 Just got home - so glad to have been told about this site (TLH) |
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Just got back home after staying in the hospital (starting with pre-op) for exactly 24 hours.
Just got home - and started having diarrhea. Wondered if the hospital staff had given me 'frozen' juice on purpose. Was looking for some sanitary pads - hubby was too shy (and too busy/stressed) to go find some in the grocery story before picking me up. (I have been menopausal since late 2003 because of chemotherapy for breast cancer. Had recurrence in 2007 and went through other 6-rounds of chemo. Even though a second-opinion doctor had told me that there's no need to get rid of my ovaries if menopausal. I thought I would rather err on the cautious side. And my oncologist had agreed with me that it's better to have the ovaries out at the same time while I am having hysterectomy.) Luckily I did find what I needed in the storage under one of the sinks.
The reason why I am having hysterectomy is that I have not been feeling well 'down there'. Had several CT-scans (actually 4 totals last year) and then read about the side effect of too many CT-scans. Since I've been infertile forever - three infertility treatments only resulted in three uterine fibroids and 2nd sister had had a hysterectomy several years ago because of the fibroids problem. I made the decision to cut down all the risk - have taken almost 5 years worth of Tamoxifen because of Breast cancer. Turning 50 next month - thought it will be a good 50's birthday present.
I must have had a very low pain threshold. When I woke up from anesthesia in the recovery room - it was the excruciating pain that had waken me up, I guess. One RN was sitting next to my bed controlling the dosages dispensed in our IVs. He never even looked up at the patients - never a word when I was hollering for help. I finally got enough courage to ask him if anyone could give me some help - that's when I noticed (and figured out) what he was doing.
I was very curious why the other 5, 6 patients in the room all looked sleepy and no one seemed to be in the same distress as I was. Before I was wheeled to my room I asked the RN why I was the only one that's feeling so much pain. He replied that everyone is different. I began to think perhaps I'd built up some kind of tolerance because of my previous 4 major surgeries - two for brain tumor and recurrence and the other two for breast cancer and recurrence.
After getting pumped up with pain killer, I fell asleep soundly until night fall. Hubby decided he's going home to have supper and get some rest. I must have fallen asleep again - not quite sure. But I was able to eat a very late supper (10 pm?) with mostly juice and other liquids. By 12 midnight, I was feeling so good (after getting another dose of pain-killer) I decided to walk around the East Wing of the 'North Tower". It had taken me several rounds to finally get a feel of directions and the co ordinance of my room. I had passed the same nurses stations two three times and was cheered up by many of the staff there. After about 30 minutes I went back to my room and lay back down. A few minutes later, a night-shift doctor stopped by my room and told me that my surgeon had specifically asked him to check on me. It was really a very nice feeling. This young doctor came from my same ethnic group but had grown up in the States.
The air conditioning in this brand new building (2, 3 years?) is 'silent', but there's a noisy 'air filter' staying on. I told the staff that there's no way I could rest with the noise. A couple of minutes later, she brought me a pair of ear plugs. I could still hear the noise, but I was able to finally get some rest.
Around four past midnight, I was awake again and decided to watch some TV and 'accidentally found an Internet connection. The staff brought me an awkward keyboard that's made of soft rubber. Took me a while to figure out how to navigate with the big TV screen far away from me. After sending out one message to my friends, I decided that was enough for the 'night' and went back to sleep.
Of course, one can never really 'sleep' while in the hospital because the staff always comes in to check vital sign or do other stuff. In the morning, my surgeon showed up making rounds and talked to me briefly - I really like his smiles. His assistant had told me during pre-op that he is a highly sought-after doctor - most likely because of the 'new' laparoscopic technique. He was able to get everything out and said all the tissue looked fine.
I felt very relieved that the surgery was a success and the recovery wasn't bad (except the pain I had felt in the recovery - but thanks to my much injured brain, I generally don't remember trauma/bad experience for very long time.) All together, I had spent just 24 hours in the hospital beginning with the reporting a little after 10 am yesterday. After I had had lunch at 11 am this morning, I was wheeled to the front entrance and rode home with my husband.
It's so nice to be home.
Madalyn Squires, M.D.
8240 Naab Road Suite 400
Indianapolis IN 46069
317-415-1000 |
Keita Sakon, M.D.
7190 S. Cimarron Rd.
Las Vegas NV 89135
702 870 3921 |
Iris Orbuch, M.D.
202 Spring Street 2nd Floor
New York NY 10012
212-343-3040 |
Michael Wong, M.D.
4282 Genesee Ave
Suite 201
San Diego CA 92117
858-268-0300 |
Zoe Kazemi-Dunn, M.D.
5550 E. Hampton
Tucson AZ 85712
520-421-8605 |
Liza M. Colimon, M.D.
21 W. Columbia St Suite 101
Winnie Palmer Hospital
Orlando FL 32806
321-841-6060 |
Chuong Pham, M.D.
18220 Tomball Parkway, SUite 320
Houston TX 77070
832-237-0222 |
Wm. Richard Salter, M.D.
1919 S. Shiloh Rd #333
Dallas TX 75042
972-276-9902 |
Alison Clarke DeSouza, M.D.
3100 Coral Hills Dr. # 207
Coral Springs FL 33065
954-341-9777 |
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-- January NewsletterPost Hysterectomy Fitness and Health is the theme of our January, 2012 newsletter at HysterSisters.com. Visit this link [ More]...
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