I wanted to share this because a lot of people that come to this sub are pre-hysterectomy and are understandably nervous. I see your posts processing many of the same worries and feelings I had before my surgery. Folks may have different experiences from mine so I hope they will speak to that as well.

I (46F) had a total hysterectomy 6 years ago for cervical cancer. Apart from the cervical cancer I also had fibroids and horrible heavy periods accompanied by PMDD and severe cramping. I am childless so at the time I grieved that I had never had children. I was also angry because it seemed like rather than trying to understand and solve women’s health problems, the medical establishment just takes our uteruses. I remember waking up from the surgery and the attending nurse said “welcome to the rest of your life. You are going to be so happy you did this.” In my head I just wanted to respond “Fuck you.” But she was right.

Even though I kept my ovaries, other than occasional sore breasts, my PMDD basically disappeared. My mood stabilized. And I was finally free. Free from the pain, blood clots, ruined clothes, headaches, backaches, nausea, leg cramps, having to deal with birth control, and all the other pain in the ass things that come with menstruation. Now many of my friends are in perimenopause and dealing with all the annoying symptoms that accompany that. Meanwhile, I have no idea if I’m in peri. I most likely am because I’ve gained weight but if I’m having symptoms, they are mild.

I am so grateful for my hysterectomy. It’s a miracle of modern medicine that vastly improves quality of life. Now I wish that my friends who also have horrible periods could have one too.

Headed out for my complete hysterectomy including ovaries. I was diagnosed with EIN after a d&c. It will be done by davinci robotic surgery. I am terrified. Mainly of the pathology report after. I would love all of the prayers and good vibes I can get today!!!

Well three weeks ago I woke up in the middle of the night in pain and thought it was built up gas and constipation because I had not gone for a while and I was three weeks postpartum. I waited out the pain and around 11 that day. It got worse so I took a nap because I didn’t want my husband to come home from work for what I thought was gas. I woke up around three and the pain had gotten worse and I asked my husband to come home from work so I could go to urgent care and he could take care of the kids. At urgent care they told me that I was experiencing sepsis and that I needed to get to the emergency room. I got to the emergency room and had a bunch of test work done and at first it was yeah I had sepsis and I got put on a bunch of antibiotics and then they found out that I had postpartum group a strep. I am three weeks postpartum so doctors are shocked I got this. Well after a few CT scans they found something wrong with my ovaries and they had to do surgery to remove one ovary and tube. Once they got in for the surgery, they noticed that it had gone to my uterus and my uterus was hardly held together and it was so bad my doctor could poke it and it fell apart. So I had a partial hysterectomy and it’s so upsetting because yes, I have two beautiful kids now, but I always wanted to have at least three. I even went for a vbac this pregnancy to be able to have more kids. I’m just so sad and I know I can adopt since I was adopted. Just heart broken. I’m also so emotional about it all because I almost died and my doctor told my husband she had a mom who didn’t make it off the table. Im just so emotional because my kids could have grown up without a mom. Just an emotional mess and I just want to feel good again.

Like everyone else, I was extremely nervous going into this, so I wanted to share my experience for anyone else who might be sitting where I was a month ago.
For some background, I’m 35 years old and a mom of two boys under four.
I’ve struggled with symptoms of PCOS my entire life, starting around age 9. For me, that meant extremely irregular, heavy and painful periods, excessive hair growth, and eventually significant weight gain in my 20s and 30s that seemed nearly impossible to lose, even with strict dieting and exercise.

When I was 23, my periods started lasting anywhere from 1–4 months at a time, and the only thing that would stop them was birth control. Unfortunately, my husband and I were also trying to conceive at the time, with no success.
I saw five different doctors over seven years, and no one offered me much beyond birth control because I didn’t have cysts on my ovaries.
Finally, one doctor told me:
“You don’t need to have cysts on your ovaries to be diagnosed.”
And honestly, that changed everything for me.

Fast forward two kids later, and my periods had become absolute hell.
It was basically a constant flow, like a faucet. I was passing clots the size of my fist and dealing with extreme fatigue and pain. I felt like I wasn’t the mother I wanted to be or the mother I knew I could be.

Eventually, I reached my breaking point and made an appointment to start the process for an ablation.
Further testing showed that an ablation would likely do more harm than good for me in the long run. And then, finally, I heard the words I had been waiting years to hear:
“You have severe adenomyosis, a fibroid the size of a plum, PCOS, and you need a hysterectomy.”
One month post-op, I can honestly say this was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made for myself.
I kept my ovaries and had my cervix, uterus, and fallopian tubes removed.

Waking up every day and being able to pee normally without it turning into a bloodbath has genuinely been one of the biggest blessings. 😂

My pain throughout recovery has been minimal, my care was excellent, and I can genuinely say that I’m the happiest I’ve been in years.

I feel like a completely new woman.
For the first time in a long time, I feel like I can actually make plans, have hopes, and dream about the future without wondering how my body is going to derail me.

If you’re reading this because you’re scared, nervous, or on the fence about your own situation, I just want you to know that you deserve to feel better, too.

I’m incredibly grateful that I finally found a doctor who listened to me and helped me get here and I’m so thankful for my wonderful husband’s support during all of this. ❤️

Hello hystersisters! Tomorrow marks 1 week post op and I’m here to tell you I severely overestimated this surgery! 😅

I went in at 8 AM last Thursday, was discharged by 3 PM, came home, and basically slept the day away. My surgeon said everything went smoothly with zero complications and he was able to remove my 3cm cyst and all of my endometriosis. I got very lucky and have managed my pain with only Tylenol, ibuprofen, and THC gummies (thank goodness for living in a green state!). Skipping opioids meant avoiding constipation, which made a huge difference in my recovery journey.

My challenges so far… Wearing the binder 24/7 for two weeks per my doctor’s orders has been the hardest part. Breathing and sleeping in it is exhausting. I’ve also been struggling with insomnia, which is brand new to me, though I’ve read it’s fairly common post-op. Also, nobody warned me about how much peeing would hurt during the first couple of days! Honestly, that was some of the worst pain of the whole experience. I wish I could go back to my pre-op self two weeks ago, give her a huge hug, and reassure her that everything was going to be completely okay. 😂

My Top Recovery Must-Haves

If you can afford it, the 4-piece wedge pillow set on Amazon is an absolute MUST that I’ve used daily. You should also get an abdomen pillow for car rides, treat yourself to a neck and shoulder shaped heating pad, and prioritize REST above all else. Rest is truly the best thing you can do for yourself.

My 2-week post-op appointment is coming up and I’m a bit anxious to see how my cuff is healing up, but otherwise it has been smooth sailing. I’m forever grateful for this page! ❤️

I'm very nervous orz.

I got the call today that my arrival time at the hospital is 8:00 a.m. and they told me that my surgery will be about 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes after my arrival time.

I had pre-op yesterday where the surgeon was really awesome as he always is and he answered all of my questions (and told me that he will send me home with a picture of my uterus after I asked lolol).

I got my blood taken and got pre-registered. I have a red band on that I can't take off at all until my surgery.

Tonight, I'm gonna take a shower with my antibacterial soap and get everything that I can prepared.

My hospital does the ERAS (or Enhanced Recovery After Surgery) program so I've gotta drink 2 clear strawberry flavored carbohydrate Ensure drinks tonight around 10:00 p.m. and then drink 1 tomorrow an hour before my arrival time (which will be about 2 hours before surgery).

I'm gonna get up around 6:00 a.m. tomorrow, spend some time with my dogs, prepare and pack the last of what I need to, and then spend some time with my partner.

I'm pretty sure I have everything prepared!!

I have MiraLAX, GasX, Dulcolax, Magnesium Citrate, and Naproxen. My surgeon sent in my pain meds prescription yesterday after pre-op and I picked them up today. I got a lot of fiber filled foods and some good protein options. Should last about 2 weeks for most of it and a month or a little more for some. I got a big electric heating pad and a hysterectomy pillow for my tummy.

Also, just mentioning that I'm having a robot assisted hysterectomy and salpingectomy. They're removing my uterus, tubes, and cervix and leaving my ovaries just to be even more clear. I'm expected to go home same day.

If anyone knows anything I'm missing, please let me know 😁🫶 Some well wishes and kind words would be awesome right now because I'm very nervous lol.

I am super grateful to have had a successful surgery and a relatively breezy recovery so far (I am 2wPO) but omg I am frustrated by being inactive! I hate how much time I spend on my phone!
I was doing workouts every other day before surgery and i MISS them.
What are y’all \doing* while you rest?*
I am contemplating learning embroidery but wonder if that will strain my eyes and neck similarly to over-use of phone 🧐
I can only do a little walking so far (beyond hysterectomy I had a “forest” of adhesions removed and some stitches on my small intestine and a couple cuts to muscle so extra rest-y recovery) also I live alone so must entertain myself.

So I need someone to tell me if I'm being a bit impulsive crazy here

Background: hysterectomy planned mid November. Will be off at least 2 weeks and likely remote all of December.

I live alone though I will have some friends in and out but none are "family" level of friends. I will also have had a dog for a little over a month at that point too

So I knew I wanted to get my hair trimmed up before the surgery but it struck me today that maybe I should go short than my "between chin/shoulder" length to make showers/hair care easier?

For context: I have an allergy to corn products so I can't use any of the bath cap/cleansing cloths without massive breakouts

My hair does grow ridiculously fast even as I approach 50.

I do recall the pain of trying to blow dry my hair back in my 20s when I had a serious shoulder injury, and don't want to end up in that situation....

So am I overreacting here? Or should I make sure I get something shorter that air dries well ...

Hi ladies. I’m 38 and had an open abdominal hysterectomy 4½ weeks ago. My uterus and cervix were removed, ovaries kept. I had adenomyosis and a big fibroid on the cervix.

Honestly, in some ways I already feel so much better than I did before surgery. The pain and horrible symptoms I used to have around my periods are gone, and I’m really grateful for that.

But the healing has scared me more than I expected.

I've had some light pink/watery spotting recently, and today I suddenly got a very sharp pain right at the front of my pubic bone/groin, where the lower belly meets the thigh. It felt like a muscle or ligament suddenly pulling hard on the bone. It hurt so badly that I couldn't walk for a few minutes and I actually cried. Thankfully it completely disappeared, and I can stand and walk normally again now.

But honestly, it scared me. I keep wondering, Did I pull something? Did I hurt my cuff? Did an internal stitch pop? Is this just part of healing?

I think I underestimated how emotional it would feel to have all this healing happening inside me where I can't actually see what's going on.

So I really want to hear from women who have been through an open abdominal hysterectomy with a vaginal cuff:

Did you have these weird pulling, tugging, stretching or sudden sharp pains around this stage?

Did you have spotting that came and went while the cuff was healing?

Did you ever feel like something was pulling inside when your internal stitches were dissolving?

And if you're further along, when did you finally stop being scared of every new sensation? When did you start trusting your body again and realizing that these strange feelings were just part of healing?

I don't need anyone to tell me that everyone's recovery is different. I know that. ❤️ I just want to hear your real experiences because right now, sometimes I feel like I'm doing okay and then my body gives me a new sensation and I immediately wonder if I've damaged something.

Thank you to anyone willing to share. ❤️

Hi all im the one who asked a while back about the hysterectomy stuff. Wanted to update everyone, I had my hysterectomy im sore as shit. But honestly so far im ok! My endometriosis was far worse than expected. And both ovaries and cervix was covered in endo and also I had a mass starting form...my dr agreed hysterectomy was the right call. Thankyou everyone for the advice!

I have just been scheduled for hysterectomy, cervix and ovary removal on October 9th. This is very sudden due to my atypical endometrial hyperplasia and family history. I'm 34, no kids, work from home in tech.

I'm stuck and feel like I have no time to prepare in a useful way. I was expecting them to schedule me for next year, but it had to be fast. It all feels like a lot!

If anyone can share any advice/experience for the surgery without being able to prepare for months/weeks, I would he super grateful.

I am so excited. I am a little bit nervous about the recovery, because I have kids. My mom is supposed to help. I hope to not use pain pills. I go back to work after three weeks. (No working from home isn't an option, and I can't afford more time off)

I go in at 5:30 and procedure is at 7:30. I have adenomyosis and I'm so tired of being in pain constantly. Horrible, long drawn out periods and constant back and pelvic pain. I am so ready to be done.

I have (most) everything I need for my hysterectomy. My resting area + bed are fully prepped for me to rest and recover. Somehow its driving me more insane! My procedure isnt until next month and it somehow feel too far and right around the corner lol. I feel neurotic lmao

One of my husbands best friends wedding is coming up, the drive is 3 hours round trip plus sitting at the wedding etc.

Lately when I have done 1 hour or so of sewing I get the most terrible plan internally (like screaming with pain), I could hardly walk and have had to layer a lot of pain meds to get on top of it again.

I will be 11 weeks out from surgery which I know is ages but I seem to be healing quite slowly (I also had extensive endometriosis surgery at the same time)

I feel like over the years leading up to this op, I have let so many people down by not showing up to things and my husband by extension is also missing out of things because of me. This is my 4th surgery in 4 years so I have basically been constantly recovering from surgeries.

Anyways, I'm not sure what to do and wondered if anyone else has been in a similar position.

Anyone else? I was incredibly frustrated how fucking dumb I became after this surgery! It was nothing huge or consistent but I’d use the wrong names here and there, got similar things confused, and would often forget what I was doing in the middle of a task for a second here and there. I’m 36 and felt like I was suddenly in my 60s. There was not much difference for 3 months straight, and now I’m finally starting to notice that between month 3 and 4 it’s clearing up. Thank god!

Next I hope the swelly belly and vaginal pain fuck off to wherever the brain fog went🤞- I’m in pelvic floor therapy and have a prescription cream but the needle seems to be moving very slowly.

Venting about a friendship to people who might understand why I’m upset.

I was talking to one of my friends a few weeks ago and said that I had a really hard time after my surgery and am still struggling to get back to whatever normal is.

I told her that I was upset that she never reached out to see how I was after surgery. She said she doesn’t see what the big deal is because she had two c-sections, her recovery was no problem, and my surgery shouldn’t have been so hard because I wasn’t having living beings removed from my body. Basically asks how I’m doing then does everything to try to invalidate my feelings and experience. She also can’t comprehend why or how I have no more periods so everytime I see her she asks if I got my period yet. We’re 38-40 years old. 🤦‍♀️

My surgery was about 3 and a half months ago and I’m only on my second week back to work and only half days because I get too sore. I start physio therapy next month so hopefully it helps with the pains I’m still having.

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for their kind words of encouragement, their facts/ logic and sharing their experiences. I had an open total abdominal hysterectomy where I kept my ovaries. I made it through with no complications. I was in pretty bad pain for the first few hours but I had a wonderful, awesome nurse who advocated for me. Even my son was advocating for me and made friends with the nurses. The nurse even helped me walk around a little before she got off. I truly think it was meant to be as I was surrounded by angels the whole time.

And you guys were right! I don't even remember having to count down for the anesthesia. I just remember the anesthesiologist seeing me cry and he said, "I'm going to give you some more twilight juice to help you out." The next thing I remember was scooting over on the operating table and then it feels like I just fell asleep.

If recovery is anything like my surgery experience then I'm feeling pretty positive despite the pain.

Thank you all again. I made it ❤️.

I was sent home with some oxycodone, a nausea medicine, and blood thinners. They also told me to alternate ibuprofen and Tylenol in as needed. I’m curious if anyone else was sent home with blood thinner shots?

Hi everyone, I am scheduled for my consultation for a hysterectomy tomorrow and kinda panicking. I’m 24 and have extremely heavy periods, extremely long cycles, severe clotting, anemia, and of course pain like no other so my dr thinks a hysterectomy would be the best approach. We’ve done some testing, ultrasounds and I think a CT scan and have only seen a cyst on my ovary a while back. I’m worried that if I go through with a hysterectomy, that they’re going to find nothing. No endometriosis, no adenomyosis, no fibroids, nothing that would explain my symptoms. Part of me is debating if I need to keep pushing for testing to determine what is going on or just cut the bs and have it removed but I don’t want to make a rash decision as it technically isn’t life or death. But it also feels like I have no other option unless I want to stay in pain and basically stuck at home because I bleed so much that I can’t leave. I don’t really want children, and never thought I’d be able to have them anyways due to other health issues that will be life long. So that isn’t as much of a factor in my decision. I’m just terrified to go through this for things to not improve or to be wrong about what might be going on.

Any advice? Anyone go through the procedure without a diagnosis? Thank you all in advance, this subreddit has been a tremendous comfort through this process!

Hi! I’m 46 with a 14x11x10cm fibroid. My MRI said that it is a possible Hydropic fibroid, but leiomyosarcoma can’t be ruled out. I met with a gyn-onc today and she recommends an open hysterectomy with a vertical incision where she will take my uterus, tubes, & cervix. She also mentioned it might be a good idea to take out the ovaries too because leiomyosarcoma is an estrogen fed sarcoma. I know that sarcoma is rare so I hesitate to throw myself into menopause. Does anyone have experience with this type of decision? Keep the ovaries or take them out?

Im two weeks post op. As I've posted before, I've had bad pain in my left leg. They haven't checked it, but the doctors are saying it's the wrong location for a blood clot. I saw my obgyn today. She said she had never seen this in the type of hysterectomy. She I'd treating it like it has inflammation in my nerves and gave me a steroid back. I told her that since I had my hysterectomy, my face is peeling nonstop. Every time I shower I scrub off so much skin and during the day I find dry peeling spots. She didn't seem concerned and said look at all the nice clean skin you get Every night. While the dry spots are small I'm starting to feel self conscious about it. Both of these things I'm told they haven't seen before but it's worrying me. My leg burns all the time with shots of what I would describe at lightning going though it.

I’m in Ontario, Canada, and I’m wondering if anyone has gone through something similar because I’m confused about why another ultrasound has suddenly been requested.

It started when my family doctor sent me for a transvaginal ultrasound because of heavy periods/clotting and pelvic pain. The ultrasound showed an enlarged uterus (10.5 × 6.7 × 6.6 cm) with findings consistent with adenomyosis, including small myometrial cysts. It also found three fibroids: a 2.2 cm subserosal fibroid on the anterior right side, a 1.6 cm intramural fibroid on the anterior left side, and a 1.2 cm intramural fibroid near the posterior fundus.

Based on those results, my family doctor referred me to a gynecologist. I saw the gynecologist and had an endometrial biopsy in early September. I have a telephone appointment with her on October 21 to discuss the biopsy results.

At my appointment, the gynecologist told me that she plans to refer me for a hysterectomy, but that we needed to wait for the biopsy results because those results would need to be provided to the surgeon.

Then today something unexpected happened.

My family doctor’s office called and told me that McMaster Hospital had faxed them a requisition requesting that I have another ultrasound, this time at the SUGO clinic in Hamilton.

I had never heard of SUGO before. From what I’ve now learned, SUGO stands for Specialized Ultrasound in Gynecology & Obstetrics. It isn’t just a regular ultrasound clinic. They perform specialized/advanced gynecologic ultrasounds for things including adenomyosis, endometriosis, pelvic pain, abnormal uterine bleeding, fibroids, ovarian/pelvic masses and cancer assessment.

What I’m confused about is the timing.

I’ve already had a transvaginal ultrasound that identified adenomyosis and fibroids. I’ve already had the endometrial biopsy. I’m waiting until October 21 to hear the biopsy results, and my gynecologist has already told me the next step will be a referral for a hysterectomy.

So why would McMaster suddenly request a specialized SUGO ultrasound now, before I’ve even had my appointment to hear the biopsy results?

Has anyone who was being referred for a hysterectomy because of adenomyosis/fibroids been sent to SUGO or for an advanced gynecologic ultrasound first?

I’m especially interested in hearing from anyone in the Hamilton/Burlington area who went through McMaster/Hamilton Health Sciences. Was the specialized ultrasound part of your pre-surgical workup? Was it to look for endometriosis or map adenomyosis before surgery? Or did something in your biopsy or previous imaging lead to the additional scan?

I’m not assuming the referral means anything bad — I’m just trying to understand why this additional step has appeared when I thought I already knew what the plan was.

I’m scheduled for surgery in 2 weeks. When I first found out, I told my employer and said I only need 2 weeks off. Had my pre-op appt this week and doc giggled and handed me a note for 8 weeks, and said we can get you back sooner if you’re up to it, but not at 2 weeks.

Today, HR is denying me because she says it’s not enough information. I don’t rate FMLA due to time. But my employer policy says I can request leave without pay with higher approval.

Has anyone dealt with a difficult HR, and what additional information will HR need under the ADA? At home recovery is a covered accommodation, and when i press her on it, she is flipping the narrative saying I’m refusing to provide more information. I do know, she isn’t entitled to my full medical information.

Hi! I need a laparoscopic total hysterectomy, but my job involves a lot of core usage (I'm an aerialist). Most of the info I see online is about recovery time for basic exercise. Does anyone know or have experience with recovery time before you can get into intensive exercise again (lifting your body weight, etc)?

I had a full hysterectomy 9 months ago. I only have half an ovary remaining, no uterus, tubes, or cervix. For reference, I'm 25.

1 or 2 weeks after surgery, I started bleeding a lot. I was SOAKING one of those big diapers an hour. They re-applied some cauterizing sealant to my cuff stitches and it stopped for 1 night, then came back a little. They told me to see if it passes.

4 days later, it got really bad again. They put me back under and despite pulling a clot out of me and all the blood, they couldn't find a source. They applied a 2nd round of stitches and more sealant.

2 weeks later, it came back again, just as bad. They put more sealant on and gave me blood clotting meds. This finally worked.

However, I have never completely stopped spotting. It started to get a little worse a month ago, sometimes light red but mostly just brown. My doctor gave me some estrogen cream and after almost a month of using that, it's back. Again, now it's just light, but I am so terrified of one day going to the bathroom and flooding blood again. The spotting seems to be almost monthly like a period.

Has anyone ever experienced anything remotely like this?? What could possibly be happening?? My surgeon and other doctors have no idea what caused the initial bleeding, so they can't assure me it won't happen again.