My myo report (long!)

[Guest guest]

Hello fellow fibroidians,

I have made it!! I have survived! And as promised here is a report of

my myo experience (19th January 2004). I am feeling just great (day

10 post op now) and recovering at a friend's house at the moment.

More than anything I am SOOO RELIEVED that all's over now, nothing

more to worry about. I am fibroid-free!! My pregnant bump is gone,

and my stomach is almost completely flat again! (apart from a slight

swelling still) . No pressure on the bladder either.

May I take this opportunity to say thank you sooo very much for all

the support that you have given me throughout this ordeal, for your

prayers and kind thoughts (they did work!). I benefited so much from

joining this group, I felt I could talk about anything, even things I

would not dare tell my best friend and find non-patronising advice

and support, lots of compassion and understanding at all times! You

are absolutely great ladies! A big hug to all of you! and best of

luck for those fibroidians still awaiting their turn…

I was crying daily before for fear of " going it alone " without family

or partner, but it turns out an enormous number of friends (plus

colleagues, boss, even one teacher and one " ex-flame " ;-)) visited or

called or sent cards, and the nurses were most kind too and looked

after me really well.. In the end, I didn't feel lonely a single

second while I was in hospital and some days even felt like switching

the phone off, as it simply wouldn't stop ringing! I had more offers

of help than I was able to accept!! I was totally spoiled -- never

got so much attention in my life - what irony!

When you read my report, please remember that this is the account of

my experience, and things might not be exactly the same for you but

it will hopefully answer some of your questions and allay some of

your fears. I have divided the paragraphs by topic, but if there's

anything I have missed and you'd like to ask me, please feel free to

contact me privately: chie@.... For your

information, I had my myomectomy in a private hospital in London, UK,

covered by my medical insurance. This means I had a private room with

a phone by my bedside. I stayed in a total of 7 nights, but only

because I asked the Doctor to keep me for that long, as I have no one

to look after me at home, and had a train to catch to go to friends'

soon afterwards and wanted to make sure I was strong enough for the

journey. The average hospital stay in UK is normally of 5-6 nights.

Overall impression:

All the ladies were correct in saying that the worst part is the

waiting. The op. itself, in retrospect, was not that big a deal, and,

believe me, things are not half as bad as you might be imagining

right now! My myo went smoothly, no complications, the Dr. thinks

he's removed ALL fibroids (so none left behind o grow – yippee!), I

felt no pain since being wheeled back to my room, no nausea from the

anaesthesia, was walking on day 3, I even had a little energy to call

my mother in the evening of day 1 when my voice was only a whisper!

My recovery has been so fast, I am amazed at myself. Every day I find

moving/walking a little easier. By the end of the week I told the Dr.

I couldn't even believe I had had any operation at all! Of course

recovery speed will be different from person to person. I was

relatively fit before the op., I'm not an exercise junkie but eat

well and go to the gym twice a week, so that could have helped. If

you ask me, the worst part was the rashes that I developed on my

thighs and bum because of an allergic reaction to the very tight-

fitting anti-embolism stocking I had to wear in hospital, and the

paper knicker that they gave me to wear in the 1st three days because

I was bleeding (I should have changed to my own). My bum was looking

like a monkey's when I left hospital – bright red -- and the nurses

gave me some baby nappy/diaper rash cream to dab on the affected

areas everyday. It is still red and slightly sore now, but getting

better day by day. I swear my behind looks more painful than my scar

at the front!

Operation: 1.5hs

Incision: vertical - approx. 17cm starting at belly-button

Fibroids: 4 large ones forming a mass the size of a football (wasn't

given exact dimensions). The scan had only shown 3, so the 4th one

was a surprise! Dr. says no other small ones found, so he thinks I'm

100% fibroid-free! I haven't been told how much they weighed yet, but

he reckons a couple of kilos. And yes, I have lost weight!! (see

below)

Pathology results: Benign fibroids.

Anaesthesia:

Once the anaesthetist put the IV on the back of my hand I felt a cold

liquid coursing up my arm and towards my throat (prob. going towards

the heart), and I remember thinking, " Oh, this cold liquid isn't very

nice actually, I hope I won't get sick … " By then I was closing my

eyes…and was gone… Next thing I remember is being woken up in

Recovery Room with nurses shouting my name. I was only half-conscious

and my memory of that first hour post-op is very fuzzy.

Post-op pain:

Hate to say this, but I woke up in a lot of pain (even though I was

only half-conscious then so my memory is hazy and it has not left me

traumatised or anything) in the recovery room. Nurses kept shouting

at me to press the button of the self-administering morphine pump,

but I could hardly move or talk due to the anaesthetic. They were

trying to monitor the level of the pain by asking me what number it

was between 1 and 4. At first it was like " What do you mean 1 to 4?!

It's like 10! " , and I was groaning tossing my head from side to side

really wanting to sleep and getting irritated with the pain that was

stopping me from resting. My most vivid recollection is of me feeling

angry that they couldn't just give me an injection to eliminate the

pain once and for all instead of using the morphine drip, which

didn't seem to work quickly enough, but I later found out the

anaesthetist had actually already given me something for the pain

before they woke me up – it just hadn't kicked in yet. I must have

been in the recovery room for about an hour or a bit more. When I

said to them pain was level 1, they wheeled me back to my room. Later

I asked a nurse how many times I had pressed the morphine pump, and

she said 10, even though my recollection was of a max. of 5 to 6

times (which shows how drowsy I was then). Once in my room, I never

felt any pain (I mean ZERO pain, not even soreness!) again for the

rest of the week! So the good news is I only had to endure real pain

for an hour or so afterwards, then NEVER again. (A friend of mine who

had her myo a year ago says she felt no pain upon waking up, but some

when trying to get out of bed later, so this will vary from person to

person). They took away the morphine pump at the end of day 2 as I

wasn't using it at all, then changed to pain-killer suppositories

(because I wasn't eating yet at that point) every 8 hs, then to

tablets of Paraceatmol + Voltrol (anti-inflammatory), but even the

Paracetamol was stopped after a couple of days. I am out of hospital

now, but am not taking absolutely any pills and feel fine. Only

occasionally do I feel discomfort around the scar (eg first time I

put " normal (=tighter) clothes " again, like tights as they constrict

your abdominal area more than a nightie, of course). Walking in the

street is quite different and bumpier than walking in hospital, so

you may feel some pulling of the skin a bit more, but once you get

used to it, it's fine.

Post-op nausea:

Perhaps because I did not need to use the morphine pump ever again

after I was returned to my room post op., I did not feel sick at all

while I was in hospital. Hospital staff was very cautious though and

did not allow me to have any solid food until day 4. I second

Cheryl's recommendation (I think it was hers) not to take more

morphine than you really need to.

Post-op meals:

Day 1 being fed crushed ice only. I would scoop some with a little

spoon and melt it slowly in my mouth, which was a great relief as

your mouth becomes VERY dry after anaesthesia, esp. if you talk. I

kept asking for more ice as soon as the cup was empty. Day 2: crushed

ice during day, then 1 small glass of water in afternoon. As I did

keep that down, they brought me some tea and 3 tiny digestive

biscuits, which I ate veeery slowly, dipping them in the tea. No

nausea. Day 3: woke up hungry for the first time and got grumpy as

the yoghurt that the nurse said I could have did not arrive until 3

hours after she woke me up (at 6.45am). My drip had been taken off

that morning, so I was ready for some real nutrition. Lunch was clear

soup and ice cream (only fluids only, acc. to Dr's orders). Upon

having the soup my stomach started cramping (this is the only pain I

had – gas pains) in shock as I hadn't eaten properly for 2 days and a

half. I had to eat this veeeery slowly too. Only managed a few

spoonfuls of ice-cream. Dinner was the same combo – soup & ice cream –

but I was allowed to have a roll of bread with it too. No cramping

this time. Body getting used to food again… Day 4: toast and

butter/jam for breakfast. Just about managed to finish 4 very thin

slices. Lunch: cheese omelette. Foolishly I ate the whole thing and

was sorry for it as felt full up for the rest of the afternoon…

Dinner: haddock fillet with white wine sauce and side vegetables –

picked on food only. Hardly managed half the fish. Appetite not quite

back yet. Days 5, 6 and 7: Similar pattern ordering only vegetarian

dishes and barely being able to finish half. Mashed potato or

anything very soft or baby-food like seemed to go well, but solid

foods still unthinkable, let alone red meat. Possibly the fact that I

was having the anti-inflammatory pill Voltrol with my meals didn't

help either, as it is a stomach-unfriendly drug. My appetite has

gradually returned to normal after I left hospital, and I can now eat

fish or meat without a problem. I am still careful not to overeat

though.

My tip: keeping me on fluids only for 3 days was a good precautionary

measure. The pain killers and anti-inflammatory pills they give you

may upset your stomach, so start with very light, easily digestible

food then gradually re-introduce the more solid stuff. You really

don't want to be sick when you've got a huge incision in your

abdomen! Also, demand some food (even if only some biscuits) when

it's time to take pills, as on empty stomach they could give you

nausea or worse (It happened to me when a nurse left me just the pill

to take at 10pm when I had already eaten at 6pm, and I felt sick all

night!)

Bodily functions post-op.:

Nurses were monitoring this very carefully, and it is nice to

gradually go back to being " human " again after having been a

vegetable for a couple of days. I had a problem with my catheter

twice on the evening of day 1. Mine got blocked somehow, and I woke

up with my bladder very full. I told the nurse, who tried to fix the

problem, but it took a while for me to feel relief again – it wasn't

a nice experience, esp. as I still could not walk at that point and

was totally dependent on the nurse to give me relief. My catheter was

taken out early morning of day 3 (rather roughly by the night nurse

so it hurt for just a split second), and I was able to urinate

normally once I got out of bed. It doesn't hurt to do this by the

way. Bowels might take longer to start working again. By day 3, I was

having soup, and getting major gas pains as my bowels started to

function again. I could feel the gases inside me but I hadn't had a

bowel movement yet, which was causing the occasional cramping. Nurses

kept asking if I had passed wind, which apparently is a good sign –

means you're ready for solid food – so forget your rules of

politeness and don't be shy about letting go of that trapped wind!

Drinking lots of peppermint tea is good for gas pains too. My bowels

opened for the 1st time after breakfast on day 4, which was a major

relief, and helped get rid of gas pains. Since then I have been

trying my best not to get constipated. Yoghurt or any other dairy or

prunes in the morning can help.

Shower vs. bath:

I had my first shower on the evening of day 3, to my great relief. I

was feeling sticky and smelly by then. I felt like I smelt of sweat,

blood and poo (from the gases) and was desperate for a wash! My

dressing was changed once then, but when I next had a shower, they

only put Steri-strips on the wound, as it wasn't oozing at all, and

exposure to oxygen is supposed to help heal the scar faster. I still

have steri-strips on at the moment (day 10 after op.), and was told

that they'd peel off naturally later, so I just pat them dry with a

towel after my showers. Nurses told me that whilst in hospital they

prefer you to shower rather than take a bath, as soaking the wound in

bath water can promote infections. I asked my Dr. again on the last

day, and he said it didn't make any difference any more.

Bleeding post-op:

I was on the 3rd day of my period on the day of the op, and I had

been FLOODING the day before – one of the worst bleedings in my life,

as if, ironically, the fibroids wanted to take revenge on me for

getting rid of them on the following day! Honestly, it was so bad, I

had to wear a huge tampon and 3 pads to go to bed, so paranoid I was

about having an accident before having to get up early to go to

hospital. Luckily that didn't seem to have affected the outcome of

the myo. I even forgot to mention to my gyno that I was bleeding

before the op. Post-op I was still bleeding a little, but not too

bad. I only needed 1 pad per 24hs. All bleeding stopped already on

day 4 or 5 I think. I am not sure whether it was the " continuation "

of my period or it was because of the op., as another friend of mine

who had a myo too said she didn't bleed at all after hers.

Walking post-op:

The physio came to see me on day 2 and wanted to get me up and out of

bed to start walking again. She helped me sit up on the edge of the

bed, but just the effort of sitting up made me completely out of

breath and light-headed. I immediately started to hear a ringing in

my ears and thought I'd pass out. They concluded it was too early

days, and put me back to bed again. On day 3 I got out of bed quite

easily (no pain either) and walked without a problem.

What can make your wound hurt:

My Dr. tried to make the scar as cosmetic as possible, and even

though it is a huge vertical one from the belly button all the way

down and below my other bikini line scar (from an ovarian cyst op),

it looks very neat (all stitches underneath the skin) and should

eventually fade out to a thin grey line, he said. On the first 3 days

even laughing hurts, so try not to. I haven't tried sneezing, but

coughing is the worst – avoid it at all costs!! I accidentally ended

up coughing a couple of times yesterday (9 days after op) and the

wound hurt for about 10 min afterwards! From about day 4 or so

laughing was ok. By then I was even sleeping on my side and changing

positions during the night without any problems. Getting out of

bed/chairs becomes easier by the day, same with walking. Every day I

was moving more easily and faster, I wasn't even hunched anymore, but

walking with my torso straight. I have just come back (day 10 after

op) from a brisk 45-min walk in snowed covered ground, and I was

fine, walking almost at normal speed!

Exercising in hospital:

I tried to walk up and down the corridor several times a day every

day since I managed to get out of bed. However, I was getting

exhausted quite easily too, and the trick is knowing what your

personal limit is. Because you will feel great otherwise you will

want to walk a lot or go up and down stairs for the exercise, but you

will feel tired as soon as you sit down again. I was taking one nap

in the morning, one in the evening whilst in hospital, and I still

often take a nap once a day now in my 2nd week. Even sitting up to

use your PC can make you tired, as you will find that the anaesthetic

seems to affect your brain cells too – I noticed my short-term memory

was affected the week I was in hospital, and your brain in general

will feel sluggish for a while…

My tips: Don't overdo it, but think of yourself as a very fragile old

lady with little energy. Your head will be thinking you're fine, but

your body will tell you otherwise. Take it easy!

Visitors:

Your energy levels are lower than you might be aware of, so talking

to people could be a draining experience. I had two visitors during

the day on day 3 and two in the evening (work colleagues), and I was

absolutely shattered that evening. On day 4 I woke up so tired I had

to stay in bed for the rest of the day.

My tips: people will see you looking well so they might tend to stay

a bit too long, tiring you out. If possible ask people to come during

the day when you have more energy and avoid late night visits. Also

remember that even during your daytime naps the telephone might ring

several times (it did for me) and you might not get as much rest as

you were hoping for. If the calls are disturbing you, ask the nurses

to cut off any calls until you're ready for them again.

Weight-loss post-op:

To my dismay when I weighed myself on day 6, my weight was exactly

the same as before the op. But if the fibroids weighed a couple of

kilos….??? I was disappointed of course, then decided it was due to

water retention and post-op. swelling. I weighed myself again after

hospital, on day 7, and my weight had already dropped a little over a

kilo. Tried again last night (day 9), and it had gone down 2 kilos

(swelling has started subside too)! And remember I was hardly eating

at all in hospital and now I'm eating normally, even snacking, so

it's not the food, it's the fibroids gone!! I'm ecstatic! Flat

stomach too – pity I can't wear a bikini any more.. :-( (or maybe I

can if it fades out really nicely). What about that as an incentive

for you ladies to have your myos soon!

Numbness in abdominal area:

Hey, you won't believe this, but I have not lost any sensation at all

on my tummy. I can still feel it, even though I have got a massive

scar splitting my tummy in two below the belly-button. I have no idea

how this can be, but perhaps sth. to do with how the nerves run

sideways from both sides, so perhaps a bikini line incision does more

damage to the nerves and thus sensation takes longer to come back,

and with a vertical one the cut is right in the middle of them so

perhaps they heal faster??!!! Sorry layman's opinion – if anyone can

find an explanation for this, please let me know. I just feel lucky

that I have lost no sensation!

Things I took to hospital that I'm really glad I did:

a) " Granny " above-the-bellybutton knickers/panties – esp. because my

incision ended up being vertical, I could not have been able to bear

putting on anything else. At least with those on, the elastic bit

doesn't fall on and constrict the wound. Highly recommended for post-

op – I am not wearing any other kind of underwear for the next few

weeks! I tried to buy some with flower patterns or bright colours

other than the depressing black/white/grey/beige that you most

commonly find just to keep me cheered up….

b)Mouthwash – your throat will be very dry and ticklish after the op

because they " tube " you once you're under. The problem with that is

that you will feel like coughing sometimes, esp. if you've been

talking too much. You really don't want to cough (am still avoiding

it more 10 days after the op) on those first days as it is

EXCRUCIATINGLY PAINFUL. Always have some water next to you for an

emergency like that. And do a gargle every morning/evening to help

lubricate your mouth (good idea for pre-op too, as you are not

allowed to eat or drink anything the morning of the op).

c)Travel size cleansing/toning wipes to put by your bed – you might

get sweaty and sticky in the first 2 days (I wasn't able to get out

of bed to shower until day 3) but no chance of having a wash on your

own. You will feel better by refreshing at least your face and neck

with those, and you won't need to get up at all for it either. You

may be luckier than me and get a bed-bath, but I didn't nor was

offered one!

d)Handcream: my hands got very dry in hospital, esp. as it was winter

with heaters on, etc.

Things that I wish I had thought of:

a)List of tel. numbers you might want to use by your bed – I had

those in my Filofax, which was in a bag, placed far away from me. I

could not get up yet on day 2 but felt like calling friends to say

hello. Being bed bound means you have to wait until someone comes to

visit you to ask them to get things for you. Remember you won't be

able to move much at first, so keep anything you think you might need

right next to your bed.

b)Vaseline for chapped lips: your lips will most likely be VERY DRY

and get chapped – all after effects of the anaesthesia. I had to ask

a friend to bring me some to hospital as my lips were completely

chapped and peeling. Normal lip balm didn't wasn't helping at all.

c)Light gossip magazines: luckily some friends were thoughtful enough

to bring me those during my week in hospital. I tried reading

a " normal " book but found that I didn't have enough concentration to

go beyond one paragraph a day. Silly magazines with lots of pictures

and little text is the kind of literature you need in your first

week! My power of concentration returned on the 2nd week.

Conclusion: It's great to be fibroid-free! Hurrah! I'm a new woman,

so you can be too!

Lots of love to all,

Chie xx

[Guest guest]

Chie -

I am so happy to hear from you. I constantly thought of you on the day of

your myo and did the calculations in my head to figure out what time it was

where you are. I am so happy for you. You sound so relieved and all and all

your

experience sounds like it was tolerable. I so desperately want my fibroids

gone and I want to be posting a story like yours and feel like you do!!!

Thanks for breaking your story down into categories and I appreciate the

tips. Being ill after surgery is one of my fears and I hope to have no problems

with nausea. It's so good to hear that the anticipation was the worst.

That's what I'm hoping for!

Well, soon it's February 1st and that's when our new insurance coverage takes

place. After the 1st I am going to call to schedule my surgery. I just

hope I have the nerve to go through with it. I want my flat stomach back

sooooo

badly and I want to be free!!!!

Thanks for writing. I'm really happy for you!!!

Amy