Post by lifelongblade on Sept 18, 2003 18:42:41 GMT -5
Hi all,
I have thought for a long time, that women who have hysts have the urge to tell others in detail about what happened to them, and that it's rather like stories of giving birth, but NOT so widely accepted!
I've never written down what happened to me, but thought i might, just to have a record of it that i can look back on and fondly remember.
I have had bad endo for as long as I can remember. Having started my periods at 9 and it always being painful. I have had 13 years of treatment for endo and had 14 ops before.
My endo had always been feisty, rather like it's owner, and kept coming back, no matter what hormones were thrown at it.
Anway, I went onto a drug trial last April, and this was very much my last gasp treatment at keeping my endo at bay. Three months into the Zoladex treatment and I had a massive allergic reaction to it, that forced me to withdraw from the study.
In November last year, my fantastic gynaecologist, Mary, finally admitted that the only thing left was a total hysterectomy.
She said she felt that she had done everything and nothing had controlled it, but that she was "regretful" of having to offer me this as I was only 30 and didn't have any children.
I scheduled surgery for the following April. The day after my 31st birthday.
The next few months were hell. I thank god I found friends on the internet who helped me through it.
April arrived and having worked myself into a complete panic about it,and also at work trying to keep on top of everything, I developed tonsillitis about two weeks before my op date.
I rarely have colds, and if I do, they rarely stay longer than a week.
But this one did. Eight weeks infact in the end!
I went into hospital on April 12, feeling lousy from my sore throat, and being put into a ward bay with two pregnant women.
The anaesthatist came around, asked me how I was feeling, and I mentioned to him that I had had a sore throat, but felt ok. He then, without even looking in my mouth, said "oh, well, we just can't do it then".
I just said "oh my god" and promptly started crying!
Thankfully my mum was there, and propped me up enough so that I could get home in one piece.
It was awful however having to tell people I hadn't had it done, and to know that I would have to mentally prepare myself again.
I was booked in for a month later, and ended up not returning to work between dates due to my doctor recommending not coming into contact with anybody with a sniffle or cold. Easier said than done!!!
Finally May 12 dawned.
I made my way, again with my mum, to the hospital, and was put into a bay with only one other person in it. Turned out she had had an ectopic pregnancy.
The young nurse came to prep me, and asked me to go and "shave" myself and then change into a gown and put on my attractive antiembolitic stockings!! How fetching was I in those!
After much hilarity I shaved and changed.
At that point it hit me. I, little ole me...I was having a hysterectomy. I can remember wanting to run out of the hospital all the way home again.
But I didn't, I stayed.
The anaesthatist came, and was very funny. I told him my one fear was waking up half way through, and he said "gosh, some people are REALLY picky"...ha ha.
He gave me a pre med, and at 11:30am they came to wheel me down.
I sat in the preop bay for about ten minutes...needed a wee and refused to use a bed pan! I wanted to retain SOME dignity, so the nurses kindly let me get up and use the proper toilet.
I chatted about snooker to the preop nurse, who told me I probably wouldn't even remember her!
Then they came to take me through. I had wanted to see my surgeon before hand, but she didn't come in time, which she later apologised for. They put the canula in my hand and the pressure pad for taking my blood pressure on my finger, and then I said, "do me a favour...tell Mary (the consultant) that I said Thankyou"...
And then bingo, I was out like a light. I don't remember anything else until 8pm that night when I woke up to see my mum and dad walking onto the ward and having a face mask giving me oxygen through.
My mum had a look down the side of my bed, and by her face I knew that I had a drainage tube in, as well as the catheter, although she didn't tell me.
I felt so groggy, I can only remember being awake for about ten minutes and being very sleepy throughout that.
My next memory is of waking the following day and having two very nice nurses rolling my sad and sorry little body around to give me a bed bath.
They looked at my scar and said it looked "very straight" and it was "beautiful".
I had a PCA to give me pethidine as I'm allergic to Morphine, and it was next to useless. I have never been in so much complete pain in my life. Everywhere ached.
I felt sick, and spent the whole of the next day, well the times I was awake, burping, and then saying "oh pardon me". Whatever the visitors for the poor women in the next bed thought I have no idea!!
I did get up and shuffle the first day, just to the sink to brush my teeth, and they sat me out for half an hour in a chair.
I had realised by this time that I had a drain and catheter.
I felt very very unwell. My stomache was in agony, the wind was horrendous.
My friend came that first night, and I was just so sick I was really embarrassed.
To be honest, I wouldn't want visitors to come if i had to do it all again.
Every day did get better. The lady in the next bed, Kath, had a VH and felt much better than I did.
The drainage tube and catheter were removed on Day four and I felt NO pain at all.
Overall, it was incredibly painful experience, which took me a long time to recover from.
However now, nearly five months on....i'm painfree.
Following the op, at my six month check I had a real shock when my surgeon told me she had found Endo as far as the eye can see...adhesions on everything, a cyst on my right fallopian tube, fibroids, a tumour underneath my uterus (thankfully benign) and adenomyosis.
I'm a completely different person now. I'm truely not in any pain. This is nothing short of a miracle, as i'd been in pain everyday from the adhesions.
So I would have it done again in a heart beat although I dont think i appreciated HOW hard it would be.
Blade ;D
I have thought for a long time, that women who have hysts have the urge to tell others in detail about what happened to them, and that it's rather like stories of giving birth, but NOT so widely accepted!
I've never written down what happened to me, but thought i might, just to have a record of it that i can look back on and fondly remember.
I have had bad endo for as long as I can remember. Having started my periods at 9 and it always being painful. I have had 13 years of treatment for endo and had 14 ops before.
My endo had always been feisty, rather like it's owner, and kept coming back, no matter what hormones were thrown at it.
Anway, I went onto a drug trial last April, and this was very much my last gasp treatment at keeping my endo at bay. Three months into the Zoladex treatment and I had a massive allergic reaction to it, that forced me to withdraw from the study.
In November last year, my fantastic gynaecologist, Mary, finally admitted that the only thing left was a total hysterectomy.
She said she felt that she had done everything and nothing had controlled it, but that she was "regretful" of having to offer me this as I was only 30 and didn't have any children.
I scheduled surgery for the following April. The day after my 31st birthday.
The next few months were hell. I thank god I found friends on the internet who helped me through it.
April arrived and having worked myself into a complete panic about it,and also at work trying to keep on top of everything, I developed tonsillitis about two weeks before my op date.
I rarely have colds, and if I do, they rarely stay longer than a week.
But this one did. Eight weeks infact in the end!
I went into hospital on April 12, feeling lousy from my sore throat, and being put into a ward bay with two pregnant women.
The anaesthatist came around, asked me how I was feeling, and I mentioned to him that I had had a sore throat, but felt ok. He then, without even looking in my mouth, said "oh, well, we just can't do it then".
I just said "oh my god" and promptly started crying!
Thankfully my mum was there, and propped me up enough so that I could get home in one piece.
It was awful however having to tell people I hadn't had it done, and to know that I would have to mentally prepare myself again.
I was booked in for a month later, and ended up not returning to work between dates due to my doctor recommending not coming into contact with anybody with a sniffle or cold. Easier said than done!!!
Finally May 12 dawned.
I made my way, again with my mum, to the hospital, and was put into a bay with only one other person in it. Turned out she had had an ectopic pregnancy.
The young nurse came to prep me, and asked me to go and "shave" myself and then change into a gown and put on my attractive antiembolitic stockings!! How fetching was I in those!
After much hilarity I shaved and changed.
At that point it hit me. I, little ole me...I was having a hysterectomy. I can remember wanting to run out of the hospital all the way home again.
But I didn't, I stayed.
The anaesthatist came, and was very funny. I told him my one fear was waking up half way through, and he said "gosh, some people are REALLY picky"...ha ha.
He gave me a pre med, and at 11:30am they came to wheel me down.
I sat in the preop bay for about ten minutes...needed a wee and refused to use a bed pan! I wanted to retain SOME dignity, so the nurses kindly let me get up and use the proper toilet.
I chatted about snooker to the preop nurse, who told me I probably wouldn't even remember her!
Then they came to take me through. I had wanted to see my surgeon before hand, but she didn't come in time, which she later apologised for. They put the canula in my hand and the pressure pad for taking my blood pressure on my finger, and then I said, "do me a favour...tell Mary (the consultant) that I said Thankyou"...
And then bingo, I was out like a light. I don't remember anything else until 8pm that night when I woke up to see my mum and dad walking onto the ward and having a face mask giving me oxygen through.
My mum had a look down the side of my bed, and by her face I knew that I had a drainage tube in, as well as the catheter, although she didn't tell me.
I felt so groggy, I can only remember being awake for about ten minutes and being very sleepy throughout that.
My next memory is of waking the following day and having two very nice nurses rolling my sad and sorry little body around to give me a bed bath.
They looked at my scar and said it looked "very straight" and it was "beautiful".
I had a PCA to give me pethidine as I'm allergic to Morphine, and it was next to useless. I have never been in so much complete pain in my life. Everywhere ached.
I felt sick, and spent the whole of the next day, well the times I was awake, burping, and then saying "oh pardon me". Whatever the visitors for the poor women in the next bed thought I have no idea!!
I did get up and shuffle the first day, just to the sink to brush my teeth, and they sat me out for half an hour in a chair.
I had realised by this time that I had a drain and catheter.
I felt very very unwell. My stomache was in agony, the wind was horrendous.
My friend came that first night, and I was just so sick I was really embarrassed.
To be honest, I wouldn't want visitors to come if i had to do it all again.
Every day did get better. The lady in the next bed, Kath, had a VH and felt much better than I did.
The drainage tube and catheter were removed on Day four and I felt NO pain at all.
Overall, it was incredibly painful experience, which took me a long time to recover from.
However now, nearly five months on....i'm painfree.
Following the op, at my six month check I had a real shock when my surgeon told me she had found Endo as far as the eye can see...adhesions on everything, a cyst on my right fallopian tube, fibroids, a tumour underneath my uterus (thankfully benign) and adenomyosis.
I'm a completely different person now. I'm truely not in any pain. This is nothing short of a miracle, as i'd been in pain everyday from the adhesions.
So I would have it done again in a heart beat although I dont think i appreciated HOW hard it would be.
Blade ;D