Friday, April 09, 2010

I Am Home


I was released from the hospital on Thursday morning.
I dumbfounded the surgeon by requiring no pain meds after the surgery.
I was given a morphine pump and only used it one shot on the test of the pump and that was it.

I proved that the perfect pain management program can get a patient moving after surgery as well as treat a chronic pain issue.
It opened up a question in the Surgeon's mind about whether Lyrica may be a good pre op and post op pain med to deal with the terrible gas pains in the muscles of patients that get Laproscopic surgery. The gas permeates the muscles causing cramping especially in the shoulders and back.

This cramping makes it really hard for the patient to get up and move, thus making it hard for them to begin to get the anesthetic out of their system. Not moving puts patients at risk for blood clots and bruising.

I had no pain. None!
I was just a little stiff, and I was able to get up and walk really soon after surgery, and I was able to drink lots of water too which helped my kidneys stop bleeding.

So the surgery was long. About three hours.
I was fortunate to have a scope and they used 4 or 5 puncture areas on my abdomen.
There was a lot of scar tissue which was bonding everything together in the bowel loops.
The gynecologist was only able to successfully remove my right ovary. It had two cysts on it. The left ovary is really stuck to my bowel and ligaments of my back, and the Dr. felt it was really risky to go in after it as it would have taken at least two more hours of surgery to get it. The Dr. has the one ovary to get pathology on, but the look of the cysts did not indicate they were cancerous and they were not endo tissue which means I won't have to worry about any necrosis.
It was a case of terrible scar tissue and two trapped cysts on an ovary that has seen better days.

The Dr.'s were very receptive to me using hypnosis to help walk through the surgery process step by step and envision low blood loss and quick healing and balanced blood pressure and heart rate. They talked to me when I was out to tell my subconscious my BP and Heart Rate, and I kept them both calm and steady the whole way through.
It is funny about the kidney hemorrhaging.....I had a vision about it when I started the self hypnosis that day.

The bladder repair is not giving me any trouble. So if anyone is toying with the idea and is nervous.....it does not feel bad to pee at all. I feel bruised in my groin and in the joints of my legs. My lower back is a bit tender, and my bladder feels a bit bruised. Not a bad pain bruise feeling, just a bit sensitive bruised feeling. Also this surgery was my first experience with a bladder catheter, and it was not a horrible experience. It actually takes a lot of stress off the patient because the urgent need to pee after surgery is removed which improves the patient's morale greatly and takes away a huge stressor: the need to pee badly and no strength to get yourself to be able to move independently to a washroom is a horrible stressor post-op.

The Dec cancer site was re-biopsied and that came back clean this time so for now I am once again a success story.

Today I was exhausted by the trip home. Which is like a 5 min car ride...
I slept most of the day, and missed dinner with the family.

I ate mozza ball soup and italian wedding soup today.
I have had lots of tea and mineral water too.

So you know I am alive and that it was a tough surgery but not the worst case scenario......so a positive end.
We will figure out how to deal with the left ovary if it becomes an issue. If the cysts are just poly cystic type cysts then if the left ovary is a pain the another surgery is a risk at the time, we could probably just give me an estrogen blocker like tamoxifen to throw the ovary into full menopause and shrink it.


I find I get sore if I sit or lay in one position too long so I probably won't be doing much, and whatever I will feel up to do will be in spurts. I even took a nap in the middle of posting this LOL.

I have restrictions on what I am allowed to do for a month.

1 comment:

TorAa said...

Hurray - you are alive and passed the operation with a high degree of success.

Talking about beeing biopsied:
I've had 2 in less than 3/4 of a year.(Prostata - you know). It's very painful. But when the result is: No cancer,then it's worth it.
I'll be checked again in 6 months.