Jay-Jay - Alumni Hostess 2005 | Hystersisters Article

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Jay-Jay - Alumni Hostess 2005

Jay-Jay - Alumni Hostess 2005

Date : 08-02-2004 - 09:58 PM - Readers : 1934

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Hi. My name is Jennifer. I'm currently 42 years old. I am married to my DH of almost 18 years and we have three children, (a girl age 16, a boy age 14 and a girl age 10). We have a dog named Princess and two cats - Pepper and Cuddles. In addition to raising a family and working, my hobbies include reading biographies, (usually of "old" movie stars), watching old movies, (anything with Bette Davis), and collecting/studying Alfred Hitchcock films.

We have lived in St. Louis, MO for almost six years. I was born and raised in Northern California, (a suburb of the San Francisco area). We also lived in L.A. for 4 years in the early 90's and I loved that as well. We moved to the midwest due to DH's job. We miss California, but have found people to be nice here, and the kids really love their schools. I have two college degrees. The first was a bachelor's degree in Business Administration/Marketing and I worked for a major insurance company in claims management for almost 14 years. When we moved to St. Louis a few years back, I decided to leave the big company and return to school. I entered an accelerated nursing program and earned a bachelor degree in nursing 15 months later. I have been working as a nurse since the Fall of 2001. I started my nursing career in the Operating Room of a very large trauma center. It was interesting and exciting, but quite stressful. I had no intention of leaving after only a year, but I got a great job offer from a local foot & ankle surgeon and have been working for him for almost two years. The job gives me a chance to interact with a lot of patients as I assist the doctor in his clinical practice, but it also involves me in the business aspect of the practice as I schedule surgeries, and interact with the insurance companies to get approval for procedures we have scheduled. The job keeps me busy but allows me to work a full schedule within "normal business hours" which is a big perk in the nursing field. I am very fortunate!

As some of you know, my personal medical history is lengthy, but here is the abridged version...

I began having sharp pains in my side and heavy cramps and bleeding shortly after starting my job in the O.R. (coincidentally). My problems began in about December '01. An ultrasound revealed a functional ovarian cyst and two smallish fibroids. I went on B.C. pills for several months. The lower dose pills weren't strong enough to shrink the ovaries but the higher dose pills gave me horrible migraines and nausea. We tried the Ortho-Evra patch for one month, and surprisingly, even that made me nauseous. We eventually tried Depo-Provera injections for several months. I gained weight, got very crabby and bled for weeks on end. Finally, after two years of trial and error, my doctor and I had a heart-to-heart. Nothing had changed, (fibroids still the same size, etc.), but nothing had improved and I was still approximately 10 years from natural menopause. Instead of "dealing with it" for several more years, I opted for the hyst. My uterus was 456 grams, (16 week pregnancy size), and I had small cysts coating both ovaries and the inside of the cervix. I was lucky that everything was benign! My recovery was smooth and with the exception of a couple of minor setbacks, (hormone imbalances and granulation), the road has been very smooth for me. For me personally, the decision to have the hyst was a good one. I have been more active and have made some positive changes, (like exercise), in my life. I wish everyone could report a positive outcome and I'm sad to read the stories of those that are having such difficult problems.

I enjoy hostessing on Hyster Sisters because it allows me to lend support and assistance to others in need. I was lucky to find the site two months before my surgery and have posted extensively since October of 2003! I hope to give back at least a small portion of the help, love and support I've received through this site.

Best wishes

Jennifer (Jay-Jay)

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