-
Find Out More
- Abdomen
- Ageing
- Alternative Health
- Alternatives to HRT
- Alternatives to Hysterectomy
- Article Archive
- Breast Cancer
- Cervix
- Comment
- Depression
- Diet
- Endometriosis
- Events
- Exercise
- FAQ
- Fibroids
- Fund Raising
- Heart Disease
- Heavy Bleeding
- HRT News
- Hysterectomy Recovery
- Hysterectomy Resources
- Latest News
- Meditation
- Memory Loss
- Menopause
- News
- Newsletters
- Osteoporosis
- Ovaries
- Post Birth
- Press Releases
- Prolapse
- Quotes
- Research
- Services
- Sex Drive
- Social Factors
- STD's
- Surgery
- Testosterone
- Urinary Incontinence
- Uterine Cancer
- Weight Gain
- Women's Health
- Your Emotional Health
- Your Stories
Archives
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
Dear Linda and colleagues
I didn’t find your website until 5 weeks after my Total Abdominal Hysterectomy. Maybe that was my fault for not researching on the internet before my op. It would have been useful to know all the informaton available in advance and I’m surprised that my GP / consultant didn’t have a note of your website and could have directed me to it. Do you alert GPs and hospitals to your website? The booklet I received after my op – Fit for Life – is produced by the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Women’s Health. Maybe they would consider listing your organisation in their References and bibliography section at the end.
I’m very pleased to have received your daily emails for two weeks. They were encouraging and informative. I will continue to review your website for help and advice.
Many thanks
Marianne
Hi Marianne, thank you so much for your lovely comments. I have to say it comes as no surprise that you found us ‘after the event’ that is common and although we are recommended by many GP’s, consultants and hospitals we aren’t known by all. However, we do have a cunning plan or two up our sleeves to help us get a bit more exposure. Your suggestion about the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists is an excellent one too and we’l certainly follow that up so thanks. Linda
Dear Linda and colleagues,
I found your website two days after leaving hospital I had a vaginal hysterectomy and repair of rectocoele and cystocoele on the 27th September 2010. I read all of the forums and found them helpful but my lifeline has been your daily emails which I have looked forward to receiving, I have found them to be tremendously helpful and will miss receiving them. I was very fortunate to have found your website. I wish to take this opportunity to thank you for your very helpful hints and tips. I did not receive any information post op and therefore I can’t express enough how much you have helped me during my recovery.
Thank you again Anna
Anna, I’d love to say that your experience of not receiving information post op is unusual, but sadly it is all too common, therefore I’m so pleased that you found our hints, tips and forums so helpful – it makes it all worthwhile
For anyone else that would like the hints and tips and a free booklet you can find them here: http://www.hysterectomy-association.org.uk/index.php/get-your-free-hysterectomy-booklet-now/
Dear Linda and collegues,
I found your website about five weeks post op and signed up about week 7, and it was really a godsend for me. I had an emergency hista and through no fault of the hospital, there was not much info around. This website took much of the aloneness out of having the operation and the fear factor out of what had happened, and that the ‘tweeks and twangs’ I had experienced was quite normal and not to be tooh harsh on myself with thinking that by week 6, I should be up and back to normal. My only wish was that I had found your website earlier, as the two weeks of daily emails were a fountain of knowledge and had very useful tips and hints. Thankyou for your service, it certainly helped me understand and took the fear out of the post op phase, and hepled me in returning back to the land of the living. It is a wonderful service that you and your collegues provide.
Wow, thank you so much for such lovely comments Deb, you’ll never really know how much they mean.
Hi Linda and colleagues
I recently learned that I need a vaginal hysterectomy and repair and so, against all advice, “looked it up on the internet”. How glad I am that I did and that I found you! Your information and advice is reassuring but clear and to the point but with no scaremongering. I won’t be going to theatre for a few weeks but I now feel better prepared and knowledgeable. I live on my own so your clear advice on what I can and can’t do six weeks post op is invaluable as I can now plan the help I need and get my support team in place. (Little do they know yet!)
Thanks again, best wishes for the new year to everyone involved in your organisation amd all your followers!
Jane Fraser
Why thank you Jane, that is a lovely compliment and I’m really pleased you shared it. Linda
Dear Linda and colleagues
I’m very pleased to have recieved your daily emails for the last two weeks,the information given was reassuring and encourageing. I had a total abdominal hysterectomy and it was helpful knowing my limitations and not feeling guilty about what i can and can’t do. I’d just like to pass my thanks on to you and say how much it really helped Elaine Day
You’re very welcome Elaine, I’m glad it’s been helpful. Linda
Dear Linda and collegues,
I am due to have my Hysterectomy on the 11th April. I knew a fair amount about what the operation and post-op care would entail as Im a District Nurse and visit patients to provide aftercare and support. However, I didnt know about your website until a friend of mine recommended you. I am so glad she did!!! I have learnt so much and the tips have been so useful and I realise that I didnt know that much at all!!! I feel much more prepared for my operation now and will visit your website regularly after for tips and support. Also, I feel it will help me in my job as I now have more of an idea of what my patients are going through and how to help them. I will defiantly recommend your website to them.
Thank you sooooo much and keep up your fantastic work.
That’s always a positive move Michelle and I’m so glad we’ve been able to help a little too
Your website has been an invaluable support. I think I was quite knowledgeable about what was going to happen to me before the op, but afterwards I was expecting too much and the various parts of the website have helped me accept what was happening.
I will make ongoing use of the site to support myseff and others. Many thanks.
Irene
hi there, i had my hysterectomy last Friday the 25th of feb, i went in the hospital at seven in the morning really nervous indeed ,i was put to bed ,all these differet people came to see me asking different questions ,if i had this or that wrong with me ,i said no to mainly everything ,someone checked my blood pressure which i am sure was quite high ,nothing to eat or drink all the morning! i went dont to operating theatre at 1.30 in the afternoon , i did not have a pre med as i do not like the after effects ! i had a epidural in my spine which was very painful indeed ,it was recommended as i would not have so much pain after the operation, the actual operation took two hours , i have a full hysterectionary including a fibroid which the specialist said was getting bigger ,so that has gone now , it was causing me to bleed ,the drs said if i did not have the operation it would get worse,so i hummed and arrd ,.any way its done now , i was up out of bed next day , iwas back home on Sunday, so was only in the hospital 48 hours which is good going.i have beenlosing blood but is easing off now ,and still sore in my belly ,i have my stitches taken out on Monday 7th which will be nice to get rid of them !as it is they are staples not stitches.i feel a bit unwell but that is only natural isnt it ? appetite is not too good ,just do not feel really hungry , but i am eating what i can , a good excuse to lose some weight .the only thing that is bothering me is i keep forgetting certain words ,and how to spell them ,would that be the after effects of the injections i had ? by the way i am 70 will be 71 in April .
Doing well then Jeanne eh!
Dear Linda & Collegues,
I thank you for your daily help these last two weeks, some of the hints have been very helpful to me.
I think it is wonderful that this help is available to women undergoing hysterectomy.
Please keep up the good work.
Love &Light
Rose
xxx
Hi Matina, thanks so much for your lovely comments and I’m really pleased we’ve been able to help. Linda
Hi there ,i had my hysterectomy four weeks ago today, it was a full one .i remember when i came round after the operation i said i am not having that done again! I must be the only one that has not had much trouble, though i did think i was never going to stop bleeding for a few days, but that has all gone now, and no pain in stomach,though i do occasionally feel light headed when i go out! but i think that is the after effects. i m getting about more now, but am not doing too much in doors, i have a very good friend that looks after me ,which is hard to get these days! and he is a male, he did all my hoovering ,washing shopping, lifting heavy things ,most of the cooking.
I bought your book on the hysterectomy which i have found very good, and still refer to it now and again,there is one tip i can give to women that have had this operation; don’t rush into things, take it as it comes the pain will not last for ever if you take it easy,just put your feet up and make the most of it! good luck to you women out there!
Im having a LAVH with everything removed on 23rd may, and may I say a massive thank you for your e-mails. The web site is invaluable to me. Im not worried about my op any more!! I shall keep reading every day and hopefully i will be able to join in the next week or two, and chat about my concerns and experiences with all the fantastic ladies on the site.
THANK YOU.
You are very welcome, glad to have been able to help Jane
Dear Linda,
I have recently done a Hysterectomy(complete) i went to your website and download a book that was so informative, Linda i must say i knew absolutely nothing about this surgery.Well since the 17th of march everyday i look forward to read your hints each day and i certainly gained a wealth of knowledge , this has also helped in my recovery, i am still on my way and i believe i have done well with your input . Thanks a million Linda.
You’re very welcome Mazie I’m glad to have been able to help.
I bought a couple of items from the online shop – the tummy band and the support panties – they’re lovely and soft so they don’t irritate the scar area. The tummy band makes an amazing difference, it reduces that feeling of downwards pressure and allows you to walk more naturally – I find it removes the impulse to clutch at my tummy with my hands and reduces the feeling of soreness and pulling on the stitches when I move. I don’t wear it “unfurled” as the website shows it, but double it over so that it’s giving snug pressure around the lower tummy.
My order reached me in two working days. I did go looking for a similar product in the high street chemists and couldn’t find anything like this!
What brilliant feedback Caroline, thanks and that’s a great tip about doubling it over and one to share with other users perhaps. I hope you don’t mind but I also added it as a review to the shop as well. Linda
Hi Linda Thank you so much for your daily emails which are helping me each day to understand what is happening during my recovery of total hysterectomy which I had on 14 April 2011. The information is so helpful, and I feel better for it. Many thanks again Rosemary
You have given me so much information to help me prepare for my total hysterectomy. It was a shock when the Dr said I had to have one and you have been a friend giving me such sensible and down to earth advice. I know the association will be there for me over the next few months. Thank you
Why thank you Michelle, what a lovely thing to say and it’s great that you think we’ll be there for you and be your friend. It can feel quite isolating when you know no-one else who has had a hysterectomy.
Dear Linda and co
I had my hysterectomy and repair three weeks ago, I was discharged from hospital with a packet of paracetamols, an infection and high blood pressure within 48 hours of my operation. To be honest I didn’t know what I should or shouldn’t be doing. I had terrible constipation and was to be honest very concerned!! There was “no need for a follow up appointment” and well meaning people give very conflicting advice. Luckily I found your website by accident and it really made me feel better just reading about other peoples experiences. although I did find the abbreviations confusing! The e mails were really useful too, I wish I had received your “Step by step to recovery” sheet earlier though as I discovered that I was doing far too much too soon. Having it in black and white and written in a down to earth way helped to show other people too the care that I needed to be taking. I think not having a wound to remind me makes others and myself feel capable of more than is sensible.
My only regret is that I didn’t find you sooner but as I wasn’t expecting a hysterectomy I wasn’t looking for advice !!
I would definitely recommend your site to anybody having a hysterectomy
I will really miss the friendly e mails
Thanks a million
Bernadette
ps My hint is to take arnica (homeopathic) for a week before the op as it is a great aid to healing
Thanks for the lovely feedback Bernadette and we will be sending out newsletters again shortly so you may find you don’t have to miss us.
Oh, and I love arnica too – I find it really helpful after the gym!
Dear Linda and friends:
I had my (total) hysterectomy in October and your reading your site, the booklet, the forums helped me prepare.
I feel like a different person – and in a good way! I am fitter, stronger and happier than ever, and all my friends and family have commented on how much better I look and more relaxed, content and confident I seem. Thanks to your site, I did not fear the operation or the recovery, or after recovery. I would have been very anxious about some of the usual, temporary side effects had I not known that they were usual or temporary! And although I didn’t push myself too hard, I was doing a lot more than I thought was possible from the day after my operation…I had previously thought I’d be in hospital for a week and bed-ridden for 6 weeks or more!
Aw shucks Melissa, it’s lovely to hear that we’ve been able to help you so much and even better to hear that you are a ‘different person’ too – it certainly comes across in your writing.
Had tah op 4th aug inc rem of ovaries due large cyst + appendix with tumour attached and part tummy flap.luckily all proved benign. 6wks up thought all would be back to normal but not happened .exp anxiety [bad] sharp like pins-needle not continuous. have had 6wk check and disharged now how long can i expect these symptoms to last? very concerned about the anxiety/depression attacks.
We are all given 6 weeks as a magical date and it rarely is. The pins and needles are associated with healing and may continue for several months but they are a good sign. As for the anxiety that will be associated with something else so I’d suggest you talk with your GP.
Dear Linda and Co.
I had my hysterectomy 4 weeks ago. I discovered your website 2 weeks after my opp and have found it invaluable. I really appreciated your emails. Just when I was feeling low, bored and guilty that I should be doing some housework, I received an email from yourself. The email told me to see this period as a gift to myself. It completely changed my frame of mind and my recovery has come on leaps and bounds, thanks to this email! I also found reading the comments on the forums very useful. I often spent hours reading the forums! 101 Handy Hints for a Happy Hysterectomy is a brilliant book which everyone who has had a hysterectomy must buy, it was worth every penny! Everyone who is having a hysterectomy should be made aware of your website. Thanks for all your help and support!
You are very welcome Bocho and thank you so much for your absolutely wonderful comments. It’s always a pleasure to know that we’ve been able to help when women need it most.
Thanks a lot 4 all de mails u sent me within the past two wks. I had my hyeterectomy & cystocele repaired on the 21st of June 2011. T was a vaginal procedure & it was suceessful. I stumbled into ur web address a few days after my surgery. Glad to let u know that de tips I got from ur mails helped me overcome my fears, cos they helped me return to my nomal life. It made know am not the only woman who has done this surgery.
You are very welcome Carole – glad to have helped
Please define a term or give info: hysterectomy potbelly. Asked the doctor and he said he had never heard the term????? Thanks.
It is like a pouch of skin that can occur over an abdominal scar and is caused where the two sides are stitched together – it can look like a little pot belly
Thank you Linda and all the team for such a lifeline. Like a lot of others, I didn’t discover or register with you until after my hysterectomy, pelvic floorrepair and tvt. How I wish I had! Your info is so much more relevent and in-depth than anything I managed to prise out of any of the gynae team and your daily e-mails really helped me in my physical and emotional recovery from surgery. If only I had the chart earlier both my family and I would have known what I should have been capable of at each stage of recovery. I am definitely going to print off your poster and ask my GP if he’ll display it. All women need to know how to access your service!
Thanks again xx
You’re very welcome Wendy and thanks for such lovely praise – it’s always good to hear that we’ve helped in some way
I found your site a week after my hysterectomy. As I ended up having an emergency Hysterectomy I did not research it prior to my operation. I was discharged from hospital two days after my feeling quite vulnerable and with very limited information. Everything had been a bit of a whirlwind event and I really did need more information and support. I found you site by chance and think it is wonderful and loved the daily emails for two weeks, I even found myself looking forward to turning the computer on to receive them. I firmly believe all hospital staff should be made aware of your site and suggest patients to look at it to see if it is for them. I am now six weeks post V hysterectomy and have returned back to work as a Specialist Nurse. I am quite tired at times but feel great to be getting my life back to normal. My only question now is of a suitable exercise regime as I previously exercised three times weekly with weight classes and step etc. I have found no information on if there is anything I should completely avoid and just going by trial and error until I see my consultant which is not for over a month. I have tried Zumba and have enjoyed feeling like im getting back to normal.
Keep up the amazing work with the site as I found it a true God send x
I would like to thank you so much for this invaluable site. I found it by chance after reading your article in Prima magazine 3 weeks after having my abdominal hysterectomy. I found your daily emails full of information and I found the one that stated make this time a gift to yourself really helpful and took this on board. I am now 6 weeks post op and would say it has taken this time to really start and feel a bit normal although I still know my limitations and I am not going to risk overdoing it and pay for it at a later date.
I have a few tips one is to use a travel kettle for making cups of coffee it is just the right size to fill and pour and to buy smaller cartons of milk that you are able to lift. The other thing is for constipation use Ortisan Fruits and Fibre cubes this is really good and does not pain you as the laxative that I was given on my discharge from hospital.
The only thing I am not sure on now is information on natural / herbal remedies instead of taking HRT. I am 47 years old and my GP and Consultant do not want me to go on HRT I would be grateful on any advice on alternatives.
Many thanks again x
Wow, thank you for your lovely comments and I’m glad you found us after reading Prima too