2 days post-UAE (warning: long post) Also cross posted to embo group.

[Guest guest]

I'm writing lots of details to hopefully help some of you who are in

the same

position trying to decide what to do as I was several months ago. I

had been

to 5 gynecologists, finding that most only want to talk about

hysterectomy. I

did a lot of research on my own, through here and the embo group, and

decided on UAE to treat my fibroids. I also found myself a new

gynecologist

in the process. ;-)

D-Day, Tuesday, September 10, 2002:

Left for the hospital at about 6 am and arrived around 7 am.

Registered and

was taken in, told to change into a gown (actually two gowns since it

was

cool) and slippers and put my clothes into a bag. Everything I

brought with me

(iPod with days worth of music, noise-canceling headphones (these

were a

godsend for the night after), pajamas (great for changing into once

the IV was

out and I was able to shower, etc.) was put under the gurney and I

was told to

get on top. I'm not a lover of IVs, but this one was done in my

hand and didn't

hurt for the entire time it was in and there was no bruising. Some

people just

have the touch. The staff at town is young in general since it

is a

teaching hospital, although my IR himself is older.

Collected urine, blood for tests (my tube blew up in the vacuum

system tube it

was being routed in – big chuckle over my blood erupting ;-)

(Hey, anything is

funny when you're nervous!) ), and signed papers including an

agreement to

participate in a follow-up study being done out of Duke University.

My

husband was able to stay with me throughout this time. Talked with

the doctor

a bit, and I was wheeled in to a small operating room around 8:30

(pretty

much just as scheduled). Here they put me on oxygen (small tubes to

my

nose), and started sedation through the IV. They shaved around my

groin

area a bit. I was nervous about the catheter, but it was done before

I knew it.

Sedation or skilled nurse, who knows?

Then the doctor came in and it was time to roll. I was a bit

concerned since I

was still awake, but they increased the sedation and I don't

remember

anything for a while. They did my right side first and then

apparently had a

hard time with the left side so they went back to the right in order

to finish the

left artery. I'm glad that they had the option to do this since

town's

normal procedure is to make two incisions anyway. I woke up when the

doctor was back on the right side and he explained a bit of what was

going on

although I was out of it. (I should mention that there was absolutely

no pain

through any of this.) They finished up and rolled me back to where I

started

as they were applying pressure to the areas where the incisions were

made.

The side that Dr. Spies held felt fine the day after; the other side

had a bit of

pain and he said there might be some brusing (none evident so far).

He

chuckled when I pointed this out and said that normally patients have

pain on

both sides so I was lucky. (The pain was kind of like if I had

pulled a groin

muscle; nothing horrible, just uncomfortable.)

I asked my husband how long after they had rolled me into the OR did

they

come to tell him I was done and he said it was about 2 hours overall.

Cramps

started soon afterward and I was shown how to operate the morphine

pump.

If it had been available I probably would have wanted it more than

every 8

minutes as it was set up to deliver. No pain was excruciating, but

they

emphasized staying ahead of the pain and said to hit the button

anytime the

pain got to a 2 on a scale of 1-10.

My husband stayed and helped me get settled in my room. (I was

pleasantly

surprised to find out that all of the rooms at town are

private.) I slept

on and off throughout the afternoon. During this time, they brought

me a

liquid lunch and dinner although all I took each time was some broth.

I was

nauseous after eating each time, and they gave me Zofran for this.

Zofran

was very effective and used to be given primarily to cancer patients

for

nausea related to chemotherapy. The nausea came on very quickly and

subsided the same way in my case. I was told that nausea, along with

the

cramping, mood swings, etc. was part of the post-embolization

syndrome

which was to be expected.

The catheter was removed in the afternoon, and it was done before I

realized

it was out. Both the nurse and I chuckled over that. I expected to

feel

something but didn't. ;-) Anyway, got up to go to the bathroom

in the

afternoon and had to will myself to urinate for a while before a bit

started

dribbling out. It got easier each time, and I got steadier on my

feet each time I

got up.

Spent the rest of the evening dozing, hitting the morphine button,

and making

a couple of brief phone calls. The area I was in at the hospital had

rooms

around a central nurses station, and got pretty noisy at times. This

is where

the iPod (mp3 player) and noise canceling headphones came in. I was

so

glad I had brought them! No more ringing phones, no slamming

drawers, no

outside conversations, just Enya's entire collection of songs

lulling me to

sleep.

Day 2: Wednesday, September 11, 2002

Asked for the IV to be removed at around 6 am and I got up to take a

shower. I

was very happy to find out that I was steady on my feet and felt

pretty good. I

felt even better after the shower. I had brought pajamas with me and

switched

into these afterward. It was much more comfortable in my own

clothes. I knew

that my husband would be in early in order to miss the rush hour

traffic into

DC from Virginia, and he showed up at around 7 am. We spent a few

hours

watching TV (got to see the 9/11 ceremonies), I ate another clear

liquid meal

(i.e., more broth), and was given Motrin. Throughout all this time,

I had no

bleeding whatsoever. The doctor came in, checked my incisions, went

through discharge instructions, and I was able to get dressed to

leave. When

I got home I was able to eat a protein bar and slept most of the

afternoon. Ate

a normal dinner, sent out a few emails, and went to sleep, waking

several

times throughout the night due to cramps. I took meds and went back

to sleep.

Day 3: Thursday, September 2, 2002

Dr. Spies assistant said today would probably be worse and so far she

is

right, but it's still not too bad. The incision areas actually

feel much better,

although my cramps and backache are a bit worse. I've also

started bleeding

(bright red blood), which I was told was normal. (Basically, any

kind of

discharge is `normal' as long as it does not smell foul nor

look `pussy'). I

really never expected to be feeling this good. So far, it's like

a rough

menstrual period, but I feel pretty good overall. I had been told

that the

procedure brings on a period in some cases, and I was about due for

mine

anyway.

Overall:

Pain never got beyond a 7 or so on a scale of 1-10, and I'm a

wimp about

pain. (My 7 may be your 4 or 5.) I was told to take Percocet when

needed for

pain, and for the first 4 days to take 800 mg of Motrin every 6 hours

regardless

of pain level. The Motrin is needed to help with the inflammation of

the uterus

post-procedure. I haven't had to take anything for nausea since

yesterday

afternoon. And, needless to say, I wouldn't be sitting here at the

computer if I

had followed the first gynecologist's advice.

I'll go back next week for follow up and then in 3 months for another

MRI to

ensure everything worked as planned.

Ellen E.