After a nerve-wracking morning of pre-op procedures and of course, all the waiting, I’m happy to report that Thursday’s uterine fibroid embolization procedure was a success. I was in hospital over night and was discharged early Friday evening. It was good to be home. I was warned about the post-op pain, but I have to admit I didn’t think it would be as bad as it is. The worst part is that the pain comes in sharp waves versus a constant achiness. So, just when I think I am getting comfortable, another surge of pain strikes.
While the surgery went smoothly, the true sign of its success actually won’t be be evident for another 3-6 months. The tumors are quite large so it will take time for them to shrink and shred — which is a painful process in itself. I’m just going to have to keep being patient and optimistic.
not much of an exciting view from where I lay
My post-op instructions were 3 days of bed rest followed by 7-10 days of mild activity, trying to restrict it to only what is absolutely necessary. After that, I will just have to be sensible and resume activities with caution. In all honesty, I thought I would feel more restless. However, I do feel quite fatigued and worn out. I’m glad the first phase of recovery – bed rest – is over. This morning I woke up feeling a bit hungry – which was a good sign as I haven’t had much of an appetite at all. Eating a little something gave me a bit more energy. Movement is still not that comfortable. I’m actually most comfortable standing, but that’s also the position that tires me the most. I put on my FitBit this morning just to have a general idea of how much I can pace around the house. I’d like to hit 750 steps — can you imagine setting such a low step goal?! However, I think that’s a sensible goal for now. I’ll see how I feel at the end of the day. I’ve been walking around the house very slowly. Again, I’m getting tired quickly, so I don’t want to wear myself out and then set myself back before I’ve even gotten started.
I’ve felt some improvement each day, so that’s a good thing. I haven’t been on social media or general messaging/email much over the past 3 days as my mind has felt a bit fuzzy, but today was definitely better. I finally got a chance to reply to messages/emails and it has been nice communicating with friends as being stuck in bed while recovering has been a bit of a drag. Today I’ve managed to do a bit of reading. Netflix has also been great in terms of keeping me company! Today I also logged on to Gracie University for the first time in 5 days, so that was a nice touch of normalcy to my day too. Even sitting down to blog feels good – though I think I’ve just about hit my limit it terms of sitting time! I’m just taking it an hour at a time for now. Let’s see how this second phase goes!
6 comments
You are one great lady, respect. You are always so Nice and attentie to Poelgeest you don’t even know., taling your time to ander to their questions, while you have somuch stuff going on yourself
I’m always happy to do whatever I can to help others in any way 🙂 Thank you!
Hoping you’ll recover quickly. Your pain sounds like labor. You think you can get comfortable and another contraction hits. Maybe this will finally let you have some pain free time. 🙂
Thank you Caron! Still not pain-free, but getting better each day 🙂
Oh wow – I read your health history page. I had fibroids, but they weren’t crap compared to what you’re going thru! Thoughts & prayers that this procedure works & works quickly for you!
Thank you Lisa. It’s been quite an ordeal, but I’m hoping for relief …