Last Wednesday I had my follow-up appointment with Dr. S. It was so great to talk with him about the surgery, the results and his treatment plan. Every encounter I have with him makes me SO HAPPY to be his patient! I feel like I'm getting much better medical care than in the past. He takes his time and really explains everything to me. I also feel so much more confident in his treatment plan and his expertise.
First he examined me and said that I was healing nicely. And yes, he said that the itchiness is a sign that the incisions were healing. He confirmed all the results that my parents had already told me: he was able to unblock my left tube and removed almost all the spots of endometriosis - which he categorized as stage 2, maybe even beginning of stage 3.
One spot he only treated partially because it was located on my colon and he didn't want to mess with that tissue too much. Apparently the endo and the scar tissue around it have been pulling my colon away and it's now stuck to a ligament nearby. He said that it shouldn't be a problem as long as I wasn't having any pain or any trouble going to the bathroom. (Thankfully I am not!) :)
He even found a spot of endo on my diaphragm. Can you believe that?? I can't believe that he would even check that area, but as I've mentioned he is very thorough. It's amazing how far endo can travel.
He really took his time going through the 54 pictures and explaining how endometriosis causes infertility. Based on my charts and the hormone panel done last May he is concerned about my very short luteal phase and my post-peak hormone levels. His suggested treatment plan is HCG injections. I'm so excited to finally try HCG after countless cycles on progesterone. My prescription should arrive this week and since I'm on cycle day five I should be post-peak in two weeks. He also recommended a Vitamin D supplement since my levels are so low. I will get bloodwork done each cycle to see how things are going.
It feels really good to be moving forward! I continue to hope and pray that one day, Lord willing, we will conceive.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Divine Mercy Novena
I will be praying the Divine Mercy Novena beginning today and ending on Divine Mercy Sunday. You can follow this link if you'd like to join me. I have always been drawn to St. Faustina, although I don't pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet regularly and I have yet to tackle her diary. Maybe this will be the year... I just pulled it off the shelf and dusted it off again. :)
During this novena I will be praying in a special way through the intercession of Pope John Paul II. He will be beatified on Divine Mercy Sunday!
John Paul the Great, pray for us.
Jesus, have mercy on us.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Quick Takes
Yes, I know it's Sunday... the sad thing is that I was planning to write this Quick Takes on Thursday, and I'm just now finally getting to it. Oh well!
(1) I have been seriously tempted to title all of my recent posts "busy" or "catching up" or something along those lines. That's how I've been feeling lately, and that means my blogging gets left behind.
(2) Unfortunately I haven't been as faithful as I'd like to my Lenten promises. Having my parents in town for two weeks and having my surgery definitely threw me for a loop - not that it's a good excuse - but it made it harder for me to keep a daily routine/schedule. I am really hoping to make this a good Holy Week. I will be singing for all the Triduum services and the music always helps me enter into the true meaning of these days.
(3) My husband and I have been reminiscing about our pilgrimage to Lourdes and Rome during Holy Week last year. We still can't believe it's been a year since that amazing trip. I can't thank the Lord enough for the graces we received during that time.
(4) The big news in our house last week was that Tommy (FINALLY!) got his first tooth! Our cute little toothless-wonder is now a one-tooth-wonder! Although it looks like more teeth will soon be joining the first one. Thankfully he hasn't seemed too bothered by it, so I hope and pray that continues.
(5) Tommy doesn't wear shoes very often... so the other day when I put these on he was pretty confused. He kept trying to get them off. It was pretty funny.
(6) We finally put up a baby gate around our stairs this weekend. He has been crawling for awhile but he is really starting to move around and it was getting too hard to keep him away from the stairs. Because our house is a split level we have two 1/2 flights of stairs right next to each other - one going up and one going down. It's a wide area and we needed a huge gate to cover it. It's going to take some time to get used to it. So far Tommy is fasinated by it and has been really checking it out. He looks like he's stuck in jail when he holds onto the bars and looks through them.
(7) I got my haircut last week - a lot! - and not many people noticed. I think it's because my stylist straightened it, so most people thought my hair looked different because it was straight, not because it was shorter. Also I've been wearing it up almost 100% of the time, so no one really knew how long it had gotten. I was WAY overdue for a cut and definitely ready for a change. I'm really happy with how it looks - both straight and curly.
(8) I truly can't believe that our little guy will turn ONE YEAR OLD next month! May is an insanely busy month with my play and my husbands parent's coming to visit - so we're planning a simple little celebration for his birthday with a few friends. I can't wait to see him try to eat his cake!
(1) I have been seriously tempted to title all of my recent posts "busy" or "catching up" or something along those lines. That's how I've been feeling lately, and that means my blogging gets left behind.
(2) Unfortunately I haven't been as faithful as I'd like to my Lenten promises. Having my parents in town for two weeks and having my surgery definitely threw me for a loop - not that it's a good excuse - but it made it harder for me to keep a daily routine/schedule. I am really hoping to make this a good Holy Week. I will be singing for all the Triduum services and the music always helps me enter into the true meaning of these days.
(3) My husband and I have been reminiscing about our pilgrimage to Lourdes and Rome during Holy Week last year. We still can't believe it's been a year since that amazing trip. I can't thank the Lord enough for the graces we received during that time.
(4) The big news in our house last week was that Tommy (FINALLY!) got his first tooth! Our cute little toothless-wonder is now a one-tooth-wonder! Although it looks like more teeth will soon be joining the first one. Thankfully he hasn't seemed too bothered by it, so I hope and pray that continues.
(5) Tommy doesn't wear shoes very often... so the other day when I put these on he was pretty confused. He kept trying to get them off. It was pretty funny.
(6) We finally put up a baby gate around our stairs this weekend. He has been crawling for awhile but he is really starting to move around and it was getting too hard to keep him away from the stairs. Because our house is a split level we have two 1/2 flights of stairs right next to each other - one going up and one going down. It's a wide area and we needed a huge gate to cover it. It's going to take some time to get used to it. So far Tommy is fasinated by it and has been really checking it out. He looks like he's stuck in jail when he holds onto the bars and looks through them.
(7) I got my haircut last week - a lot! - and not many people noticed. I think it's because my stylist straightened it, so most people thought my hair looked different because it was straight, not because it was shorter. Also I've been wearing it up almost 100% of the time, so no one really knew how long it had gotten. I was WAY overdue for a cut and definitely ready for a change. I'm really happy with how it looks - both straight and curly.
(8) I truly can't believe that our little guy will turn ONE YEAR OLD next month! May is an insanely busy month with my play and my husbands parent's coming to visit - so we're planning a simple little celebration for his birthday with a few friends. I can't wait to see him try to eat his cake!
Monday, April 11, 2011
Adoption Story Book
I have been meaning to make Tommy an adoption story book, and now that he is quickly approaching his first birthday I am embarassed that I haven't done it yet! I really want to have a book that tells his story so that we can make adoption part of our everyday conversation with him.
Adoptive moms - how many of you have made a story book? How did you do it? I have heard about many different ways: a simple photo book, a memory book, and even making a personalized hard-paged children's story book. What worked best for you?
I would greatly appreciate any advice or suggestions!
Adoptive moms - how many of you have made a story book? How did you do it? I have heard about many different ways: a simple photo book, a memory book, and even making a personalized hard-paged children's story book. What worked best for you?
I would greatly appreciate any advice or suggestions!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Quick Takes
I'm going to have to make this quick, so we'll see how many "takes" I get through. :)
(1) Thankfully I'm feeling much better, almost back to 100%. Although I keep telling myself that I can't workout because I'm still recovering. Ha ha... hopefully that changes soon.
I don't have any pain, but I do have these weird sensations once in awhile in my pelvic area. I'm sure that it has something to do with everything healing internally. The only lingering side effect is that my incisions are SUPER itchy!! Does anyone else remember this happening? I am trying my hardest to leave them alone, but it's driving me crazy. Last night I took some Benadryl before going to bed, so hopefully that helps.
(2) Our dear friends are coming to stay with us tonight from New York - including our sweet Godson Charlie. I'm so excited to see them! We haven't seen Charlie since last July and I know so much has changed with him. They are moving to Germany next month for a year and a half, so it will be nice to have some quality time with them.
(3) I'm starting to stress about the show I'm directing. I feel like we are behind and my students are not working as hard as I'd like. But my husband reminded me last night that I say the same thing every year. They always rally as the performance date gets closer, but I wish they'd do it sooner! Ah, the joys of working with middle schoolers.
(4) I'm really looking forward to my post-op appointment with Dr. S. He always spends a lot of time with his patients, so I know he will take his time explaining everything to me. I'm mostly curious to hear about the spot of endo he left untouched (because of where it was located) and to hear his treatment plan for me.
(5) We are still planning to move forward with Homestudy #2 but the paperwork has been sitting on our desk for awhile. I want to get moving with the process but I just haven't tackled it yet.
(6) Lately Tommy has been getting the giggles right before bedtime (and naptime) and it's been so cute! I know I shouldn't encourage him - and get him wound up - but I just can't help it. When he's really silly he has a big belly laugh and I just can't resist tickling him.
(7) Here are a few pics from my parents visit. They were such a huge help while I was recovering!
Reading with Grandma
We were dying to go outside so we made it to the park once. Notice how bundled up everyone is? It was freezing!
Out to lunch
With Grandma and Grandpa
(1) Thankfully I'm feeling much better, almost back to 100%. Although I keep telling myself that I can't workout because I'm still recovering. Ha ha... hopefully that changes soon.
I don't have any pain, but I do have these weird sensations once in awhile in my pelvic area. I'm sure that it has something to do with everything healing internally. The only lingering side effect is that my incisions are SUPER itchy!! Does anyone else remember this happening? I am trying my hardest to leave them alone, but it's driving me crazy. Last night I took some Benadryl before going to bed, so hopefully that helps.
(2) Our dear friends are coming to stay with us tonight from New York - including our sweet Godson Charlie. I'm so excited to see them! We haven't seen Charlie since last July and I know so much has changed with him. They are moving to Germany next month for a year and a half, so it will be nice to have some quality time with them.
(3) I'm starting to stress about the show I'm directing. I feel like we are behind and my students are not working as hard as I'd like. But my husband reminded me last night that I say the same thing every year. They always rally as the performance date gets closer, but I wish they'd do it sooner! Ah, the joys of working with middle schoolers.
(4) I'm really looking forward to my post-op appointment with Dr. S. He always spends a lot of time with his patients, so I know he will take his time explaining everything to me. I'm mostly curious to hear about the spot of endo he left untouched (because of where it was located) and to hear his treatment plan for me.
(5) We are still planning to move forward with Homestudy #2 but the paperwork has been sitting on our desk for awhile. I want to get moving with the process but I just haven't tackled it yet.
(6) Lately Tommy has been getting the giggles right before bedtime (and naptime) and it's been so cute! I know I shouldn't encourage him - and get him wound up - but I just can't help it. When he's really silly he has a big belly laugh and I just can't resist tickling him.
(7) Here are a few pics from my parents visit. They were such a huge help while I was recovering!
Reading with Grandma
We were dying to go outside so we made it to the park once. Notice how bundled up everyone is? It was freezing!
Out to lunch
With Grandma and Grandpa
Friday, April 1, 2011
Slow Recovery
Finally today I think I have turned the corner and I'm starting to feel better. It's been such a weird week around here! Our normally healthy family has been struggling. Poor Tommy has been battling a fever since Monday, but I think he might finally have turned the corner also. He started to seem like himself this morning when he woke up.
I had expected to bounce back pretty quickly from my surgery. I even scheduled a rehearsal for this afternoon thinking that I would be back to normal. What was I thinking? Unfortunately I'm going to have to miss it, but thankfully the other teachers are willing to take over for me.
I thought that I had recovered pretty quickly the last time, but I also didn't realize that these two surgeries would be so different. I can't remember how long Lap #1 took, but I don't think Dr. L was in there for very long and I believe she only removed two spots of endo. I had no problem with the hour-long drive back and I remember having Panera for dinner that night - chicken noodle soup, yum!
Lap #2 on Tuesday lasted 3 hours and in addition to the laparoscopy Dr. S performed a selective HSG, hysteroscopy, and cauterized my cervix. I have a feeling that he was much more precise and meticulous when it came to removing the endo. I will learn more at my post-op visit, but from what he told my parents it sounds like he removed about 10-15 spots of endo and moved my lower colon back into place. (Whatever that means!!) It sounds like he left one spot of endo near my rectum (sorry for the TMI) because he didn't want to mess around with the tissue too much down there. He gave my parents 54 pictures from the surgery, but I'm going to need him to explain them to me!
I had planned on going back home the night after surgery - it's about a 2-hour drive. My parents were with me since my hubby was home with Tommy. I had been at the hospital since 6:00am (surgery lasted from 8:00 - 11:00) and I was finally discharged around 4:00pm. Unfortunately I felt pretty sick during the short drive from the hospital to the hotel. Just walking from the car to the room made me nauseous.
I decided to take a nap and hoped that I would feel good enough for the drive home afterwards - but no such luck! Even just sitting up in bed made me feel sick. I have been under anesthesia twice and it hadn't bothered me so much in the past - but I guess this was different because I was under for longer. My parents went to get dinner and brought back some soup for me, but I didn't feel like eating anything at all.
The painkillers worked well but I had other side effects - shoulder pain from the gas bubbles left in my abdomen and my throat felt like it was on fire (from the tube that was down there during surgery.) It hurt to talk and all I could do was pretty much lay there. I felt so bad because my hubby was home alone with a sick baby. He had a ton going on at work this week and wasn't planning to be gone two days.
Anyways, after a good night's sleep on Tuesday night I felt fine on the drive back Wednesday morning. We got home just as my hubby was returning from the pediatrician. Tommy didn't have any ear infection or strep, most likely just battling a virus. But it was our first time seeing him sick - he's been such a healthy little guy until now. He seriously slept most of the week - and was only awake for one hour at a time a few times during the day. He didn't want to take any medicine and I hated having to force it in his mouth. :( It was just so sad to see him feel so yucky and be so miserable. All he wanted was to be with me, but I didn't have the strength or energy to hold him for very long. Even the weather has been nasty this week - it's felt pretty depressing around here!
Thankfully my hubby has been a rockstar and my parents have been amazing. My mom has been doing all the shopping, cooking and cleaning around here. It seems like the sun might finally come out today, even though it's still freezing cold.
Thanks for all the love, support and prayers. I feel really good about working with Dr. S - did I mention that he prayed with me before surgery? Even though I couldn't see him because I didn't have my glasses or contacts, it was really sweet. I am looking forward to my post-op appointment when he explains everything in detail.
I had expected to bounce back pretty quickly from my surgery. I even scheduled a rehearsal for this afternoon thinking that I would be back to normal. What was I thinking? Unfortunately I'm going to have to miss it, but thankfully the other teachers are willing to take over for me.
I thought that I had recovered pretty quickly the last time, but I also didn't realize that these two surgeries would be so different. I can't remember how long Lap #1 took, but I don't think Dr. L was in there for very long and I believe she only removed two spots of endo. I had no problem with the hour-long drive back and I remember having Panera for dinner that night - chicken noodle soup, yum!
Lap #2 on Tuesday lasted 3 hours and in addition to the laparoscopy Dr. S performed a selective HSG, hysteroscopy, and cauterized my cervix. I have a feeling that he was much more precise and meticulous when it came to removing the endo. I will learn more at my post-op visit, but from what he told my parents it sounds like he removed about 10-15 spots of endo and moved my lower colon back into place. (Whatever that means!!) It sounds like he left one spot of endo near my rectum (sorry for the TMI) because he didn't want to mess around with the tissue too much down there. He gave my parents 54 pictures from the surgery, but I'm going to need him to explain them to me!
I had planned on going back home the night after surgery - it's about a 2-hour drive. My parents were with me since my hubby was home with Tommy. I had been at the hospital since 6:00am (surgery lasted from 8:00 - 11:00) and I was finally discharged around 4:00pm. Unfortunately I felt pretty sick during the short drive from the hospital to the hotel. Just walking from the car to the room made me nauseous.
I decided to take a nap and hoped that I would feel good enough for the drive home afterwards - but no such luck! Even just sitting up in bed made me feel sick. I have been under anesthesia twice and it hadn't bothered me so much in the past - but I guess this was different because I was under for longer. My parents went to get dinner and brought back some soup for me, but I didn't feel like eating anything at all.
The painkillers worked well but I had other side effects - shoulder pain from the gas bubbles left in my abdomen and my throat felt like it was on fire (from the tube that was down there during surgery.) It hurt to talk and all I could do was pretty much lay there. I felt so bad because my hubby was home alone with a sick baby. He had a ton going on at work this week and wasn't planning to be gone two days.
Anyways, after a good night's sleep on Tuesday night I felt fine on the drive back Wednesday morning. We got home just as my hubby was returning from the pediatrician. Tommy didn't have any ear infection or strep, most likely just battling a virus. But it was our first time seeing him sick - he's been such a healthy little guy until now. He seriously slept most of the week - and was only awake for one hour at a time a few times during the day. He didn't want to take any medicine and I hated having to force it in his mouth. :( It was just so sad to see him feel so yucky and be so miserable. All he wanted was to be with me, but I didn't have the strength or energy to hold him for very long. Even the weather has been nasty this week - it's felt pretty depressing around here!
Thankfully my hubby has been a rockstar and my parents have been amazing. My mom has been doing all the shopping, cooking and cleaning around here. It seems like the sun might finally come out today, even though it's still freezing cold.
Thanks for all the love, support and prayers. I feel really good about working with Dr. S - did I mention that he prayed with me before surgery? Even though I couldn't see him because I didn't have my glasses or contacts, it was really sweet. I am looking forward to my post-op appointment when he explains everything in detail.
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