6 Days Out

I went back to work today.

In general, I feel like I'm about 80-85% back to myself.  Here's what's happening:

1. I've lost the 5 lbs that I put on after the surgery.  Since I wasn't eating, I have no idea how I gained 5 lbs.  My stomach is still a bit puffy (a term one of the ladies on The Bump used) and my pants still cause deep pain to my stomach.

2. I'm taking over-the-counter Advil now.  I started that yesterday because I noticed my prescriptions were making my stomach upset.  They help, but I'm still having a lot of discomfort.

3. I am still cramping, but definitely not as bad as the fourth and fifth days.  (Think really, really intense menstrual cramps.  I actually called the nurse just to be sure this was normal.  She said that it was and also that when they push the dye through it can cause your stomach to be crampy.)

4. My incision looks good.  I was very nervous about infection, but (knock on wood) so far so good.  My belly button feels weird and I have to resist the urge to touch it to see what in the heck happened in there.  (I am such a kid about this stuff.)  It is seriously the weirdest thing though.

5. My post-op report came in the mail today.  Everything the doctor told my family is in the report.   I am thrilled there are no surprises.  This was  a HUGE thing for me this summer when I switched from my first OB to my current one.  She would write things in my files as if she had said them during my appointments.  It made me SO mad.  How can you trust a doctor like that?  Long story short, I didn't/don't and am so glad I did.  I am very happy with the job my OB did last week.

A Section in Which I Ramble About My OB:

On another note about my OB, I feel really confident with him in general.  When I met for my original appointment this summer he predicted that I would have just one or two spots of Endo that he would be able to burn off.  (My first OB said she thought I had scar tissue everywhere and totally freaked me out.   It's worth noting that she NEVER did a physical exam to see if she could feel adhesions or anything abnormal.)  Another thing I liked about him was that he was willing to cut if necessary and not just burn out the Endo.  He ended up burning out the one spot he was able to burn out because it was so small, but knowing that he was confident in his ability to excise makes me trust him more.  (My first OB only had me sign a release for burning.  She never discussed excising anything.)  A third point I'm happy with is the fact that my OB did the tubal perfusion to check the patency of my tubes.  This was something I would have never known to ask for and gave me SO much more information than just a typical diagnostic laparoscopy.  It was also SO nice to NOT be awake for this test.  (My other OB never discussed my tubes, even though she was -certain- I must have severe Endo.)  Finally (for now) I really appreciated that my OB is so knowledgeable and well-received locally.  Every nurse I saw in the hospital last week either sees him as their OB or had nothing but nice things to say about him.  It makes me feel so good knowing that he has a solid reputation in this community for over a decade.

So what's the main idea of that ramble?

As I get older, I'm learning to trust my instincts.  My intuition SCREAMED this summer that something was OFF about my OB.  She didn't take time to let me ask questions.  She didn't present me with options.  She freaked me out in general.  I knew that she was the wrong person to do my laparoscopy and even though it was an INCREDIBLY difficult decision to ignore her advice initially this summer, I'm so thankful I trusted myself.  I can't imagine what the results would have been if she had done this procedure on me.  Would I have needed an extra procedure later to check my tubes?  Would I have been left with Endo had something that needed excising been found?  And what's more, she never recommended I use any time of surgical soap prior to my surgery---would any precautionary measures have been taken to ensure I wouldn't have ended up with an infection in my incisions?

Wait, that was a ramble.  Here is my main idea:

Trust your instincts.
It's your body.
It's your reproductivity.
In my mind, with surgery you get one shot to get it right.

I'm proud of myself and for the first time this week, I'm feeling pretty optimistic.



Fingers crossed.