NEW here... surgery in 4 days... and doing a hysterectomy at the same time... anyone else??

[realtorme 5]

Hello! My first post... BRAND NEW here! Hi!

I'm (almost) 48 and went in for my surgery back in September of this year. They put me to sleep, woke me up, and said "we can't operate. You have a large mass in your stomach." WHAT??! Long story short, they referred me to OBGYN and I found out I have a cantaloupe-sized cyst parked on top of my good-for-nothing uterus.

The OBGYN said she would consult with the bariatric surgeon and if her surgery is without any complications, they could both operate on the same day. She will be the lead surgeon, as the hysterectomy takes precedence, and if there are no adhesions/nothing unexpected, the bariatric surgeon will begin his procedure once she is out.

I've googled quite a bit and it doesn't seem as though there is much information out there addressing this type of procedure. I'm a little nervous but I trust that these surgeons will be safe and do what is in my best interest. But it's scary... surgery is scary, regardless.

Anyway~ that's my introduction! I'm 5'7", 260 pounds, and expect to look like a 30 year old supermodel this time next year. Or an "improved me." I'm happy either way!

[Hknread 5]

I am 8 days post-op for a hysterectomy and gastrectomy and it went totally smoothly! I‘m so happy I was able to take care of both at the same time. I was under for a little less than 5 hours. Both surgeons were there the whole time.

My biggest fear ahead of time was that my fibroids/uterus had gotten so large, it increased my risk of needing an abdominal hysterectomy a bit. I wouldn’t know until I woke up. They were able to do everything laparoscopically. I have 6 small incisions and one that is 2 cm, through which my stomach was removed.

I felt so much better than I expected after. Stayed in the hospital 2 nights. Haven’t needed any pain killers since I came home. The worst bit was bumpy roads on the drive home from the hospital.

[GreenTealael 24,864]

Interesting! Following 💙

Congratulations in advance

[FluffyChix 17,409]

Congrats and welcome!!!

[realtorme 5]

@Hknread thank you for your reply— I feel so reassured by your comment! There really isn’t a lot of info out there abouT doing both at once. To be honest, since I’ve kind of already been down this route once (being put to sleep, the JUST KIDDING!) I have not felt hopeful or emotionally prepared for the weight loss portion of this surgery. I just know I’ll go to sleep and wake up without a uterus... your post makes me feel a little more hopeful! Thank you!

[Hknread 5]

Let me know if you have any questions. I don’t react well to anesthesia, so when my doctors said both could happen at the same time, I was thrilled. Knock me out once! It helped that my surgeons communicated well and they’ve both continued to check in with me. I see one today and one tomorrow for post-op check-ups. Having talked to friends who’ve had each procedure done separately, I don’t think the dual recovery is any worse than recovering from either one by itself. I plan to go back to work next Tuesday, which will be 19 days post-op, and almost felt like I could go back this week. I work with small children who like to come running in for a hug, so I decided against that. :)

[realtorme 5]

Two weeks post surgery now and (knock on wood) everything is great! I’m so thankful to have had one recovery... I feel like most of my discomfort comes from the gastric surgery more than the hysterectomy. So thankful to be done with periods! I have my first post-op follow up appointments on Monday... happy to have the worst behind me!

[JRT Mom 919]

Whoa, you musta felt like a train hit you when you woke up. I applaud your guts! (not literally😁) It makes total sense to do it all at once as long as you can handle being under anaesthesia for so long. Glad it went well!

[Darktowerdream 419]

I think it’s a relief to have them done together, my gallbladder needed to come out and that’s when I started wondering if gastric bypass surgery was a possibility, I’d fought my weight so many years but didn’t think back then that bariatric surgery was even an option. I fought my weight alone until I couldn’t anymore. My hysterectomy was separate in 2010. My doctor did open surgery but I actually found that recovery easier and the scar less visible. Mine was for many rapid growing fibroids all over, left my ovaries but had to take my cervix due to fibroids. My uterus was retroflexed towards my spine and had a pedunculated fibroid hanging off it also near my spine.

just be aware hysterectomy can lead to issues down the road. Could be because my surgery was more extensive. It kind of changed my body shape too ... I never knew until eight years later. But likely I was more vulnerable to these issues because my muscle weakness from chronic illness.

I’m glad you were able to have both taken care of. I wasn’t sure if I’d wake up with my gallbladder removed or not. Thankfully he did, tuned out to be chronic inflammation.

I hope you have a smooth recovery.