Cowardly fibroidic hypo-thyroidic equestian seeks advice

Thanks again everyone.
Back home and doing fine.

I know the fibroids growing back is a risk. My heart goes out to anyone who has had to be this sore from an operatibn and take off so much time off work only to have the hateful things grow back. I'm praying it doesn't happen to me.

Karla - what part of the country are you in? My endocrinologist, << Dr Name snipped, per site guidelines>> Site Guidelines near San Jose, has been very helpful. She might be able to give you a 2nd opinion about HRT options.

I had the drain tubes pulled out yesterday. Gross!

Got to see the results of the tummy tuck. I'm not sure it was worth the money but I can't exactly take it back now. It doesn't look bad... just not that different from before. A bit flatter I guess if you look from the side and I am now minus that extra roll I used to have around the middle. If I could go back in time. I would probably not bother though. On the other hand I have no idea how it would have looked without the tuck. SO maybe it was a good thing to do.

I'm about 20 pounds lighter than before my operation. ( This is not from the tummy tuck. Fat from the tummy tuck does not weigh much.) It is mostly from the fibroid removal. I was carrying a heavy "bag of oranges". (These are now on photographic display at Stanford where my doctor teaches.) It's also due to the fact that for the first time since birth I have absolutely no appetite. Most food smells disgusting right now. All I want is water and orange juice.

Actually everything smells disgusting. My dogs smell much doggier than they did before. They used to sleep on our bed. Now, though I love them so much, I can't stand to have them in the bedroom. My boyfriend, who has been pretty patient and wonderful, can't kiss me if he's eaten anything with garlic. Actually if he's eaten anything. Poor fellow keeps having to go brush his teeth. It's kind of weird for me to be this sensitive to odors.

The walker turned out not to be necessary. I'm getting around really well without it. I can walk around and go up and down the stairs with no ill effects except general exhaustion.

I haven't used the hospital bed. It turns this rented hospital bed was much lumpier than I could have possibly imagined. I'm having both the bed and the walker returned today so we can make room in the living room for a Christmas tree. Advise if you are renting a hospital bed... ask if the mattress is firm and not lumpy. That might have helped me.

I'm very sore but not more than I expected to be. I sleep, tossing and turning, from 8 PM to about 6 AM and then take a few long naps during the day.

I have no desire to ride the horse at the moment.

The house looks (and smells) dirty to me. People keep coming by with good wishes and I keep wanting to apologize for the general mess. I want to clean it but even the thought of this makes me tired. I'm thinking about hiring a cleaning service sometime before Christmas. (Argh, The price of renting the unused hospital bed would have covered this.... but hindsight is 20-20, no? )

Otherwise everthing is good.

I feel like I owe a debt someplace. I'm wondering when I recover if there is some volunteer group that goes around to the homes of other hyster sisters to run errands or something. I don't need anythng myself at the moment but I would imagine there are others out there who might and would love to help when I am more recovered. Is there such a thing?

Hi Beth, Hi Sheri,

Thanks, Beth, for the smilies tips. I now have them...

Sheri, I'm in Seattle, so I'm looking around up here for some docs. My acupuncturist may have given me the naturopath that I'll check into, not only for fibroid control and HRT, but my thyroid issues, since my regular endocrinologist is not being much help.

So glad that you are home, and great advice on the hospital bed. Lumpy? No thanks! And sorry that you are experiencing the weirdness of smell. Ask your doc about parosmia. I had a head injury last February from a car accident, and my sense of smell and taste has gone south -- some of it hasn't come back, some of it is very different and some things smell very strong. I wonder if the anesthesia could have done something along those lines? Parosmia is smelling things that aren't there, which I know doesn't fit your situation exactly, but it doesn't fit mine exactly, either, and that's the current diagnosis.

Thanks again... Sheri, take it easy, and maybe that tummy tuck will end up looking much better than it currently does. Don't you have a bit of swelling going on at surgery site? And a bag of oranges -- wow!



Karla

I was around this site a lot a few years ago researching what to do about my fibroids. I ultimately decided on myomectomy and had five of 'em removed. They DID promptly return (don't panic - my doctor said that it was highly unusual). I've been watching them grow for a few years and they took a sudden leap of late. Now the doctor says they've been voted off of the island and its time for them to go. I always thought hysterectomy would be the easy choice if they did come back - but that was a whole lot easier when I wasn't facing it in a few years but rather a decade away. I've decided I think to go the myomectomy route again 'cuz I'm just not ready to deal with losing my uterus (still single and no kids) and the hormone issues (my sister had ovarian cancer so he says if they uterus goes the ovaries should, too). Its amazing that when contemplating the possibility of hysterectomy just how easy that myomectomy was a few years ago.

I'm still going to be chewing on it the next few weeks. Probably hysterectomy would be my smarter choice, but I'm not quite ready to be smart. I thought surgery again was in the distant future... not a month away. I don't regret the myomectomy choice at all last time. We'll see this go 'round. Since they came back so quickly last time, my doctor said he would expect them to come back again since I'm only 40. Still chewing.....

Hi Civilgal,

I have only done some rudimentary reading so far on myomectomy and uterine artery embolization. I'm sure that I need to read a lot more, and will when I have time. As you can tell, I'm trying the naturopathic route in the short term. I'm 49, so I have fewer years for these fibroids to stick around (I think, I hope!).

Did they do your myomectomy laparascopically? How was your recovery time?

Good luck on your surgery next month! We'll be thinking of you.

Karla

Karoma,
No, I had to have the bikini cut for my myomectomy last time. And, it'll be the same way this time - for either surgery. The fibroid was/is too big for the laparascopy route.

Last time I went back to work at five weeks, but I really could've gone back sooner. The doctor says he always puts 6 weeks when he's putting down the time and goes from there down if I'm ready and able.