September is here
Today is our 3rd wedding anniversary. Three years ago I married the most amazing man. My husband is so supportive and helps me though everything. I do not know how I would have coped without him. Also three years ago today we decided to try for a family. I honestly thought that by now we would have at least one child. We have been through so much this last three years I just hope that the next year will be easier.
Tomorrow is my pre-op. it has come round so quickly. Not including todays shift at work I have 6 more shifts left. It is all becoming so real. I am starting to get anxious about the whole thing. I keep thinking what if the same thing happens again like last time. But then the rational side of me is telling me that yes it may happen again but so what if it does I am in the right place if anything does go wrong and is that not why I have been on the Prostrap these last three months? To reduce the swelling and the risk of a repeat of last year? Also they will spot the signs quicker surely after my history.
Yesterday I had my pre-op appointment. I was a jabbering wreck, even though I knew that all they were going to do was as a few questions, take a blood and urine sample and do some general observations (blood pressure, temperature, pulse). If I am like that for a little appointment (in and out within 30 minutes), then what will I be like on the morning of my operation?
We talked about what will happen on the morning of my operation and I was given a couple of leaflets:-
From midnight I am to be nil-by-mouth and my 5.00am I am to have stopped all liquid intake. Between 12.00am and 5.00am I am allowed to have clear liquids (I.E. water). I am to be at the hospital by 7.00am as my operation is booked for the morning. On arrival to the hospital I am to go to the Pre-Op department where I shall be prepared to go for my operation.
I was asked if I had any questions. I said that I did not however I am extremely anxious about having a repeat of what happened last year. The nurse said that this was understandable. If all goes well then I should be out and back at home that evening. Please let it go well. Please do not let something go wrong with my bowel and making me have to have a NG tube, or even a stent.
I have done my last evening shift before my shift before my operation. This is getting so real now. I have my shift Thursday and Friday. A wedding on Friday night and my cousins wedding on Saturday, Sunday nothing planned, Monday 7-1 shift in housekeeping, dentist in the afternoon then that is it Tuesday is my operation.
I got into the Pre-Operative Department at 7.00am this morning. I was told I was first on the list, which I was grateful about. You must bear with me as I am still very doped up. My anaesthetic team were very friendly. They asked the usual questions and before I knew it I was being walked to the theatre. I remember joking about having the Frimley Park Hospital tour and that I will put a good review on Trip Advisor about my tour guide.
I woke up about 11.30ish. I was extremely sore, they had given me what I can gather 7 ml (they just said 7) Morphine on the operating table and then 10 Morphine in recovery, I was also given Paracetamol IV drip.
My Gynaecologist came to see me, he said that I had had a little bleed and had to have a bigger gauze on one of my incisions. I had 4 incisions, he has removed part of my fallopian tube but not all of it so that he could save the ovary. He said a fare few organs were fused together. I am to be on sips only so no meal for me tonight, not that I feel like eating anyway. I am allowed no more morphine now because of what happened last year. I am just on Paracetamol and it is not even touching the sides one bit. I have those boot things again, like last year. What was it that the leaflet call them pneumatic foot or calf pump? Along with the ‘sexy’ hospital stockings. I managed to walk to the toilet and go for a wee, but it was very sore standing up and walking, then the pain shot up even more when I actually started going for a pee.
I had a bad night last night the Paracetamol did not touch the pain at all. I am now on a Paracetamol drip and ended up having a diclofenac suppository. The suppository seemed to work I managed to finally get some sort of sleep about 1.30/2.00am. It is just coming up to 7.00am and although I am still very sore I am feeling much better than I did last night. I am looking forward to my breakfast now. I am starving!!!
I was not allowed breakfast but just been allowed to have a soup and jelly lunch. I have been told that I am allowed light meals but I must take it very easy. I can feel my stomach cramping a bit as it digests my lunch, I will see how that goes. The wind I had this morning has also gone which is not a good sign. This morning I have had a paracetamol drip and another Diclofenac Suppository.
I managed the soup for lunch which went down well, this afternoon I had I nice chat to the lady next to me. She also has Endometriosis, we had a long chat about cake, shoes and a lot more cake. She had been discharged now, I am still here I am not allowed to go home until I have had a bowel movement.
I also saw my gynaecologist this afternoon, he said that I was looking really well, much better than yesterday when he saw me. He asked if I remembered seeing him. I told him that a vaguely remember him coming and showing me a couple of pictures but do not remember much. He said that my fallopian tube was attached to my ovary and that normally he would remove all of the tube but he just removed the “ballooned” part which in turn saved the ovary which will increase the chances of me getting pregnant naturally and if I need IVF it will increase the egg production. He also said that the operation took slightly longer than anticipated as it took them about 1 hour 30 minutes to even get to my pelvis through the adhesions. He was not surprised when I said that I was very sore because of this.
Dinner was scrambled egg, all I can say about it was that it did not go down well at all. Whilst eating it I started to get really bad cramping and then started heaving and almost being sick. But not actually being sick. All I remember thinking about was please not again, please do not let me go through all that again. I was given an anti-sickness injection through my cannula. I am now sitting in bed gutted. They said that I may feel a bit drowsy because of the injection.
Mum and dad popped in this evening, mum gave me the giggles, and needless to say it bloody hurt I was in tears but could not stop laughing even though it was hurting so much.
Well it is 6.00am and I had an OK night the nurse was right the anti-sickness did make me feel drowsy so I slept 9.00pm until 10.00pm woke up for a bit then 11.00pm through to 2.40am broken sleep, I went to go for another painful pee. Then up to 6.00am I had more broken sleep. This was not because of the pain, it was more of one of those drug induced sleeps. Touch wood the pain is bearable at the moment long may it continue. Please let me have a bowel movement today I really want to go home. I feel fine in myself, I just need this bowel movement before I can go home. I feel that I am taking up a bed that someone else that needs it could have it.
Breakfast went down well and more importantly stayed down. I have been given laxatives now to get my bowel moving. I had one this morning so hopefully it will kick in before I need to take another one, it tasted awful.
The only thing that is keeping me in hospital now is the fact that I have not been for a bowel movement.
WAHOO I have been for a poo, OK it was like water and only a little bit but I have been. I told the nurse but she recons that I need to go for a proper one before I can go home but a watery one is better than none at all.
Yes one of the gynaecologists on duty just came up to me and said that I am allowed to go home because I have opened my bowels. I am so happy I am just waiting on the paperwork and pharmacy now. I am all packed and ready to go. I am so happy that I do not have to stay another night. Although all the nurses and doctors are lovely there is no place like home, I have been told to keep a very close eye on the pain, sickness and my bowel movements just in case something goes wrong. I have to come back tomorrow morning to learn how to inject myself with the blood thinner.
I had a good day today only took some Paracetamol when we got into the car because of the bumpy roads. I learnt how to inject myself with Dalteparin (the blood thinning injection). I am to take one injection every day for seven days post-op. I have three more days to go. It is mind over matter, it is hard to get over the thought that you are going to stab yourself with a needle. But even with having to inject myself it is so good to be home.
I am so bored day one is over only another 41 days to go, it is a good thing that mum is here to make sure that I am being good and not over doing it.
This morning I woke up feeling a tad sore but nothing too bad. Fernando did jump on my belly whilst in bed that did shoot my pain levels through the roof but they did settle down eventually.
I received my letter from the hospital today about how my operation went. The letter stated that they performed a laparoscopic adhesiolysis, drainage of bilateral endometriomas, left partial salpingectomy and dye test.
A general anaesthetic vaginal examination revealed a normal vulva, vagina and cervix. My uterus was normal size with reduced mobility and palpable adnexal masses.
In view of my previous midline laparotomy they performed a palmer’s point entry. It took 1 ½ hours to take down omental and bowel adhesions to my anterior abdominal wall. Then they drained bilateral endometriomas and mobilised my right tube and ovary. However my left fallopian tube was a large hydrosalpinx densely adherent to my left ovary. They decided therefore it was appropriate to perform a partial salpingectomy removing a section near the corneal end. They felt that if they attempted to remove the entire tube it may have put my left ovary at risk. This will mean that I do not have fluid draining into the uterus which can affect embryo implantation. Dye insufflation showed that my right fallopian tube was patent.
My gynaecologist goes on to say that he very much hopes that I will be able to conceive naturally. However there is a strong possibility that I may require IVF if I fail to conceive naturally. We will discuss the management of my fertility when I have y follow up appointment in six weeks’ time.
The letter sounds very positive I really hope that this has helped.
I feel really odd the pain has not gone even though I have taken the Paracetamol and Ibuprofen 3 ½ hours ago. I keep getting really hot then cold again, I am feeling a tad queasy and light headed. I will keep an eye on how I am feeling. If it does not ease I will phone the ward and see what they say.
Thankfully it all eased by the next day I have had a good week I am 9 days post-op on Monday I went out to a garden centre with mum and dad. I was very tired when I got back home.
I am really thinking that I am not going to need the whole 6 weeks off work. I will get my GP to sign me back to work maybe 3 weeks post-op if I continue to go on the way I am going. I am feeling great in myself.
11 days post-op my husband and I went into town this morning and I now know that I am no way ready to go back to work now. I am in so much pain and feeling sickly again. After a laparoscopy (that is just a normal clean up) you normally get signed off work for 2-3 weeks. Maybe it is because I had the partial salpingectomy that I am off for so long. Maybe I needed today to make me realise that I am by far no way healed yet. Even though mentally I am fine, physically I have got a long way to go yet.
Tomorrow is my pre-op. it has come round so quickly. Not including todays shift at work I have 6 more shifts left. It is all becoming so real. I am starting to get anxious about the whole thing. I keep thinking what if the same thing happens again like last time. But then the rational side of me is telling me that yes it may happen again but so what if it does I am in the right place if anything does go wrong and is that not why I have been on the Prostrap these last three months? To reduce the swelling and the risk of a repeat of last year? Also they will spot the signs quicker surely after my history.
Yesterday I had my pre-op appointment. I was a jabbering wreck, even though I knew that all they were going to do was as a few questions, take a blood and urine sample and do some general observations (blood pressure, temperature, pulse). If I am like that for a little appointment (in and out within 30 minutes), then what will I be like on the morning of my operation?
We talked about what will happen on the morning of my operation and I was given a couple of leaflets:-
- Preventing Hospital Acquired Blood Clots
- Welcome to the Pre-Operative Department (POD)
- Pelvic Floor Exercises after Gynaecological Surgery
From midnight I am to be nil-by-mouth and my 5.00am I am to have stopped all liquid intake. Between 12.00am and 5.00am I am allowed to have clear liquids (I.E. water). I am to be at the hospital by 7.00am as my operation is booked for the morning. On arrival to the hospital I am to go to the Pre-Op department where I shall be prepared to go for my operation.
I was asked if I had any questions. I said that I did not however I am extremely anxious about having a repeat of what happened last year. The nurse said that this was understandable. If all goes well then I should be out and back at home that evening. Please let it go well. Please do not let something go wrong with my bowel and making me have to have a NG tube, or even a stent.
I have done my last evening shift before my shift before my operation. This is getting so real now. I have my shift Thursday and Friday. A wedding on Friday night and my cousins wedding on Saturday, Sunday nothing planned, Monday 7-1 shift in housekeeping, dentist in the afternoon then that is it Tuesday is my operation.
I got into the Pre-Operative Department at 7.00am this morning. I was told I was first on the list, which I was grateful about. You must bear with me as I am still very doped up. My anaesthetic team were very friendly. They asked the usual questions and before I knew it I was being walked to the theatre. I remember joking about having the Frimley Park Hospital tour and that I will put a good review on Trip Advisor about my tour guide.
I woke up about 11.30ish. I was extremely sore, they had given me what I can gather 7 ml (they just said 7) Morphine on the operating table and then 10 Morphine in recovery, I was also given Paracetamol IV drip.
My Gynaecologist came to see me, he said that I had had a little bleed and had to have a bigger gauze on one of my incisions. I had 4 incisions, he has removed part of my fallopian tube but not all of it so that he could save the ovary. He said a fare few organs were fused together. I am to be on sips only so no meal for me tonight, not that I feel like eating anyway. I am allowed no more morphine now because of what happened last year. I am just on Paracetamol and it is not even touching the sides one bit. I have those boot things again, like last year. What was it that the leaflet call them pneumatic foot or calf pump? Along with the ‘sexy’ hospital stockings. I managed to walk to the toilet and go for a wee, but it was very sore standing up and walking, then the pain shot up even more when I actually started going for a pee.
I had a bad night last night the Paracetamol did not touch the pain at all. I am now on a Paracetamol drip and ended up having a diclofenac suppository. The suppository seemed to work I managed to finally get some sort of sleep about 1.30/2.00am. It is just coming up to 7.00am and although I am still very sore I am feeling much better than I did last night. I am looking forward to my breakfast now. I am starving!!!
I was not allowed breakfast but just been allowed to have a soup and jelly lunch. I have been told that I am allowed light meals but I must take it very easy. I can feel my stomach cramping a bit as it digests my lunch, I will see how that goes. The wind I had this morning has also gone which is not a good sign. This morning I have had a paracetamol drip and another Diclofenac Suppository.
I managed the soup for lunch which went down well, this afternoon I had I nice chat to the lady next to me. She also has Endometriosis, we had a long chat about cake, shoes and a lot more cake. She had been discharged now, I am still here I am not allowed to go home until I have had a bowel movement.
I also saw my gynaecologist this afternoon, he said that I was looking really well, much better than yesterday when he saw me. He asked if I remembered seeing him. I told him that a vaguely remember him coming and showing me a couple of pictures but do not remember much. He said that my fallopian tube was attached to my ovary and that normally he would remove all of the tube but he just removed the “ballooned” part which in turn saved the ovary which will increase the chances of me getting pregnant naturally and if I need IVF it will increase the egg production. He also said that the operation took slightly longer than anticipated as it took them about 1 hour 30 minutes to even get to my pelvis through the adhesions. He was not surprised when I said that I was very sore because of this.
Dinner was scrambled egg, all I can say about it was that it did not go down well at all. Whilst eating it I started to get really bad cramping and then started heaving and almost being sick. But not actually being sick. All I remember thinking about was please not again, please do not let me go through all that again. I was given an anti-sickness injection through my cannula. I am now sitting in bed gutted. They said that I may feel a bit drowsy because of the injection.
Mum and dad popped in this evening, mum gave me the giggles, and needless to say it bloody hurt I was in tears but could not stop laughing even though it was hurting so much.
Well it is 6.00am and I had an OK night the nurse was right the anti-sickness did make me feel drowsy so I slept 9.00pm until 10.00pm woke up for a bit then 11.00pm through to 2.40am broken sleep, I went to go for another painful pee. Then up to 6.00am I had more broken sleep. This was not because of the pain, it was more of one of those drug induced sleeps. Touch wood the pain is bearable at the moment long may it continue. Please let me have a bowel movement today I really want to go home. I feel fine in myself, I just need this bowel movement before I can go home. I feel that I am taking up a bed that someone else that needs it could have it.
Breakfast went down well and more importantly stayed down. I have been given laxatives now to get my bowel moving. I had one this morning so hopefully it will kick in before I need to take another one, it tasted awful.
The only thing that is keeping me in hospital now is the fact that I have not been for a bowel movement.
WAHOO I have been for a poo, OK it was like water and only a little bit but I have been. I told the nurse but she recons that I need to go for a proper one before I can go home but a watery one is better than none at all.
Yes one of the gynaecologists on duty just came up to me and said that I am allowed to go home because I have opened my bowels. I am so happy I am just waiting on the paperwork and pharmacy now. I am all packed and ready to go. I am so happy that I do not have to stay another night. Although all the nurses and doctors are lovely there is no place like home, I have been told to keep a very close eye on the pain, sickness and my bowel movements just in case something goes wrong. I have to come back tomorrow morning to learn how to inject myself with the blood thinner.
I had a good day today only took some Paracetamol when we got into the car because of the bumpy roads. I learnt how to inject myself with Dalteparin (the blood thinning injection). I am to take one injection every day for seven days post-op. I have three more days to go. It is mind over matter, it is hard to get over the thought that you are going to stab yourself with a needle. But even with having to inject myself it is so good to be home.
I am so bored day one is over only another 41 days to go, it is a good thing that mum is here to make sure that I am being good and not over doing it.
This morning I woke up feeling a tad sore but nothing too bad. Fernando did jump on my belly whilst in bed that did shoot my pain levels through the roof but they did settle down eventually.
I received my letter from the hospital today about how my operation went. The letter stated that they performed a laparoscopic adhesiolysis, drainage of bilateral endometriomas, left partial salpingectomy and dye test.
A general anaesthetic vaginal examination revealed a normal vulva, vagina and cervix. My uterus was normal size with reduced mobility and palpable adnexal masses.
In view of my previous midline laparotomy they performed a palmer’s point entry. It took 1 ½ hours to take down omental and bowel adhesions to my anterior abdominal wall. Then they drained bilateral endometriomas and mobilised my right tube and ovary. However my left fallopian tube was a large hydrosalpinx densely adherent to my left ovary. They decided therefore it was appropriate to perform a partial salpingectomy removing a section near the corneal end. They felt that if they attempted to remove the entire tube it may have put my left ovary at risk. This will mean that I do not have fluid draining into the uterus which can affect embryo implantation. Dye insufflation showed that my right fallopian tube was patent.
My gynaecologist goes on to say that he very much hopes that I will be able to conceive naturally. However there is a strong possibility that I may require IVF if I fail to conceive naturally. We will discuss the management of my fertility when I have y follow up appointment in six weeks’ time.
The letter sounds very positive I really hope that this has helped.
I feel really odd the pain has not gone even though I have taken the Paracetamol and Ibuprofen 3 ½ hours ago. I keep getting really hot then cold again, I am feeling a tad queasy and light headed. I will keep an eye on how I am feeling. If it does not ease I will phone the ward and see what they say.
Thankfully it all eased by the next day I have had a good week I am 9 days post-op on Monday I went out to a garden centre with mum and dad. I was very tired when I got back home.
I am really thinking that I am not going to need the whole 6 weeks off work. I will get my GP to sign me back to work maybe 3 weeks post-op if I continue to go on the way I am going. I am feeling great in myself.
11 days post-op my husband and I went into town this morning and I now know that I am no way ready to go back to work now. I am in so much pain and feeling sickly again. After a laparoscopy (that is just a normal clean up) you normally get signed off work for 2-3 weeks. Maybe it is because I had the partial salpingectomy that I am off for so long. Maybe I needed today to make me realise that I am by far no way healed yet. Even though mentally I am fine, physically I have got a long way to go yet.