Thank you for sharing this with me! What sort of hysterectomy did you get and what type of surgery? You can send a PM if you’d rather not share it here. I am very interested in hearing about how other women have fared. How long was your recovery?
I have felt uncomfortable the last few years with sex, at times. I have painful pressure in some positions, but thankfully all of my partners don’t mind switching around during the deed, and usually they will do that without prompting because we’re up to acrobatics or whatever.
I have no problem posting about my hysterectomy...it was a total hysterectomy. Removed the whole uterus plus the cervix and the Fallopian tubes. My ovaries remain in me, doing their thing.
My uterus was too gigantic to remove laproscopically or vaginally, so it was taken out with full abdominal surgery. The idea of abdominal surgery definitely scared me, but it went totally fine. The incision was VERY long because my uterus was so enlarged--the scar goes all the way from my pelvis to above my belly button. But it healed fine and is very faint now (the surgery was in April 2022).
I was worried about the removal of the cervix...like I had never really thought about my cervix before. But, I was worried, like, it's connected to the vagina so do I need it to feel like myself? Is it involved in sex or orgasms maybe? Would it hurt to have it gone?
And the answer was...no, it didn't hurt at all to have it gone. Sex is BETTER without my cervix there (deeper penetration can happen without the cervix getting banged into). My orgasms are unchanged and still excellent (the muscle contractions of an orgasm did not involve the cervix). AND I never have to get a pap smear again. Cannot get cervical cancer!
My recover period was 6 weeks as mandated by the doctor, but I felt pretty fine after 2 weeks. That was 6 weeks in which I could NOT have sex at all (no penetration) because the surgeon stitches up the place where the cervix was connected to the vagina and you do NOT want anything to go wrong with those stitches healing. I was not allowed to drive or lift things during those 6 weeks, most for the incision/stitches to heal.
I have to say, I had very little pain during my recovery. I just took Advil and Tylenol in a prescribed rotation for a week and did not need anything stronger. The mild pain was mainly from the incision and stitches healing. I didn't feel any internal pain--honestly all my organs felt like they were rejoicing to have those giant fibroids gone. Any recovery pain was nothing compared to what my period cramps had felt like.
And, within a week or two, I was very, very horny (meaning I felt pretty healthy and well). So that 6 weeks without sex was LONG! I did not have any orgasms at all during those weeks because I didn't want to contact the muscles and mess with the stitches, although my doctor thought it would probably be okay after the first two weeks as long as there was no penetration at all.
I was constipated for a few days after the surgery, which was the most annoying side effect, and I had to take a laxative that resulted in weird gross poops that were hard to clean myself due to my lack of dexterity/turning my torso while my abdominal incision healed. A handheld shower hose was helpful for that!
My abdominal incision oozed little drops of blood for a few days, which was normal but I found disturbing. Similarly, my vagina spotted drops of blood for a few days (from the stiches that closed up the end where the cervix had been). That was normal, but made me nervous because I had to watch out for increased blood which could mean the inner stitches had ruptured which would mean emergency surgery...that never happened, it was fine.
And I shall never again have a period. Never again even slightly worry if I might be pregnant.
The only complication I had was that I spent too long enjoying resting propped up on pillows in bed...it hurt my neck to the point that I needed physical therapy on my spine and neck muscles. Now I sleep very flat and my neck is better!
Because I was able to keep my ovaries (which the surgeon thought would happen but wasn't sure until she performed the surgery), my hormones are normal and I will still go through menopause in the future (but without any period stuff). It's been a little strange to have a monthly hormonal cycle but never to be quite sure where I am in the cycle because I don't get a period...like when I feel very horny and energized that's usually around when I ovulate, and if I feel in a "low" mood it's usually when I'd be having my period...but it's hard to be sure.
In fact I was on hormonal birth control for so long that going back to my body's natural hormonal cycle has been a big change. Mainly, a huge increase in my sex drive (or rather, my sex drive had been lower during the 16 years I spent on hormonal birth control, and now I'm back to the hormonal cycle I had in my early 20s before I went on the pill).
Seriously though, it is great to be able to do some sex positions that were uncomfortable when my giant tumors were in the way!
I’ve got so many, my uterus is misshaped, and enlarged. “Heterogeneous” is the word on the report, and the fibroids inside of it can’t be accurately measured. Neither can ones around the back of it, which is why they want the MRI.
Let’s get ready to rummmmmmmmble! 