My fertility outlook + Surgery story

I'm on Day 3 of recovery. I'm so glad this is over! First and foremost, congrats to Jen & Tiff on their long-awaited BFP!

Below is the surgery story, in case anyone is interested. Before you read that, here's the summary from the surgery: It looks like the cyst was a hemorraghic cyst, not an endometrioma. They aren't 100% sure, so we're waiting for the labs. There was some scarring around the cyst, but shouldn't affect ovarian quality. Other than that, the doc only found ONE tiny microscopic piece of endometriosis. She showed me the picture. Just one dot. One cell. She said it could remain like that the rest of my life, or get worse. We're hoping for the former!

She said I otherwise had little to no scarring from endometriosis. She did find more uterine polyps and removed them. Fock! I just had them removed 6 months ago, she said my body just likes making polyps quickly. :( She said most of my uterus looks good, but there are some areas that could pose a problem for implantation. But not major yet.

She did find some small fibroids on the outside of my uterus, but didn't remove them. No point, they arent interfering, and most women have a few there. It was weird to see the pictures of my uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, etc. It reminds you of how fragile your system is.

I asked her what my odds are for IVF. She said they should be pretty good, as long as I do it within 6 months. (because my polyps like to grow fast) She wants to get the labs back on my endometriosis, but she said it's just a scarce amount right now anyway.

So this isn't PERFECT news, but it's sure better than we'd expected. Now I just need to heal over the next few weeks, finish all my pre-IVF testing, then start my IVF cycle!

PS - I am in SHITLOADS of pain from this surgery. I was shaking last night, it hurt so bad. The CO2 stuck in my lungs/shoulders is so brutal it makes me cry, and I'm a tough girl.

OK, onto the surgery story!


So here's the lowdown on surgery. For those about to have laparoscopy or hysterscopy, this may be helpful. I was starving on Wednesday morning, and had a bad migraine. Checked into the surgical center, and got my IV going. They put these massaging things on my calves, since I would be under for 3 hours. They wanted to avoid blood clots.

I was kind of bummed they wouldn't let Becky in the pre-surgical area with me. (They don't let anyone back there) Finally, they led me into the operating room. That was when I got really nervous. The amount of Medieval looking tools laid out on tables was scary. Long metal rods, scalpels, etc. I was staring down at them, when the OR nurses told me to lay on the table.

That's when things get fuzzy. It was like an out of body experience. I was staring up at the bright lights, all these people talking around me. They were sticking things on my chest, strapping my legs down, then the anesthesiologist put a mask on me. He said it would calm my nerves. Suddenly, I became chatty cathy - talking up a storm with them. blah blah blah. That's the last thing I remember. They must have given me the general in mid-sentence. I don't even remember getting sleepy!

the surgery last about 2.5 hours. Apparently, I woke up right after they turned off the anesthesia. (I don't remember any of this) They said I was still on the operating table, and I tried to get off the table, saying, "ok thanks, I'm going home now." hahahahaha. I literally don't remember that. It must have been a sleep-walking type thing.

I woke up in the Recovery area, and they brought Becky back. I was quite groggy. My throat was sore from the tube they'd placed in it. I was kind of angry that they'd left the catheter in my peesh. They had me take a big breath, and when I exhaled they pulled it out. MOTHEREFFER! Ok, that really hurt.

Now I'm parked on the sofa, with 4 holes in my tummy. They really hurt. I was taking Vicodin, but it's made me VERY constipated. It's hard to walk around, shower, and I can't wait for the CO2 to leave my body.

For any of you going into laparoscopic surgery, I'm happy to provide any additional information. Just email me at cpeterson at hotmail