Sorry if this post seems a bit choppy. I'm so tired right now I could fall asleep on the keyboard.
This morning's first appointment went well. J drove us to the oncologist office in Savannah at Candler Medical.
The two hour appointment was actually less than the allotted time giving me a chance to stop by my old OB office to show them the baby. They had wanted to see her and requested that I bring her in after she was born to see the "end product" as they only ever get to see the babies on ultrasound. I found out I was the first patient to actually ever bring in their baby.
At the oncologist office I got to meet my arch nemesis again; Wanda. The doctor asked me to strip from the waist down so he could do an exam. I asked if it was transvaginal and he said yes. I said I thought I'd meet up with Wanda again. He had actually never heard it called that before and liked the name.
So yeah, I'm abnormal.
How many of you gals out there have been told by your OB that you'll not have endometriosis grow while pregnant?
Yeah I know there are at least a few of you out there.
Mine grew but I knew that. That lovely 4.5 cm pocket of tissue grew to 9 cm during the pregnancy while I was at JBLM. It wasn't monitored when I got to Ft. Stewart though it should have been. No it was brushed under the carpet.
So I now have not one but two, yes 2, endometriomas growing on my left ovary. Dr. R offered me surgery right off the bat to remove them. He was astounded to find out that I'm only 10 weeks postpartum and have endometriosis growing rampant. He found other evidence of endometrial growth in the pelvic cavity too.
I said to him take it all. He said he was just about to tell me that if doesn't take the ovaries too that it will grow back. I already knew that. Thank you bloggers for all that information.
He will also be taking the cervix and all other adhesions and endo he can find. Since J isn't going to be around for a few months I'll be having the surgery early next year. It can wait. I am in pain and there is always a risk of ovarian torsion if one of the cysts should twist. That went without him telling me as I had already told him I've had large cysts before.
The surgery will hopefully be done with the four small incisions that he thinks might do it. But since I had the zipper surgery recently there might be too much scar tissue and he'll have to do another zipper surgery again. I say zipper because it was a vertical incision with 19 staples in it. Dr. R. said he would have used even more staples. Great.
But he told J he would write him what ever note he needs to ensure that he gets the time off to be at home with me (lol) because he will have to care for the baby, do the house work (LOL) and prepare me meals (bigger LOL there). Sorry but J doing any of the above and getting the time off would be nigh impossible without a congress.
Next week I see my gynecologist about the bladder issue. More on that when I find out why I started leaking after the follow up appt. internal exam. I didn't leak during pregnancy or after until that day in August.
Showing posts with label laproscopy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label laproscopy. Show all posts
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Monday, June 11, 2012
Inside of Me; photos of my pelvic region
He said that I have stage 2 and 3 endometriosis. Originally I was told it was stage 1 and 2. Doesn't make that much difference to me as long as they know I have it and treat me accordingly.
I probably should have labeled the pictures as he spoke so that I could have told all you what is what. But the grey areas are the endo, the white line like things are the adhesions and the white blob is the cyst. The cyst or should I say cysts, because I just found out there were two, one was endometrioma and the other was a functional cyst. One was hiding behind the other one and both were on the left ovary. So just think, at one point I had three cysts that were roughly 7 cm each. Geez no wonder I was in such pain. I guess I'm not a wuss after all.
Good news is that I'm healing well. I'm bruised because they nicked a vein. I'm sore because well I'm going to be sore with all that crap removed from me.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Pain Update
I promised J and S that if its worse come Monday I'll call my doctor and let them know.
Its funny though it doesn't hurt where the incisions are located. No, it hurts where the uterus is and on the lower right below the ovary incision site.
When I sit down and take a breath to clear my throat or yawn it feels like something is pushing itself out like a balloon inflating and pushing through a muscle. Odd I know. But that is isolated to just the spot below the right ovary incision site.
To the right of the uterus, almost on top of it there is pain. When I touch the area getting dressed its quite painful. I wonder if that is where the adhesion was on the uterus. I know they told my spouse that the adhesion was on the top of my uterus.
If the pain gets worse I'll go to the ER. It only makes me a little nauseated. I still have troubles when bending to the right and even right now on the right side while sitting here it feels like something is trying to bulge out on the right. Sometimes, though I know I'm not pregnant, it feels a bit like a baby kicking hard. Hard to explain.
If anyone has felt anything like this let me know.
The percocet with benadryl is making it difficult for me to concentrate on anything more strenuous than a graphic novel. Yes, even reading the Grimms' fairy tales are difficult right now. I hate brain fog.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Purple, Red, and Blue
I have more bruises that I had J take photos of. Remember if you don't want to see the next photo then don't look.
I had but four small incisions and I knew I would bruise a little but not this much.
One on the left side where an ovary is.
One on the right side where an ovary is.
One way below all that bruising to access the top of the uterus where the worst of the endometriosis was.
In this photo my abdomen is still all bloated from the gas they pumped into me. I still have some of it today along with the fluid retention too. Its amazing what 4 pounds from surgery will do to make it so none of the clothing fits.
My only real worry is for J. J is getting chewed out by his SSG today for following the orders that two of my doctors, one a major and the other a lt.col. set forth for my care. The SSG called no less than three times after I was home during the 24 hr period demanding that J go back to work. Had J gone back to work and I got hurt I would have sued the SSG and I told the SSG as much. Of course the SSG started ordering me about which was twice in a three day period. Does the man not realize that I'm a civilian? I'm following my doctors orders and the doctors out rank the SSG. The man is on a power trip. I went over the SSG's head to the MSG and the MSG back me up.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
BAD NURSE
Its 0511 hrs right now on the day after the aftermath of surgery. Now I need to fill in you, my friends, on all that happened.
YESTERDAY
0400 hrs I'm up taking my medicine and cleaning up with the pre-op wipes
0550 hrs report to the pre-op sign in
0555 hrs sent down to Admissions. Why? Well they forgot to have to me do it the day before as a just in case.
0610 hrs Back at the Pre-op desk and I'm cranky at this point
0640 hrs I get called back to Pre-op with my spouse and one other patient a Col. who decided to break the rules and bring not one person with him but three. I guess he thinks he can break the rules. They let him.
0700 hrs I'm changing into my gown, footies, and surgical hat. Col's family is breaking more rules and using their cell phones to not only text, and make calls but to take pictures. I inform my nurse, Pearl. She was a nurse of mine with my old PCM when I first got here. She is a no nonsense gal with a bad bed side manner but excellent at what she does. She makes everyone at this point remember, though harshly, to shut off all electronic devices.
0720 hrs. Surgeons, Dr.B and Dr.P, have come and gone to check on me. At this point I've now been stuck 4 times in the attempts to start a line. I have good veins but one inept male first punctured through a vein on my left forearm blowing it, couldn't get the back of my right hand threaded and couldn't get my best vein on my left arm threaded either. In they send the best guy to try. He numbs the back of my left hand of which the other guy didn't do with the other hand and threads it immediately. He couldn't believe the trouble the other one was having since my veins were obviously quite visible and easy to get.
0730 hrs. I'm set, I've been joking with the staff for about an hour now in my attempts to remain calm. When asked what I'm allergic to besides the Penicillin, Sulfa drugs and Azithromycian I state "humans, because you all make me sick"...Hahaha..we all laugh. Well its true right? We cough on each other spreading germs making one another ill.
1100 hrs I'm rudely woken up by the nurse from Hell. I still don't remember her name but I won't forget the treatment from her. After only an hour in post op, I'm allowed 2 hours to recover, she rudely shakes me awake saying that I need to wake up and leave now.
1120 hrs I ask to go pee. No bed pan please. She tells my husband where to take me to the bathroom as its in a different place than pre-op. She then deserts us. I find out I'm passing blood clots vaginally. This is not okay. I was told to get dressed while in the rest room and leave after. I told the nurse, after we could find her again, that I'm not only bleeding but passing clots. She dismisses it. I ask her about my discharge instructions while J helps me on with my shoes. She tells me that the doctor has already spoken to my husband. Yes but my husband is still sleepy and didn't take notes. I ask to speak with my surgeon. Bad nurse tells me that he is in surgery and it will be another hour. I was fine waiting I told her. She insists that I leave. Fine! I start taking the tape off the pic line in the back of my left hand and she finally realizes that she forgot to take out. Bad NURSE! No cookie for you.
So it got worse. I check my meds that J picked up. I was given two meds that I cannot take. Ibuprofen will eat a hole in my ulcer quick. Bad nurse is getting testy with me for first wanting to stay longer, second for interrupting her conversation about another nurse's shoes. She wanted a pair just like them and I was obviously bothering her.
I said okay I'll leave. She offers me a chair I say no I'll walk. I'm pissed by this point. I did walk. I wanted to be left alone. I walked down to my clinic and told my nursing staff there what happened and I didn't have my ID card yet, J had it and he was getting the car. I asked for new meds but of course without the ID card I can't pick them up. They were upset at my ill treatment by bad nurse. (I left out some of the worst of my mistreatment by her in this post).
I walked the less than a mile home. I had to cool off. Walking home wasn't that bad. They sent an ambulance, fire truck and MP patrol after me. They got to me just one block from home. Really nuts if you ask me. I showed them my four bracelets and my discharge papers. They let me go. I pointed where I lived as it was easily seen by where they stopped me at. I explained to them that they were making a spectacle of themselves. (think keystone cops flic if you will).
1245 hrs I got home and my surgeon Dr.B. calls me. He is worried and upset. He wants to make sure I'll have someone at home for me. J had a class in just 15 minutes he had to attend. So I assured Dr.B. that someone would be with me.
J drove home and stayed with me but....here is the great part. His SGT called and told J he had to leave me here alone and go to his class! Yeah he did say that. J after telling him no (Dr.B. is a major and outranks the SGT) hung up and realized that yes I've been treated badly by his chain of command and the nurse at the hospital.
I've said before that family comes last in the Army and I proved it. Not only did the Col. who was going through surgery violate the rules but he got better treatment than I did. And lets not forget the SGT that thought that I could be left alone when I'm not supposed to be for the first 24 hrs.
J will report back to work today after lunch. He is going to follow the orders of my doctors.
I could have gone into more detail but then I'd would be violating OPSEC, PERSEC and probably a few other things. Suffice it to say that I'm going to try to never have surgery at Madigan ever again.
Now for the surgery; I'll make this brief. They removed the cyst on the left ovary. They removed the endometriosis that they could find and made a fourth incision to get to the one on the top of my uterus. I have stages 1 and 2 of endometriosis. Depends on where its located in me as to how severe. The stage one was on the left fallopian tube and removed with a laser cauterization technique. The adhesion endo was on the top of my uterus. If there is more in there it can wait since I'm not doing a laperotomy to get it done for a while.
Well I'm nauseated and dizzy not a good thing so I'll stop for today.
YESTERDAY
0400 hrs I'm up taking my medicine and cleaning up with the pre-op wipes
0550 hrs report to the pre-op sign in
0555 hrs sent down to Admissions. Why? Well they forgot to have to me do it the day before as a just in case.
0610 hrs Back at the Pre-op desk and I'm cranky at this point
0640 hrs I get called back to Pre-op with my spouse and one other patient a Col. who decided to break the rules and bring not one person with him but three. I guess he thinks he can break the rules. They let him.
0700 hrs I'm changing into my gown, footies, and surgical hat. Col's family is breaking more rules and using their cell phones to not only text, and make calls but to take pictures. I inform my nurse, Pearl. She was a nurse of mine with my old PCM when I first got here. She is a no nonsense gal with a bad bed side manner but excellent at what she does. She makes everyone at this point remember, though harshly, to shut off all electronic devices.
0720 hrs. Surgeons, Dr.B and Dr.P, have come and gone to check on me. At this point I've now been stuck 4 times in the attempts to start a line. I have good veins but one inept male first punctured through a vein on my left forearm blowing it, couldn't get the back of my right hand threaded and couldn't get my best vein on my left arm threaded either. In they send the best guy to try. He numbs the back of my left hand of which the other guy didn't do with the other hand and threads it immediately. He couldn't believe the trouble the other one was having since my veins were obviously quite visible and easy to get.
0730 hrs. I'm set, I've been joking with the staff for about an hour now in my attempts to remain calm. When asked what I'm allergic to besides the Penicillin, Sulfa drugs and Azithromycian I state "humans, because you all make me sick"...Hahaha..we all laugh. Well its true right? We cough on each other spreading germs making one another ill.
1100 hrs I'm rudely woken up by the nurse from Hell. I still don't remember her name but I won't forget the treatment from her. After only an hour in post op, I'm allowed 2 hours to recover, she rudely shakes me awake saying that I need to wake up and leave now.
1120 hrs I ask to go pee. No bed pan please. She tells my husband where to take me to the bathroom as its in a different place than pre-op. She then deserts us. I find out I'm passing blood clots vaginally. This is not okay. I was told to get dressed while in the rest room and leave after. I told the nurse, after we could find her again, that I'm not only bleeding but passing clots. She dismisses it. I ask her about my discharge instructions while J helps me on with my shoes. She tells me that the doctor has already spoken to my husband. Yes but my husband is still sleepy and didn't take notes. I ask to speak with my surgeon. Bad nurse tells me that he is in surgery and it will be another hour. I was fine waiting I told her. She insists that I leave. Fine! I start taking the tape off the pic line in the back of my left hand and she finally realizes that she forgot to take out. Bad NURSE! No cookie for you.
So it got worse. I check my meds that J picked up. I was given two meds that I cannot take. Ibuprofen will eat a hole in my ulcer quick. Bad nurse is getting testy with me for first wanting to stay longer, second for interrupting her conversation about another nurse's shoes. She wanted a pair just like them and I was obviously bothering her.
I said okay I'll leave. She offers me a chair I say no I'll walk. I'm pissed by this point. I did walk. I wanted to be left alone. I walked down to my clinic and told my nursing staff there what happened and I didn't have my ID card yet, J had it and he was getting the car. I asked for new meds but of course without the ID card I can't pick them up. They were upset at my ill treatment by bad nurse. (I left out some of the worst of my mistreatment by her in this post).
I walked the less than a mile home. I had to cool off. Walking home wasn't that bad. They sent an ambulance, fire truck and MP patrol after me. They got to me just one block from home. Really nuts if you ask me. I showed them my four bracelets and my discharge papers. They let me go. I pointed where I lived as it was easily seen by where they stopped me at. I explained to them that they were making a spectacle of themselves. (think keystone cops flic if you will).
1245 hrs I got home and my surgeon Dr.B. calls me. He is worried and upset. He wants to make sure I'll have someone at home for me. J had a class in just 15 minutes he had to attend. So I assured Dr.B. that someone would be with me.
J drove home and stayed with me but....here is the great part. His SGT called and told J he had to leave me here alone and go to his class! Yeah he did say that. J after telling him no (Dr.B. is a major and outranks the SGT) hung up and realized that yes I've been treated badly by his chain of command and the nurse at the hospital.
I've said before that family comes last in the Army and I proved it. Not only did the Col. who was going through surgery violate the rules but he got better treatment than I did. And lets not forget the SGT that thought that I could be left alone when I'm not supposed to be for the first 24 hrs.
J will report back to work today after lunch. He is going to follow the orders of my doctors.
I could have gone into more detail but then I'd would be violating OPSEC, PERSEC and probably a few other things. Suffice it to say that I'm going to try to never have surgery at Madigan ever again.
Now for the surgery; I'll make this brief. They removed the cyst on the left ovary. They removed the endometriosis that they could find and made a fourth incision to get to the one on the top of my uterus. I have stages 1 and 2 of endometriosis. Depends on where its located in me as to how severe. The stage one was on the left fallopian tube and removed with a laser cauterization technique. The adhesion endo was on the top of my uterus. If there is more in there it can wait since I'm not doing a laperotomy to get it done for a while.
Well I'm nauseated and dizzy not a good thing so I'll stop for today.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Surgery TOMORROW
Yes, the surgery has now become emergency. Dr. B. walked into the surgical prep area, asked where I was, found me with the nurse getting the information set for Thursday and said that my surgery is being moved up to 0600 hrs tomorrow!
Yikes! I guess I won't be dying my hair tonight like I had hoped. I joked with him that he'll just have to deal with the old grey mare look.
So I'm nervous to say the least. I haven't been cut open since I was a kid. D&C, IVF and endoscopy doesn't count.
Dr.B. is going to do the three small incisions and if need be take my left ovary too. Possibly a full laparotomy will have to be done or so I was warned. I guess it all depends on what they find. Oh and yes they are going to try to go after the endometriosis if possible.
Ugh! What the heck did I get myself into this time?
J and me made a few calls when we got home this afternoon. I had to reschedule a house inspection that was set for tomorrow. Yearly crap that our Army post inflicts upon us. I guess its actually a good thing. J was going to get xrays tomorrow for his back. Why not an MRI since its not skeletal but rather muscular I don't know and won't bother wasting time trying to figure out their logic? So he might have to reschedule that. He also has a class tomorrow that I told him as of now not to miss but we'll see what the discharge instructions say since I don't think I'm supposed to be left alone for the day.
Tomorrow before I leave for surgery I'll be posting my blog about the book giveaway. Please enter if you'd like a chance at winning a free copy of the book.
Yikes! I guess I won't be dying my hair tonight like I had hoped. I joked with him that he'll just have to deal with the old grey mare look.
So I'm nervous to say the least. I haven't been cut open since I was a kid. D&C, IVF and endoscopy doesn't count.
Dr.B. is going to do the three small incisions and if need be take my left ovary too. Possibly a full laparotomy will have to be done or so I was warned. I guess it all depends on what they find. Oh and yes they are going to try to go after the endometriosis if possible.
Ugh! What the heck did I get myself into this time?
J and me made a few calls when we got home this afternoon. I had to reschedule a house inspection that was set for tomorrow. Yearly crap that our Army post inflicts upon us. I guess its actually a good thing. J was going to get xrays tomorrow for his back. Why not an MRI since its not skeletal but rather muscular I don't know and won't bother wasting time trying to figure out their logic? So he might have to reschedule that. He also has a class tomorrow that I told him as of now not to miss but we'll see what the discharge instructions say since I don't think I'm supposed to be left alone for the day.
Tomorrow before I leave for surgery I'll be posting my blog about the book giveaway. Please enter if you'd like a chance at winning a free copy of the book.
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