Autistic Goblin

Yes, You can have a hysterectomy while being on your period

The Journey Leading Up To The Surgery

I’ll start this blog post at the beginning of the journey with a visit to my regular doctor. I was having issues staying fit because of heavy periods, and even when I didn’t have my period.. if I did a workout.. well I would start a “mini period” in between my regular cycle.

The mini period was unpredictable, as such it would cost me days of activity between the blood and cramps. I went to see my doctor and they sent me for Pelvic Ultrasounds. I had to two of them, one at the beginning of my period cycle and one after my period had ended. (I highly recommend watching videos of Pelvic Ultrasounds as they are a two step process and the second step is a bit invasive.)

This was a little hard to schedule with my period but I did get it to work. The reason for the two pelvic ultrasounds instead of one was because my uterine wall was thicker than it should be. Now the uterine wall does thicken a bit with a period cycle which is why they wanted to check the thickness of it afterward.. it was still too thick.

They did also check for other conditions with the first pelvic ultrasound, and I didn’t have anything visibly wrong. My doctor then sent me to a Gynaecologist. There was a long wait list but eventually my number came up, and I got my first appointment. My gynaecologist is amazing and listed a bunch of different options. However I was super excited when he listed Hysterectomy. I cheered (yes I was pretty loud).

I did laugh because he was hesitant to mention it as many people see a hysterectomy as something scary, or as making them less of a woman and neither is true. He also wanted to make sure that I knew that if I went through the surgery, I wouldn’t be able to have kids. Kids are nice, but I don’t want any for myself, I never have.

I signed some consent forms, and then it was just a wait for a hematology appointment as I was diagnosed with Von Willebrand’s Disease Type 1, it’s a blood clotting thing. However when I went for bloodwork my factors for Von Willebrand’s came back normal much to the confusion of me and my hematologist. She said that sometimes people can be borderline when they are younger, and as they age.. their numbers sometimes come up to normal.

However that meant that she needed my records from CancerCare (they did the original blood test and Diagnosis) and a quite a few more blood tests. The results being that yes I was borderline back then, but now I don’t have vWD.. I have a bleeding disorder of unknown cause because science just hasn’t caught up enough to identify my current bleeding disorder. I call it mystery blood.

The Hematologist then gave me some medication which is known to help those with bleeding disorders to help stop the bleeding. I take it as needed, it cut my period blood in half so I could sleep through the night instead of having to get up and change the pad frequently. I also took the medications when I had my first nose bleed which stopped me from having another two nosebleeds in the same day (which normally happens to me).

Finally I had everything done and I could go ahead and schedule the surgery. The Hematologist gave my surgeon some instructions but also said that if anything went wrong, or if he had questions, he was to page her. There was quick visit the pre-op team before the surgery for vitals checks, weight and some pre-surgery instructions.

Surgery Day

So to prepare for this day, I had to stop taking all my supplements and stuff for a certain length of time before surgery day. I was allowed to eat until midnight but only two cups of water the water next day. So I had spaghetti and protein shake the night before so that I would will full into the next day. I ended up only taking two sips of water that morning because I didn’t want to risk anything.

At The Hospital

My family drove me to the hospital, and mom came inside with me as I was only allowed one person. I checked in at admitting and then I had to wait (we were early).

After a bit of time passed we were taken to bed where the nurses checked my vitals, I got changed into a hospital gown, complete with little hospital booties. I got an IV placed, and some blood taken. Then I was just waiting for them to take me up to the OR.

Well not quite, because when they took me from the room, which is where I said bye to mom.. they took me through the hospital on the bed and parked me in a spot where I would wait some more. It had a picture on the wall of an open window with poppies outside.

After some time waiting there, I was then taken to a hallway outside the OR room. It was kind of funny because on the opposite side of me was the staff lounge. Anyways, the nurses came and introduced themselves, then my surgeon checked on me. The anesthesiologist came out to take me through what was going to happen, and to make sure that I could move my head certain ways. That was necessary as they would be putting in a tube (after I was out, but he wanted me to know).

My surgeon also took me through things, and then a nurse chatted with me for a bit before I went in. I told her I was okay but if it took much longer.. I was going to have to pee. She said not to worry as the first they do in the surgery is drain the bladder.

Into The OR

Soon I was being wheeled into the OR and everyone was making sure I was comfortable. I reminded them that I was still wearing my underwear and pad as I had my period. So they bagged my underwear and assured me it would be waiting for me after surgery minus the pad of course.

The team was amazing and told me what they were doing at all times. They asked if it was okay to put on the oxygen mask, I said yes. The anesthesiologist assured me that it was just oxygen for now and that he would tell me when he would put the sleepy stuff in.

The anesthesiologist was true to his word, told me.. and then it was like someone flipped a light switch… and I was just gone. The switch flipped on again when I was in the recovery room.. which was where I was originally waiting with the same picture on the wall.

Recovery Room

I woke up with a burning desire to pee, seriously it’s the first thought that came to my mind. I also had leg massagers on my legs. If you’ve never been a chair that massages your legs.. the feeling is a bit similar to a blood pressure cuff, a bit of pressure, movement and relaxation. I was very happy when the nurse took those off.

I told her I had to pee, and she said that was a very normal reaction but that I probably didn’t have anything my bladder. She brought me a bedpan anyway and when I couldn’t go, she did an ultrasound of my bladder to show that it was empty. She told me that by the time I got back to the original area, I would probably have to pee then.

Back To Start

They then took me back to the original area where I got my IV and stuff. A nurse came to help to the bathroom. I was very slow walking and had to lean heavily on the IV stand. Peeing HURT!! It burned when I pee but this is because there was a tube up there and the area was irritated.

Now when I was younger I rode a bike where the frame went straight instead of angling down. These were called “boy bikes” back then. I fell off the bike seat and hit my girly parts on that metal, and had burning pee for awhile afterward. This felt like that.

However, the more I went pee, the less it started to hurt. I couldn’t get comfortable sitting down though.. and I kept going pee for what felt like every 30sec. The first pee, a nurse will check the colour.. if it’s fine, then you can go pee on your own and flush after that.

Going to the bathroom with the IV was super annoying and yes I did get tangled. However I shocked the nurses with how well I was doing. My surgeon came to tell me that everything went well, and that if I felt comfortable, I could go home. I was feeling very clear headed, I could pee, I wasn’t nauseous.. so I called my family to pick me up.

My mom came in to help me get dressed, I recommend a long t-shirt/dress and avoid pants. I was using my own pads as there is some vaginal bleeding after the surgery but after a few days that stopped too. Hospital underwear is comfortable but doesn’t go well with pads that have wings. I do want to note that my throat was so dry even arrowroot cookies got all gummy and not enjoyable. (After some time at home I was able to enjoy them, it wasn’t the cookies but rather the moisture level in my mouth that was the problem).

Healing At Home

Once I was home, I had medication from my hematologist that I had to take 3 times a day for the next few days. I also took a stool softener and ate things that were high in dietary fibre. It took a full day before I was able to fart and about two days before I could poo. It’s very uncomfortable until you can do either but it’s a relatively normal thing after a surgery so I was prepared for that.

My throat was still sore for a few days after but nearly a week afterwards, I’m doing pretty well. I was up and walking after the surgery which was a surprise. I didn’t get any pain meds to go home with me because I found the pain manageable at the hospital although they did give me Tylenol before I left.

Here’s the thing.. the pain from the surgery was less painful than my period pain that I had earlier that week. The pain also lessens the more time goes on. I was able to shower within 48 hours of the surgery, although I did wait an extra day.. because I was nervous.

So that was my experience of my surgery and I’m really happy to have that done. Now I just want to be fully recovered so I can restart my workout routine!!