Free gift with hospital admission....
Yesterday morning, Chad and I were up at 4am to get ready to go to the hospital for my surgery. My check-in time was 5:45 and the surgery itself was at 7:30am. I was very nervous, mostly because I was so far away from home and everybody that I knew. In a way, it was like having surgery for the first time!
We arrived at the hospital and were taken back to a pre-op room where I got in my super stylish gown, TED hose and standard issue hospital footies. I was fortunate in the fact that my pre-op nurse was great, she really helped calm me down. The anesthesiologist (Dr. Felix) was super nice, too. Apparently as soon as they gave me some medication in my IV to help me relax I was quite the character - talking about wine among many other things. Dr. Heaps came in and spoke with us before the surgery, and the plan was after surgery (which was a very minor procedure) I would be given a drink and would be allowed to leave as soon as I proved to them that I could pee and keep liquids down.
I remember being wheeled into the OR and moving to the other bed, but that's it. Next thing I know, I'm waking up in recovery with Dr. Felix, Dr. Heaps and some nurses around me. I remember demanding water but they said I couldn't have any until I got to my room which confused the crap out of me. All I wanted was something to help my mouth - thankfully, a nice older nurse had a mint and gave it to me. That really helped. I also demanded Chad's presence! :-) I was very confused because I heard stuff about "keeping her overnight for observation" which I knew wasn't the plan. Eventually, I said something to the nurse about leaving and she said I should be on my way home by noon. Whew!
They wheeled me up to my fifth floor room and said that my husband would be up shortly. So I anxiously awaited his arrival. He came up and asked me if I knew what had happened during surgery, which I didn't. He did the best he could to fill me in, but the poor guy was so confused.
Apparently, everything was going smoothly until they started the curettage portion of the D&C - the curette punctured the top of my uterus. So, they had to open me up and do an exploratory laparoscopy as well. Good news was that the puncture was so small that it didn't need stitches, though the doctor wanted to keep me overnight for observation. I guess when I started coming out of anesthesia so well, he said that I could be discharged after my 6pm H&H draw - provided it was normal.
Thankfully, I had a private room so it wasn't as uncomfortable as sharing. This was, however, my first hospital admission so it was kind of nerve-wracking. I did, however get some spiffy "free gifts with admission" that included a bath basin, toothpaste, Listerine, two pairs of granny panties, a mug and a package of peri-pads. The best part of the gift was definitely the mug, although the super dorky granny panties are SUPER comfortable. :-D
Around 2:30, Dr Heaps came in to talk to me about what had happened. He said he felt badly for Chad because he tried to explain it to him but he could tell that he just didn't understand. Although the exploratory laparoscopy was unplanned, it was somewhat of a blessing - they found that my Endometriosis had progressed and was very extensive and quite severe. Dr. Heaps told me that it is going to be VERY hard for me to get pregnant. He also said that some of the other issues, such as the irritable bowel that I suffer from is probably not truly IBS, but instead caused by the Endometriosis. Apparently it is everywhere and I have so much scar tissue and adhesions that there's not much that could be done. At this point, my options are taking birth control pills continuously for a year, taking medication such as Danazol or Lupron, or having another laparoscopy where they cauterize as much as they can. I choose to take the pill continuously, as it's the easiest on me. By doing this it should stop any new growths and could, potentially, cause the Endometriosis to regress. We shall see...
Around 7:30 last night, I finally got discharged and it felt SO good. I never thought I'd be so happy to be at this apartment! We dropped off the prescription for my pain pills to Walgreens and Chad picked me up some Little Caesar's Pizza. After I got home, I chowed down three pieces of pizza and some crazy bread while Chad went back to the pharmacy to get my medicine. We both went to bed quite early and slept very well.
Chad took today off to take care of me, and I'm eating it up! He only allows me to get out of bed to go to the bathroom, and has been waiting on me all day long. He even got everything done around the house so that I don't have anything to do the rest of the week! I'm feeling like quite the Princess.
I'm still having pain and have some bouts of nausea, but all in all, I'm feeling pretty good all things considered. Chad said he was very proud of how well I've handled it, that I haven't been as big of a baby as I usually am! I'm just glad this is all over, and although I had complications it was a good thing - everything happens for a reason!
We arrived at the hospital and were taken back to a pre-op room where I got in my super stylish gown, TED hose and standard issue hospital footies. I was fortunate in the fact that my pre-op nurse was great, she really helped calm me down. The anesthesiologist (Dr. Felix) was super nice, too. Apparently as soon as they gave me some medication in my IV to help me relax I was quite the character - talking about wine among many other things. Dr. Heaps came in and spoke with us before the surgery, and the plan was after surgery (which was a very minor procedure) I would be given a drink and would be allowed to leave as soon as I proved to them that I could pee and keep liquids down.
I remember being wheeled into the OR and moving to the other bed, but that's it. Next thing I know, I'm waking up in recovery with Dr. Felix, Dr. Heaps and some nurses around me. I remember demanding water but they said I couldn't have any until I got to my room which confused the crap out of me. All I wanted was something to help my mouth - thankfully, a nice older nurse had a mint and gave it to me. That really helped. I also demanded Chad's presence! :-) I was very confused because I heard stuff about "keeping her overnight for observation" which I knew wasn't the plan. Eventually, I said something to the nurse about leaving and she said I should be on my way home by noon. Whew!
They wheeled me up to my fifth floor room and said that my husband would be up shortly. So I anxiously awaited his arrival. He came up and asked me if I knew what had happened during surgery, which I didn't. He did the best he could to fill me in, but the poor guy was so confused.
Apparently, everything was going smoothly until they started the curettage portion of the D&C - the curette punctured the top of my uterus. So, they had to open me up and do an exploratory laparoscopy as well. Good news was that the puncture was so small that it didn't need stitches, though the doctor wanted to keep me overnight for observation. I guess when I started coming out of anesthesia so well, he said that I could be discharged after my 6pm H&H draw - provided it was normal.
Thankfully, I had a private room so it wasn't as uncomfortable as sharing. This was, however, my first hospital admission so it was kind of nerve-wracking. I did, however get some spiffy "free gifts with admission" that included a bath basin, toothpaste, Listerine, two pairs of granny panties, a mug and a package of peri-pads. The best part of the gift was definitely the mug, although the super dorky granny panties are SUPER comfortable. :-D
Around 2:30, Dr Heaps came in to talk to me about what had happened. He said he felt badly for Chad because he tried to explain it to him but he could tell that he just didn't understand. Although the exploratory laparoscopy was unplanned, it was somewhat of a blessing - they found that my Endometriosis had progressed and was very extensive and quite severe. Dr. Heaps told me that it is going to be VERY hard for me to get pregnant. He also said that some of the other issues, such as the irritable bowel that I suffer from is probably not truly IBS, but instead caused by the Endometriosis. Apparently it is everywhere and I have so much scar tissue and adhesions that there's not much that could be done. At this point, my options are taking birth control pills continuously for a year, taking medication such as Danazol or Lupron, or having another laparoscopy where they cauterize as much as they can. I choose to take the pill continuously, as it's the easiest on me. By doing this it should stop any new growths and could, potentially, cause the Endometriosis to regress. We shall see...
Around 7:30 last night, I finally got discharged and it felt SO good. I never thought I'd be so happy to be at this apartment! We dropped off the prescription for my pain pills to Walgreens and Chad picked me up some Little Caesar's Pizza. After I got home, I chowed down three pieces of pizza and some crazy bread while Chad went back to the pharmacy to get my medicine. We both went to bed quite early and slept very well.
Chad took today off to take care of me, and I'm eating it up! He only allows me to get out of bed to go to the bathroom, and has been waiting on me all day long. He even got everything done around the house so that I don't have anything to do the rest of the week! I'm feeling like quite the Princess.
I'm still having pain and have some bouts of nausea, but all in all, I'm feeling pretty good all things considered. Chad said he was very proud of how well I've handled it, that I haven't been as big of a baby as I usually am! I'm just glad this is all over, and although I had complications it was a good thing - everything happens for a reason!
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