My pain didn’t come back for 4 years after my first surgery with the specialist. When the pain came back it was more in my back instead of my stomach. I would get this horrible pain in my stomach right before I had to go to the bathroom. It would have me doubled over crying in pain, and it was difficult to walk to the bathroom. I immediately called my Obgyn. She got me in for surgery on sept 3th 2021. But again it was too bad for her. She sent me back to my specialist.
My husband and I went to the Drs appointment and the Dr looked at all the pictures. He was pleased all he could see was scar tissue. I had to go back a couple months later for an ultrasound and a follow up. This time my husband couldn’t get away from work so my dad took me. Of course that’s not the ideal person you want to take you. First I’d like my husband, but he had to work, then my mom but at the time she had four foster kids she was taking care of, then I’d prefer my mother in-law but unfortunately she just had a very serious back surgery so I had to ask my dad. We spent a total of 6 hours in the car with less than an hour in the waiting room and appointments. I hate going into appointments alone but I just had to. My dad stayed in the waiting room waiting for me. I’m sure this was very hard for him as there were pregnant women all around him. My dad has been praying for me to get pregnant for 4 years now. We are hoping the Dr can open my tubes and flush them at this surgery.
Between the surgery with my Obgyn and my last surgery with the specialist on Jan 17th 2023, my back pain continued to get worse. I refused to take birth control because I hated the way it made me act so on my periods the pain was the worst. I could barely move for 5 days every month. Each time the back pain got a little worse. By the time of my next surgery I could barely bend over or stand up straight again. Also normal activities (cooking, cleaning, work) had become very difficult. For several months my husband was buying me Starbucks iced coffees from Walmart (very expensive but I didn’t have time to make my own) to help me go to the bathroom naturally and a little less painful. Whenever I would pass gas it would double me over in so much pain until it passed. I could feel it moving through my body. It was the most unpleasant feeling. Eating was like a choir. I was so uncomfortable eating at the dining room table that I sat on the couch with my feet propped up. I couldn’t eat very much at a time.
As the boss at work I couldn’t let people know I was in pain so I hid it as best as I could. but it got so bad I couldn’t hid it. So I had to start asking my employees for help (picking up toys, changing diapers, taking out the trash) That was difficult because employees would start to think I was faking to get them to do things for me. So I lost a few employees which meant I had to work even more. However, the employees that I kept all knew me outside of daycare and knew I was in much worse pain then I was letting show. Also they have seen how I do almost everything myself without asking for help so when I did ask for help they knew I really needed it. But anyone who didn’t know that side of me quit. So I tried extra hard to hide the pain. I tried a portable heating pad and a portable charger in a fanny pack. It worked for a while but I used it all the time which it wasn’t meant for and I wore it out. I had a heating pad in bed and one in my office chair on the rare occasion I was able to work in the office. I would rotate Tylenol and ibuprofen all day. The best thing that helped me was eucalyptus oil, peppermint oil, and lavender oil in the bathtub. I’d feel so much better right afterwards but it didn’t last long. One of my employees/ friends suggested CBD oil. I was so desperate I tried it. It really helped and I stopped using it a few days before surgery and never used it again. It wasn’t until the last couple of weeks before my last surgery that the pain showed no matter what I did. Just 3 days before my surgery we had Christmas at my grandparents house. It was a long 3 hour drive. I was so beat after we arrived. My husband had to help me up and down off the chairs. My family had not ever seen me that way. It really shocked some of them. I litterally looked like a 90 year old women when trying to sit down or walk.
The day before surgery I had to go on a clear liquid diet. I could have Jell-o, water, Gatorade, popsicles and chicken broth. I also had to take a whole 8 oz bottle of laxatives in 68 oz of Gatorade. It made me so nauseous. I had never drank so much in a day in my life. I went to work the morning I started the laxatives, but an hour later I ended up at home the rest of the day.
Surgery Day
I woke up at 5:30 to go to the Dr and as I was walking out to the car I threw up. I knew then it was going to be a long ride (I throw up when I don’t get a lot of sleep and I’m weak from not eating). I laid back in the car and tried to sleep the nausea away. We got to the hospital right at 9 and they got me signed in and I gave them a urine sample to make sure I wasn’t pregnant (but duh I already knew this answer) and then I got in my gown and they came in shortly. I had about 5 different nurses. They were all nice. One would ask me questions while another one put my IV in, while the student nurse watched, then the Anastasia nurses came in and asked questions and then the student Dr came in and the Dr training up came in and then finally the Dr came in. When he came in he put his hand on my husband’s shoulder and another on my foot and asked how we were doing in a very sympathetic way. He answered all our questions and then said they would take me back shortly. His surgery before me ran late so it was hours later before they took me back. I went to the bathroom while waiting and I got very nauseous when standing and then I threw up so then they had to take extra precautions during surgery so that I wouldn’t throw up during the surgery.
Since my hair tangled so badly after the first surgery, my mom braided my hair before this surgery. I highly recommend that because you cant brush or wash your own hair for a while.
It had been over a year since I saw my local Obgyn. Thankfully my endometriosis had not grown back it was just scar tissue (which doesn’t make the pain an less or do any less damage it just means its easier to remove), So the Dr thought the surgery would only take two hours. Unfortunately when he got in there it was a lot of scar tissue and it was very sever. It had pulled my bowels into my uterus which was causing all the horrible back pain. it was wrapped around my stomach wish was causing the inability to eat a normal amount without being in pain. One of my fallopian tubes was twisted and pointed up instead of straight down. The other one was attached to the uterus. Both of my ovaries we covered. He was able to clean them up and straighten them up. He also was able to flush my tubes so we should be able to get pregnant. If you haven’t read my post pictures and Explanations of Endometriosis Findings click here to see the videos of the Dr.s explanation
Because the surgery was so long they had me stay the night. That was a good thing because I couldn’t keep my eyes open and the ride home would be rough. Every time the nurses talked to me I was able to open my eyes for a second and nod yes but that was it. Every couple of hours they would check on me. I kept getting hot under all my blankets so they brought me a fan (funny compared to the first time I couldn’t keep warm). They told my husband that visiting hours were over and he needed to leave. I started to cry as I asked him where he was going to go. He said he would find a hotel. The nurse then asked where we lived and we said 3 hours away. She then said she would talk to her boss about letting him stay and they did. That was very nice because even though I knew the nurses would take good care of me I still wanted him by my side. The pain after surgery felt like barely anything and my back pain had completely disappeared. Getting out of bed to go to the bathroom was the hardest but by 9 am the second day I was able to get up by myself. While we were waiting on the discharge papers my husband pulled out the pictures the Dr took and explained to him and he explained every picture to me. That was very special for me that my husband cared enough to hear about all the things that happened inside of me enough to explain it to me rather than having me just listen to the Drs. video. He then showed me the video the Dr took on my phone explaining the pictures, my husbands explanation was pretty spot on. It was raining on our way home and foggy so we had to go a little bit slower. The ride was fine unless we turned, went over a bridge or railroad track, or hit a bump haha. Until we were about 30 minutes away, my meds were wearing off and the road was so bumpy I hurt really bad. My pain was only at about 3 until then when it went up to a 6 but still compared to before surgy it wasn’t horrible.