Post-Op Appointment Today

I had my post-op appointment today, and it went very well. The doctor said my incisions look great and she took out my stitches. She re-explained what they found in my surgery, and we discussed the plan at this point. We can start trying to get pregnant right away and she expects that it will take 3-4 months, as long as nothing else is wrong. That was encouraging to hear! If we don't get pregnant within the next 4 or 5 months, we have to go back in and she may do some more testing and look into doing artificial insemination. So we'll continue praying, and hope that we don't get to the point where we have to make that decision.

Endometriosis can come back, so I asked her about what to do in the future. It seems the best way to prevent it from coming back is to either be on birth control or to be pregnant. She suggests that after we have a baby, I should get right back on the pill. I would really like to avoid being on the pill pretty much ever again, but I also don't want to have problems getting pregnant again either. So at some point, probably after I get pregnant, Ben and I will have to decide what we want to do-- if we want to get on the pill, go without it and risk the endometriosis coming back, or just get pregnant again quickly.

As for the rest of my recovery, the doctor said I can start a little exercising, like walking and upper-body stuff, but no sit-ups or crunches for another 2 weeks. In a way, it's kind of nice to hear the doctor say you're not allowed to work out ;) , but I really would like to get back to my usual routine. But that's no big deal-- I'll figure it out.

So overall my appointment was encouraging! I'm excited, but trying not to get my hopes up and be too impatient. But, honestly, I think it may already be too late... :)

Surgery

My surgery last Thursday went well! About an hour or two before my surgery, they gave me the DDAVP medication to keep me from bleeding too much. After the surgery, the doctor explained that I had mild endometriosis (I think they call that "stage 2"), but that the endometrial tissue had grown onto a lot of other organs in the area, such as my bladder, colon, and one of my ovaries. The doctor said that she believes that the endometriosis was probably keeping us from getting pregnant, and she thinks that this procedure will greatly increase our chances of getting pregnant.

After the surgery, I woke up with a lot of pain in my abdomen and my shoulders (due to the carbon dioxide gas they use to blow up your belly during the procedure). I rested for the remainder of the day. The shoulder pain was gone by the next morning, but my belly has still been very sore. Over the last day or so, my belly has started get smaller and I've had a little less discomfort from the CO₂. I'm off of my stronger pain medications, and my incisions are still very painful. The pain should really improve in the next couple days-- otherwise I'll have to go to the doctor and have her check everything out.

I really don't know what to expect as far as how long my recovery will take. I have a follow-up appointment with my doctor on July 21. She'll re-explain everything that happened in the surgery, remove my stitches, and talk to us about our next steps. (Right after the surgery, she told Ben we could start trying to get pregnant again right away, which I assume means right after my follow-up appointment.)

I'm very grateful that I was able to have the surgery and that it went so well. And, though it may sound strange, I'm glad that they did find endometriosis. At least we know what could have been the problem over the last year, and now we have better chances of having a baby!