I cannot believe so much time has passed since my last post! Even though I thought I might be able to read and at least post comments while I was recovering it simply did not work out that way. I have learned that with the availbility of pain killers it is just too easy to get caught in a cycle of not wanting to do anything, but continue dosing. Sadly, while the pills numb the pain they have the unfortunate side effect of numbing the mind as well. I found while I was on them I could not focus to read or pay much attention to anything except the drone of the television in between sleeping. I chose to take Precoset, which has been called Hilly-Billy Heroine and while I certainly enjoyed the momentary euphoria it brought I did not like the side effects so as soon as I could I weaned myself off of the drug. There has never been a time in my life where I wished more that I was independantly wealthy so that I did not have to return to work only one week after surgery. It sucked hard is all I can say and I have been working everyday since, sometimes with limited hours just so I could make some money! The apparent down-side of being self employed.
So now let me tell you about the surgery itself and the outcome. Can I just say that I was so scared on the morning of the operation, I had to be there by 6 am, that I was literally shaking, and that right before the surgery, in pre-op, I was asked to change my consent form because the first one was not filled in properly and was a mess where I had written that no matter what I did not want a hysterectomy. I was still allowed to write that, but it just had to be, “neater”! I consented to only having a hysterectomy if it would save my life. I also did not want the tumors sent to pathology while I was in surgery, much to the amazement of my family and friends. Fibroids are rarely cancerous, so I was not concerned. In fact I didn’t become concerned at all until I woke up in the recovery room crying. I was in so much pain it seems useless to try and describe it. From then on my hospital experience seemed like a fucking nightmare! The care I received, with the exception of a few gifted nurses was so sub-standard that to get into it would take pages and pages. So I’ll just say the place was filthy and the personal were not familiar with the word empathy, and once I could walk my whole mission was to get home. That happened mid-morning of my 3rd day. Their was a patient advocate who was as appalled by my care as I was and she actually sent me flowers with a note that said, “We are sorry that the care you received did not meet your expectations.” She called me at home twice to see how I was doing, but in the kind of drugged stupor I was in the conversations are unclear to me. What I didn’t like about the note was that it implied that my expectations were possibly unreasonable and that the expection of quality care was asking too much, or maybe I just don’t like the words “my expections” because it puts the blame on me. She never did admit, even though she was witness to it, that care was far below par. I’m not sure if she could commit that to writing at all and I also appreciated the gesture.
I was also informed by my daughter, after I was in my room that I had, count em, 19 fibroids removed. Even though I knew I had a “fibroid utereus” no where in my wildest imagination could I dream up the number 19, it’s an odd number for Christ’s sake. I was thinking at the most, one really big one, 2 mid-sized ones and 3 smaller ones, 6, an even number. I also was not allowed to see my doctor on the day of the surgery and the patient advocate actually referred to him as, “God”, she said, “You want to see your doctor? You mean God, right?” I simply thought your doctor would check on you after performing such an intense surgery and would tell you to your face what had happened, but he told my daughter the breifest amount of information and suggested in a very strong voice that the best thing for me would have been a hysterectomy. To that I say, Fuck you! I said it with a smile, does that count?
Anywho, on the bright side I found with regard to choosing a surgeon, a narcissit is best because the surgeon I chose who lacked personality made up for it in skill, and I was later told by one of the other doctors in his practice that while my surgery took only 90 minutes it would have taken any other surgeon 3 hours to complete. I lost a pint of blood, but you could double that loss by choosing a surgeon who is less skilled. And while I didn’t like his bedside manner I still thanked him because he did an incredible job and even though it hurt to a spectacular degree, the incision is perfect. I think he could side line as a plastic surgeon!
So I am finally on the mend, the patholoyg on my tumors was performed and they were not cancerous, and for your viewing pleasure I am posting pictures of the tumors they removed. If you have a weak stomach or simply don’t like looking at graphic photos of tumors please stop reading now! I like to see what was inside me and I must say the large tumor reminds me of a human brain, or alternatively a dinosuar egg. The Doctor said he would take the pictures for me, but only with a disposable camera so they are not the greatest shots, but what I love about them is how unedited they are! You can see all the used surgical impliments, the dollar store plastic bin they loaded the tumors into and the mess all over the floor. Certainly the operating room is not the “theatre” it’s proported to be.
So Without Further Ado:
Glad your doing a little better… thanks for the pictures… I should of been a nurse or doctor instead of a teacher…. horrrayyyy for pain pills too!!! Welcome back
Thank you Sunshine! I’m so happy you wanted to see the pictures, it has always fascinated me too, but I could never be a nurse or a doctor I just like to look! Wonder what that means? The pain pills did serve the purpose. I hope you are doing Great!
Great to have you back. But don’t overdoo it,you’re still in recovery. Very…graphic pictures, i have to say :). The insides of a human never fascinated me that much, but i guess it’s not that bad if you see this:)). Thank God the tumours weren’t cancerous. I wish you fast recovery and many posts:P.
I thought the pictures might be upsetting to some, so I took a chance and I also did it for anyone who might stumble upon this in a search engine with the hopes that they would take care of it before it got that bad, probably the best example of what not to do, wait! Thank you so much for your wishes and I hope you are well and happy and dreaming!
Holy shit! I’m so sorry you went through so much pain. My friend (who’s not good with surgery or anesthesia) told me that you will come out of any anesthesia the same way (or worse) than you went in.
I cannot believe the size of that one tumor. Oh.My. Dino egg, for sure. They’re not kidding when they say “You have a fibroid the size of a grapefruit” – more like an 8 lb. pork roast? Do you feel lighter? heehee. Sorry…don’t want to make you laugh too hard.
So glad you are on the mend and back in bloggy land! Take it easy. Wishing you a speedy recovery!
Hey 2LD, I couldn’t help but laugh a lot when I read your comment and it didn’t hurt at all, made me feel better. I love your sense of humor! You would think I lost a lot of weight, but can you imagine with all that the tumors only weighed 2lbs? WTF? I do feel a lot less bloated though, that much is certain and as I heal I will feel less and less so. I’m going to start making my rounds to see all my favorite blogs you are at the top of my list, can’t wait to see what is going on in your world! Outrageously funny, I have no doubt!
I am glad to see you back. And I am sorry that your stay sucked. Get all better soon.
Thanks Evyl! I might have stayed in the hospital and rested longer if it had been nicer, maybe that’s why they make it so bad, you simply want to leave!
I’m glad you’re back and feeling better. Gosh, this tumor was impressive. I wish you a good recovery.
Hi Modobs! You are the very fist person to say the tumor was “impressive” I kind of like that, oddly gives a positive spin. I am still healing and very tired! I hope you are well! 🙂
welcome back! 🙂 ..what an ordeal it seems but you are a trooper through it all! I hope you are feeling 100% soon, and thanks for the pics, I totally looked at them ( 😉 ), and WOW….
Hi Romi! Thanks for “looking” WOW does seem to be the operative word when someone sees them, I know it was the first word that came into my head. And yeah, no I have not been much of a trooper unless bitching and moaning qualify! LOL Thanks for stopping by! I’ll get around to reading more as my energy returns, but to date I’m simply dead tired! I hope you are well and posting away!
So i hope your recovery is going well and that you’re already better. Just wanted to check in. Take care :).
Thank you dreamer, I’ve been away for a while, getting back on board slowly! I hope you are well! 🙂
I thought the fibroid sharing was only 4 us.
Love,
Me
People thought I was nuts for taking a photo of my ‘just pulled from my face’ tooth… holy crap. That’s a very cool bucket of innards right there. And very cool of you to think to ask for the shot, and almost as cool that they agreed. Wow. Wee.
Hi Gabriel!
I’m happy to impress or shock as the case may be. And yeah, it was cool that they agreed, but I think it’s the least they could do, it was my innards I think I should be able to see what they looked like! Thanks for stopping bye to comment! 🙂
Congratulations on a successful surgery and I hope you have a speedy recovery.
I just had a myomectemy myself in July. Thankfully I only had one cyst, it was about the size of the large one you have pictured. My doc took pictures too, without my asking and showed them to me at my check up about 6 weeks after surgery. However, I’m too squeamish and could barely look, let alone take copies to share with others. Its shocking to think something like that could grow inside you.
Sorry to hear your post surgery experience was so awful. I guess that makes me appreciate even more how well mine went, except for the hospital food. That was the worst.
Again, best wishes for your recovery.
Lori
Thank you Lori!
I hope you are recovering and feeling fine. It’s taken me some time to get back on my feet and I’m finally feeling able to write again! I couldn’t eat the hospital food at all anyway, I just wanted to get the hell out of there. It is odd what grows inside us. I HAD to see it. I’m a bit off, most people don’t want to know!
Be Well and Thanks for stopping bye!
thanks for posting this. i am so sorry that you had such a terrible experrience while in the hospital. but i’m 27 years old and i have 5 fibroid tumors that they can see, and i am looking for all the info that i can read on this.
Glad to be of any help I can Jessica, I posted it so women could hopefully see what could happen inside, it wasn’t easy to share, but I thought it would be valuable to others like me who were having difficulty getting info and seeing actual photos of what is being removed. If one person, like yourself gains knowledge it was all worth it! Thanks for adding your comment. I wish you luck and success in finding the information you want to resolve the fibroids!
Wow… Those pics are intense! I didn’t have the nerve to ask for pics of mine in my recent myomectomy! I’m sorry you had so much pain, etc. I also had a meticulous surgeon and am so thankful. It makes it much easier to go through with someone who is skilled.
Yes a good surgeon who will actually do a myomectomy is a gift! He was really cool about taking the photos, all he asked was that I bring in a throw away camera…. The pain was awful. I’m fine now. Thank you for taking the time to comment!
hi- i am scheduled for a myomectomy soon. i am concerned about the recovery time as i have to do a small job 11 days later. any thoughts???
Thanks for this great post Im pretty sure that many people are searching informative post like yours .
Having surgery next week. I have 5 total, so reading this helps ease anxiety although I’m pretty sure I will be so nauseous from fear next week bright an early as the first patient of the day. Btw, I heard they grow back. One friend took out a grapefruit and in 1 yr another grapefruit formed…trying to find out why it grows in some women more that others, my sisters, aunts, mom, grandma never had them unless I can say I’ve been living a high stress life most of my life and maybe stress may be the biggest factor in all this.
Good luck with your surgery! Estrogen seems to be the culprit in having them grow back. I was told not to consume soy or dairy products and red meat, note anything that contains hormones that will add to your own…. I hope this helps! And again . . . be well!
Thanks for posting the pictures and being so honest and up front about the whole experience. It’s people like you who post pictures and information that make it better for the rest of us. Thanks for making a difference!! Best of luck to you.
Thank you! It’s my honor!