Also, no pain med at all worked for me. Norco, tramadol, morphine...none of it worked. The only thing morphine did for me was put me to sleep which is what I wanted most of the time. I had my
fair share of freakouts in the hospital. Screaming because the pain was so bad. I would pray to god to take the pain away. It was bad. I was still vomiting and not eating but also not getting nutrients. Finally, another set of doctors recommended putting an
NG tube down my throat to get out the bile that I was puking up. I was told the fibroid was moving towards covering my bowels and pretty soon I would start projectile vomiting if it happens. One nurse and I looked at each other like "Nah". I thought, "I'm not trying to be Regan from The Exorcist." So I said to bring the NG tube on up. They said, "it's gonna be uncomfortable". I said nothing can be as bad as what I'm going through now so what's one more thing? Yeah, it was uncomfortable. It took four people to put that thing up my nose, down my throat and into my stomach. All I heard was all four of them say "whoa that's a lot" A lot of what I asked? A lot of liquid. I watched that thing for two nights take liquid out of my body. When it was done, I had two 2-liters worth of fluid removed. I was hooked up to IVs because I was low on magnesium and iron and also had to get nutrients through the IV since I couldn't eat. Surgery was next up. But before that, a doctor comes in and says that I am chronically anemic and I don't have enough blood to survive the surgery. Lord have mercy. You're gonna have to get a blood transfusion. *sigh* I discussed it with my mother. I said if this wasn't an emergency, I would decline but I needed the blood. I was so worried. Consciously I know I'll be fine but we have all heard of Ryan White or some other horror story about blood transfusions. And just my luck, as I was being infused with the blood, I had to get up, with assistance, to use the bathroom. I had to take the IV machine into the bathroom with me. The catheter broke and needed to be replaced. The problem? Blood goes bad within four hours. We were already at the two and a half hour mark. Only 50% of the blood had gone in. They couldn't find a vein on me. I'm severely dehydrated because of the lack of water so it made things tough. I was poked repeatedly and yet they couldn't find a vein. I'm half conscious because of the morphine as I watched them. They had to get an ICU nurse from the covid unit to come up with an ultrasound to find a vein on me. She found one within two minutes. But now the blood had gone bad. They had to get another batch. My blood type is fairly common thankfully so more blood wasn't hard to find. Then the transfusion began again. Luckily I fell asleep and by the time I woke up, the process was over. And then I was told, I still didn't have enough blood and had to have another transfusion. For women, your hemoglobin level should be at about 12 to 15. Mine was a 6.7 before the transfusions. Less than stellar, I would say. Two days before surgery, another doctor comes in. He will be on the team who will be performing the surgery. I call him Dr. Doom and Gloom lol. He told my mother and I all the horrible things that could happen during surgery. Of course, hysterectomy was thrown out there again. And there was talk of cancers and other things. I know doctors have to give you the worst case scenarios just in case something goes wrong but my goodness. I told him that all I wanted was to get this thing out of me and do whatever it took to make that happen. Oh, I was finally able to move my bowels after the liquid was taken out of my body. I still wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything. I could only have sips of water so I could take my medication. The NG tube stayed in until an hour before going down for surgery. The morning of surgery, two of the surgeons come in to talk to me and hand me the consent forms. Dr. D&G and another doctor. He says a hysterectomy is still possible and also a colostomy bag may have to be put in. What happened? I said. I have been passing gas and moving my bowels since the liquid was taken out. He's doing too much this dude. My mom arrives and brings me a teddy bear. Even as full blown adults, we still want a source of comfort. I still have Teddy as a matter of fact. They remove the NG tube finally and feels like the worlds longest booger is being taken out. I was tested for covid multiple times during my two separate stays. Negative each time thankfully. I was taken into the prep room. See I'm looking for the anesthesiologist so I can go nighty night. I had an unrelated surgery four years prior so I knew what to expect. But the main surgeon comes in, Dr D&G's boss, and talks to me. We'll call her Dr. Cool Breeze. I instantly felt relaxed when she came to speak to me. She also came and told me she was concerned about fibroids being on my uterus. Should I want kids, I may not be able to carry a child to term given my age and the fibroids. I said "Doc, if the fibroids are on my uterus, then just take it away. I don't ever want to go through this ever again." I would not wish this pain on my worst enemy. The consent forms were signed. My dude, the anesthesiologist, came in and put me to sleep. I didn't even make it into the operating room before I was knocked out. Four hours later, I wake up in recovery. It's gone! The fibroid is gone! I begin to cry. I hear the nurse on the phone with my mom. She's reassuring my mom that everything is okay and surgery went well. They wheel me to my own post op room. I finally can have that cup of ice water I have been craving. Oh there is cranberry juice too! I have a catheter in my private parts but I can't even feel myself going. The night nurse, Tom, comes in and goes "I need you to walk". Insert blinking man meme here. I said can I do that in a few hours. He said okay. Haha. My mom comes in and I'm so happy to see her face. Because of covid rules, only one visitor was allowed per day and I always chose my mom. But let me also give props to my friends who called, DM'd, texted and prayed for me. I love you all for real. Unfortunately, I was in the hospital for thanksgiving but my mom brought me a plate of her cooking. I was finally able to eat a meal and keep it down! Cause I'm sure all of you know that hospital food ain't it. I had PT while in there and did my walking. Walking is exhausting especially when you haven't done it in a while. I had to take breaks and keel over to get my breath back. I was considered a fall risk however. My equilibrium was (and still is a little) off and I wound stumble or lose my balance when walking. I am now on iron pills because of my anemia. I was discharged from the hospital the day after thanksgiving. I stayed with my mom again. Animals are very smart btw. My 12 year old cat immediately came to into my lap and lied down right below my healing stomach. As if to comfort me. She would always do this every time I sat down or attempted to lie down. I am writing this now five weeks after surgery. I still have pain, particularly at night, but doctors say it's normal. I struggled mentally the first two weeks after surgery however. That's also normal. I'm an independent person. I'm used to going and doing things on my own and to have it taken away, even for a short while, was agonizing. I am so blessed to have friends who were there for me during this time. Taking me out to dinner, hanging out, or going to coffee bean. Love y'all bunches. Also, thankfully, my mom's place has an elevator so going back and forth somewhere was relatively easy. Now I'm back at my place. I don't sleep on the bed because I worry if I do, I won't get up again like last time. It's a mental block that maybe one day I'll overcome. Luckily I have my grandmother's old pull out couch to rest my head. I have to sit on a cushion and use a wedge pillow at night to elevate my legs. I'm walking up to 30 minutes a day. I can't quite exercise just yet. I'm
used to cardio kickboxing and lifting weights but that will have to wait. I'm not back at work yet and am currently looking for a less taxing place of employment. I did not end up having a hysterectomy. I still have my uterus. I had what's equal to a 7.5 lb baby on my uterus. How does this happen? I wish I knew. I close with saying this : please listen to your body, everybody. Even if it's a twinge and you think it's nothing, your body is trying to tell you something. Be safe and be well, y'all. Peace be still.