Hysterectomy!

I have be a lurker here for over two years...this is my first post. I have achieved remission with Remicade after failing with Salofalk, and Imuran. Pred got me on track, and starting Remicade has been a life saver. I get my infusions every 6 weeks, with Tylenol and hydrocortisone. Now I am having a vaginal hysterectomy, that has been put off for almost three years because of UC. I am afraid of a couple of things, one- the surgery causing a flare, two-blood clots, since I developed a DVT my first hospital stay, and three- the incredible fatigue everyone mentions, since I am already tired more than normal, and of course the concern over maybe having antibiotics, and the limited pain meds available to a UCer. Has anyone experienced any type of surgery( not related to UC) and how did it affect your UC?

I had a hysterectomy and it didn't impact my UC. I wasn't flaring at the time, however. I did have to take antibiotics for just a few days. I had it done laparoscopically, and to be honest, I never needed any pain meds beyond tylenol. In fact, I asked them to stop the meds they were giving me right after because they made me nauseous. I had so many female issues that even with the pain of surgery, I immediately felt better. It was really strange. They kept those leg things on me the whole time to prevent DVTs, and I think I took a couple of baby aspirin every day for a couple of weeks on the advice of my doctor. That may not always be advisable with UC, but I had awful veins all inflamed where they had put the IV. I had some diarrhea after the surgery but never had any blood or mucus. I increased my maintenance meds for a couple of weeks. The fatigue was there, but it wasn't too bad. It was mostly the first couple of weeks post surgery.

I was worried like you, but I felt so much better afterwards that I haven't regretted it for even one moment.

Best wishes.

Chinamom