Period on Surgery day

I wore a super sized tampon during my surgery - you're only in there for a couple of hours. When you wake up you can ask to go to the bathroom - ask for your bag to be on stand by when you're in recovery.

You're allowed to wear your own undies into surgery - I was too fat for their stupid paper things. Let's face it - if the worst comes to the worst, they just cut your undies off anyway. No great loss! They can't force you to do anything you don't want to do.

Good luck!

ashlash wrote:

hey Ladies, I am due to have my period on the day of surgery and seeing as it is my first days, it will be heavy!! How is this going to pan out? I guess someone will change me like a baby?!! how embarrassing....

has anyone else been in this position?

Hi ashlash,

I was unlucky enough to have light spotting start five days before my surgery and then continue for another 9 days after.

The nurse who helped me get dressed initially told me to wear my own undies underneath the paper ones - I'm assuming that was to protect them during surgery.

When I was about to go in to surgery, a different nurse who was checking all the pre-op paperwork asked if I was wearing the paper undies. I explained that I was and that I had my undies on too, and she asked me to take them (and the liner I was wearing) off and to roll my undies up and place them under my pillow. She said not to worry about what might happen down there in surgery, they deal with things like that all the time.

I was quite embarrassed when I got wheeled into surgery and slid across on to the table to then have to retrieve my rolled up undies from the bed I'd been laying on.

When I woke, I was completely undie-less and still had my own undies rolled up under my pillow.

As with most things you read on here, it seems to really depend on where you are done and who your surgeon is as to what their procedure and recommendation will be. Maybe if I had a heavy period, they would have advised differently again.

I told my surgeons nurse a few months beforehand (i'm like clockwork!) She said the same thing: no tampons, wear a maternity or overnight pad, your own undies and they will help you change it if you need them to. But just let them know :)

Again, each to their own, but I'm with Gottarhyme with this one. I'm a nurse and midwife so I am dealing with women's intimacy and privacy every day that I work. I am more than happy for clients to tell me ANYTHING, however that doesn't mean that I necessarily want or need to hear about everything. If you're having your stomach operated on I don't want or need to know about your menstrual cycle, but if you choose to disclose it to me I would probably make a note of it as part of comprehensive documentation more than anything. People seem to think that doctors and nurses need to know everything about every body system at all times. We don't. I often wonder why on earth people feel the need to disclose so much personal information to me. An emergency is extremely rare. If doctors and nurses really needed to know it would be on the pre-operative checklist along with "do you have loose teeth, caps, crowns, hearing, aids, allergies, and so on. After all, theoretically 1 in 4 women of reproductive age are menstruating during a surgical procedure.... It isn't on the checklist, because it's not relevent! And you definitely won't need someone to change you. You should be up to the toilet within a few hours....for too many medical reason to go into here.
But if it makes you feel better, tell a nurse if you are menstruating and wear whatever feminine hygiene product you feel most comfortable wearing. She won't mind.

My period arrived, unexpectedly, the day before surgery.
I told the admissions nurse, she said to wear a pad, not a tampon as if there is an emergency, they don't need to have something extra to deal with. I was also allowed to wear my own cotton undies...although, I would not have fitted into the provided paper undies anyway.
I am glad I told the nurse, and she did put it on my form. Your surgeon needs/should know about it I believe.

Yep, nurses see everything, bless them! Although a bit different as I would have been helped by midwives, after my 2 c sections, I lay there helpless for a day or 2 with nurses regularly changing my pads. The thought of it before the surgery was horrifying, but after the surgery, you really dont care!! Nursing staff are very professional with anything they deal with :)

Great advice though to let your nurse know, and get their advice.

I had my period for surgery and am also heavy so used a tampon and pad. I didn't tell staff that I was menstruating and just asked to use the toilet before I was taken into theatre at 3pm and was up by midnight to use the toilet, brush my teeth and shower whilst I was in intensive care. 9 hours is longer than ideal but many people use tampons overnight for 7-8 hours with no issues. I have for the last 25 years! The anaesthetic seems to slow the flow as well. So try not to dwell on it.
Best of luck for your surgery.

I was due on the day of surgery and sure enough there it was. I had already talked to the admissions nurse about it during my pre-op assessment a few days before. She said not to wear a tampon cos it will be too long before you can change and she said to wear my own cotton knickers and everything would be cool. You'll be fine, they deal with menstruating women all the time in hospitals lol.

I had the same problem but because I am on the pill, I skipped the sugar tablets & kept taking it so I didn't have that worry. Would this be an option?

Damn lady stuff!

You poor thing, ashlash. As if us female sleevers don't have enough to worry about!

As gottarhyme says, the operation is much further 'north' of there. And as D'Girlz suggested, just tell the nurse who helps you prepare for surgery. You will probably be advised to wear a fresh pad (use a super, maternity or overnight one for extra security if you are worried). You might like to ask if you could wear your own undies instead of the paper ones.

After the surgery, you should be up and about in time to change without help. If not, I'm sure the nurses have seen/done it all before, so try to ignore the embarrassment. Maybe you'll be really lucky, and your period will arrive late.

Very best wishes.

MiddleWoman

Haven't had a period for 12 years, so you are probably right, D'Girlz!

I wouldnt wear a tampon as it will be more than 4 hrs before you could change it. You are better off with a pad.

As your surgery is no where near that part of your anatomy, I don't think that it will be a problem. Wear a tampon and the delightful paper undies and no one will be the wiser!

You can, of course tell the admissions nurse who will advise you. I think they will have a procedure in place, but as I said, it is no where near the site of the operation, so no need to fret, or be embarrassed.

hey Ladies, I am due to have my period on the day of surgery and seeing as it is my first days, it will be heavy!! How is this going to pan out? I guess someone will change me like a baby?!! how embarrassing....

has anyone else been in this position?