Well, today was 4 weeks and one day. One lunar month since my uterus walked the long walk. Since it tripped the light fantastic. I bid it adieu and it is no more. I am now an altered bitch.
I wondered how much pain and recovery I would really experience after my hysterectomy and I'm pleased to say it has been an almost pleasant experience. Please don't take my experience as the norm though. I think I ended up, for whatever reason, on the top end of the spectrum for what one can expect from the aftermath of such a surgery.
Don't get me wrong. My nursing care was top notch, my doctor is no slouch, and I only had to stay in the hospital overnight. Also, I can't tell you how much it helped my morale that all my friends and family were and continue to be so supportive. All have contributed significantly to my successful and exceptional recovery.
My favorite milestone so far was the 14th of March. That was the first period I would have had after the surgery. I celebrated. I was gleeful. I was practically giddy. Some said I would mourn and should allow my self to mourn my lost organ. I didn't and I don't.
Not everyone goes into this the same way with the same reasons. For some, I can see that mourning is expected or even needed but my uterus has betrayed me at every turn. I am so happy to be free from it's clutches finally. There was nothing at all for me to mourn.
Of course now, when I behave like a hysterical woman, I put the lie to all those old theories about what made women hysterical in the first place.
Showing posts with label hysterectomy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hysterectomy. Show all posts
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Monday, February 24, 2014
On the Road to Freedom
Okay, maybe the title of the post is just a little dramatic but it doesn't feel all that dramatic to me.
You see, I've had pain nearly all my life. It's been manageable pain and you kind of get used to it but I am really really tired of it anyway. I have had menstrual cramps and bleeding of increasing severity since the onset of puberty. I told my mom but she was sort of the "suck it up buttercup" mindset and it didn't get any further than that.
When I was in my late 20's I finally had surgery to clean out the scar tissue from years and years of polycystic ovaries. My OB/GYN fertility specialist remarked that he was surprised I wasn't in more pain after my surgery; after seeing just how much scar tissue there was. I asked him what made him think I wasn't; what made him think he even knew how much pain I had experienced.
After that and after coming to terms with the fact that I wasn't going to have and didn't really want children, I suffered a couple more decades in increasing pain and with an increasing amount of blood loss every month. I was wiped out. I was useless for a good 5 days out of every month. An ablation seemed to help for a few months and then the cramping was back.
It's been a couple of years since that ablation now and, although the bleeding is negligible now it and the cramps are getting worse. The cramps are nearly back to what they were before. I'm still wiped out for about 5 days every month and I'm sick and tired of it all.
I finally have an OB/GYN who agrees that it's time to yank this sucker out. I had my last period this month... ironically it started on Valentines day. In two days, I am scheduled to have a hysterectomy. I'm getting spayed. I could not be happier. I just hope they don't slap me into a cone. That would be so embarrassing.
Incidentally, if you are wondering, a uterus (one that has never carried a child, mind you) weighs anywhere from just less than to just over one pound. You won't reach goal weight having this surgery. Still, leave it to me to be curious about that sort of thing.
You see, I've had pain nearly all my life. It's been manageable pain and you kind of get used to it but I am really really tired of it anyway. I have had menstrual cramps and bleeding of increasing severity since the onset of puberty. I told my mom but she was sort of the "suck it up buttercup" mindset and it didn't get any further than that.
When I was in my late 20's I finally had surgery to clean out the scar tissue from years and years of polycystic ovaries. My OB/GYN fertility specialist remarked that he was surprised I wasn't in more pain after my surgery; after seeing just how much scar tissue there was. I asked him what made him think I wasn't; what made him think he even knew how much pain I had experienced.
After that and after coming to terms with the fact that I wasn't going to have and didn't really want children, I suffered a couple more decades in increasing pain and with an increasing amount of blood loss every month. I was wiped out. I was useless for a good 5 days out of every month. An ablation seemed to help for a few months and then the cramping was back.
It's been a couple of years since that ablation now and, although the bleeding is negligible now it and the cramps are getting worse. The cramps are nearly back to what they were before. I'm still wiped out for about 5 days every month and I'm sick and tired of it all.
I finally have an OB/GYN who agrees that it's time to yank this sucker out. I had my last period this month... ironically it started on Valentines day. In two days, I am scheduled to have a hysterectomy. I'm getting spayed. I could not be happier. I just hope they don't slap me into a cone. That would be so embarrassing.
Incidentally, if you are wondering, a uterus (one that has never carried a child, mind you) weighs anywhere from just less than to just over one pound. You won't reach goal weight having this surgery. Still, leave it to me to be curious about that sort of thing.
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