This year is already half over and I don’t feel like much has happened. It’s been a pretty stagnant one, except for the fact that I had a surgical consult with the president and chair of a large women’s health organization here in the metro area who just so happens to specialize in endometriosis. Talk about luck.
Surgery
Surgery was in early June. I had a total hysterectomy with endometriosis excision. It was a long time coming and I’m extremely grateful for my husband’s fancy corpo insurance which paid for 100% of the surgery. This is impressive, considering everything they did and found:
- More endometriosis (Stage II) on my left pelvic sidewall
- My uterus adhered to my bladder
- Endosalpingosis
- Adenomyosis
- …and a uterine fibroid
Needless to say, surgery was more involved than anticipated.
Since Covid, they no longer allow patients at this particular hospital to have someone with them in recovery. The first time I got to see my husband after surgery was when they wheeled me out of the hospital and helped me into the car. I’d say I was upset about it, but uh… I barely remember anything after the anesthesiologist told me to take a few deep breaths of oxygen, so whatever.
Recovery
The first two weeks were unpleasant. I could not get comfortable because I was forced to lie on my back… which, of course, resulted in my back hurting like hell. The gas pains from being pumped full of COâ‚‚ sucked as well; I can’t even tell you how much simethicone I went through during that period. And, of course, the nausea. Holy cow. I won’t even pretend to understand what caused it, but it did not fully resolve until about a month post-op.. and it was not the pain meds that caused it either because I only took three of them before switching to ibuprofen (I had a bad reaction). I would be lying downstairs on the sectional half asleep then just start yelling at my husband and grandma for no reason. Sooooo yeah, screw oxycodone. Never again.
My surgery letter said I could return to work after three weeks, but HR would only approve two weeks of paid leave. Otherwise, I’d have to take the final week unpaid. So I struggle-bussed my way through week three, and sitting was definitely unpleasant because it put pressure on my vaginal cuff. Thankfully, I work from home, so I was able to work from bed and/or take longer breaks when the pain would surface. After that third week, I more or less felt back to normal. I still get a little bit of episodic aching randomly but nothing that merits OTC meds.
I am now in week six and have my last post-op appointment this coming Monday. If everything looks good, I’ll be cleared to resume all activities!
My would-have-been period came and went a couple weeks ago. The only reason I knew was because of the mood fluctuations (the PMDD issues will remain for as long as I still have ovaries, unfortunately). BUT! Zero pain for the first time since a teenager. Hallelujah. I will confirm with my surgeon next week when I can revisit getting my ovaries removed without risking damage to my heart, brain, or bone health. IIRC, studies say over 45 years old to avoid those risks. That will be my fourth and (hopefully) final pelvic surgery.
Conclusion
It was definitely the most painful and overall unpleasant of all my pelvic surgeries thus far, but I would absolutely do it again in a heartbeat.
Here’s to a pain-free future!