Update from the newbie

I'm so sorry you're going through this and getting so many mixed messages. I had my hysterectomy over five years ago. It was laparoscopic and honestly, I danced out of that hospital 20 hours later. The surgery and recovery were so easy. I pray it is that easy for you!

Love,

Eldri

I come back to this board because I remember this feeling and want to help others who are in this early, scary period.  I have reminded many women that receiving a cancer diagnosis can cause something like post traumatic stress disorder.  If you read the symptoms at say, the Mayo Clinic website, you are feeling many of the symptoms.  It helps to know that there are others who experience this too.  I did.  I had anxiety and actually had to change the place where I slept for awhile so that I could relax.  This unknown time is very hard.  We all hope that you get good news.  Pathology reports are hard, even for experienced pathologists.  My diagnosis changed after my slides were sent to gynecological pathologists.  I never knew they were so specialized.  You are doing everything you need to do.  Antidepressants don't work right away so remember that when making your decision.  They take awhile to have their effect.  Anti anxiety medication works right away.  Your family doctor might be a good place to go for help with your anxiety.  There is lots of information here about recovery from the hysterectomy et al.   I found it very easy and I took some narcotic pain medication for a couple of days so I could move a lot.  You can talk to your family doctor too about. your concerns for anticoagulants.  Or maybe your opthamologist.  They sometimes can help when a gynecological oncologist might not know all the options.   We are always here if you need someone to talk to.  The board has been kind of quiet lately, but hundreds of women check it everyday, even if they don't say anything.   Keep in touch and good luck tomorrow

good luck today, woodstock.  take a breath and know that you are doing everything to get this taken care of.  please come back and let us know how it goes.  

Hello Woodstock99,   I am a stage 4 B Figo 2. Endometrial cancer survivor, I was 2 years NED April 2021.  I had 6 chemos carbo taxol.   i had a 12x15 cm tumor in pelvis which chemo reduced in size and lung Mets. And omentum Mets too.  I had a laproscopic robotic hysterectomy Jan 16 2019. Spent 2 nights in hospital. Some pain at first.  Was ok once I started walking and moving. surgery on wed. Home by Friday.  At grocery store by Sunday. And drove to follow up appt on Tuesday. If it's a laproscopic surgery. You will be up and feeling better in a few days! ? your surgery goes well for you !  please keep us posted about your laproscopic  hysterectomy !  Sincerely Yetti 

woodstock99 said:

Thank you all so much.  I

Thank you all so much.  I leave tis page open on my desktop and try to rememebr to check in but am just overwhelmed.  Betwehen trying to keep up with work for now and what seems like constanmt barrage of calls and messages from various meidcal entities my head is spinning.  The scan was ok.  I kind of had a melt down when we first got to the imaging facility in the waiting area after drinking the barium and then agin when I walked into the scan room.  Lukcily it was over quickly and I am drinking lots of water to get that constrast out of my system.  I am going to try to have somewhat of a "normal" weekend and we are going to dinner with another couple tomorrow night and it will be nice to have Monday off.  I ordered some things on Amazon today and have more to egt.  The surgeon's nurse called me this mroning after emailing me about 4 pages of what to start doing or not now 2 weeksout up until surgery and then some post op stuff.  I was surprised to see the paperowkr say no work for 4-6 weeks but I imagine that varies by perosn. and what you do and we are still working from home.  I really do not know what type of surgery I will end up having so I supposed it could be the full open one and need to go into it knowing that's what may happen.  My surgery is at 7am and we have to be at hopsital  at 5 but then in the paerwork she sent me it said I had to start drinking gatorade something at 3am.  i amy not go to sleep at all the night before.  Next up is pre-op testing by an inetrnal medicine doctor yeusday afteernoon. apparenty since i am over 65 i can;t snkea by with easy pre-op tests that I did for my breats usrgery in 2016, thyropid surgery in 2019 and D&C/hysterroscopy 10 days ago.  then a prelim video call with genetic couselor next friday morning and a covid test a week from sunday.  i really appreciate all of you.  i hate that this site doesn't send notifications when someone responds to your post or comment so you know there is a new message.  wishing everyone a safe and ahappy and healthy holiday weekend.   

I am an RN and have never heard of this.  They ususally want you taking nothing by mouth  at least 4-8 hours before surgery so it might be a good idea to confirm that is what they want you to do.  I forgot to mention that I had laparoscopy and then an open incision so I had both wounds and my recovery was very easy.  I hope you enjoy your dinner out and can take a vacation from worry!  Keep in touch.  You can do this.

woodstock99 said:

More info on the drinking of

More info on the drinking of the gatorade at home beforee surgery.  ERAS - Enchanced Recovery After Surgery 

 

 I’ve always heard that I could not eat or drink anything the night before surgery. Is that different with ERAS pathways?

Yes. Under conventional medical care or surgical care, patients are asked to not drink or eat anything at midnight before their surgery, even if that surgery may be 10 or 12 hours later. With ERAS, we do ask that you not eat any food after midnight, but we do allow you to drink clear fluids, such as water, Gatorade, Sprite, even black coffee with no cream or sugar. We allow you to drink those to your comfort level up until two hours prior to your surgery. Many patients in the ERAS program are also asked to drink carbohydrate-rich drinks, such as Gatorade.

The clear fluids that you're allowed to drink serve a couple of purposes. First, they keep you more comfortable. Instead of having to wait 10 or 12 hours to have anything to drink, we allow our patients to drink those fluids up until two hours before, and they come into surgery more comfortable. Second, it keeps our patients more hydrated.

The carbohydrate-rich drinks serve a different purpose. It’s like running a marathon. The night before a race, marathon runners often “carb load” to get their bodies ready for the stress they're going to experience during the race. We're doing the same thing for our patients. We're getting you ready for the stress your body is going to experience during the surgery. All these recommendations are in line with our National Anesthesia Society guidelines. In general, the goal is to be safe but also to keep you comfortable and optimistic heading into your surgery.  

as well as hydration with electrolytes. I just had two surgeries back to back, one for cataract and the other for carpal tunnel and trigger finger. Both needed twilight sleep. I was instructed to have the gatorade at four hours prior to surgery, and also two extra strength Tylenol at the same time to help with post op pain. I needed no other medication for the carpal tunnel other than Aleve for one day. ERAS also suggests that they use the compression legs during surgery. I also had them for 12 hours post hysterectomy. Another thing they do now is give you heated gowns to keep you warm enough during surgery, but sometimes they hook them up after you are asleep. My hysterectomy was easy, I had very little pain except when rolling out of bed to a sitting position, but you still need to heal internally for 6 weeks so they want you to not lift and take it easy. I needed one day of pain meds, then I used Aleve or Tylenol. If you need the full abdominal procedure it will be like a C-section which requires a 6 week physical recovery. I have had two, 40 years ago so my knowledge is not at all current to what they do today. Good luck to you!

Denise