Myomectomy or Hysterectomy > August 2004 Archives
August 1, 2004
Good-Bye to U.
I had my pre-op appointment yesterday morning. They took my blood for all the tests they do, did a urine sample for a pregnancy test. There was no exam, just a consult with the doctor as she explained the procedure again. She answered my questions.
No bowel prep the night before, just fasting from midnight on. Though I'll probably do a light dinner early in the evening and then clear fluids until bedtime.
The blood part was a little harder.
We decided to do it on my left, as my right is the one I usually donate blood from and figured we'd save that vein for later.
So she found what I thought was a rather minor one on my left arm and couldn't make a go of it, she moved the needle around a bit and the blood just trickled. So she tried again, new needle, new set of vials. That one worked just fine, she finished up and labled all the vials and bandaged me and I was set to go. Another nurse came in and noticed that she'd used the wrong vials (there's some sort of color coding with the caps) and she had to do it again! So three holes in one arm.
The other bizarre part of that visit was when they took my blood pressure it was something like 90/54. Kinda low, don't you think?
A little break from that and I headed over to the hospital for my autologous blood donation. It involved a bit of "pre-check-in" where I filled out a bunch of paperwork, but I guess that means less for next week when I actually show up for the surgery.
Then some blood screening. The good news is they ran my hematocrit, which has been too low for blood donation for at least four years (last time it was run was 31 and that was with occasional iron) - now I've been doing like 200% of my daily iron a day for the past two months and it worked, my hematocrit was 42! That puts me in a really good position to rebuild myself before the surgery next week too. (And that was after all the blood they took at the doctors office too!).
Oh, and my blood pressure there? 114/61. Much better.
I gave my unit of blood and was on my way. Home for a little lie down and then a good dinner. I'm feeling pretty good today, a little low on the energy scale. I'm worried about getting sick and it doesn' t help that the woman in the office next to me (they're adjoining) brought in her daughter today because she's too sick to go to day care. Now I'm paranoid and washing my hands every hour.
Posted by Elizabeth M. at 8:36 PM | Comments (1)
August 3, 2004
Unexpected Good Things
Just a few things:
1. When I went to leave the house this morning for work, instead of the usual kiss (just a peck on the lips), my husband gave me the most wonderful rocking embrace. And promised a night or two of other types of contact! He's such a sweetie and the tenderness he's been showing me has been surprising sometimes. We've been together so long I guess we get into a rut.
2. A friend has now emailed me twice so far this morning insisting that we have lunch today! She'll also be spending the afternoon at the hospital in the waiting room keeping hubby company.
3. I got such a sweet and comforting comment today!
Posted by Elizabeth M. at 9:20 AM
August 5, 2004
Away
I'm off to the hospital in a half an hour.
I slept pretty well, I woke up a lot, went to the bathroom twice. Boy will I be glad when it's just mental problems that keep me up all night!
I've been fasting, which includes no water. I really drink a lot of water, so not having any since 11 last night is a huge thing for me. I have a little squick of a headache, but I think that's either not sleeping enough or dehydration.
I did a little pre-admission interview over the phone yesterday. I asked if I was getting a private room, the nurse said, "Honey, that's all we have is private rooms." Whee! They'll even set up a cot in my room if the hubby wants to stay with me the first night. I can't imagine why he'd need to. I'll be sleeping.
I should be back home and online by Sunday.
Posted by Elizabeth M. at 7:54 AM
August 8, 2004
Confidence for the First Time
I'm home from the hospital. The surgery went flawlessly.
It turns out that the fibroids were much bigger than the ultrasound indicated.
The largest was the size of an eggplant (sitting sideways across the backside of my uterus). It was eight inches long and four inches around. There were another dozen or so, just protruding in all directions from my uterus as well. The doctor said that if she were to perform the myomectomy, she would probably not have been able to preserve enough uterine tissue to perserve my fertility and she would have to leave too many of the smaller tumors which likely would have grown back.
The best news is that my ovaries and tubes were in great shape, and there were no infiltrations of the tumors on my cervix and that was left as well.
I'll post more later. For the most part I feel much like I did after doing a marathon - my abs are just plain old sore like I'd done a huge workout and I'm tired, tired, tired.
Posted by Elizabeth M. at 11:21 AM
August 9, 2004
The Pre-Op Tale
I'm home from the hospital. The surgery went flawlessly.
It turns out that the fibroids were much bigger than the ultrasound indicated.
The largest was the size of an eggplant (sitting sideways across the backside of my uterus). It was eight inches long and four inches around. There were another dozen or so, just protruding in all directions from my uterus as well. The doctor said that if she were to perform the myomectomy, she would probably not have been able to preserve enough uterine tissue to perserve my fertility and she would have to leave too many of the smaller tumors which likely would have grown back.
The best news is that my ovaries and tubes were in great shape, and there were no infiltrations of the tumors on my cervix and that was left as well.
I'll post more later. For the most part I feel much like I did after doing a marathon - my abs are just plain old sore like I'd done a huge workout and I'm tired, tired, tired.
Posted by Elizabeth M. at 10:00 AM | Comments (2)
The Operation
I was asleep.
I can only tell you what they told me.
The surgery went well. They found no involvement of my bowels or kidneys or bladder with the tumors (sometimes they can fuse together and teasing them apart during the operation can injure them and cause bleeding and later scarring).
The tumors were surprisingly large and curious enough that the doctors were intrigued by the strange protrusions. I guess the mine were intermural tumors, which are embedded in the muscle wall of the uterus - but they just kept growing and pushing all the boundaries of my uterus in different directions. And some of those tumors had other growing on top of them so it was just a huge bumpy mess.
At the end of the operation, after I was sewed up and they were going to wheel me out to recovery, they woke me up. I remember seeing a clear/white plastic rectangular bin and at the bottom were two large masses. They were light pink with darker red patches too them, actually, much lighter than I expected, like a tongue or gums or something. They looked hard and dense. The smaller one was irregular and about the size of a baseball and the large thing was long and about as big around as the first and kind of twisted at the bottom of the bucket.
Of course I didn't know what this was. I was in recovery and asked the recovery nurse if they had actually showed that to me or if I dreamed it and she confirmed it all.
The weirdest part is the thought that all this crap was inside me. An eggplant and a baseball and a bunch of other little bumps and protrusions off of those. That's a huge mass! And to be so asymptomatic! Just some pressure, but no real pain. But I know that they were continuing to grow and if I left them there, they surely would have caused some serious trouble.
Posted by Elizabeth M. at 10:28 AM
Day One and Two
I was asleep.
I can only tell you what they told me.
The surgery went well. They found no involvement of my bowels or kidneys or bladder with the tumors (sometimes they can fuse together and teasing them apart during the operation can injure them and cause bleeding and later scarring).
The tumors were surprisingly large and curious enough that the doctors were intrigued by the strange protrusions. I guess the mine were intermural tumors, which are embedded in the muscle wall of the uterus - but they just kept growing and pushing all the boundaries of my uterus in different directions. And some of those tumors had other growing on top of them so it was just a huge bumpy mess.
At the end of the operation, after I was sewed up and they were going to wheel me out to recovery, they woke me up. I remember seeing a clear/white plastic rectangular bin and at the bottom were two large masses. They were light pink with darker red patches too them, actually, much lighter than I expected, like a tongue or gums or something. They looked hard and dense. The smaller one was irregular and about the size of a baseball and the large thing was long and about as big around as the first and kind of twisted at the bottom of the bucket.
Of course I didn't know what this was. I was in recovery and asked the recovery nurse if they had actually showed that to me or if I dreamed it and she confirmed it all.
The weirdest part is the thought that all this crap was inside me. An eggplant and a baseball and a bunch of other little bumps and protrusions off of those. That's a huge mass! And to be so asymptomatic! Just some pressure, but no real pain. But I know that they were continuing to grow and if I left them there, they surely would have caused some serious trouble.
Posted by Elizabeth M. at 11:58 AM | Comments (1)
August 13, 2004
One Week and a Day
Well, I'm doing great. Much better than I thought.
I get tired, and I knew I would, but I don't think I really understood what that would feel like. It's not like a sick tired, like when you have a fever. It's more like a tired you get after donating blood. Like my body is occupied elsewhere.
I have trouble focusing sometimes. I have a rather short attention span. The blog entries I've been doing take a while. I'll type for a bit and save them and then come back to them later.
I try to read, but I can't get more than a page or so. Magazines are good and reading the papers online. I've tried watching movies but I can't really do that for more than an hour yet. Sitcoms and cartoons are about my speed. I have to be careful with things like The Daily Show though, funny hurts.
My incision is healing well. My pubic hair is growing back and it itches at this point. I know it'll only be a few more days and it'll be fine. The bruises from the operation that are around the incision site and those on my arms where I had the needles are also fading nicely.
I take maybe two super Ibuprofen a day. My bowels are back to normal and I pee pretty regularly (actually, I'm still peeing about as much as I did before, but without that burning pressure I used to get because of the fibroids).
Thursday next week is my first appointment and I'm hoping to get some restrictions lifted then. I don't think I'm ready to drive right now. Hell, I've only been out of the house once to go to the back yard. I certainly couldn't drive right now unless it was an emergency.
I'm spending a lot of time online. I chat with friends on instant messenger. I blog things. I read website and stuff.
I also spend a lot of time at a website called HysterSisters.com - it's a bulletin board for women planning or recovery from a hysterectomy. They have lots of great info but mostly it's just seeing posts from other women who are going through the same thing. It's good to see real life examples - I like to find folks that are most like me to see how things are going for them four weeks or four months ahead of me.
Right now it's lunch time and my husband is making me a sandwich. I think I'll eat that now. I have no appetite but I've been eating anything he puts in front of me because I know I need to. I'm losing weight, about two or three pounds since surgery. One of those was what they took out.
Posted by Elizabeth M. at 1:26 PM
August 14, 2004
Oh, the Itching!
Yes, everything itches. The incision area itches. The incision itself has no external stitches, just surgi-strips. (Yes, my guts seem to be taped closed.) And of course they shaved a good part of my pubic area too.
And it all itches. The trouble with stubble down there is that once it gets to a certain length, it pokes through my underwear, so that when I move around, it kind of wiggles the little hairs and just bugs the bejeezers out of me. Of course I can't scratch, but boy do I want to! And of course I can't put anything on it, because the doc specifically said I couldn't. I can't even wash the area of the incision! When I take a shower every morning, I tape a piece of plastic over it and when I'm done I blow dry the area (no touching!).
Some of the tape is coming up. Not at the edges like I thought it would. Actually, there's a ridge or bubble along one side of the little strips of tape. I'm guessing that's because the area was swollen when the put the tape on, and not that it's not, it's not making contact.
I've been taking photos every day, just as a record for how it heals. I haven't looked at them yet, but I might do that later today and perhaps post them for those of you interested in gory details tomorrow. (Actually, it's sadly not gory at all. I expected it to be shocking, but it's really not.)
Other than a bit of pulling and pinching in my abdomen, I'm feeling pretty good. My energy level is better. I feel like I can do more things, though I don't of course. I feel like I could sort the laundry or do a few dishes, but I'm going to wait another couple of days for that. I went out in the back yard yesterday for a while. I've got a great Adirondack chair to sit in, which is the ideal angle for keeping pressure off my belly, but the yard is down a flight of stairs and the patio is a hundred fifty feet from the back door, so I was pretty tired after coming back up. Funny how that works.
Posted by Elizabeth M. at 9:22 AM
August 15, 2004
Stupid Hormones
Well, I'm doing great. Much better than I thought.
I get tired, and I knew I would, but I don't think I really understood what that would feel like. It's not like a sick tired, like when you have a fever. It's more like a tired you get after donating blood. Like my body is occupied elsewhere.
I have trouble focusing sometimes. I have a rather short attention span. The blog entries I've been doing take a while. I'll type for a bit and save them and then come back to them later.
I try to read, but I can't get more than a page or so. Magazines are good and reading the papers online. I've tried watching movies but I can't really do that for more than an hour yet. Sitcoms and cartoons are about my speed. I have to be careful with things like The Daily Show though, funny hurts.
My incision is healing well. My pubic hair is growing back and it itches at this point. I know it'll only be a few more days and it'll be fine. The bruises from the operation that are around the incision site and those on my arms where I had the needles are also fading nicely.
I take maybe two super Ibuprofen a day. My bowels are back to normal and I pee pretty regularly (actually, I'm still peeing about as much as I did before, but without that burning pressure I used to get because of the fibroids).
Thursday next week is my first appointment and I'm hoping to get some restrictions lifted then. I don't think I'm ready to drive right now. Hell, I've only been out of the house once to go to the back yard. I certainly couldn't drive right now unless it was an emergency.
I'm spending a lot of time online. I chat with friends on instant messenger. I blog things. I read website and stuff.
I also spend a lot of time at a website called HysterSisters.com - it's a bulletin board for women planning or recovery from a hysterectomy. They have lots of great info but mostly it's just seeing posts from other women who are going through the same thing. It's good to see real life examples - I like to find folks that are most like me to see how things are going for them four weeks or four months ahead of me.
Right now it's lunch time and my husband is making me a sandwich. I think I'll eat that now. I have no appetite but I've been eating anything he puts in front of me because I know I need to. I'm losing weight, about two or three pounds since surgery. One of those was what they took out.
Posted by Elizabeth M. at 9:23 PM | Comments (3)
August 17, 2004
Who Wants to See Photos?
Yes, I have been taking photos of my incision since day four.
They're not as gory as I thought they would be. And for those of you checking out this diary as you prepare for this sort of surgery or perhaps something similar, you might be comforted to see it. I was afraid of a row of staples with a big swollen area or something. It's really not like that. Just a little dark red line - rather like a happy face at the bottom of my belly.
So, here they are (I'm not posting them directly here in case anyone is squeamish, so you'll have to do some clicking - I made them big enough, I think so that you can see some detail.)
Day Four - august09a.jpg - there's a black bruise right above the center of the incision, which I imagine is where they had a clamp or retractor. And there are bruises up the to my hips, which I also guess are from retractors or something. The little lines on my legs are from where the tape on the dressing irritated my legs.
Day Five - august10a.jpg - this photo isn't as good as the rest, I didn't quite get the light right. But you can see the bruises developing ahd black thing above the incision is still pretty visible. My belly was really big that day, probably causing lighting problems!
Day Six - august11a.jpg - there's a huge bruise developing on my hip that shows up well here. But the incision is not as tender as before, simply numb for the most part. A tender spot has also developed halfway between my bellybutton and the incision about two or three inches across. It's like a bruise but there's nothing there.
Day Seven - august12b.jpg - the black bruise at the top of the incision is fading now but the surgitape is also kind getting dog-eared and coming up at the edges.
Day Eight - august13a.jpg - the bruises are almost all gone on my right side and the big one on my left hip isn't nearly as tender anymore. I think my waist is getting smaller and the swelling in my belly during the day isn't nearly as bad as week one.
Day Nine - august14a.jpg - bruising is going away & my hair is growing back. The incision itself is a little lumpy to the touch, a half in ridge at the top of the incision along its entire length, but the bottom doesn't feel like that at all.
Day Ten - august15a.jpg - the itching is bothersome but nothing seems red or swollen so I figure it's all part of the process
Day Eleven - august16a.jpg - the black bruise at the top is almost completely disappeared and the itching is starting to subside.
Posted by Elizabeth M. at 9:18 PM | Comments (11)
August 18, 2004
The Nothing Day
A friend was supposed to come over today to keep me company. But no biggie.
So I didn't do anything at all today.
A little cruising on the internet. Talked on the phone. Had some lunch. Checked in at work.
Really. I did nothing.
I feel pretty good, too. My belly is more swollen today than it has been in the past few days. It was pretty swollen yesterday evening as well. I guess maybe I overdid it yesterday.
Tomorrow morning first thing I've got my incision check at the doctor. So that'll make for a fun day. And probably a more fun post in this diary.
Posted by Elizabeth M. at 4:17 PM
Sneezes Hurt!
I've had only one other sneeze up until now, and not a big one.
Just now I had two in a row. Owie! I tried bracing my belly, but the spot that I didn't seem to cover really hurts, just on the left edge of the incision. It looks fine. Maybe I hurt it on the inside?
Owie, ow, ow, ow!
Posted by Elizabeth M. at 7:40 PM
August 19, 2004
Two Week Mark
A friend was supposed to come over today to keep me company. But no biggie.
So I didn't do anything at all today.
A little cruising on the internet. Talked on the phone. Had some lunch. Checked in at work.
Really. I did nothing.
I feel pretty good too. My belly is more swollen today than it has been in the past few days. It was pretty swollen yesterday evening too. I guess maybe I overdid it yesterday.
Tomorrow morning first thing I've got my incision check at the doctor. So that'll make for a fun day. And probably a more fun post in this diary.
Posted by Elizabeth M. at 12:28 PM | Comments (2)
August 20, 2004
Busy, Busy Day!
This morning a friend came over for a day-long visit. He keeps me company. He's been reading to me, sometimes we play Scrabble. Sometimes we just sit in the back yard. I think of it like some sort of Victorian recovery - where I've gone to the desert or the shore to get over my long illness or something and he's my ever-present companion.
Anyway, today's special treat was 60 feet of 25-pair phone cable. If you don't know what that is, well, you're missing quite the treat. It's just phone wire. 50 pieces of phone wire in 25 different colored patterns. I don't know what I'm going to do with it. It took the better part of the day to cut the insulating sheath off of it and then separate out the different strands of wire and roll each of them up into a single little bundle.
I'm thinking of making a little basket with it. (Probably not as nice as this stuff!) I've never made a basket in my life, so this should be an interesting task. When we were kids and we had phone wire we'd make rings and other little pieces of jewelry, so maybe I'll make fun little gifts for people.
I was also thinking of using it to decorate Christmas packages and other gifts for the rest of the year. I still don't think that's going to use it all up. After all, I've got 50 pieces and they're each 60 feet long ... that's 3,000 feet of wire!
In other news, I'm feeling pretty good today. Other than teasing the wire apart (which meant laying it down from the front of the house to the back - so lots of walking about), I did some dishes and of course wrote some emails and played online quite a bit. I haven't eaten much today and I'm kind of glad for it. I'm a bit swollen up in the belly - probably from the car ride and a bit of other walking about yesterday (a couple of friends came over for a visit last night and stayed for dinner a little Olympic viewing).
Just a little while ago my husband and I took the dog for a walk - once around the block. A big thing for me, but a mere warmup for they hubby's evening workout before dinner.
I look forward to doing more, but I know I shouldn't push it too much. I'm still getting a little blood-tinged discharge which might last another couple of weeks (doctor said it's normal). I'm really looking forward to not wearing panty liners ever again!
Posted by Elizabeth M. at 7:18 PM
August 21, 2004
Yet Another Uneventful Day
I think the thing I've noticed most of all about being open and frank about my gyno problems is the fact that it seems to get so many other people talking about their gyno problems or problems other people they know have had.
Today I found out that my mother had a polyp a few years ago.
A friend from NY told me that he forwarded my most recent email about my pathology report to another friend who has a fibroid the size of a grapefruit. Another friend just emailed me about her myomectomy she had a few years ago (another grapefruit).
I didn't do much today. I sorted the laundry and later when my husband pulled it out of the dryer, I put it away (while watching the great old film, The Shop Around the Corner with Jimmy Stewart).
I sat in the back yard earlier in the afternoon. I emailed a few friends and talked to my mother on the phone.
I skipped breakfast. I had something that only approached lunch but my husband made a great dinner. I don't feel much like eating, but I've been doing it more out of boredom, which I know is a bad habit to get into.
Later this week I really want to get out of the house. I don't know if I'm ready to drive yet or not, but maybe I'll take a short trip to the bank or something just as a test.
I had a disturbing dream last night. I don't know what it meant, in it I felt like I'd been forgotten or something. And it seems that John Goodman was in it. Go figure.
Any questions or feedback? Feel free to email me.
Posted by Elizabeth M. at 10:03 PM
August 22, 2004
Good Intentions
I meant to do a little more exercise today. I meant to put away the laundry. I meant to pay a few bills.
I did none of these things.
A friend came over for a little while this morning and we chatted and she filled me in on her life. She's the friend I've mentioned that had a myomectomy about ten years ago (laproscopic after lupron). I asked her a little more about it. Her fibroid was the size of an orange and shrunk down to the size of a plum with lupron. She said the lupron was no big deal - it made her skin dry, she said. Right now she's going through menopause and using lots of herbal supplements and said that other than the irregular bleeding it's going pretty well.
My in-laws also came over for lunch. After a relaxing lunch on the deck we had a little desert then went in the living room to relax (for me to put my feet up). I helped to prep and serve, and that kind of tired me out, especially the stairs. We went out in the yard for a bit too and so by the time I got back in the house I was wiped and excused myself to lie down. They stuck around for another half hour and then left (without disturbing me with good-byes or anything).
The incision looks good today and I'll probably post the last few day's photos tomorrow.
My belly is a little swollen today, but not as bad as Friday. I think pants make a big difference, but I'm not sure why. Yesterday I wore a jumper. Friday I wore yoga pants that were a little snug. Today I'm wearing drawstring pants. Now that the laundry is clean, I can go back to wearing my nightgowns when I'm not expecting company.
Good news is still no pain. The occasional twinge, still occasional gas pain but really it's all rather manageable. I've even been sleeping on my belly a bit in the morning (after the swelling goes down overnight).
Any questions or feedback? Feel free to email me.
Posted by Elizabeth M. at 9:51 PM
August 23, 2004
A Few Tidbits Today
Funny thing first: since my pubic hair has started growing back my husband calls it my crotch mullet! Business on the top and party on the bottom! (Yes, we are randy sometimes!)
More of doing nothing today. Played a little more with my new wire collection and made a little necklace last night. I talked to my dad on the phone. A friend spent much of the day with me, we talked, had some lunch and watched some Olympics and the first episode of a TV show he likes called Dead Like Me.
Hmm, in other unrelated news, I'm finally able to lie on my tummy comfortably.
I got the first bill from the hospital today. It said not to pay it. Thank goodness! It's just for my reference as they're going to be billing my insurance company. It doesn't include my anesthesiologist or surgeon but the total for the hospital stay, operating room and drugs (IVs I guess) comes to $25,900! I have no idea how much the insurance company will pay but I'm sure it will all be worked out to everyone's satisfaction. It was a clean hospital and everyone treated me well, I've ended up with no infections, not even the dreaded and wholly expected UTI, so I'm in such a gracious mood I'd tip them if there were a line on the bill for that!
I'm working on processing the last few days of photos, but I think I'll do those as a post later today.
Good news is I've got plenty of energy and am looking forward to getting out an about this week sometime. For today, I might just put on some pants and take a walk around the block (I'm wearing a nightshirt today - can't look too invalid for the neighbors!).
Any questions or feedback? Feel free to email me.
Posted by Elizabeth M. at 4:38 PM
More incision photos
Here are the incision photos I promised earlier.
There's not much new, but I know some of you are curious.
Day 15 - august20a.jpg - you can see a little bruising still on the top of the incision site and of course the pubic hair is really irritated where the surgi-tape was. I don't know if it's because some of those hairs were ingrown because of the tape or if the tape itself is irritating.
Day 16 - august21a.jpg - there's a lot less of a difference from day to day now.
Day 17 - august22a.jpg - more of the same.
Day 18 - august23a.jpg - not much different except maybe it looks like I'm losing weight. Or maybe I sucked my gut in when I shot this photo.
I know I shouldn't be impatient, but I'd like it to heal a little quicker but thankfully it's not as itchy as it was the first two weeks!
Any questions or feedback? Feel free to email me.
Posted by Elizabeth M. at 6:46 PM
August 24, 2004
Driving, Miss Lizzie!
Yes, today I drove.
It's a good thing, too. My car needs to be driven every two weeks or so!
I was glad to get out of the house too.
I didn't go far. Just two miles to the bank and back. I needed to transfer some money and couldn't do it online (for some bizarre reason) but could handle it all at the ATM. So I dressed accordingly this morning (I've not been wearing a bra most days, so I had to remedy that today) in some lounge pants that are decent enough for public and a clean tee shirt.
I took a little throw pillow and put it diagonally across my middle, with it under the lap belt but over the shoulder one. It wasn't too bulky for driving but I think it was much better for my incision area (when I had my doctor's appt last week, I forgot the pillow but did keep my hands in front of my incision the whole time - but not exactly a way to drive a car).
Other than that, it was uneventful. It's not like this is the first time I've gone weeks without driving, though probably the first time I've gone so long without being in the car at all.
I'm tired today. I got up and put away all my laundry. Then I started doing things that I'm supposed to do on my list. Things like calling the imaging folks who did my sonogram to ask about some billing. I paid a few bills. I called the exterminator because I think we have termites again. And now I'm exhuasted. I still have lots of things left to do, but I'm well on my way to half of them, so I'm satisfied.
But a little lie down in front of the TV for a half an hour and I should be right as rain.
Any questions or feedback? Feel free to email me.
Posted by Elizabeth M. at 3:24 PM
August 25, 2004
Workplace Privacy
My general thought on this is that it's no one's business what's going on with your health.
I mean, your boss and co-workers are entitled to know that you're taking some time off for medical things and that there may be restrictions on what you can do when you come back, but beyond that, it's none of their business.
I came upon this way of thinking like this:
Back in May I went to the doctor and was told that I had fibroids and that my uterus was the size of a 16 week pregnancy. My doctor was a little concerned that my uterus was also a bit misshapen and she couldn't palpate either of my ovaries. So she sent me off to have an ultrasound.
I arrived at the office a little late and though I was uncomfortable for the rest of the day, I didn't tell anyone where I'd been or what had been going on. Later in the afternoon someone came to my office and said that there was a surprise going away party for one of the other fellows who works on the floor. I didn't know him well, he was a couple of years older than me and worked for a different division but we always said hello in the copy room. He was going on medical leave because he'd been diagnosed with metasticized prostate cancer and was going to have surgery and then chemo and/or radiation.
It was the worst party I have ever been to. It was a surprise party, first of all. How do you give someone a surprise party the day before they go in for cancer surgery? And it was the worst cake I have ever had in my life, cloyingly sweet yellow cake with white frosting and peaches in the middle. I ate it, to be polite, but after my morning of being probed and made to hold a half a gallon of water in my bladder and now bleeding for some reason, I was really in no mood. To top it off, the conversation drifted into the area of his procedure and his fears about never waking up from surgery and the thoughts of all the things that could go wrong.
So, when my time came around to tell my boss about the upcoming surgery and medical leave, I said nothing.
She asked me point blank and I said I wasn't comfortable discussing it. It wasn't life-threatening but was urgent enough that I didn't want to put it off until January which was the next time where I thought I could safely take off eight weeks (not to mention the fact that my contract is renewed each February and I didn't think it'd be a good time to be off work).
That's where I left it. We made an announcement at the staff meeting that I was taking a two month medical leave and no one has really asked me any questions.
I did tell one friend at work and she even came to visit me the week after I got out of the hospital, so they all know that I've made it through.
My point is, to reinforce that it's no one's business what goes on with you medically. I see people on the hystersister.com chat boards complain about insensitive co-workers and I have to wonder why anyone would tell someone who wasn't an intimate friend what was going on in the first place. If it's not someone I feel comfortable talking about my sex life or menstrual cycle, I'm certainly not going to tell them about my sudden infertility. I filed the appropriate forms with my HR department which are rather vague (abdominal surgery to correct uterine fibroids) but I know that information is protected by privacy rules in the company.
On the other hand, if you want or need support from your co-workers and consider them friends, talk away.
I'm actually pretty comfortable talking about my surgery after the fact, but beforehand I really didn't want anyone bringing it up. Maybe it's all part of my control issues or maybe it really is none of their business.
Any questions or feedback? Feel free to email me.
Posted by Elizabeth M. at 6:10 PM
August 26, 2004
A Bit Tired
At the moment I'm a bit tired. Mentally, I'm quite sharp (which means I can blog) but physically I'm wiped.
I took my husband's car into the shop to have a tire replaced. It was a rather long drive (about 40 minutes) and instead of using a pillow this time, I put a folded up bath towel between the seat belt and my incision site. That allowed me more range of movement but still protected my belly.
The good news is that bumpy roads don't seem to bother me at all anymore. Traffic is exhausting, but that's not really anything new. I'm also not accustomed to driving my husband's car, as it's radically different than mine, so that always throws me a bit. But now with his working again, I can use mine (he'd been driving mine - he's so busy with work and taking care of me, he didn't have time to take it in).
While waiting the 90 minutes for the car, I tried sitting in the nice waiting area, but found the chairs not quite suited to the way I wanted to sit. So I took a walk down the street - two blocks down to a coffee place and got a non-fat latte and then up and around two blocks past the car place to make a nice big loop. Walking seemed more comfortable than sitting for some reason, which is a huge change as walking before made my incision site hurt.
This is such a good sign that I think I'm going to start working out on the treadmill a few times a week to try to get back in shape. Not that I've gone so far out of shape in just three weeks, but hell, I want to look my best when I go back to work (and I'd like to fit back into my old work clothes).
The incision is healing nicely, though it won't show in the photos, the lumpy ridge at the top of the incision seems to be going a way. I don't know if that was pooled blood or scar tissue or just swelling, but it's going away. The feeling seems to be coming back as well. Of course that leads to more pinchy/itching feelings, but I've been putting oil and neosporin on it and doing a little light rubbing/massage to help it along.
Any questions or feedback? Feel free to email me.
Posted by Elizabeth M. at 6:28 PM
August 27, 2004
Fibroids & New Genetic Research
I found a fascinating article about a study that was released a couple of months ago about the genetic connection to uterine fibroid tumors and keloid scarring.
It was a study conducted by Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health and published in July 2004 in the journal Genes, Chromosomes and Cancer. You can read an article about it here at the National Institutes of Health. (The actual study bears the name "Involvement of fumarate hydratase in nonsyndromic uterine leiomyomas.")
Basically it found that the lack of a key protein that helps to bind tissues is lacking in women who have fibroids and women who have keloid scarring. It seems (and this is me making assumptions form the article which is rather technical in spots) that the lack of this protein means that structures supported by collagen are disorganized, instead of being in the normal discrete strands pattern that allows cells to grow in an organized fashion, they grow in disjointed strings and it seems the the body doesn't know where it's supposed to start and end and it can cause lumpy, disorganized, out-of-control growths.
I find this interesting on a lot of levels. First, when my doctor did my pre-op appointment we talked about how she was going to close the incision and at first she said staples, but then asked me what my scars look like. I showed her a particularly bad one which started as a half inch, five stitch thing where I had a biopsy done when I turned eighteen and is now two inches long and almost a third of an inch wide in the center. She called it a keloid and said that she'd do a plastic surgery incision to avoid scarring like that. So I'm guessing that there's a good chance that whatever made me make keloids is what allows fibroids to grow in me too.
I also think it's promising that someone's working on this and perhaps there can be some gene therapy for this or maybe just some injections to supplement this key protein that's missing in women who start developing fibroids in order to stop them from growing.
Any questions or feedback? Feel free to email me.
Posted by Elizabeth M. at 7:34 PM | Comments (4)
August 28, 2004
New Links!
We've got new links over there towards the bottom of the right sidebar. I thought I'd explain why I wanted them there:
HysterSisters (http://www.hystersisters.com/) - woman-to-woman online support for those considering or going through a hysterectomy. It's a great place to go and ask all those nagging questions even before you have a hysterectomy. Don't be shy, they hear it all over there, questions about sex and orgasms, bowel and bladder difficulties, what to put on your incision and what to eat and what to avoid before surgery.
Pelvic Floor (http://www.pelvicfloor.com/) - information source about gynecological anatomy with lots of (graphic) photos. There's a great section in the fibroids area of a woman who had a HUGE fibroid removed.
Myomectomy (http://www.myomectomy.net/) - a promotional site for Dr. Paul Indman, but it has great info about all the different procedures and photos. I know it's a commercial site, but he does have some great resource info. I'm not necessarily recommending him as a doctor, but it's a good place to start to find out what your options for myomectomy are.
Fibroids (http://www.fibroids.uk.net/about.htm) - UK site that has great basic info about fibroids as well as other uterine disorders. I liked the sidebar called "medical notes" which explains all those things about how big a uterus should be and the comparisons to fruits. There are also movies of operations for those who are not squeamish.
Don't forget if you're looking for more info about fibroids or myomectomy or hysterectomy to just try google searches and start reading. Don't take any one source on the internet as gospel, of course, but there's lots of great info out there to help you make decisions about your health care.
Any questions or feedback? Feel free to email me.
Posted by Elizabeth M. at 1:37 PM
August 29, 2004
Ovulating
Well, I'm greatly encouraged to report that I believe I am ovulating right now.
Since Friday my temp has be one half of a degree higher and for the past two days I've had that slight clear and stringy discharge that I used to get when I would ovulate when I had a uterus. I think this is a great sign that my ovaries are quite happy to continue working.
In other not so great news, my back hurts. I have a muscle problem in my back on the left side of my spine around my shoulderblade. It's been a problem since I was seventeen and hasn't been troubling me for the past four years, since I started yoga. Well, I'm not doing yoga so much at the moment and I think I tweaked it and it hurts a whole lot right now. Enough to have made me take one of the prescription ibuprofens last night and I'm seriously considering a vicodin this evening. Either that or a glass of wine and some more ibuprofen.
Any questions or feedback? Feel free to email me.
Posted by Elizabeth M. at 6:29 PM
August 30, 2004
Back Pain
Well, it turns out that my biggest challenge at the moment has nothing to do with my recent operation.
Nope, I've tweaked my back. It's an old injury that's given me trouble since I was 17 and I slipped in the shower at the dorms. It's between my shouldblades on the left side of my back and when it starts spasming it causes some sort of nerve compression that goes all the way down my left arm. I'm also left-handed, which is double difficult for me.
So, today, for the first time I took a vicodin. Not because of the operation, but because of the back. Well, I took half a vicodin after dinner. I'll take the other half at bedtime. I was worried it would make me nervous, because codeine usually does. But it's really taken the edge off of the pain, which is good because I'd say I've been at a seven or eight for most of the weekend and I really should have done this sooner.
Any questions or feedback? Feel free to email me.
Posted by Elizabeth M. at 7:12 PM
August 31, 2004
The Thing about Vicodin
Well, it turns out that my biggest challenge at the moment has nothing to do with my recent operation.
Nope, I've tweaked my back. It's an old injury that's given me trouble since I was 17 and I slipped in the shower at the dorms. It's between my shouldblades on the left side of my back and when it starts spasming it causes some sort of nerve compression that goes all the way down my left arm. I'm also left-handed, which is double difficult for me.
So, today, for the first time I took a vicodin. Not because of the operation, but because of the back. Well, I took half a vicodin after dinner. I'll take the other half at bedtime. I was worried it would make me nervous, because codeine usually does. But it's really taken the edge off of the pain, which is good because I'd say I've been at a seven or eight for most of the weekend and I really should have done this sooner.
Any questions or feedback? Feel free to email me.
Posted by Elizabeth M. at 9:13 PM