it was. 😭

My surgery is Friday, and the pre op instructions I got are different than any other surgery I've had before, so my overthinking brain just wants to see if anyone got the same instructions. I'm used to hearing no food or liquids for 8 hours before surgery, but my surgeon said morning of, 4 hours before my scheduled time, to drink 12 Oz of Gatorade or clear apple juice. The instructions do apparently come from the anesthesia team (on paper with their letterhead), but again, overthinking.

I can't help it, I'll keep overthinking until I'm in the operating room going under. I did try calling the number I had for them to see with them but the patient advocate said to call the hospital, but I dont have an extension or know what section of the hospital to ask for so... anyone else get these instructions too?

(Also what's the difference between clear apple juice and regular apple juice, like, is there something specific I should be looking for on the label or the juice itself?)

I had this hysterectomy scheduled since earlier this year and I’ve been looking forward to it yet, nervous because I’ve had bad surgery experiences. Having my husband by my side and there for support gave me comfort. Then he passed unexpectedly a month ago. I’m almost positive I will have to be opened up and possibly a hospital stay due to bowel involvement. It was scary for me to think about when he was alive and now I’m on the verge of tears just writing this. I’m now terrified. How will I manage my 4 (of our 5) kids who will be in school? How do I do this if I’m in the hospital? Idk, I want to do it because I’m so hopeful for relief but it is now something I’m afraid of doing alone…god. I don’t want to do it alone…

Anyone else have a higher sex drive post hysterectomy? I’m 10 months post-op and MANNNNNNNNNN… my sex drive has been through the roof!!!! 😭