Yup, basically
So the surgery itself: We didn't have to be there until 11:30 on Wednesday afternoon, so we slept in. I couldn't eat past midnight, so I was pretty hungry. They called me back into the pre op area and had me change into the beautiful hospital gown. But I did get the pre heated blankets, which is the best part of being in the hospital. I had a really nice nurse at first, and the nurse who did my IV actually got it in on the first try. For the first time in my life. Then my nurse got called somewhere else and the head nurse, I think, took over. She wasn't in scrubs and had a lot of jewelry on, so I think she was covering. She was pretty cold, so I was glad I didn't have to talk to her long.
When the doctor came to talk to us, I asked about the ink test because none of the nurses had it on their paperwork. Apparently he had forgotten that he said he was going to do it. He said we didn't have to do it because obviously one of my fallopian tubes was fine (because I got pregnant). I still wanted to have it done to make sure they were both fine. He went and checked and said the equipment was in the room, so we would be able to do it. The nursing staff seemed a little frustrated because changes were made without it being clear to them what was going on. But I wanted to get the painful test over with.
I don't remember being wheeled back or going under, which is weird. I remember the nurse giving me "happy juice" before wheeling me back. It must've worked a little too well because I don't remember anything after that.
When I woke up Stephen wasn't there, and I remember moaning and shifting because it was hurting so much. The nurse gave me "something for the pain," but it didn't really help. When she asked what number I was at (they ask you to rank your pain 1 to 10), I gave the same number. To which she shortly replied that my heart rate was down and my blood pressure was down, so it had to be better and I needed to quit lying.
She asked if I'd taken Vicodin, which I said yes, and she asked me how often. I stammered a little trying to remember when I'd last taken Vicodin and she got very insistent. It seemed like she thought I was just trying to get more pain medication. Maybe she was afraid I'd taken some before and was trying to keep me awake. She also kept telling me "open your eyes" as if she was frustrated that I kept closing them. For anyone that has come out of anesthesia, keeping your eyes open is not an enticing or easy thing to do.
I couldn't tell you what she looked like because I was still so out of it when we left. Stephen said it was the same head nurse that had covered earlier. I was apparently the very last patient of the day (it was a surgery center) and everyone else, including the nurses in scrubs, had walked out. There was more than one person because I remember them talking about my "posse" in the waiting room (Stephen, my parents, my sister, and Stephen's parents). Stephen said they wouldn't let him back there because I was "having trouble" coming out of the anesthesia. Duh. Who comes out of anesthesia well?
I vaguely remember Stephen helping me get dressed. And the nurse sticking an alcohol pad under my nose to keep me from throwing up. Then we had a very long drive home (the surgery center was in Folsom).
We realized on Thursday that the estrogen patches the doctor had talked about so much weren't on me. I had felt band aids and assumed they were the patches. I don't know who exactly dropped the ball on that one, but it was definitely a mistake. The doctor ordered it, but sent it to the Roseville pharmacy. So Stephen ended up having to sit in the waiting room at the Elk Grove pharmacy waiting for them to fill the prescription. And we had to pay for it. Not that much, but it should've just been part of the post op surgery stuff.
I've pretty much been home ever since. I felt like I was getting better. We went out to dinner on Saturday for my dad's birthday, and I did okay. I haven't been able to eat much, but I wasn't in too much pain. Sunday I laid around my parents house, but still didn't have much energy. By Sunday afternoon I knew I wasn't going to be able to teach the whole day.
Since I had to go do sub plans, I taught my math class. My leadership classes are fine without me for a week, but without having a math teacher, my math class gets behind. I have a great sub, but she's not a math teacher. She does the best she can, which is very good, but it's still hard for the kids.
I ended up having her sub for me today (Tuesday) as well. I already had to take a half day to get the balloon removed, so I figured I might as well just take one more day off and hopefully aid in recovering more quickly. I do feel much better today, but the balloon removal was very unpleasant. The nurse said "I'm not going to lie, it's going to hurt," and she wasn't kidding.
They used a syringe to remove the liquid in the balloon first. Which was similar to getting a pap smear for you ladies reading this. Then he had to reach in with forceps and remove the balloon. Which was very painful. And then my uterus freaked out. The doctor said "and there's the cramp we told you about." No kidding. He stood there and talked to us for a little while, which was a little awkward. When I sat up he asked if I was dizzy, so I think he was stalling to try to let the pain subside a little.
Meanwhile, my uterus was throwing a temper tantrum. I don't blame it with everything I've put it through in the last week. But it has improved and I definitely feel better. Now I just have to wait out all this crazy estrogen. They put patches on me (or they were supposed to) to promote the growth of the lining of the uterus. So I currently have 4 estrogen patches on, which is the equivalent of a month's worth for most women. Plus my own. I am definitely feeling the back pain, headaches, nausea, and emotional roller coastering of a month's worth of hormones all at once. Plus, I'm on amoxycillin (high risk of infection) and 800mg motrin pretty much around the clock. No wonder I'm not feeling well.
We have our post op appointment next week where they'll show us pictures. From what they told Stephen, the septum was not as pronounced as they thought it was. Apparently my uterus is wider than normal and could have been folding in on itself to make the septum seem larger than it actually was. But they removed the septum, although smaller than expected, and did the dye test and everything was normal. The doctor today said they can go in with a scope to see if they successfully removed the septum, or we can just start trying again after two menstrual cycles. If it wasn't successfully removed, what do we do? Surgery. Again. So prayers for a successful healing would still be much appreciated.
