Friday, February 25, 2011

Recovery

So the surgery went as well as surgery can go. We got to the hospital at 6 AM and were admitted right away. By 7:15 they came to wheel me down to the operating room. I saw my RE before and he talked to me about his plan and I gave my hubby a kiss. They gave me something before I got to the operating room and it started to work quickly. I remember moving from one bed to the next and seeing a HUGE round light above my head. The next thing I knew I was waking up in the recovery room at it was 12:15. I was shivering and my teeth were chattering, but they brought me about 4 warmed blankets which seemed to help. I felt OK and witnessed this guy "Frank" in the bed next to me waking up in a bad place. I heard one of the nurses say they hadn't seen someone waking like this in 21 years. He was trying to get out of the bed, sit up, and pull the oxygen out of his nose. He had about 6 nurses around him and this made me feel like a good patient. I didn't throw up either!! That was pretty great. That ended up coming later unfortunately. 

About 12:45 they brought me back up to my room. I felt much better this time and napped for a bit. My hubby and mother-in-law were in the room and were willing to help in any way possible. They brought my a bagel and some juice. The juice ended up being a bad thing and when they brought me the wheelchair as it was time to leave I got really nauseous. I throw up most of the juice but felt fine after and haven't gotten sick since. The nurse said OJ probably wasn't the best idea, but it was delicious. It was a Nantucket Nectar Orange Mango and I really enjoyed it on the way down. I guess I got a little over zealous and drank too much. 

The pain wasn't too bad but I was bleeding quite a bit. My hubby gave me a short run-down of what the doctor told him after, but I did eventually talk to my doctor about it all. He didn't really say much about the D&C, just that it went fine. He talked more about the laparoscopy and how that went. He said when he went in he tried to just remove the cyst but once he got in open he saw there was more growth into my tube that looked like "cauliflower". He said he was initially very concerned and called it a tumor (this was a bit surprising). They sent it to pathology and got the results as I was still in surgery. Everything was benign, but he did remove it all. I ended up losing my left tube, but it wasn't really functional before. He said the right tube looked healthy and clear and that both ovaries looked great. He said I have everything I need to get pregnant and he is confident I will get pregnant. 

He then talked about where we will proceed in the future. Since my remaining tube is open and my ovaries are fine he said it is similar to an engine needing a jump start in the winter. He seemed to think the Lupron has a flare effect initially and that is what made me ovulate. I was a bit disappointed to find out it hadn't just happened on its own. Oh well, I knew we would need help and I didn't want to just try on our own anyway. I knew I wasn't ovulating regularly, so it is no surprise we will need help to ovulate in the future. 

He wants to do a 3 month plan. First, he was saying we could just do Clomid and see how that worked for 3 months. He then said we would do Clomid and IUI for another 3 months to see how that goes. After that we could try 3 months of injectables and IUI. Injectables are more risky because they pose a higher risk for multiples. I feel like with only one good tube, that risk has got to be decreased. I'm not sure exactly how I feel about this and I think I would rather be more aggressive about things. We go back for a post-op appointment in about 2 weeks, so I will be able to talk to him more about my feelings then. 

He said he will probably put me on Metformin. He wants to do the fasting glucose test, but regardless of the results will probably lean towards putting me on it. Does anyone have any advice or experiences with Metformin? I am not thrilled about this prospect, but know it reduces the risk for miscarriage. 

I have been feeling OK. We got home around 6 PM last night and I immediately went to bed. My hubby brought me some soup and I slept most of the night. I got up a few times to use the bathroom and was in a lot of pain once the pain killers wore off. It is worse than last time because I have two additional incisions and they removed my tube and the cyst rather than just draining it like last time. I am a little bummed about losing my tube and being so young, but am looking forward to trying again. My RE said I will get my period soon to shed the lining of my uterus and will probably get another one in either 4 to 6 or 6 to 8 weeks (I don't completely remember.) If that doesn't happen, he can give me something to induce it. I haven't ever had a problem getting my period, so I am hopeful it will happen naturally. 

Otherwise we are just hanging out and have 6 movies we rented as well as Netflix so we are planning to take it easy. It is snowing and looks pretty crappy outside so I am glad to have an excuse to do nothing and stay inside. 

4 comments:

  1. Wow, lots of information here. I'm so sorry you lost your tube, but thank God your other one is all good. This seems like a pretty positive post overall!

    Re: the metformin, I asked my readers the same thing (I didn't end up taking it, but that's because I passed the glucose test and my doc wants me on gonadotropins insetad). Here are a couple of their responses:

    Leah (http://wideawakewilliams.blogspot.com/)- I have been on Metformin since January 2010. I would suggest anyone with PCOS to go on it. I say that, not because it helped with my ovulation, but because of the other side effects it minimized. It has helped with sugar cravings, it has helped with weight gain, it has reduced acne (somewhat) and has helped with other hormonal side effects. I feel healthier. Just know that they highly suggest NO ALCOHOL! :) Alcohol lowers your blood sugar, which counter acts what the medicine is supposed to do, and there are some pretty ugly side effects to it. Make sure you ask about the extended release though, the regular stuff is BRUTAL! It's also fairly inexpensive ($15 a month) and just seems to have positive results for me in feeling better and eating better, and all of those types of things!

    Allison - (http://www.blogger.com/profile/12696133231158300507) I am on Metformin as we speak and also have PCOS. I have been on Metformin since April. At first I didn't see a lot of change, but after June my cycles finally regulated out and I am actually ovulating now. The only negative side effect I have, AND I MEAN NEGATIVE---is that you will spend at least 1/2 your day in the bathroom (#2). However, now that my body has gotten used to it, I am now only spending 1/4 in the bathroom. That is the worst part to me, but don't worry you will get used to it. I take it twice a day, and mine is not the extended release. Anyway, good luck to you..and I hope by the look of your chart that you wont need the metformin for at least 9 months.

    Hope this helps!

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  2. Hi Liz- I am glad that everything went well today! Sorry to hear about your tube....but it sounds like your RE is still confident that you'll be able to conceive...so that is a VERY good thing! I hope the clomid does the trick for you!

    I've been on metformin since october for pcos. The stuff makes me seriously nauseous, so I've really had to "work up to the dosage." I am supposed to be taking 2 pills, but have only been able to get up to 1. I took half a pill for a long time which made me nauseous until I got used to it, then worked up to one pill which also made me nauseous until I got used to it. I still have not been able to work up to more than that because I get too sick. Some women have no probs with it though. I haven't noticed it helping anything yet, but that's probably because I'm not taking enough. I hope to work up to the 2 pills soon and see some results. Just know going into it that you'll have to work up to it, take it with food (protein preferably,) and know that the nausea does wear off!

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  3. i'm so glad it all went ok and that your doctor is so hopeful for the future. be sure to take it easy over the next few days. after my D&C, i didn't rest and wound up regretting it. i was in excruciating pain and bleeding more than i should have been. so, please, please, please take your time recuperating!

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  4. Wow, that turned into quite the surgery. My heart dropped when I read the word tumor..I'm so relieved they were able to test it right away, and get rid of it.

    I definitely think you should express to your RE that you want to be more agressive. Starting with clomid + IUI sounds completely reasonable. This decision should be up to you, not your RE. Good luck!

    Sorry, no advice on metformin. I was on it for 2 months, but my OB had misdiagnosed me with lean PCOS, so it didn't work at all for me. Great advice from Josey though!

    FYI, I bled for about 5 days after my D&C's, and was told it's normal. I wish you a speedy recovery...

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