Post-hysterectomy intimacy

Warning:  As the title suggest, there will be talk of intimate issues!

One thing the testosterone has done for me is increased my libido. A LOT.  To the point that LAST Thursday, (5 weeks 1 day post op) I called my doctor’s office and talked to the surgical nurse to see if  we could get the all clear to have sex. I really didn’t want to wait for another week.  She told me to “Go for it!” Since my surgery was abdominal and there was no vaginal cuff to worry about, there was no physical reason for me to wait if I wanted to try now.  And she was thrilled that *I* was the one initiating this.  In fact, the husband had no idea that I had called and asked.  We hadn’t even discussed it.  But I have been thinking about it SO MUCH I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask. I decided not to tell him until I got the answer because I didn’t want to get his ummm… hopes up. 

When I told him, the look on his face alone made the call worth it.  You’d have thought he’d found a Red Ryder BB gun under the Christmas tree. 

So, Friday morning, after the girls all left the house, we went for a test drive.  Obviously we took everything VERY slowly. I did notice some discomfort. Not quite sure what it was from. Something we will be bringing up with the doctor. It wasn’t a deal breaker. And for the most part…all systems were go! And quite frankly, the body is almost hyper sensitive. 

Something we have noticed that REALLY shocked us, after years of almost always needing KY…dryness is no longer an issue! WTH??  NOT what we expected!  Not what I had been told to expect!

UNFORTUNATELY, even though we were being VERY careful and gentle, the minor variation of a relatively vanilla position caused serious pain afterwards. This was from the stent trauma. All my pain was on the left side of my abdomen, where the stent had been located. I had not even take that into consideration. Never occurred to me this would be a problem. 

Sadly, it left me in a fair amount of pain for the rest of the day. I had to take multiple pain pills throughout, just to bring it down to a tolerable level.  The pain FINALLY stopped after 1:00am when I took 2 ibuprofen.  I needed the anti-inflammatory more than I needed the Rx pills. Felt really stupid for not realizing that sooner.

I am doing much better now.  And quite frankly, anxious to get back at it.  However, we decided to wait until after the 6 week follow up before we tried again.  Luckily, I guess, the husband has been out of town on travel, so I haven’t had to deal with the temptation.  And thankfully, tomorrow is the doctor’s appointment, the husband will be home and the house will be empty.  I am predicting better results this time.  At least I sure hope so. 

**Update: Doctor's visit went great.  Round two when we got home. Made sure to be cautious not to aggravate ureter site. Everything went great. Feeling so very positive about this.   

Holy Testosterone Batman!!

 

Hormones…they  certainly are interesting. I have felt on a more even keel hormonally since the surgery.  I have not had any rage issues. I have only cried about 3 times (that is 3 times within the week…not in a single day.) and I haven’t felt terribly depressed. In fact, for the most part, I have felt pretty damn good. Upbeat. Hopeful. Excited to get back to life. My guess is that the low levels of hormone pellets have prevented me from going into “insta-pause.”  This is great news for me and especially for my family. Considering, pre-surgery they never knew if they needed to hand me a tissue or run for cover.  

Although, I have been noticing SOME side effects that I can only attribute to the testosterone.  The first and most embarrassing is the increase in facial hair.  I have already had issues with this for years. Waxing and plucking are just part of the deal for me. Trust me, if I had a couple extra grand to throw at laser hair removal, I’d do it in a heartbeat. But I don’t. So every couple of days I grab the mirror and remove the stray few hairs that seem to magically appear. Thankfully, my poor husband is nearly blind, because he insists that it is not noticeable. (he’s such a good guy.)

 HOWEVER, since I have come back from the hospital I have not had a chance to stay on top of it. I’ve either been too drugged to see straight or too sore to lean over the sink.  Last night I finally got my hands on a mirror and tweezers. GOOD GOD!! I had more “stubble” on my face than my 20 year old son does! Of course this is no great accomplishment.  He is not a terribly hirsute young man.  Still, the description is accurate and it holds.  After spending 30 minutes working at the forest on my face, I resigned myself to the fact that this will be a daily task for me from now on.  God help the child that steals my good tweezers. There will be hell to pay!

Something else I have noticed in the past couple of days is that I have not been napping. Add to that, last night I was WIDE AWAKE until after 2:00am. That was WIDE AWAKE after a full day of NOT napping. After 3 loads of laundry, 2 empty cycles of the dishwasher, cleaning the counters, folding clothes, sweeping the bathroom and bedroom (BROOM. Not allowed to use the vacuum for 5 more weeks!) and some other small tasks. In my current condition that should have  knocked me on my ass. I should have been snoring before my head hit the pillow. But no, I was wide awake. Not my typical bout of insomnia where I am exhausted, but my mind is too busy to allow sleep. I was alert and clear headed.  Maybe this could be good for me once I get back to school.

One other thing I became aware of this morning, the thing that really tipped me off that it just might be the testosterone pellet…I smell like a man.  After I woke up, I went into the bathroom and brushed my hair. In the process of lifting my arm I was stunned.  What the HELL was that smell???  I JUST took a shower yesterday afternoon!  That is NOT how I smell when I sweat! THAT is how my HUSBAND smells! SERIOUSLY???!!

So...I am trying to put this in perspective and stay positive. Maybe, just maybe, my sex drive will also be on par with that of my male counterpart.  This could be a great thing for midlife marriage!  Especially if his eyesight remains bad and I invest in some Rx strength deodorant.

  

It’s all about the silver lining.