Almost 6 Weeks Post Op!

If there's one thing I like better than the pastel colors around Easter, it's eating chocolate bunnies!

It's been a good weekend. I finished filing my taxes and I went on my first post-op run today. Surprisingly it went pretty well. I didn't have any pain during the run but I betcha I'll be feeling it in a couple days!

The rest of the day has been filled with spring cleaning: clearing out the fridge and scrubbing it, sweeping off the deck and vacuuming the car out. I really wish I had a housekeeper because it seems just as I have one room in control, another room seems to get messy. I usually save all the cleaning to do until the weekend so maybe I just need re-think my time management during the week. It sure is hard to come home from work and start cleaning though! Hmm, I guess my energy level is still low.

Tuesday will be the six week mark after my surgery which means:

• I can start exercising again (um, I jumped the gun but only by a couple days)
• I can start heavy lifting again (whatever, I try not to do that anyway)

So, it's on to a new page now. I'm feeling pretty good and for the most part am back to normal. My incision sometimes stings a little but it seems to be healing pretty well (despite the muffin top that's still lingering).

Bring spring on!

Perty, ain't it?

So this is the fibroid. It's pretty ooky, I know. Check out all the veins poppin out on that thing. The smaller thing in the pic is another fibroid and the thing on the right is my uterus (you can see where it's attached to the large fibroid by a stalk).

So I went to see the doc for my first post op visit earlier this week. He checked my incision and said everything seemed to be healing normally. I asked him about the hard, lovely muffin top that's above the incision and he said it would get better with time. I asked him if I should be massaging and he said no. He also told me I can start running and exercising in two weeks so I'm looking forward to that.

I asked him what he thought caused fibroids and how I could avoid growing them again. He said in all likelihood given my "talent" for making multiple ones, that I probably already have more growing right now at the microscopic level. Made me feel all warm and cozy! He said doctors aren't sure what makes them grow (other than estrogen) and that nothing had been proven to prohibit their growth.

My plan is to start going to a gynecologist that I can trust and make sure they know that I have this medical history so they can be vigilant looking for fibroids when I have an exam. That way they can be caught earlier and I can avoid a major surgery like this again!

Draggin Ass

Boy did I overdo it today. I carried a little 8 month old kid around for 2 hours this morning and it wore me out! Cute kid but it was a little too much lifting for right now. When I came home from work all I wanted to do was take a loooong nap. Not until I finish blogging though!

On a positive note, I'm back at work now and enjoying the routine for the most part. I thought it would be really hard on me physically to sit behind a desk all day but it hasn't been. I try to get up and move around throughout the day so I don't get too uncomfortable.

I'm looking forward to seeing the doc for the first time after my surgery on Monday. I'm going to ask him when I can start running and exercising again. I'm still not quite feeling up to that yet but it'll be good to know. For now, the slow paced walking is still just fine for me.

A Much Needed Distraction

I've been working on a quilting project the last few days--so intensely that I haven't gotten a chance to blog--sinful! I made a baby quilt for a friend and boy was it the project from hell. I got all these cute soft flannels to make the quilt and it was going to be the cutest thing ever. I have a White "quilter's" machine and I can't tell you how misleading the model name is. Suffice it to say that the instruction manual is sorely lacking and the machine itself is devoid of quality. Not a fan.

So, I went to a quilting store in my vulnerable state, hoping to get some advice on how to tackle my project with my sanity intact. Instead of helping me with my project the savvy women introduced me to the prince of all sewing machines: the Bernina 830. This thing has all the bells and whistles and even looks sleak and sexy (yeah, I know, a sewing machine!). So I took her for a test drive and it was magical. Guess how much this thing goes for....$11,000! Yep, that pretty much sealed the deal. But I can dream....

Oh yeah, my recovery:

As I'm approaching the end of my third week since the surgery I'm feeling like I haven't made much improvement since the beginning of the week until now. I still am not sleeping well (and still haven't purchased the memory foam--maybe tomorrow) and my back is still hurting, particularly in the mornings. My incision is still numb and the area around it is pretty sensitive which makes it difficult to wear "normal" clothes (not sweats). I'll bring all this up to the doc when I go for the post op in a week.

On a positive note I'm getting out a little more. Friday I even went out for dinner and a movie (woohoo) so maybe I'm expecting too much and should just be happy with overall improvements. Yeah, that's it.

Stay tuned for my first day back at work on Monday...

Gus and the Sunflowers Both Kicked the Bucket

So I finished watching Lonesome Dove finally--what a tear jerker! I won't say anymore in case you ever get around to watching it.

The flowers that were sent while I was in the hospital are finally dead. I feel like a character from Heroes that has gained strength from their demise so it's not such a bad thing to see their wilted bodies all around the house!

Last night was rough. I decided to try sleeping in the bed like a big girl but ended up awake with screaming back pain at 4am. I've noticed others have mentioned having back pain after surgery and attributed it to the lower back overcompensating for lack of ab strength. I think it's also my soft pillow top bed that doesn't support my lower back at all--I've been fantasizing lately of sleeping on a board! I wonder if that memory foam stuff would help. I've seen that you can buy just a pillow top for your bed instead of having to purchase an entire bed.

Aside from the back pain during the night, I feel lucky to have 80% of my mobility back at this point. It's mostly my low energy level that keeps me down which will hopefully build back up with time. Adios, Week Two and it's on to Week Three!

Banner Day!

Woohoo! Today I went off the meds to see how I felt. I've been taking Ibuprofen every 8 hrs since I got out of the hospital a week and a half ago. I'm feeling okay but probably should continue taking a lower dosage. At least the pain is manageable now.

I soaked in the bathtub for a bit this morning to take the steri strips off my incision. It was totally painless and the area is looking pretty good though I'm still sportin' the muffin top! I decided to reclaim my independence with a trip to Target and the grocery store. I'm getting around pretty well but my energy level is still pretty low. I found myself eyeing the pillows n such at Target for a place to take a nap. All this to say that I'm still not ready to go back to work yet. Tuesday will be the two week mark for my surgery and I feel like I still need to rest a good bit during the day (and work on my blog!). My entire incision and a couple of inches beyond it in all directions is really numb--a weird sensation. I've read on other post-surgery blogs that this is normal so I'm not gonna sweat it and hope it goes away in time.

All in all, a good day.

The Fibroid Belt?

Many diseases have been shown to have some sort of spatial relationship. There are countless projects underway investigating relationships between chemicals in the environment and breast cancer, for instance. Researchers have even discovered a geographical factor related to kidney stones.

Apparently there is a "kidney stone" belt in the south, where there are far more occurences than elsewhere in the country. But does that mean it's due to an environmental factor or could it be a social/cultural factor related to diet? Most kidney stones are composed of calcium oxalate which is found in tea so many researchers think the mass consumption of good ol' sweet tea in the south explains the kidney stone belt. Others think the stones are formed more in the south because it gets hotter there than in other regions, causing people to get more dehydrated and allowing stones to form more easily.

The reason I brought this up is because I went to the website of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), which is part of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. There you can perform data queries wherein you specify attributes you want to look at. I found a group of diagnosis codes for fibroid related hospital stays (the data available only concern hospital stays and do not include doctor's office visits) and specified that I wanted to see national statistics for all hospital stays throughout the country where the primary reason for that stay was fibroid-related. The data returned are organized in a way that you can see the stats broken down by region and guess what....

The south had double the number of instances than any other region! In fact, each of the other three regions (west, midwest and northeast) was within a couple thousand instances of each other. Perez Hilton says "inneresting..."

I'm always looking for a good excuse to do a GIS so this may be my next project! Stay tuned for the geek maps to start appearing...

P.S. I'm getting out of the house today for lunch outside my kitchen and a walk in the park--so excited!!

TGIF

Baby Steps....

I was feeling pretty good today so I decided to take a spin in the car (shhh....Don't tell anyone at work). I drove a couple of miles and came back. Okay, I drove to a nearby Coke machine and came back. Anyway, it was surprisingly painless!

Since I've got a lot of time on my hands these days, I started watching Lonesome Dove. It's a commitment I've never been able to make before. It's god knows how long so I figured it would keep me entertained. A couple of things I'm perplexed about...

Is that really Diane Lane--aren't her eyes a different color now?

Why did they cast a white dude in the role of Blue Duck?

How come Tommy Lee Jones looks older in this movie than he did in The Fugitive, four years later?

Spring, Sprang, Sprung?

Really?! It's supposed to snow tomorrow??
I live in Virginia and for the past several days we've enjoyed unseasonably warm temps. I think it's made a world of difference in my recovery as I've been able to go outside, sit on the porch and chase away the cabin fever. Rumor has it, we'll see some flakes tomorrow morning. Just when I thought spring had sprung! Now, don't get me wrong--I love to play and ski in the snow, but if I can't get out in it, I'd rather not have it around. It's all about me, right??

On a happy note, I slept through the night for the first time!! I can't believe it: I stayed up long enough to take my last meds (midnight) and the next thing I knew, it was 7am! Boy, did I need the rest. I was concerned about soreness from all the activity yesterday so it was a big relief to wake up feeling okay. I know there will be good days and bad days for the next few months so today feels like a giant leap forward and I'm so psyched about it! (okay, I'm also hopped up on my morning coffee right now)

Who Knew that March 9 was National Fibroid Awareness Day in Jamaica?

I travel a lot to Jamaica for work and I keep up with the local news there via The Gleaner newspaper online. National Fibroid Awareness Day was mentioned in this article outlining recent changes in the demographic of women that are affected by fibroids. Apparently physicians are noticing that younger women are more frequently having fibroid problems than in past years. Fibroids are more prevalent among women of African descent and they affect 7 in 10 women in Jamaica.

Visitors are Good!

Today was a good day overall, though I think I may have overdone it again. I did some light vacuuming in preparation for some visitors and my back is already barkin at me. I brought all the flowers (from well wishers) I had put outside because they were making me cough and sneeze, back inside. Boy did they light the place up! A friend brought a yummy meal over for dinner and hung out awhile. Just as she left and I had time to gulp down my afternoon meds, the door rang and a couple people from work came to visit. They brought a baby so it cheered me right up.

I was also able to catch up with two good friends on the phone today. It's amazing how cathartic a chat with an old friend is!
My advice to women at this stage in recovery is don't become a hermit! Accept visitors and the help they may offer! It will make the days go a little faster and a little easier. It also makes it a tad easier to accept things like the fact that your favorite tv show is playing a rerun tonight....aaaaargh!!!!

Xenoestrogens are Everywhere!

So I've been doing a little research on fibroids (what else am I going to do with all this couch time) and in doing so I landed on a great website that provides a lot of information on fibroids and what causes them. A woman named Shola Oslo, a kinesiologist who works with women with a variety of conditions such as fibroids, endometriosis, PCOS and infertility created it.

She provides a lot of information and informative videos on different types of fibroids. I watched two videos on what causes them. SCARY! Most doctors agree that fibroids are estrogen-fed. She and many other researchers are now investigating the increasing role that xenoestrogens play in this. Xenoestrogens are synthetic compounds that mimic estrogens in the body. They are found in everything from plastic wrap to non-organic meat. Evidence suggests that making life changes that decrease the amount of xenoestrogen intake can halt fibroid growth. So...time to make some lifestyle changes--I'm convinced!

Yay!! On to Week Two...

Okay, your doctor will probably tell you during your recovery you should take it easy for awhile and not try and over-extend yourself physically. Let me tell you: Take that advice! Boy was I hurting last night from taking a walk that probably didn't add up to more than a quarter of a mile and it was a slow walk but it hurt. I didn't realize it until I was trying to position myself comfortably to get to sleep and it just wasn't happening. Both my back and my abdomen were hurting.


Enjoy the little things...
One thing I've been able to find solace is a nice cold Coca Cola--I know, I'm a bit of a brand snob but after having to settle for Shasta Cola in the hospital, that first sip of the real thing when I came home sure did taste goooood!

At the beginning of Recovery Week Two, here's where I am:

• I still have the steri strips on--I just can't bring myself to take them off just yet. I think my biggest fear is my gutts would come oozing out if I did so (which of course is highly likely)
• I'm able to more comfortably sleep in a bed and mostly sleep through the night (Yay!)
• I can walk to the end of my driveway and then some!
• I am able to do light tasks around the house (really light eg. today I unloaded the dishwasher)
• I'm easing up on the Ibuprofen. Today I took 3 200mg pills at once instead of the usual 4 (I take this dose 3 times a day)
• Unfortunately, my abdomen feels almost entirely numb which is unsettling. I'm hoping this will go away soon though, or at least lessen in its range.

Thanksgiving in March

Okay, since today is the last day of my first post-op week , I'm going to try and be thankful for the little strides. This week has been rough but I think overall I've made a lot of improvement. It seems with each cough I'm gaining a little more mmph, which means less pain and that's a good thing! I'm also beginning to sleep a little better. I've been sleeping on my couch because I can sleep against the arm at a less-reclined angle which makes it easier to stand up from. Also, my sleep has been rather erratic and I don't want to wake my boyfriend with my restlessness--my nurse needs to be well rested!

Speaking of sleeplessness, last night I was up at 4:30am so I turned on the t.v. I happened upon a documentary that gave me pause and allowed me to see my recovery in a different light. The film is called "A Walk to Beautiful." It's an award-winning Nova documentary following five Ethiopian women suffering from obstetric fistula.

It's estimated that millions of women in the world suffer from obstetric fistula, almost all of whom live in developing countries (primarily in Africa and south Asia). The condition develops when blood supply to the tissues of the vagina and the bladder (and/or rectum) is cut off during prolonged obstructed labor. The tissues die and a hole forms through which urine and/or feces pass uncontrollably.

Women who develop fistulas are often abandoned by their husbands, rejected by their communities, and forced to live an isolated existence (taken from The Fistula Foundation website). Seeing how these women live their lives while suffering not only from the physical condition but the psychological and emotional distress caused by it, led me to realize just how lucky I am. I highly recommend watching it but be prepared for the tears!

"It Is What It Is" (Paula Abdul)

Post-Op

Pre-Op

Like I needed to label those. Well ladies, there you have it. The first pic was taken on Day 6, post-surgery (and no, the dimensions aren't distorted, that's just my belly these days) and the bottom pic was taken the night before my surgery (note I wasn't able to wear the same elastic waistband post-op: OUCH!).

As you can see, I have some clear cosmetic "steri strips" are visible (those either dissolve or need help coming off a week after surgery) but the doc says there are also important internal stitches as well. Note also the post-op "bloating." The doc says this is the result of the abdominal muscles relaxing due to trauma. Yep, I wasn't really prepared for that or the nice little "muffin top" that appeared above the incision. Other bloggers note that the pooch above the incision dimishes with time so let's hope that's true.

I do feel lucky that my fibroids were all benign and I have friends and family that have battled much worse. In all honesty though, I'm bummed about the appearance of my belly and hope with time that it'll get better. Just sayin'...

Handy Things to Have Around After Surgery

The vapors, the vapors!

We can only aspire to be as peaceful as John White Alexander's muse during our recovery. A few things that may help:

• A couch. See above.
  
• Comfy pants. I suggest drawstring. I tried elastic waistbands but they were very uncomfortable.


• Comfy underwear. No need to elaborate really, just make sure they're big enough to go over the incision (and above it for me) and they're not tight--think "granny" here.


• Comfy food. I've been endulging in lots of my favorite feel-good delights. I figure my body needs it (as long as they're not too naughty) and I may as well enjoy my time sitting around.


• Good books. Ever wanted to read War and Peace but never had the time before? Yeah, me neither. I went to my favorite used book store and got some good mysteries. You may want a quick read and nothing too serious at first. On a related note...


• Mags. I loaded up on some gossip magazines--yeah, I know they're disgraceful, but they're entertaining!


• Ipod. I loaded up some episodes of This American Life (hey, it's a free download every week) and also some good tunes. I ain't the first to say it: Music is cathartic.


• Pillows. Now, it all depends on the individual and that individual's furniture but I found that I needed large square pillows to support my lower back while sitting (and you'll do a lot of that).


• A helping hand. I can't emphasize enough how much this helps with both physical and mental recovery. I was lucky enough to have my boyfriend home with me for four days after I was discharged from the hospital. It helps tremendously to have someone around to prepare meals and take care of domestic chores so you can focus on resting.

Post-Surgery Week One

So, I had the myomectomy and I'm now at Day 6 of recovery. I was surprised to find that contrary to what I was taught in biology class everything is attached to your abs! Many things are a challenge, walking upright being one of them! Hey, right now I'd settle for homo habilis posture.

A few other things that are still difficult

• Standing in one place for an extended period of time ie. washing dishes (Don't do it!)
  
• Walking a greater distance than to the end of your average neighborhood driveway
  
• Laughing (not saying "don't do it" though)


• Coughing (I love the flowers people sent but my allergies don't)


• Sneezing (ditto, above)
  
• Getting up from a reclining position

The Surgery

Okay, so I admit I'm a total wuss. I've never had major surgery that I can remember and the thought of my body being cut open and "messed with" was not appealing to me at all. I had to weigh the pro's and con's of having a myomectomy, make a decision and go with it.

• Was my quality of life being significantly affected by the monsters? YES



• Was I willing to wait to shrink the fibroids in order to undergo a less-invasive procedure? NO

My decision was to go ahead with the myomectomy and to hopefully retain my fertility in doing so. I'm in my mid-thirties and don't have kids but am in no hurry to get rid of my uterus just yet!

The procedure I underwent is called a laparotomy. The kindly doctor went in and slayed the four offending monsters and was luckily able to save my uterus. He did so via a "bikini-line" incision (which I'll discuss further in the future). It's basically the same procedure as a C-section, as far as the incision goes. I will emphasize here that it is "basically" the same but I think in a lot of ways the experience as a whole is quite different, which is one of the reasons I wanted to start my blog. For one thing, having a baby is a joyous occasion (ideally) and having a tumor removed is NOT.

Finally, a Diagnosis!

So, after a frustrating process of trying to figure out what in tarnation was wrong with me, the docs decided the trouble was most likely being caused by fibroids (I also found out during the process that I have a kidney stone which was confusing the issue). Here's how it went down...

On Christmas day 2008 I had a "sick episode," after which I noticed something in my urine that looked like a lot of black pepper. I quickly went from eating a nice dinner spread to throwing up and had a raging fever. My first thought was that it was food poisoning. Aside from the "black pepper" in my urine I also noted something larger which I kept to show my general practitioner the next week. She thought it was likely a kidney stone. In addition to lower back pain I began to have the morning after being sick (I was only sick about 12 hrs) I was also slightly sore in my abdomen which alarmed her. She did not want to risk me having ruptured my spleen so she immediately ordered a CT scan that was performed that day (see image below).

I will mention here that I received not one but two follow-up phonecalls from my general practitioner's office saying that 1) I have a kidney stone in my right kidney and 2) *everything else looked okay*. They then referred me to a urologist. This visit was fairly useless (I had 2 x-rays but they did not show anything because the contrast I had drunk for the CT scan was still in my system from the day before) except as I was leaving the urologist said to me: "One thing that was noted by the radiologist regarding your CT scan is that you have "multiple, large fibroids and you should probably get that checked out." She went on to explain what they were and that they were very common and most likely benign. So, what did I do with this information? I tucked it away because I knew I had to deal with the issue at hand first, which I thought was the kidney stone problem.

I left that urologist with her giving me a prescription for a narcotic and telling me "good luck" passing it. She said that given its size (3mm) it had a 70% likelihood of passing. Off I went, but for the next few weeks I felt drained of energy. I'm usually an active person but I just didn't feel like doing much. I've been a runner for the past decade or so and did not feel like pounding the pavement at all. My back problems also began to escalate.

I made an appointment to see a different urologist. I underwent an ultrasound this time. The kidney stone was still there in my right kidney. Because the technician had heard that I was having pain he thought I may have recently passed another kidney stone. He wanted to take a look at my bladder to see if this was the case (and thank goodness he did!). When he looked in my pelvic cavity he was alarmed at what he thought was the size of my uterus (in retrospect it would have had to have been the largest of my fibroids). He said "your uterus is double the size it should be." I told him I had recently found out that I had fibroids and that was that. The urologist was only concerned about the kidney stone (he was not present during ultrasound) and said the symptoms I was having should not be caused by such a small stone. He basically told me to come back and see him in 6 months if I had not passed it.

At this point I was finally convinced that my symptoms may be due to fibroids and began researching symptoms online. I'm so thankful I did! I made an appointment with a gynecologist who was able to see me the next week. She only needed to look at me for a moment before she declared that my abdomen was that of a woman who is 3 months pregnant due to fibroids. She asked me if I was interested in retaining my fertility at which I answered yes. She promptly referred me to a doctor who specializes in endorcinology and fertility.

I went to see him and he did another ultrasound and ordered an MRI. I felt immediately comfortable with him and I finally felt like I was making significant progress in determining what was wrong with me. He was a good listener and I could tell he was very conscientious and wanted to have all the information he could before either recommending or carrying out surgery.

By the way, I totally recommend getting your hands on any images available from the various tests you may undergo. In my case, I had ultrasounds, a CT scan and an MRI, the last two of which have images that can be burned onto a CD or DVD (hey, we're paying for all this so why not see some products, right?). It may take a while to get accustomed to what you're seeing in the various images but it's downright informative and pretty cool if you ask me!

The 'broid Stats

Okay, I'm definitely no doctor (so pardon my lingo) but I've added this little CT scan eye candy image to illustrate the point that the fibroid was being a problematic little parasite. I actually had four fibroids (three of which were completely outside my uterus) and the largest is pictured here in plan view. My spine and pelvis are the bright features in the scan. The area between the white blobs in the center is my pelvic cavity. The fibroid appears as a grey blob in the upper center. It measures approximately 11 cm (left-right) by 7 cm (up-down). It's been problematic because at times it has pushed directly against my spine and has also squashed my bladder. All of you women out there with these symptoms know what I'm talkin' about! I do consider myself lucky for not experiencing the heavy bleeding that often occurs with these little monsters.