Goerwitz

Hi Amy - thanks so much for the website. I am sitting here after having an emergency laparotomy and its very comforting to read other stories. I'm only a few days after surgery so I may write you again in a few weeks!

On a Friday afternoon I was sitting at work when suddenly I started to have pain in my lower abdomen. This didn't alarm me too much since I have had IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) for many years and was used to abdominal pain. But after an hour, I noticed that the pain seemed different than normal IBS symptoms, I didn't have the urge to use the bathroom and the pain was more of a consistent cramping. I drove myself home around 3pm and by 4pm called my boyfriend because I started to get scared. He came over immediately from work and stayed with me until we decided to go to the ER since the pain was getting worse.

When we got to the ER, I waited about 15min and they took me into see a doctor. I described my symptoms and she immediately said it was probably either an ovarian cyst or appendicitis. They sent me straight to the CT scanner. The scan revealed that I did have a cyst, but that it was only 8mm. The doctor said it was very normal and I was probably having pain because it moved or may have leaked some fluid. They said they didn't see any fluid in my pelvis so that I should be ok.

I went home and was told to make an appointment with the gyno that Monday. I lasted a few hours at home and then the pain was increasing even though I was taking Tylenol, so we went back to the ER. This time they did an ultrasound and discovered that someone wrote down the wrong measurement, the cyst was 8 CENTIMETERS, not MILLIMETERS (so it was actually the site of a grapefruit!). They gave me an Rx for painkillers and said that I would need to see the gyno ASAP Monday.

I went home and lasted a few more hours, but then the pain started getting worse even though I was taking the pain killers. We went back to the ER and they finally admitted me and gave me stronger pain killers via an IV drip. Another ER doctor said they DID in fact see fluid in my pelvis, which leads me to believe that the first doctor didn't even look at the images and only read the report.

It seemed to take forever to get a hold of the gyno surgeon, but when she finally saw me Monday afternoon she said she was scheduling emergency surgery for the next afternoon at 12pm. She tried to get me in that evening, but there are only skeleton crews at night and it's better to have the full crew when doing this operation. In the meantime I was given an IV drip where I could press a button and get pain killers as I needed them. By Tuesday around 11:30am they prepped me for surgery. I gave myself a few shots of pain killers before they took me into the operating area so that I could remain calm. They wheeled me into a waiting room and I was pretty out of it so I don't even remember going into the operating room. I woke up very groggy and was told that the surgery only lasted 15min! She basically cut a horizontal line in my lower abdomin and the huge cyst was right there ready to be taken out. They informed me that the ovary was pretty much destroyed so they did have to remove what was left of it.

That evening wasn't too bad, they had me very drugged up through the IV so I didn't remember much. The bad part was the next day when I was extremely constipated due to the pain killers. I warned them that I was very sensitive to laxatives since I had pretty bad IBS but they said odds are that I would be fine. They gave me stool softeners and suppositories to get things moving, and after a few hours I had extreme diaherra. I was getting up to go to the bathroom every 10-15min. After a couple of hours they tried to make my boyfriend leave since it was past visiting hours, but I threw a huge fit because I needed him to get me out of bed to use the bathroom. After much stress they finally let him stay. I had diarrhea for about 11 hours and it was horrible. They refused to give me any medicine because they would have to call my surgeon in the middle of the night to get approval.

After having no sleep for the entire night, I started to get delirious and couldn't remember what was happening or where I was. They refused to give me a sleeping pill because again they would need to get approval from the surgeon. They said they could give me more pain killers, which could slow down the diarrhea, but I didn't want to since they caused the constipation in the first place and I didn't want to have diarrhea and be totally out of it at the same time. This was the worst time since I really felt scared at the nonsensical thoughts I was having.

FINALLY the next morning my surgeon came to follow up and prescribed the anti-diarrhea pill and said that I could go home. By this time I was so exhausted I immediately went home and took a sleeping pill that my primary doctor had prescribed for when I fly. I slept for about 15 hours. When I woke up, I felt really good and significantly more relaxed being at home and in my own bed.

They next couple of days were very difficult. My bowels were doing okay but I felt extremely traumatized by the whole situation. The surgery itself actually wasn't bad at all, it was just the diarrhea and the fact that I felt so helpless and out of control. I also felt like the nurses weren't really helping me after I had a bad reaction to the medicine they were giving me.

It's now been 5 days since surgery and the pain isn't too bad. The only thing stressing me out now is that I don't feel like my bowels are back to normal and I'm not having much of an appetite. I've been trying to keep busy by checking email, cleaning my room, walking up and down the stairs, and watching movies. Again, the pain from surgery really hasn't been bad, it's been much more of a mental challenge for me to remain calm and not over react to how my bowels are feeling.

Here are a few things I've learned from the experience:

1. If you have another illness or chronic condition, BRING YOUR NORMAL MEDICATIONS WITH YOU to the hospital. Bringing my normal IBS meds would have saved me a lot of trouble and also bringing my sleeping pills would have eliminated stress. Again, the nurses literally have no power to make ANY decisions, they can only do what the doctor tells them.
2. You MUST have a family member or close friend with you during this ordeal. My boyfriend was amazing and did absolutely everything he could. The only other consideration is that it is easier to have someone of the same sex since they don't give you troubles about another female staying in your hospital room. Also bring someone that won't cause you more stress.
3. If you are in a lot of pain, you have the right to get pain relief, whether its via pills or IV, don't let anyone make you feel like your complaining or crazy.
4. Keep yourself busy, the more I sat in the bed the more anxious I got.
5. Look FORWARD to going home from the hospital, going home is WAY more comfortable and will help you heal faster.
6. Ask for copies of all your medical tests and images for future reference.

I hope this helps other people!

TM

Update (10 Mar 2008)

I can't believe it's been six months since my surgery! I wrote my last piece five days after my surgery, and I can say that the following two weeks were difficult but gradually got better. My boyfriend took off from work the first week after my surgery, so I had my mom fly in for the second week, which turned out to be a good idea because she helped me tremendously (plus who doesn't love having their mom around to spend time with!). She slept on my floor for the entire week so she could be close by just in case I needed anything. My mom was the only reason I was able to get through the two weeks after my surgery, otherwise I would have been very lonely and stressed out.

During week two post-surgery I still wasn't very mobile. Still extremely swollen, I had to wear pants that put no pressure on my abdomen. At the beginning of that week I went back to the surgeon to get the staples removed. I was pretty nervous because although the staple were very weird looking, I felt like they were keeping my wound safe. When the doctor's assistant was actually removing the staples, I was happy to realized that I couldn't feel it at all, so the staples came out within ten minutes and they put some butterfly stitches over the wound to keep it protected. The doctor told me it was very important that I stood up straight while walking, because very thin people like myself tend to hunch over since your abdomen is so swollen. She explained that the wound could heal very tightly if I was hunched over all the time, so I promptly made sure that I was as upright as possible while walking.

For the rest of that week I really just laid around and watched TV, ate a lot of apple sauce, and hung out with my mom. I checked my work email a bit and conference called into one meeting, but otherwise just relaxed. I stuck to my "safe foods" (i.e. foods that I know my digestive system could handle easily) so that my bowels could recover from all of the various medications I had taken during the surgery, although I was still on a high dose of Ibuprophen three times per day. I was really happy that I didn't try to work because I think the stress would have prolonged my recovery. Trying to deal with the minor pain and physical limitations was enough, so it was very important for me to just relax at home and not worry about work.

By the end of two weeks I was finally able to drive and went into work that Monday. I was only able to walk in little steps and people kept asking me if I had hurt my legs, so I explained that I just had abdominal surgery :) Everyone at work was really great when I got back, and my team lead made sure that I wasn't slammed with a bunch of work my first week back. I gradually got up to speed and took my time catching up on email and the status of various tasks.

It wasn't until week four that I was able to wear jeans, and that first time was pretty rough. I was walking normally at that point but still wanted to be comfortable. By six weeks I went out to some parties and did a little dancing, so I was feeling pretty much back to normal.

Over the last four months I've only noticed a few longer term affects. The area around my scar is STILL a little puffy and swollen, the doctor said it can take up to a full year for everything to completely heal and the swelling to go down. From the front it doesn't look bad at all, but from the side you can see how the area right above the scar looks swollen. The scar itself is pretty big, about six inches, and one side is redder than the other. I've been doing Maderma but you have to apply it three times per day every day for six to eight months! The other affect I've noticed since the surgery is that when I get out of bed or stand up from a seated or laying position, I get lighted headed and my eyes go dark for a split second. I've always had low blood pressure, but these affects seemed to get worse since the surgery for some reason.

Overall, I'd say the experience was scary at the time, and the support of my family was what got me through it. I am very glad that I understand the whole hospital process much better and if I am ever there again I'd feel much more confident in how to deal with the nurses and staff. I am very grateful that I came out of this experience with a stronger appreciation for life and my good health. I really treasure my health now because I realized how easy it can be for it to slip away.

I hope this advice helps other women to realize that they can utilize their support network, including family and friends, to help them get through a difficult situation like this. Thanks

TM