Hello ladies
I have a RH booked in for the 28th January and tomorrow morning I have my pre-op discussion with my Consultant and, apart from the usual recovery questions, I'm drawing a blank at what to ask him!
Any suggestions would be gratefully received.
Wendy x
Hi Wendy
I didnt ask all I should have done at the time so it's a good idea to ask those that have been through it. Do you know what type yet - ie will it be keyhole or abdominal? That makes a difference to the recovery times. You could ask how long you will be in hospital, how long will you have a catheter in for and will this be removed prior to being sent home - mine was but I note that some ladies go home with it still in and it is removed later.
You can also ask about pain relief and post op care, ie when will you be expected to be up and moving about, how long the recovery time is expected to be and how quick will you get the results from the op.
When the time comes to go in I would advise that you take BIG pants (I got them in a size up as your tummy is swollen), nighties (I'm a PJ's girl but nighties are easier), peppermint tea (I drank loads post op and it really does help with the bloating and trapped wind which is very painful!) and lots to read, I wouldnt have been without my Kindle.
Wishing you lots of luck, it's not half as bad as you think it will be, honest!
Hugs
Cheryl,xx
Hi Wendy,
I think Cheryl has covered it for the moment.You will be able to
ask alot more things when you find out if its open or keyhole.
Also afterwards if you need to ask anything you can get in touch
with nurse.I find they are usually more interested with the stuff that
we worry about rather than the techno stuff the consultants are dealing
with.
Good luck and keep us posted
Take care
Becky x
Thank you! The plan is for keyhole surgery but he said there's a 1 in 10 chance he will have to make an incision (pretty good odds I'd say for keyhole).
Will go and purchase some big knickers tomorrow!
Wendy x
Hi Wendy :-)
Well if it's likely keyhole you won't have to ask if it's vertical or horizontal incision, you need taller pants for vertical! ;-)
Hope it all goes really well.
Be lucky!
Tivoli
Hi Wendy!
As well as the big pants you'll need tracksuit bottoms or something with a big, comfy waist to wear home from the hospital.
Are you having your ovaries out? There are some questions I wish I'd asked about the effects of a surgical menopause and how soon they would let me have HRT. Everyone's different but it hit me pretty hard and I wish I'd been more prepared. I also assumed they'd slap a patch on me straight away because some do. Mine said I had to wait at least 2 weeks! (By the way, I don't regret having them out even though those first few days were very hard for me.)
It is important to ask questions about what your particular health team will do as they are all different. There's lots of variation in terms of what they do with catheters, for example. Mine made me keep it in for 10 days and yet I know someone else who had it out the day after the op.
Good luck with it all!
Kirsty xx
Totally agree big pants big tracksuit bottoms peppermint tea or cordial and also simple shower gel/soap for showering after...
hope all goes well
take care
helen
Hi Kirsty
They have decided to keep my ovaries (I'm 36 and he said I have a good 12 years use out of them). Apparently they'll take the catheter out by 6am the next morning!
Wendy
The next morning? Wow! Catheters are not much fun so that'll be nice. :)
I hope it goes really well for you!
Kirsty xx
