Surgical Leave

I've had quite a long break from blogging, in large part because I've been on surgical leave.  A few weeks ago, I had a hysterectomy done to remove my uterus and fallopian tubes.  I did it strictly because my IUD was lodged in and had perforated my uterus.  Thankfully they were able to leave my ovaries so that I didn't have to suffer through early menopause.  Thankfully, they were able to do it without going through my abdomen so I wasn't having to recover from abdominal incisions as well.  So here's the short list of what I've learned from this process....

1.  Regardless of what a doctor promises at the time, they can NOT tell you with absolute certainty that something is completely safe.  When my IUD was put in, I was assured by my doctor that it was completely safe (and yes, that phrase was used by my OB/GYN at the time).  I was assured that he had put in hundreds of these and that the only complication he'd ever seen was the IUD falling out.  I'm not blaming him.  That might have been the case.  They handed me the literature and I read it knowing that uterine perforation was, indeed, a risk.  I took that information, though, and piled it in with a physician that told me it was "completely safe" to make my decision.  I can tell you, with great certainty, how careful I am about researching things since then. I've actually been in debates with my children's pediatrician over some issues based on being told that it was "perfectly safe."  It taught me a great lesson.

2.  Sometimes the best laid plans go awry.  I got the IUD put in to prevent further pregnancies (obviously) and thought that the benefits of localized hormones, etc would be worth it.  Instead, I suffered incredibly awful side effects and a subsequent surgery that sterilized me because of it.  At 32 years old, I would not plan to have a sterilization procedure of this magnitude done for no reason at all.  In fact, I don't know a lot of people that would choose a hysterectomy at 32 years old.  Sometimes the plans you make don't work out the way that you think they will.

3.  My doctor is a hoot!  There are some things I love about this state and my doctor is one of them.  She is hysterical.  She's blunt and very realistic but she does it in an incredibly fun way.  Even my boyfriend was about to lose it listening to her post-surgery.

4.  When the doctor says "unexpected fatigue", she means it.  I was released back to work after 2 weeks with restrictions and my first day back brought a half hour of work and then BAM, passed out on the sidewalk after barely any exertion.  No matter how superwoman-ish (a new word...I think so) I think I am, my body still needs time to fully recover.

5.  Boredom is inevitable when recovering.  I should probably be reveling in the "free time" but I'm busy being irritated that I can't lift, vacuum, or do what I'd normally do.  I finally was able to suntan yesterday for awhile and read a book but I spend a lot more time wishing I could do more without feeling like crap when I do.  I'm certainly  not whining...just stating the obvious.  Boredom is inevitable.

6.  Pain meds are no fun.  After having them prescribed and barely taking any, I can say with a smile that pain meds SUCK!  I'm sure they're great for some people but with a tolerance like mine (extremely minimal), they suck.  Not only are they sleep-inducing and constipating but they're largely (at least for me) not any more effective than ibuprofen at pain relief.  I much preferred the heating pad and relaxation to pain meds. 

7.  People say some crazy stuff when under anesthesia.  I won't get into the details here but let's just say that I'm well informed on the stuff I muttered under anesthesia and while I vaguely remember some things, most of it is completely blank to me...and that's okay.  I am apparently very hyper-sensitive to anesthesia of any type.  I felt out of my head for nearly the whole day post-surgery.  All I could think after was, "So that's what it's like to be high..."  (Hahaha) 

With at least one more week of recovery before returning to work (again), I'm going to try to make the best of it.  I'm glad to have the surgery done and my body on its way to the recovery it truly needs (without an IUD wreaking havoc on my body).  Hopefully this will open the door for more frequent blogging.