Tomorrow is surgery day! Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Best of luck on your surgery tomorrow!!  I think having it on St. Patrick's Day is a sign of good luck 

I had such an easy surgery using the DiVinci robot.  My surgeon didn't have me do any bowel prep - just nothing to eat after midnight.  I had a total hysterectomy but no lymph node sampling at around 1:00 p.m. and I literally danced out of the hospital the next morning around 10:00 a.m. after I urinated on my own.  They gave me Percoset but I didn't need it.  If I would have had to, I could have gone back to work in a few days.  I was prohibited from driving for two weeks and longer if I was taking the Percoset.

I was supposed to meet with my surgeon a few weeks after my surgery for the biopsy report but I thought I had UTI the next week so made an appointment with the PA.  They called back and told me the doctor wanted to see me the next day so I went in to give a urine sample and he told me it was a lot more serious than they originally thought.  I had Stage II, Grade 3 UPSC and he wanted a CT scan to make sure it hadn't spread.  I prepped for the CT scan the next week and thankfully, it showed nothing.  He told me there was a 50/50 chance he had gotten it all when he did the hysterectomy but to be on the same side, he recommended six rounds of chemo.  I made it through three.  The first two were easy but the third one was awful.  I believe a fourth chemo would have killed me.  My liver reacted badly - my live enzymes were way off, I started to have terrible night terrors, my blood sugar skyrocketed even when I wasn't eating, my legs and ankles swells up, my blood pressure was in stroke range - all signs of liver failure.  I went to my GP the day before my fourth scheduled chemo and she said my body probably couldn't take another chemo.  My oncologist did not offer to reduce the dosage, change the chemo drug or go to a weekly dosage as other women's doctors on this board had.  He just stopped it.  I had seen him the week before when he removed my infected port and told him how sick I was (I was in a wheel chair because I could only walk a few steps on my own because I was so dizzy and my feet were numb) so it wasn't like he didn't know.  I also had no feeling in my fingers and the left side of my face, was nauseous and had uncontrollable diarrhea - just miserable.

I had my first of many three-month followups last week.  I had some spotting and was concerned.  My PA did a vaginal exam and said everything looked great - no sign of cancer.  She though the spotting was from some little pieces of scar tissue that had broken as I became more physically active.  Today, 14 weeks after my last chemo, I feel pretty good.  It took six weeks at wound care to get my port site healed.  I still have the neuropathy in my fingers and feet and my feet feel like they're on fire at night but I start physical therapy next week.  My hair is starting to grow back except for a few bald patches (Taxotere can cause permanent hair loss) and my finger and toenails which had fallen off are starting to grow back.  I'm still having some stomach problems but it's getting better.  My eyes still water a lot but that's getting better too (another side effect of Taxotere).

I was considered NED (no evidence of disease) when I had my hysterectomy so it will be six months on March 30th and I plan to celebrate.  I know UPSC is an aggressive cancer and I hope between the surgery, the chemo and my own immune system, it's gone for good.  But, I'm also a realist and would not be surprised if it rears its ugly head in the future.  When and if it does, I will deal with it but I doubt I would ever go the chemo route again.

Love,

Eldri

I had the same surgery as you, but as you know everyones experience will be different.  Being laparoscopic recovery was pretty quick, pain was minimal and I only took pain pills (Norco) for the first few days then switched to Motrin.  I highly suggest a compression belt, this helped tremendously with the swelling and gave support.  Hospital sent me home with it, so ask if they don't.  Probably was a week or two before the real soreness subsided.  I was moving around and driving after a few days and felt fully recovered after four weeks. The biggest discomfort was trying to lay in bed the first few days, so i did find it more comfortable in the lazy boy chair.  I had no throat pain. I had my pathology report review at my two week surgery follow up with Gyn/Onc (stage IIIC1/Grade 3).  Dr. had me recover a full six weeks before starting treatment, which day one consisted of both chemo and radiation.  My advice is to relax and don't push yourself, try not to be too anxious on when you receive results. I know it's hard as your life/plans are on hold while waiting.  Praying for a successful surgery, recovery and good results.

Nancy

I did not have a sore throat at all.  My catheter was removed as soon as I was taken to my room after recovery and I had no problems peeing.  I did take some pain pills that night in the hospital, but once I got home, I took half pills of hydrocodone but only at night for a couple of days.  More important for me were the stool softeners.  The worst pain for me was the gas from the laparoscopic surgery.  That was far more uncomfortable than the pain from the surgery itself.

My surgery was the first one in the morning and the nurses had me up and walking later that day.  Though I was scheduled to come home the day after surgery, I had a mild bout of nausea late that morning and they decided to keep me one more night.  I rode home in my BF's '65 Volkswagen holding a pillow between me abdomen and the safety belt.  It wasn't the most comfortable ride in the world, but it was doable. I also had an abdominal binder, I'm guessing similar to the compression belt, that really did help with support.  I walked every day at least once a day outside of my house, going a little farther down the block every day, holding my pillow against my stomach.  

The pathology was back in about a week, but my post-surgery appointment with my doctor was 3 weeks after surgery.  Frankly, I concentrated on just recovering from the surgery and was in no hurry to find out about what would come next.  In my case, chemo began 6 weeks after surgery.

One side note:  my abdomen was extremely sensitive to touch after surgery, enough so that I wore dresses for weeks afterwards.  I could not stand any pants touching the area at all, including underwear, and it wasn't just where the incisions were.  I went "commando" a lot.  This may not happen for you, but if it does, you'll know it is not uncommon.

Good luck tomorrow.  My hysterectomy was my first surgery ever, and I was extremely nervous, but it turned out not to be too bad at all.

Chris

Editgrl said:

This thread?

Here is one thread that TeddyandBearsMom started after her surgery.  You might find some helpful info there as well.

http://csn.cancer.org/node/295717

I didn't remember being the one to start it though.

My radical hysterectomy was done using the DiVinci machine; five small incisions were made. My lady parts and removed nodes were bagged before being brought out thru my vagina. I didn't have any pain upon waking up but was surprised to have a catheter and some crazy mesh underpants on holding a pad in place. I spent the night in the hospital b c my surgery was done in the afternoon. The next morning it was all about getting the catheter out, getting me up and walking and urinating. Was told not to lift anything over 10 lbs, vacuum or drive for six weeks. I took aspirin and had oxycodone if pain got bad but it never did.  I purchased a compression belt before surgery but didn't use it - it felt like it was squishing my insides instead of supporting the new "arrangement" in there. I started chemo 3 weeks after surgery - carbo/taxol every 3 weeks. My port was placed the same day as receiving my first chemo infusion.  I think my hysterectomy has been the easiest part of my cancer experience,  certainly the least painful. 

Wishing you a smooth surgery and quick healing~  

I have the robotic surgery also. The surgery is much easier than a c section and similar to the kidney removal I had 8 years previous. My catheter wasnt removed until the following day. They did release me from the hospital the following day after giving me 2 units of blood as I was severely annemic. I had no throat pain and really the worst part on being home was getting up and down from bed as no hospital bed! Really for me I felt 100% better after surgery and almost like my old self. Maybe I had been feeling so bad because of the anemia, but also my eating had been poor before surgery. I didn't have any bowel prep either just nothing to eat or drink night before. I really wasn't scheduled to meet with the dr for reports until 4 weeks later, but I must have complained enough thT they ended up scheduling me two weeks later and he gave me a copy of my report.

CheeseQueen57 said:

I'm still kicking

Well, got through the surgery. Wasn't as simple as anticipated. Surgeon ended up doing incision similar to c-section. Oh well. Longer recovery. No Florida for me. Have to stay in hospital extra day with catheter. Guess they roughed my bladder up pretty good due to previous section. But I'm not in a lot of pain, been up walking and eating. Doc says path report should be back in a week. Let the games begin.....

Cheese, glad to hear that you're doing well eventhough the surgery was tougher than anticipated. Walking helped me bounce back from my surgery fairly quickly so hopefully your experience will be similar. Sorry about your trip being postponed but it does give you something solid to work towards in the future! I hope you have a good weekend and get some rest.

CheeseQueen57 said:

I'm still kicking

Well, got through the surgery. Wasn't as simple as anticipated. Surgeon ended up doing incision similar to c-section. Oh well. Longer recovery. No Florida for me. Have to stay in hospital extra day with catheter. Guess they roughed my bladder up pretty good due to previous section. But I'm not in a lot of pain, been up walking and eating. Doc says path report should be back in a week. Let the games begin.....

CQ....happy to hear that even though surgery took a different route that you are feeling well.  I know it's disappointing to cancel another trip.  Now is the time to rest your body and mind.  I pray that you get good results and your game is a short one.

Nancy

CheeseQueen57 said:

I'm still kicking

Well, got through the surgery. Wasn't as simple as anticipated. Surgeon ended up doing incision similar to c-section. Oh well. Longer recovery. No Florida for me. Have to stay in hospital extra day with catheter. Guess they roughed my bladder up pretty good due to previous section. But I'm not in a lot of pain, been up walking and eating. Doc says path report should be back in a week. Let the games begin.....

Cheesy, I am happy to hear you made it through surgery even though they had to open you up.  Sometimes I think that's better than the DiVinci because the doctor can see everything better.  Hopefully the pathology report will be showing no spreading of the cancer!!  

Love,

Eldri