Ultrasound, ultrasound, ultrasound...here we go
So giving my hips a break, I need to focus on this ovarian cyst thing that came up on the first MRI. When I called my OB/GYN to tell her what the MRI results said, they wanted to see a copy of the report and schedule me for an ultrasound. I didn't have any of the typical symptoms for ovarian cysts: cramping, pelvic pain, fullness or pressure.
I had never had one before and wondered what they were like. If you've never had one before, well...you're in for some fun (not!).
First, you must drink water...not just a glass or two...but 32 ounces...an hour before. Seems not too bad, but once you do it...your bladder gets pretty mad.
Next, you wait for them to call you back into the room. I, for example, was in the hospital for my ultrasound. I waited 10 minutes. The hospital is 1 minute from my house. Those 10 minutes I waited were EXCRUCIATING! I couldn't wait any longer, so once I was called back, I practically ran down the hall to the room.
Once in the darkened room, you must take all your clothes off and get up on the bed for the stirrups. The first view they wanted was internally, which I didn't know was part of the ultrasound. I was *surprised* to put it mildly.
As you lay there and want to pee so badly, they must move the wand around for the pictures. They can't tell you anything while you lay there. I kept thinking "When is this going to be over? I gotta pee!" After 5 minutes, they let you be done with that part and go to the bathroom.
Next, you get back on the bed for the belly ultrasound. They ask you to pull down your pants and they squirt warm gel for the tech to get the wand on. This part is not bad at all. The room is darkened since you are looking into the bright lights for 15 minutes while they get their pictures.
Now, the results are ready pretty quickly if there is a doctor on call to look at them. Otherwise, you wait until your OB/GYN calls you. I always get the CDs or paper copies of the reports for my records.
The first ultrasound on September 26th, came up that my cyst was 4.4 cm or 1.73 inches. Since the cyst was still there, I was to get checked again. So, 2nd was on October 26th. The cyst now was measuring 4.5 x 2.6 x 3.7 cm or 1.77 inches x 1.02 inches x 1.46 inches....so it had gotten bigger. The 3rd ultrasound came on November 9th and let me tell you, I was getting pretty tired of drinking water and getting my bladder pushed on. The cyst was now measuring 5.9 x 3.2 x 3.7 cm, so 2.3 in x 1.26 in x 1.46 in.
I had never had one before and wondered what they were like. If you've never had one before, well...you're in for some fun (not!).
First, you must drink water...not just a glass or two...but 32 ounces...an hour before. Seems not too bad, but once you do it...your bladder gets pretty mad.
Next, you wait for them to call you back into the room. I, for example, was in the hospital for my ultrasound. I waited 10 minutes. The hospital is 1 minute from my house. Those 10 minutes I waited were EXCRUCIATING! I couldn't wait any longer, so once I was called back, I practically ran down the hall to the room.
Once in the darkened room, you must take all your clothes off and get up on the bed for the stirrups. The first view they wanted was internally, which I didn't know was part of the ultrasound. I was *surprised* to put it mildly.
As you lay there and want to pee so badly, they must move the wand around for the pictures. They can't tell you anything while you lay there. I kept thinking "When is this going to be over? I gotta pee!" After 5 minutes, they let you be done with that part and go to the bathroom.
Next, you get back on the bed for the belly ultrasound. They ask you to pull down your pants and they squirt warm gel for the tech to get the wand on. This part is not bad at all. The room is darkened since you are looking into the bright lights for 15 minutes while they get their pictures.
Now, the results are ready pretty quickly if there is a doctor on call to look at them. Otherwise, you wait until your OB/GYN calls you. I always get the CDs or paper copies of the reports for my records.
The first ultrasound on September 26th, came up that my cyst was 4.4 cm or 1.73 inches. Since the cyst was still there, I was to get checked again. So, 2nd was on October 26th. The cyst now was measuring 4.5 x 2.6 x 3.7 cm or 1.77 inches x 1.02 inches x 1.46 inches....so it had gotten bigger. The 3rd ultrasound came on November 9th and let me tell you, I was getting pretty tired of drinking water and getting my bladder pushed on. The cyst was now measuring 5.9 x 3.2 x 3.7 cm, so 2.3 in x 1.26 in x 1.46 in.
Surgery time!
My OB/GYN called me the following week and explained that the cyst had to come out. It was not going away with each cycle. She said that since getting off birth control in April, it has been 7 months of TTC or trying to conceive. At one year, it is considered infertility. She would remove the cyst through a laparoscopy and perform an HSG test.
A laparoscopy is where they go through your belly button and pump you full of CO2 gas. The surgical instruments they insert through the belly button, will work to take out the cyst. The HSG test would be for her to shoot dye down my Fallopian tubes to make sure there are no blockages.
This was my first real surgery...little did I know, it would be one of many to come.
On December 4th, I was put under general anesthesia. What orginally was supposed to be a 45 minutes surgery, turned into 3 hours.
My husband told me that she came out to say she couldn't get the cyst out through my belly button. So, she had to cut me. When I woke up, I was in pain. I found out that she couldn't get the cyst out through the laproscopy and had to perform a mini-lap or mini-laparotomy. So, she had make a 3-4 inch incision at my bikini line.
The HSG test came up that there weren't any blockages which was great news. The bad news was that the recovery time from a just a few days turned into 4-8 weeks.
I had to make sure I didn't move around a lot with this abdominal incision. The first day after getting it done, I thought I was going to suffocate. You see, the CO2 gas disperses throughout your body and what they don't tell you is that this HURTS...like HURTS BADLY! I woke up on Saturday and thought there was an elephant on my chest. I couldn't breathe and started to panic. I tried to talk to my husband and he wanted to call 911. I feared this was it for me. I sat up to get pants on and then the air moved from my chest to my shoulder. I didn't feel suffocated, but now I felt as though my shoulder was going to pop right off my body! I'm talking about the worst pain you could imagine in your extremity! I am so happy my husband was home to help me with this. He has been very supportive!
I tried walking around the house and swinging my arm up and down to move the CO2 out. It worked just slightly, so I kept walking...and walking....and walking. Eventually after 30-40 minutes, that CO2 didn't bother me.
My vanity set in when I noticed that my 'scar-less' body now had a 4 inch incision. Luckily it was cover-able with underwear. The full laparotomy is much longer across your bikini line, so I was lucky to get the mini.
I didn't think much of my fertility at this point. My OB/GYN said that most women get cysts that go away on their own. I was one of those women in the 5% that needed surgery...go figure!
A laparoscopy is where they go through your belly button and pump you full of CO2 gas. The surgical instruments they insert through the belly button, will work to take out the cyst. The HSG test would be for her to shoot dye down my Fallopian tubes to make sure there are no blockages.
This was my first real surgery...little did I know, it would be one of many to come.
On December 4th, I was put under general anesthesia. What orginally was supposed to be a 45 minutes surgery, turned into 3 hours.
My husband told me that she came out to say she couldn't get the cyst out through my belly button. So, she had to cut me. When I woke up, I was in pain. I found out that she couldn't get the cyst out through the laproscopy and had to perform a mini-lap or mini-laparotomy. So, she had make a 3-4 inch incision at my bikini line.
The HSG test came up that there weren't any blockages which was great news. The bad news was that the recovery time from a just a few days turned into 4-8 weeks.
I had to make sure I didn't move around a lot with this abdominal incision. The first day after getting it done, I thought I was going to suffocate. You see, the CO2 gas disperses throughout your body and what they don't tell you is that this HURTS...like HURTS BADLY! I woke up on Saturday and thought there was an elephant on my chest. I couldn't breathe and started to panic. I tried to talk to my husband and he wanted to call 911. I feared this was it for me. I sat up to get pants on and then the air moved from my chest to my shoulder. I didn't feel suffocated, but now I felt as though my shoulder was going to pop right off my body! I'm talking about the worst pain you could imagine in your extremity! I am so happy my husband was home to help me with this. He has been very supportive!
I tried walking around the house and swinging my arm up and down to move the CO2 out. It worked just slightly, so I kept walking...and walking....and walking. Eventually after 30-40 minutes, that CO2 didn't bother me.
My vanity set in when I noticed that my 'scar-less' body now had a 4 inch incision. Luckily it was cover-able with underwear. The full laparotomy is much longer across your bikini line, so I was lucky to get the mini.
I didn't think much of my fertility at this point. My OB/GYN said that most women get cysts that go away on their own. I was one of those women in the 5% that needed surgery...go figure!