A Matter of Womanhood
Returning to the work world has been really good. I have enjoyed being in an office again and the social "vampire" in me is much more sated; however, things have been slow and I'm trying to enjoy the calm before the storm (the captains assure me that as soon as spring break hits, next week for us, activity around the office will pick up).I only work part-time hours (8:00am - 12:00pm) but when there's nothing going on, it can really make the day drag. The good news is that it's not dragging to like 5:00 or 6:00 in the evening. With the warmer weather coming, I'm sure the slowness I'm experiencing now will be a welcome break.
There have been some crazy things happening with me on the personal side of my life. Let's rewind: Thursday, March 7th, I had a doctor's appointment for my yearly physical. Last year, the physical was with my OBGYN complete with my first mammogram. Everything went well, save the discovery of my fibroids. The doctor gave them a "12 weeks" measurement (basically, they make me look like I'm three months preggers. Ugh!). This year, my physcial was with my primary care practitioner. I had to choose him because my OB didn't have appointments until late April and I didn't want to wait.
Basically, since the discovery of my overly large fibroids, I've had heavy menstral periods, so heavy that I go through one complete box of pads in two days. Seriously! This is not the way to go about your monthly and remain in a sane state.
My primary doctor performs all the checks and everything looks good. When he tries to locate the fibroids, he's unable to. Rather than try to locate them and risk hurting me, he schedules me for a pelvic ultrasound. I've let him know about the issues and he says there are a couple of alternatives. One, I could have the fibroids removed (but they would mostl likely come back) and two, I could have a partial hysterectomy. This would mean that my uterus would be removed, but my ovaries would stay. No need to worry about early, onset menopause with that option and the fibroids are gone for good. This is sounding good to me. The appointment for the ultrasound is then scheduled for Tuesday, March 12th at 1:00pm.
The day of the appointment, laying on the examination table, I experience a feeling a lot like what I experienced when I was pregnant with my girls. The lube is warmed and placed on my abdomen and the searching begins. The technician is searching and searching with only minimal luck. She then tells me that it would be more beneficial to do an internal ultrasound. Internal?!
So, she whips out this wand that looks a lot like a thick saber. Not good. She lubes it up and inserts the device. As she twists, turns and pushes, I keep praying that everything is visible and she'll hurry to get that thing outta there. After what seems like a lifetime, she completes the search and asks me to get dressed. She tells me that the results will be sent to my docotor and I'll receive further instructions from him.
Two days later, I receive a call from the doctor's office. They alert me that my fibroids are bleeding. Terrific! The nurse states that I will need to make an appointment with my OB. I hang up and proceed to make the appointment. They schedule me for Tuesday, March 19th at 9:15am. I alert my boss and make plans to come into the office late that day.
The day of the appointment, I'm nervous and eager to hear what my good doctor will have to say. I get to the registration desk for check-in and the receptionist begins to take my information. After a quick slip of my insurance card, she says,
"Oh, you're insurance changed."
"Yes."
She tells me that his office doesn't take my new insurance. What the hell?! Something about the doctor would like to be carried on that particular plan, but the insurance won't pick him up. Why didn't anyone tell me this when I made the appointment?
"It's unfortunate," she says. "They should have told you."
"Yeah, I wish they would have."
I hastily make my exit so that I can bawl in the parking lot (which I do, in between trying to call my hubby to tell him what happened). An entire week of knowing my fibroids are bleeding and now, I can't get my questions answered. I contact my insurance and they set me up with a new appointment (Tuesday, March 26th at 9:00am ). Another week to wait with the knowledge that my body is acting nutty and there's nothing I can do about it.
The great day came, yesterday. I was so apprehensive because I'd post-poned lots of "special" time with hubby, due to my fears, and I was nervous about my new doctor. Would I like him? Would he like me? Would he be as caring and kind as my original doctor?
I arrived at the office and filled out my paperwork. The reception area was very warm and inviting with beautiful stone work and lots of neutral colors (good first impression). When I get back to my room, a huge, Apple, flat screen monitor is mounted kitty-korner to the exam table. The nurse takes my information, then directs me to the screen that houses an information library. She tells me I can read about fibroids and other topics while I wait for the doctor. The first video describes the procedure my primary care physician described just weeks before.
When the doctor arrives a couple of minutes later, he chats me up and we learn a bit about each other. I was pleased! He then asks me to remove bottoms and he does his own exam (again?!). Unlike my primary physician, he's able to feel the fibroids right off. He tells me that if I were 20 something and wanted more babies, he would recommend removing just the growths. Knowing that I don't want to have any more, he informed me of the Laproscopic Hysterectomy option (the one my primary physician told me about). They will go in through my belly button making this a minimally invasive procedure. I'll be recouperating for two weeks but can rejoin the workforce in one week at half days (which is my schedule already, and makes me happy).
The procedure is set for April 17th. I've had a conversation with my children and they are not showing any signs of being worried. My sister, however, sounds as if I'm headed to the body farm. She freaks out over everything. I let her know that I appreciated her concern but that there really was no need to worry. Her answser? "Let me worry about that." Right.
I'm hoping this process changes things on a bigger scale for me. I've had the hardest time getting my weight off and I'm always so tired. The doctor worried that I might be anemic. The blood work shows I'm not, but something is definitely going on. I think these "things" have thrown my body out of whack. I'm really, really hopeful that I'll balance out after everything is done. Then, the work I'm putting in at the gym will start to rear results.
So, that's what's been going on. Aside from this, it's been pretty quiet. Work is calm, but good. The girls will be gearing up for Easter this weekend and are excited about the hair styles we've decided to do. For a change, "Z" will be a bit shorter with water waves. She's moving into the teen years at full speed. No more juvenile looks for her! Indy is young enough to still want lots of curls. This year, we're doing hard-curl spirals. They should both turn out really pretty. We're expecting a 65 degree day on Sunday. Yeah!
I'll be in more frequently to document this entire health issue.
