The surgery is taking much longer to recover from than I expected. Admittedly, I was pretty naïve going in thinking it would be a cake walk and I’d be up and running in a few days. Not so much.
The good news is that the surgery was a success for why we went in in the first place. The fibroid was larger than expected but was able to be removed in a couple of hours and the ovaries were salvageable. Although the right fallopian tube may be a loss, we won’t know for sure until I finish my next phase of treatment.
Which brings me to the bad news. The endometriosis is far worse than predicted. Because there is only so much that can be determined from the ultrasounds and such – they never really know the extent of the endometriosis damage until they get inside the abdominal cavity with a camera. So it was discovered that I have such advanced endometriosis that there is not an option for surgery to remove it.
My only remaining western medical options are a drug called Lupron Depot (which is a glandular blocker given to prostate cancer patients) which will put me into menopause for 6 months, and then hormone therapy thereafter to control it – OR hysterectomy.
These options be far do not exclude naturopathic routes or treatments to improve quality of life: which I do intend to pursue as well.
During my surgery, my doctor was so taken by surprise with the extent of the internal damage that she called in her colleagues to assess and document the endometriosis. She later told me that they were “oooohing” and “awing” over what is a very rare formation.
“Well, everyone’s gotta be good at something,” I joked.
“Well, you are very good at growing endometriosis.” She said.
She showed me pictures of my internal mess, explaining that she would prefer not to have to prescribe Lupron, but that I am one of the worst cases she’s ever seen and she feels I don’t have a better drug option at the moment. “I’m really sorry,” she said and gave me a hug. “I know you weren’t expecting that news.”
When we went over all my options – which were few – I finally settled on the Lupron with add back therapy to control the worst of the pain and side-effects – while simultaneously doing my own healing through naturopathic avenues.
To be quite honest. I cried – A LOT. Went through a week of profound depression and frustration, and then finally decided I need a Plan A: to reclaim my health. So that is what I’m currently working on.
Tomorrow I go in for my Lupron shot and then I expect things will get a little hairy for he first few weeks.
All that being said, my prognosis is not terrible. I have a good chance at recovery and I while I’m sad and angry – I believe there will be a time in the near future that my life will be rich and healthy again.
Recent Comments