Hello from Ontario

My name is Lisa. I turned 36 in December. I wish I wasn't here right now, probably like many of you, but I have no choice unfortunately. I have 2 wonderful children, a boy who is going to be 20 years old this year and a girl who will be 16 years old this year (yes, I had them young).
I've always had issues "down there" since I was very young. Bowel problems. Yeast infections, bacterial infections, Bladder, kidney and urinary tract infections - nobody could tell me why. Still don't know but I still have them.
I'd been having increasingly severe pain in my pelvic area and originally went to the emergency department of a local hospital in March of 2007. They told me I have a cyst after doing an ultrasound. They were wrong. I suffered through the pain which got worse and worse over the months. From four days of mid-cycle pain to where I was feeling it for 2 weeks of the month - mid-cycle and again during my period. My period went from a dainty three day moderate to ten day heavy. Without boring you all with the details, I had to beg to be referred to an OB/GYN. I couldn't live like this anymore. I had a laparascopy done in Aug 2009 and was found that I have Endometriosis, swollen uterus, severe pelvic adhesions and a hydrosalpinx. The surgeon attempted to separate all of my organs but he warned me that it was a mess in there and the adhesions will likely re-fuse. Within three days of the surgery I was experiencing pain even worse than before (didn't think it was possible to get worse). I have now been living in pain daily. I might have a few days per month where it's not that bad but the cramping and fullness and constant feeling to push, as though I'm in labour, really puts a downer on my life.
I had an ectopic pregnancy back in 2002. The doctor tried an injection, some type of chemotherapy, three injections within the week. Didn't work. Tube exploded and I almost died. Literally.
The surgeon said he could see in my pelvis that there was massive amounts of blood loss and the ruptured tube was partially stuck to my bowels (explains the constant diarrhea). My bowels, uterus, omentum, pouch of douglas was "densely fused" to the left side of my pelvis. That explained the pain shooting down my left leg. My uterus is swollen and although I have my overies they're not functioning very well according to the hormone test I had done.
So, now I get to have a hysterectomy. Booked for Jan 15th, 2010. They're also doing an oopherectomy at the same time. So I'm being completely de-womanized (sorry if I'm offending anyone, I just haven't come to terms with this yet)
I'm here hoping to connect with some people who can offer some support and advice. I've seen other forums where everyone was constantly complaining about menopause/weight gain etc. This is the only one where I've come across a positive spin to the whole life-changing event. I will be posting some questions as well. Thanks for your support & this site.

Welcome to HysterSisters!

Your hysterectomy date is coming up and you will probably want to find support for your pre-op questions.

The pre-op forum can be found by visiting Pre-Op Forum.

Visit the Pre-Op page for information, articles, resources and the latest pre-op discussions!

For more information about managing your journey around the HysterSisters.com site, visit New Here. General answers to basic questions about the site can be found in our FAQ.


Please [click here] and fill out your Member Survey. It is fast and easy and will help others to be able to provide support for your hysterectomy needs. (And you will get your first member badge!)

We are glad you registered!

Again, welcome to HysterSisters!

P.S. This is our "Introduce Yourself" forum and its purpose is to point you in the proper direction for the best support for your needs. Only staff can reply here for the purpose of helping you find your way around the HysterSisters.com website. Support by our members is offered in our support forums (links in this reply above) where you can ask your specific questions and receive replies from our members. We look forward to seeing you on the support boards of this site!

Lijasha

I'm sorry you find yourself facing surgery but am very glad you've found us and hope you'll benefit from the wealth of information and support here.

Princess Ruby has linked our Pre-Op Page above, which is packed with information, and also the Pre-Op Support Forum where you’ll find all the other ladies awaiting surgery. Please don’t hesitate to start a new thread there (just as you did here) so others can share their experiences if you've any concerns. For endo-specific questions, however, you may prefer to use our <link> Endometriosis Support Forum where you’ll have the best chance of input from those with the most knowledge and experience.

Sending all good wishes for your surgery and recovery!