TAH - A very frightened LIW.. now a relieved Princess! - Judy

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TAH - A very frightened LIW.. now a relieved Princess! - Judy

TAH - A very frightened LIW.. now a relieved Princess! - Judy

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Judy
(2/9/00 8:29:23 am)

A very frightened LIW.. now a relieved Princess!

I am 45 years old, daughter 21 and son 17 and a wonderful fiancee. About two years ago I started having a lot of problems with my period, very heavy bleeding, clotting, painful, lasting up to two weeks at a time with only about two weeks in between periods. I put off going to see my doctor for about a year because at the time I was going to medical transcription school and was without insurance. Finally, at the beginning 1999 I scheduled an appointment and after the exam he said I had fibroids and wanted me to have an ultrasound. Well, being the procrastinator that I am didn't schedule that until around May. Had appointment with Doctor when results came in and he said it confirmed fibroids and he wanted me to try the pill for awhile. Reluctantly, I got on the pill for three months and had no relief from the periods; they were just as bad as ever. Made another appointment in October and the doctor and I decided the only way to go was a hysterectomy. He said it would have to be an abdominal because of my enlarged uterus but that I would probably be able to keep my ovaries and after a discussion of the pros and cons I decided to keep the cervix. I wanted to get through the holidays first so scheduled the hysterectomy for January 28, 2000. I found this site shortly after that and have found it to be a blessing. I was petrified, sure I wasn't going to come out of surgery, besides childbirth I had never been in a hospital before and was petrified! I wrote all my "goodbye" letters to my loved ones, made sure they knew what to do with my belongings if I didn't make it. My surgery was not scheduled until 12:30 in the afternoon so I had a long morning of waiting. We arrived at the hospital at 10:00, they took me right back and I put on the lovely hospital gown, they hooked up an IV and put TED stockings on my legs. My fiancee and waited and joked around in this room for about an hour then I was taken to the "holding area". By this time, I was getting very, very scared. The anesthesiologist came in and we talked about the pros and cons of epidural versus general (I originally wanted an epidural). I was so nervous I couldn't think straight and finally I just said, "Oh, just put me to sleep!" Now, I'm kind of upset I let him talk me into general because my original plan was to have an epidural. He then gave me something in my IV to help me relax and all I remember after that is being wheeled into the OR and thinking how funny it looked in there. The next thing I remember is waking up in the recovery room and having a very difficult time waking up. I don't want to scare any LIWs but the recovery room for me was the worse part. I felt I couldn't breathe and the pain was horrible. I remember trying to take off the oxygen mask and just moaning. They must have given me something because the next thing I remember is waking up in my room (it was about 4:30 by that time) and being so grateful to see my fiancee! I had a Morphine pump and catheter. That night is pretty foggy for me, I slept on and off and remember clicking that pump quite often which really helped control the pain. The next day was better and the Doctor came in to tell me they found three large fibroids (one outside the uterus, two inside.) Unfortunately they had to take one ovary because of a golfball size cyst on it... which would account for all the pain I had been having on that side for months. The doctor said it must have been a recent fast growing cyst because it never showed up on my ultrasound. Well, recovery after that went pretty smooth. The gas pains were the worse, but I had one great nurse, who brought me in warm apple juice one night, she said sometimes it helps and she was right. I had the catheter removed Saturday morning and was up and slowly walking around. I didn't get anything but clear liquids all day Saturday but didn't really feel like eating much anyhow. By Sunday I was feeling much better, had the pump removed and was only using Percoset for pain. Monday morning the doctor came in and removed my staples and I asked him if I could PLEASE go home, he agreed and I was so happy to be going home. I am now 12 days post op and doing pretty good. I have to watch myself because I tend to overdo it. But my doctor was right...he said, "Your body will let you know when you are overdoing it". Good luck to all you LIWs.... It is so true...waiting is absolutely the worse part of all this. Keep reading the messages and posting often (believe me, no question is too strange or "stupid" to ask.... these ladies are fantastic!), soon you too will be wearing your crown proudly and on the road to a new life!!

Abdominal Hysterectomy, one ovary 1/28/00

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