u/Buhsephine

Hi! I comment on here a lot, but I don't think I've ever created a post of my own. With how important it is to provide a variety of experiences across the board for others to read, I figured the one year mark would be a good one to share my own. I'm going to *try* to keep it from becoming a novel since I tend towards being too verbose, but will probably fail.

I'll add some background (similar to many of the stories I see here) in a comment on this post so it's not taking up a bunch of space here.

I was 40 at surgery time on May 1st, 2025. I had a laparascopic total hysterectomy, and was able to keep my ovaries. I have never given birth. I am fat. I have skeletal dysplasia/spine issues, sleep apnea, and a connective tissue disease called Sticklers Syndrome.

I refused endometrial biopsy before surgery. That was a big discussion with the doc, but in the end he allowed it since I didn't have any clear indication of malignancy and my insurance gave the okay to skip it (this is apparently not super common).

I am already on pain meds due to other issues. He and I went in with the assumption that I'd need a bit of extra help in that regard. We set on a plan that included two weeks of oxycodone, with a taper schedule built in so that by the end of that I was taking almost none. I was given a muscle relaxant for the first 3ish weeks, Celebrex for the same amount of time, and told to take Tylenol on a strict schedule.

I had concerns about constipation since I tend towards slow gut motility. He had me start Miralax 3 days BEFORE surgery and I continued it once a day for several weeks after. This worked out well for me.

I have had many surgeries before so this wasn't a new process for me, but I still always get the dread when headed to the OR. I cried my way in as per usual 🙃

My surgery took 2.5ish hours. I am a bit of a slow waker, but was fine. I had a local anesthetic/short term nerve block given while I was under, so wasn't in horrendous pain when I woke. No throat issues from being intubated, and NO gas pain. I also did not have any bleeding beyond the first day, which surprised me.

My catheter was put in after I was asleep and removed before I woke up. I was able to waddle in and pee after an hour or so. This was a bit burn-y and felt weird but not bad overall.

I did not receive a scopolamine patch for nausea; I have had eye surgeries and closed angle glaucoma and did not need extra eye weirdness. If you have a history of eye disease, high eye pressure, or glaucoma please do mention this to your anesthesiologist. I was given Zofram instead and do not recall any serious nausea.

The ride home was roughly 40 minutes and kind of sucked. I had a small pillow (squishmallow sized) that i kept between my belly and the seatbelt. I highly recommend this.

My first bowel movement was the day after surgery, and thanks to already being on Miralax it was not difficult. I was in some pain throughout the first few weeks, but it was well controlled with meds. I made sure to drink a ton of water, and I had Carnation instant breakfast bottled protein drinks on hand for lazy calories.

My spouse took two weeks off work. He could've gone back halfway through no problem, but it was good to have help nearby. He took me on what we still affectionately call "stupid little walks" once or twice a day for the full two weeks. These started with going to the end of the driveway, and very slowly increased. The encouragement to move and the company in case I needed a steadying arm was very helpful.

We have a cat who likes to weave around ankles. I half-jokingly expect him to kill me one day. I was worried about falling after surgery because of him, and what helped was using a cane around the house. It steadied me, slowed me down, and I was able to nudge the cat/ward him off with it when needed. Highly recommend.

Pathology came back, and I had the expected fibroids and polyps, adenomyosis, a few teensy baby endo spots, and I also ended up having atypical endometrial hyperplasia. That last one was a bit sobering since I'd refused the biopsy that likely would have found it. My doc said that if a pre-surgery biopsy had come up with the results I got from pathology, he would've paused surgery planning and referred me to an gyn-oncologist. I am lucky that it was contained and not any further progressed than it was. A good reminder that there IS a reason they do those barbaric things.

I healed slowly but steadily. I started driving carefully after a couple of weeks. I had belly swelling for a long time. I don't think I even tried to wear jeans until 12+ weeks post op. Even at that point, I had intermittent bouts of inflammation/bloating when being more active. I don't recall when it went away, but it DID. Patience is so damned necessary with this, please don't hate on your body. It's working hard.

I had a hip flexor muscle that went haywire at 6-8 weeks or so post surgery. This presented as groin pain, inner thigh pain, and abdominal pulling sensations. It was disconcerting. The surgery positioning, weird sleeping positions, and restricted movement post op can do a number on every muscle in the region. If you have groin, lower back, or ab soreness it may well be something like this and not related to the actual cutting. I was referred to pelvic floor PT (had set it up before surgery anyway) and was able to get it figured out and addressed when I was cleared at 8 weeks.

I still do a supine hip flexor stretch most days. Not a good idea for early in the heal, but once your doc says it's safe, things like that can REALLY help. I also had a hypertonic pelvic floor going into surgery. Years of guarding thanks to pain can certainly impact the pelvic floor. Even without raging symptoms that I would've attributed to that, I still found pelvic floor PT helpful.

Fatigue was a constant friend during my recovery, but hit me especially hard at 4 weeks or so. The most significant impact of that was how slow and mistake prone it made my brain. I was not back at work yet, but would've been making mistakes left and right had I been, just from that. This went away slowly over time.

My doctor cleared me for external sexual stimulation/orgasm at two weeks when I asked about it. I did have a very strong libido spike that I attribute to the blood flow from healing and my nerves being so constantly busy. This is not unusual. It slowed back down to my normal by a few months post op.

I did have some weird muscle spasms during my first couple of orgasms. They were disconcerting but not painful. I had no issues with sensation.

I was cleared for lifting over 10 lbs at my 6 week appointment.

I was cleared for penetrative sexual activity and all remaining restrictions lifted at 8 weeks, with the very strict instruction to not jump into everything with both feet due to deconditioning. Penetrative sex was very carefully and nervously resumed and was pain free. It has been excellent since, and did actually improve compared to my pre-surgery sex life. I ramped up physical activity very gradually, starting with doing stuff around the house again.

I did not bounce back 100% from surgery by 6 weeks like some do and many expect, but there was steady improvement over time. I think I was feeling closer to normal at 4 months, and the rest of it has filled in over time. At a year post op, I am feeling good. My ovaries are still functioning. My physical abilities remain the same.

Two interesting and unexpected benefits for me were a reduction in PMDD symptoms, and near total elimination of the hormonal melasma I had on my upper lip. I wouldn't go into surgery expecting either of these outcomes, but I do want to note it because it was some very happy extra credit.

Thanks for reading. Happy to clarify or answer any questions you might have.

Looking for a toilet safety frame