help! female post ops...a question...

March 18, 2004

hi there! i had surgery 5 1/2 weeks ago...and did not get my period

this month...someone told me after surgery occasionally one will

skip a cycle...due to the body healing itself...although another

explanation could be that i had to stop taking my birth control

pills after surgery due to being unexpectedly wired shut...and that

possibly could have altered things...there is no chance i am

pregnant. any thoughts or similar experiences? also, any ideas how

to get rid of residual swelling? i will be unwired and de-splinted

tomorrow, thank goodness(YAY!)...but this residual swelling is

making me crazy! thanks for any input! hilary

March 18, 2004

Hi, Hilary,

I've not had the surgery yet (scheduled for sometime early summer)

but do have a little understanding about hormones. If you have

stopped the birth control, then it is entirely possible that you

would skip a cycle or two, or more depending on how long you have

been on birth control. It's almost like your body " forgets " how to

work without the aid of the pill, and again depending on how long

you have been taking it, that may determine how long it takes for it

to basically get its memory back. As for the surgery having an

effect, maybe some of the veterans can tell you about that; I know

it's possible to skip periods if the body is stressed in any way

(emotionally or physically.) Bottom line, I wouldn't worry. You'll

be back in the swing of things as your body begins to heal. Your

body is working hard to fix itself right now, so the best thing is

to just give it time.

Christy

> hi there! i had surgery 5 1/2 weeks ago...and did not get my

period

> this month...someone told me after surgery occasionally one will

> skip a cycle...due to the body healing itself...although another

> explanation could be that i had to stop taking my birth control

> pills after surgery due to being unexpectedly wired shut...and

that

> possibly could have altered things...there is no chance i am

> pregnant. any thoughts or similar experiences? also, any ideas how

> to get rid of residual swelling? i will be unwired and de-splinted

> tomorrow, thank goodness(YAY!)...but this residual swelling is

> making me crazy! thanks for any input! hilary

March 19, 2004

hilary, i started my period two days after the surgery - which put me right on

schedule but

i would imagine that the birthcontrol pills + the surgery could mess things up.

but that is

just me speculating. today is my 4th day post-op. the first couple of days

were a breeze

believe it or not, but last night my sinuses became completely clogged and i

woke up with

a pounding headache. so now, on top of antibiotics, pain meds and my regular

anti-

anxiety meds, i am now also taking sudafed to clear the sinuses.

anyway, all that to say, i called my doc this morning to ask about the sinus

problems and

while on the phone with him, i mentioned my swelling and he said that heat is

best. he

said to apply heat to my jaws for 5 -10 minutes 5 or 6 times a day. my sister

told me this

evening that she can see a significant drop in the swelling since i started the

heat therapy

this morning.

good luck!!! i still have 5 1/2 weeks to go (and i'm wired the full time),

> hi there! i had surgery 5 1/2 weeks ago...and did not get my period