Ch-Ch-Ch-Changesss

Wow. It's been a LONG time since I've updated. It's now March 2011, and I am over a year post-op and doing well health-wise for the most part. Recovery has been good in those terms. Unfortunately, on other fronts it has not.

Long story short, my marriage has been dead for years. In vain I tried to save it, but it lead to a lot of problems that lead to my filing for divorce last July. I also have a protection order in place against my soon to be ex-husband (that's another long story). The divorce should be finalized here soon as we are heading into pre-trial and then trial if it is not resolved. It's been nothing short of ugly and I have a LOT I need to heal from and forgive myself for. With time, that will be possible.

And on another front, I was laid off from my job I had for nearly three years in January due to the economic climate. I am still looking for work and am surviving, but won't lie about my nerves over the situation. I loved my job. Unfortunately, my position was eliminated, along with 80 other positions. It was a terrible blow.

I am still in Whatcom County, raising my almost 11 year old (!!) daughter as a single parent, and am hoping to survive these nasty bumps in the road that I keep coming across.

Almost one week post-op

I was able to have the Da Vinci Hysterectomy. Everything went very smoothly and my recovery was amazing...was released in 24 hours and went home. I am completely amazed at this surgery and the fact that it is so non-invasion and I was up and switching myself without assistance (at least the up part) about 2 hours post-op. I have had a c-section in the past and it is very hard to get up after that. Don't get me wrong, it hurts...but it is nothing like a c-section.

My recovery was going very well until a few days ago when I started having some burning pain in my left thigh, which also went numb from the pain. In the past I have had this and it was circulatory issues (I had a venous ultrasound done in June 2008 which showed no blood clots), so I chalked it up to that. The only difference is this is not resolving. It continues to be a problem, it's at the point where I cannot sleep well at night because when I turn, the pain is so intense it burns and I'm scared to turn. I have to sleep solely on my left side to avoid that pain. I get the same pain on the right upper thigh as well but not as intense or as prolonged. Being the medgeek I am, I looked up "upper thigh pain" and came across something called Meralgia Paresthetica. I also looked up some information and posts on a website called HysterSisters and it is actually quite common after a hysterectomy as a nerve where the surgery is done (or nearby) can end up pinched or worse. I am going to my doctor hopefully tomorrow or sometime this week to discuss this and see what we can do to stop the pain. Now I am concerned about whether this will affect my ability to go back to work...but I know I am jumping the gun so I am trying to remain calm.

Besides that my recovery has been incredibly smooth. I am dealing with pain still, but overall it's not bad at all. I had my first hot flash post-op and it was very bizarre...only on the left side of my face. Now I am on Premarin to help with that (which it does) but I am going to into natural therapies because of the problems with Hormone Replacement Therapy.

More to follow later, and hopefully some good news on the problems in my legs. I am concerned about blood clots too, so hopefully we can rule that out. Hopefully this problem will resolve on its own (and soon!).

Here I go

I have posted about it in the past, my female reproductive system not working correctly. As a result of that I have Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and Adenomyosis (like a sister to Endometriosis). In 2006 I was told I really needed to have a hysterectomy. At that time I was on a charity type of insurance because we were low-income at that point. Then I went back to work and finally got good health insurance through my employer. After discussing this with my co-workers, including one who had just had her hysterectomy done, I finally decided I was going to bite the bullet and do it. Last March (2008) I had an endometrial biopsy done and luckily it showed nothing but proved to my physician that I do have the Adenomyosis.

I was referred down in Seattle to an oncologist gynecologist because of my weight. I am high risk just due to the weight alone. I met with him on July 21st and he did an exam and went over my history with me. He told me about the da Vinci hysterectomy, which I had already researched online. I asked if it were possible to perform that type of surgery on a person with a high weight/BMI. He had told me that he performed some before on heavyset people as well. He has excellent credentials outside of what I was told (again, research is your friend- you are your own advocate), so I feel confident in his capabilities. I am having my surgery at an incredibly wonderful hospital on Monday, August 10th. The da Vinci hysterectomy is a robotic-assisted laparascopic surgery. It's minimally invasive and very effective. There's a chance it might not work on me, so they are preparing for the fact that they might have to cut me open but I am hoping I do not have to go through that again. I have had a horizontal bikini cut in the past when I had my daughter in 2000, but that was when I was 100 lbs less (and believe it or not, still heavy!) and 9 years younger. However, I tend to recover well, so I am hopeful. I am more hopeful they can do the da Vinci procedure.

I'm not going to lie, I am very nervous about having a major surgery...but my quality of life will improve, and I will no longer be in pain. We're also hoping it will help me become more successful in my weight loss journey. For having been more active than I had in years and working out regularly and to only lose 17.2 lbs in a year's time is wrong. Don't get me wrong, I'd rather have a loss than a gain...but I should have lost more. The swelling from the uterus and the hormonal issues have GOT to go. They are taking it all- uterus, cervix, ovaries, and even the tubes. I joked to my mother that I am going to hit menopause before she does. But yet I worry about the health risks. I'm just a worrier by nature.

So the next time I can get on this thing, I will be a new woman. And hopefully out of pain post-surgery. More updates to follow! (I promise.)

Hello to my readers

I am not able to keep up with this blog much anymore, for obvious reasons, also due to a lack of interest. I will continue to keep this blog up and maybe contribute from time to time. My apologies!

Life has been very busy. I am still working full-time in a new department for my company, have been there for 7 months now and am enjoying it very much. My daughter just finished 3rd grade and is very excited that summer is finally here. We are now living in a house, which I have probably already mentioned, and are hoping that in the next year or two we will be able to finally purchase a home. We are ready to become home owners and are very hopeful that this dream will finally come true. It's been a long work in progress.

Now onto my kitchen, which is so big that I can fit a lot of people in it, I am working a very hectic schedule then I head straight to the gym after work, but on my days off (I work four 10 hour shifts, so I have a three day weekend) I am cooking and enjoying the ability to cook in a large kitchen. Needless to say it makes my family very happy when I am able to do so.

That's about it for now!

Wow it's been a while

I am very terrible at this. Things have been incredibly busy since November and things are finally slowing down (thank god!). First off, a shout out to paguy54- I am glad the recipe worked well for you! Thank you for stopping by my blog!

So there have been many changes to our household since I last blogged. No, I am not pregnant (hahahahhaha, that would be the day!), but we found a house we liked and moved, get this, on December 27th. December was a completely terrible month and due to unforeseen circumstances we had to get out of the apartment we were renting before the new year (long story short, the landlord upped the rent incredibly high and we did not have a lease so we said forget it, we'll find a new place). On top of this we had a lot of snow which made it impossible to get to work (eventually my hubby drove me in his 4wd SUV). We had so much snow it crippled a lot of stuff for everyone in our county, even in the entire state of Washington. It made moving a challenge but luckily by December 27th we started thawing out. We found a 2 bed, 1 bath house near where we were living. The owners are very nice and are interested in possibly selling this to us in the next 2-3 years, so we're going to take that into consideration. It has 1/4 acre of land (loving it!), a carport, a huge utility room with a washer and dryer, and a huge kitchen which you know I am absolutely in love with! There are a lot of quirks with this house though- a lot of work needs to be done to it- such as replacing all windows. They are singlepane and the house stays very cold. We also need to have the drywall replaced as it seems like it needs to be. We also need to update the kitchen, because it's very 70's Brady Bunch. We're talking orange countertops, brown linenoleum, and 70's appliances. That said, I absolutely love my kitchen. I do not have a dishwasher but I am fine with that. My oven is on the wall and that is something I've always wanted. It's very exciting to have a HOUSE!

After we moved in and the weather started cooperating (warming up and melting), we ended up with some flooding in our county. It was so bad in certain spots that the river actually crested and flooded some major areas. We were not affected and no one we knew was, but it was pretty scary to see the river so high. January is a month I'll never forget.

Work is going great- I just passed my 90 day probation period in the new department I am in and am doing great. I also celebrated my first year anniversary with my company.

My daughter is doing good in school, still has her moments of can't stop talking-itis (then again she is my daughter), but is doing well. She has adapted very well to the move, and has several friends in this area she can play with and ride bikes with. It makes me feel good to see she has a lot of different friends she can play with, and the neighborhood we live in is very nice.

Other than that, we are doing good- my husband is still employed, thank god, and work has picked up. I feel incredibly lucky to have survived the anxiety and craziness of the holiday season and the move. We are very blessed.