Surgery Update

I went in for surgery at 6 a.m. yesterday and they took me back for surgery around 7:40 after I had been sedated. Apparently, I was talking after I had been sedated, but I don't remember any of that.

Dr. H called the pre-op nurse about an hour into the surgery to let Garrett know that I was doing okay, but they were still trying to find the IUD.  At this point, they had to bring an x-ray machine into the operating room to locate it.

She finally found it in a layer of omentum dangerously near my liver, bowel and intestines. It was tangled in this layer and thankfully did not perforate any other organs.

The surgery took almost two hours. I woke up in recovery at 10 and was able to go home feeling like I had been run over by a truck at 12:30.

Based on the way it was wrapped in the omentum and the discovery of a uterine perforation that had already healed, it appears as though it had been there for a while and perforated my uterus upon insertion meaning it was never in there to begin with. She was also able to see that my uterus was perforated a second time with the IUD hook when she attempted to remove it last week. So, that makes two times it was perforated without any anesthetic. No wonder it hurt so bad. I really don't know how I did it. I just wanted it out.

I have a retroverted uterus and this combined with the fact that I am breastfeeding did not make me an ideal candidate for Mirena, but I was not informed of this. In addition, it was not inserted properly.

My doctor has inserted hundreds of these and I am the first patient of hers this has happened to. It does happen more often than you think though and I would not recommend it to anyone, particularly if you have not yet had children. She told me that she had a patient in her office right after my surgery that wanted the Mirena and was questioning the risks with a retroverted uterus. I do hope that my case will at least help her evaluate more carefully.

I am doing better today, but I am extremely sore. They had to make three incisions and it most definitely feels like someone was digging around in my guts yesterday. They had to fill my abdomen with gas during the surgery and it is very painful because it has collected in my neck and shoulders. I am also at risk of infection. Needless to say, I am just glad it is finally OUT!

It is too soon to tell what the long term effects of this will be, but it could lead to difficulties conceiving and increases the likelihood of needing a c-section because of scar tissue on my uterus. While we are perfectly happy with the two beautiful children we have, this is not really the way we wanted to make the decision to not have any more. Honestly, after everything that happened after Hudson's birth and now this, I am terrified of having another child. We will cross that bridge when we get there, if we ever get there.

I have had a rough six months medically speaking and my body is tired. I am tired. I am ready to heal from all of this and start feeling normal again.

In the midst of it all, I know God is the same God he was six months ago and He loves me just the same. He is ever present. There is always a greater plan and we will follow wherever He leads.