next »

[big_giant_head]

Indeed you do.  I had a cyst that weighed 10 pounds by the time they took it out.  It had completely subsumed the ovary it sat on.  Oh--no pain, either.  In fact I had no symptoms whatsoever except for the growing lump that I managed to ignore for a very long time.  No, that's not true.  I had heartburn a lot, and some of the other things that go along with carrying any large object in that general area.

My scar is nearly 9 inches long-  you can't do a laparoscopy on the Cyst that Ate Pittsburgh. 

I was pretty immobile for 2 or 3 weeks and then gradually got better.  But I didn't feel absolutely 100% better, in the sense that I could go running, lift weights, or take really long walks without that deep, deep reminder pain, for nearly two years.

But I'll say this from experience: you really only need the one ovary. 

Big giant head?  That's one big giant cyst! ACK!

It was the size of a volleyball.  I still have a copy of the Polaroid taken by the surgeon.  She thought it was pretty cool.

[big_giant_head]

all other things being equal, always go for the vaginal route.

what she said...   


:-)

[gennimom]

My scar is nearly 9 inches long-  you can't do a laparoscopy on the Cyst that Ate Pittsburgh. 

Tee hee! Sorry, but that description just tickled my funny bone. But then again, I've learned you've got to have humor about these things.

But I'll say this from experience: you really only need the one ovary. 

Indeed you don't. My daughter came after the ovary removal. Don't let anyone tell you removing an ovary reduces your chances of getting pregnant by 50%. It doesn't. The remaining ovary takes up most of the slack.

[flipper]

I really hate to be a downer, but a good friend of mine had a complete hysterectomy a couple years ago, and she is still having problems - everything from random abdominal pain to fatigue. As others have said, I think the recovery time really has to do with the individual and the extent of the hysterectomy.

[zarathustra]

I didn't have a hysterectomy either, but I had an undiagnosed case of endometriosis that had formed a "chocolate cyst" (endometrioma) around one my ovaries that ruptured suddenly on a Monday morning.  The fluid floated over to my appendix and both it and the ovary (killed off by the endo) had to be removed.  So I have a 4-5 scar on my abdomen.  I was out of the hospital by Wed., staples removed on Fri and on strong pain killers for a solid 10 days (which meant no driving) and I didn't go back to work for 2 weeks.  It took about a month before I could move around quickly, lift heavy things and even longer to feel "normal."

[big_giant_head]

I apologize for my vulgar comment earlier--end of a long day and all that.

And now I'm about to do a side-hijack of the OP's question, so I apologize in advance for this.

But: for those of you with bad endometriosis, how bad is it really?  When the surgeon did my cyst removal, she took a look around the general area and saw what she thought was an appendix just about to burst.  She took that out, too (I got a two-fer surgery!), but it later turned out that it was just endo, not an inflamed appendix at all.  In addition, I apparently had a lot of fibroids, which she removed but said would probably come back.  As I am not actually using my uterus for anything but a place holder, I don't care what my fibroids do as long as they don't annoy me.

Really, though: if I have endometriosis so bad that it made my appendix look like it was on fire, so to speak, shouldn't that hurt?  I mean, I get cramps like the next woman, but I take ibuprofen and go on about my business.  I'm wondering whether I have a very high pain tolerance or am just in utter ignorance about what my body is doing when I'm not paying attention to it.  Have any of you had a similar experience?

[zarathustra]

I apologize for my vulgar comment earlier--end of a long day and all that.

And now I'm about to do a side-hijack of the OP's question, so I apologize in advance for this.

But: for those of you with bad endometriosis, how bad is it really?  When the surgeon did my cyst removal, she took a look around the general area and saw what she thought was an appendix just about to burst.  She took that out, too (I got a two-fer surgery!), but it later turned out that it was just endo, not an inflamed appendix at all.  In addition, I apparently had a lot of fibroids, which she removed but said would probably come back.  As I am not actually using my uterus for anything but a place holder, I don't care what my fibroids do as long as they don't annoy me.

Really, though: if I have endometriosis so bad that it made my appendix look like it was on fire, so to speak, shouldn't that hurt?  I mean, I get cramps like the next woman, but I take ibuprofen and go on about my business.  I'm wondering whether I have a very high pain tolerance or am just in utter ignorance about what my body is doing when I'm not paying attention to it.  Have any of you had a similar experience?

Dang...my surgery wasn't a twofer!  I had to pay 2 surgeons! One did the ovary and endo clean-up and the other did the appendix.

I was surprised by my endo diagnosis too.  I'd get sick sometimes with cramps, especially in MS and HS, but it had improved generally, though I'd still need OTC painkillers, heating pad and a nap to get over them often.  From the size of my cyst (8-10 cm) my surgeons were really surprised that I hadn't sought out a diagnosis.  It was their opinion that I must have a pretty high pain tolerance but who knows?

After the surgery I read that often the worst endo pain comes from really small cysts which would explain my apparent high tolerance.  After my surgery I had very little PMS pain and it's gradually come back so I'm sure I have more fibroids and cysts. My OBGYN wants to do a hysterectomy but I'd like to put that off as long as possible.

[big_giant_head]

Yes, it just seems like a surgery of the very last resort to me.  If there is some serious cancer risk, then I might consider it.  Probably not otherwise.

[koda_kube]

I had one at 34 - just after the birth of my 2nd son.  I had pre-cancer at 26 and they did laser treatment so that I could have kids but the cancer came back.  They did not remove ovaries. I'm now 55.

1 week after op - very weak but like most by 6 weeks was up and about again.  I don't think it impacted my life that much - nerves around incision took almost 2 years to come back but that was about it.  I still do not do heavy lifting for fear of prolapse though.

Good Luck - you'll do fine!

[marlborough]

Just bumping this up because I finalized the details for my surgery (Aug 14th) and was delighted to see that the gathered academics here can talk about anything and are a great help.

Barring complications, it should be laproscopic and vaginal--I had some different laproscopic organ rearrangement two years ago and did pretty well, so I'm thinking positive.

And, since they could squeeze me in before the semester starts, I have an truly excellent excuse to miss the big kickoff talk on "Liberating the Authoritarian Classroom and Embracing Generation Y".  Or going to it while on narcotics, either way.

[octoprof]

Just bumping this up because I finalized the details for my surgery (Aug 14th) and was delighted to see that the gathered academics here can talk about anything and are a great help.

Barring complications, it should be laproscopic and vaginal--I had some different laproscopic organ rearrangement two years ago and did pretty well, so I'm thinking positive.

And, since they could squeeze me in before the semester starts, I have an truly excellent excuse to miss the big kickoff talk on "Liberating the Authoritarian Classroom and Embracing Generation Y".  Or going to it while on narcotics, either way.

If laproscopic and no complications, you should be able to return to the classroom (or "light duty" whatever) in three weeks. You shouldn't do anything strenuous, however, for about six weeks.

Note: I am not a physician, but I did have a vaginal laproscopic hysterectomy (I still have the ovaries) at age 39.

[marlborough]

Then my timing should work out okay.  My mother swooping down from the skies to take over might be slightly more difficult to manage.

Not doing anything strenuous is a particular specialty of mine. 

[zarathustra]

I'm glad this thread has reappeared.  My periods are (really) bothering me again so I'm pretty sure my endometriosis has returned.  My OBGYN said last time he saw me that if the endo returned, he'd want to do a hysterectomy.  I don't know if that means keeping my ovaries or not. 

I've got a lot of reading to do...

[marlborough]

Sometimes I think that over-researching just gets me into trouble--I've had a month to read all kinds of things and imagine all kinds of things when options were really much simpler.

Looks like the Dr. wants me to keep my ovaries, too, rather than do HRT at 33 (although they might shut down from the trauma of surgery and I'll turn into a raving Godzilla with hot flashes...and maybe I'm over-thinking it again!).  I really like this doctor (having chewed up and spit out a series of unacceptable ones--I do like my university's HMO plan) so I am going along with what she thinks is best.

Maybe we can have a hysterical (or hyster-less) club.

[octoprof]

Sometimes I think that over-researching just gets me into trouble--I've had a month to read all kinds of things and imagine all kinds of things when options were really much simpler.

Looks like the Dr. wants me to keep my ovaries, too, rather than do HRT at 33 (although they might shut down from the trauma of surgery and I'll turn into a raving Godzilla with hot flashes...and maybe I'm over-thinking it again!).  I really like this doctor (having chewed up and spit out a series of unacceptable ones--I do like my university's HMO plan) so I am going along with what she thinks is best.

Maybe we can have a hysterical (or hyster-less) club.

My doc wanted to take my ovaries (which had a history of not working particularly well, but no cancer issues) and I had a fit. I took some hormone treatments during the years they were trying to treat my (misdiagnosed by earlier doc) problem.  They made me really sick. So, I wanted to keep the dern ovaries and I'm glad I did (these several years later).

I went through three ob/gyns before the hysterectomy (not counting doc changes because of moving states).  The first one I almost slapped for not listening. "This is a common problem for overweight women who don't exercise."  HELLO? What part of a minimum of an hour a day of exercise don't you understand?  Want to race on a bike or in the pool, old boy?  This is the guy who diagnosed something completely different from what turned out to be my actually issues and who had me on HRT for weeks, which made me very sick and even less functional than the actual problem I did have (which was pretty bad, itself).

Always keep looking until you get the right doc!