TVH - My castle story

After having horrible periods since age 12 and never knowing it wasnt 'normal'.. I finally decided to see a gyn about it once the clots and leg pain began.

After many tests and long talks, I was diagnosed with adenomyosis. I already knew I had fibroids because they were visually seen during a c/section when the dr examined the uterus before stitching it up. I was suffering with 21+ days long cycles, heavy bleeding, clots, leg pain which put me in bed for days, and a mild uterine prolapse.

Surgery was scheduled for 6-9. My insurance company denied the pre-cert and I fell apart. My drs office began a 3 week fight which ended in a telephone conference between my dr and the ins co. They finally approved and the date was confirmed. I was nervous and jittery until about 2 weeks pre-op then I calmed down. I stayed calm and even slept well the night before surgery.
I had no bowel prep at all which was a huge relief for me and only had a light diet for the 24 hours before and nothing at all after midnight the night before surgery.

5:05 am- June 9th. I hear a doorbell and shoot straight up out of bed. My parents had arrived 30 minutes too early so I got up and let them in. I stumbled back to the shower and took care of that, grabbed my bag, kissed my children (which was tough) and out the door I went by 5:45am to arrive at the castle by 6:15am. When I got there I had to stop at the restroom.. nerves were kicking in big time! I signed in and was given a pager. DH and I sat in the waiting room and waited until we beeped. Then we parted... I was taken back to pre-op where I had to put on the lovely gown, and discovered that I had started my cycle.. Wouldnt you know it. I did the betadine douche, which was too hot and burned me.. and had to take off my wedding band or they threatened to cut it off. I wasnt pleased. Then DH could join me and we waited. I began having bad cramps and the A-man came in and we discussed my drug allergies. He gave me some Versed and I began to cry.. it was 8:30 and my surgery was set for 45 min away. A nurse Anesth. came in and asked me what was wrong and decided since I was cramping so bad that I should have some fentanyl.. I immediately felt relief and I told her I loved her. LOL ! Then my GYN arrived, shook DH's hand, told me not to worry, and off I was wheeled to O.R #13. Yup.. my luck! I gave DH a kiss and in we went.

They transferred me to the OR table and began strapping my arms down, a mask went over my face and the nurse anesth. put some Propafol into my IV.. I took 2 deep breaths and next thing I remember I was waking up in recovery.
I asked the recovery nurse if I had a cath, because I couldnt feel one. She said No! The dr simply drained my bladder before surgery and that was all. I was moved to my room at this point and DH came in.

I had no packing, no cath, and no shave. I was queasy and a nurse came in to give me demerol. I told her I couldnt tolerate it (allergies) and she stuck me anyway and I got really sick then. I had to have Zofran all night to keep from vomiting. Then she left me on the toilet for at least 30 min.. felt like hours, while I kept ringing her. I was not happy and I bawled her out. I wasnt allowed to walk without assistance and I had to pee every hour. That was the last I saw of her.
The rest of my stay was great. I had toradol/morphine for pain every 6 hours and I had to get up and pee every hour. After a few more trips with a nurse, they allowed me to go alone to the bathroom. The pain wasnt bad but it did feel like a massive cramp, low in my tummy. At midnight I had a reaction to the morphine and had to have drugs to counteract that. I freaked out because I do have severe narcotic allergies and it took 3 nurses to calm me. By morning I felt 100% better.
Dr came in and we discussed the surgery. I had alot of scarring but he worked around it without having to give me an incision. My uterus was huge and he had trouble getting it out. I kept my ovaries. He said they were beautiful He gave me my instructions, told me I looked great and I was discharged.
I couldnt wait to get home!

Now... 3 days post op, I feel really good. The worst part was not being able to have a BM, but milk of mag took care of that in about 6 hours. Im a little sore and being a good princess. I am taking Motrin 800 every 8 for pain and its handling it well.

I am thankful to this site for giving me all the info I needed and the support I needed when I was most scared. Because of HS I went into surgery calm and collected without fear.
To all the LIW.. the wait really is the toughest part. I feel better 3 days post op than I have in years.