Finally on the waiting list!

We got finally got mail from Fertility Associates. The letter was sent the same day as my surgery, how weird is that. 

CPAC score done, its above the threshold, we are on the waiting list!! Woooo! Finally after a year since our specialist 'forgot' to send the letter. Date entered 1/07/13, the base call up wait is 10 months from waiting list entry date, so it might happen pretty soon!

Also enclosed was a letter for our first publically funded First Specialist Assessment. Monday 8/09/14. With my Registrar from Christchurch Womens, handy she works at Fertility Centre too. That will be the week following my check up with my OB/GYN at Forte on Tuesday 2.09.14 to go over results of the surgery. Couldn't be more perfect timing really, we can share the results with them and have pics of my anatomy and that dicky right ovary behind my liver, thats whats going to cause us all the grief, esp with IVF. This will be also before next cycle of Clomiphene with A.C.C starts too so can make some decisions about that too.

Next update will be a biggy!

Recovery... and finally some answers!

Its done! Surgery was Monday 18.08. Inbetween rushing everything through my health insurance providers and sorting out leave for work I popped over to Forte Health last Wednesday and booked myself in. DH took me shopping that weekend for comfy clothes and supplies as i was spending a night in hospital.

Arrival time was 3.30pm. My last meal was 7am that morning and last drink of water 12noon. We were early, as always, and didnt look terribly busy. Turns out we were still in waiting room an hour later with the persons there before us slowly but eventually getting called in. DH looked more nervous than I, we reassured each other. Finally i was called through to Theatre consulting room 1. This is where I met nurse Jenny, the lovely and attentive nurse that would make the next hour bearable. She did my post op paperwork with me, measured me for my compression tights, and explained there was someone still in theatre, then an hour long surgery ahead of me, so we would just be chilling here till they were ready for me, lucky we had the ipad, mobile, books and mags. I had a wee spike in temp so they chucked me in my gown early to see if id cool off a bit, id had a cough earlier so they took my ventolin inhaler to give me later.

That next hour went really quick, the Anaesthetist came and greeted me the same time as my surgeon. It was 6.30pm by this point so they were keen to get moving, as was I. I signed on the dotted line and they shot through to Theatre leaving me with their assistant who took me via the loo, I was getting a catheter put in anyway but wanted to make sure i was empty first.

Very nice operating theatre, had a cool organic looking mural up one of the walls, nice relaxing environment. I jumped up on the table and they strapped my pulse reader, ecg pads for my heart, blood pressure sleeve, cannualla in and then within few minutes felt them pump me full of anaesthesia, breathing mask on and off I went. At some stage after that they would have catheterised and intubated me, glad i was well asleep for that. 

It was just under 2 hours when I opened my eyes for the first time in recovery. Very groggy, couldnt move my head much, but not vomiting or struggling to breathe so that was great. DH was called through to come sit with me, this was about 8.30ish so i was the last one in recovery suite, had the place to myself which was good as it had been full an hour earlier. Pain scale was only 4-5 at that stage due to anaesthesia still wearing off but gave me some tramadol to see me through.  As i had woken up really well, drank some water and was talking coherently they decided to take me up to the ward and continue obs there. It was about 9.30pm once i was settled down on the ward, bonus of going private is that I had own room and ensuite. Fraser parked up next to me and we watched telly for a bit while i had pulse and blood pressure taken again. Was starving but only managed two little sandwich fingers, that would see me through till breakfast.

DH decided to go home about 10.30pm as he had to have food and get some sleep to be back for breakfast. After he'd left i watched TV for a bit and drank as much water as I could to get the drip out. When nurse came close to midnight she gave me some panadol and unhooked my drip, yes! Time to stand for first time and try a toilet stop before sleep. Getting up was good but took a while to get my balance, off we went, felt good to be walking, those tights are not comfortable!

Made it back to bed, but then the ribs and shoulder pain first kicked in, must be the gas moving round now that I am. She went and got me a warm blanket and wrapped that around my shoulder and neck. That really helped. This is a common complication as the gas pushes on all the nerve endings for shoulders which are down near your diaphragm.

I slept 12.30am-3.00am, there was lots of obs checking for other patients, so lots of machines beeping. I was sleeping so they didnt wake me up.Managed to get back to sleep about 4-6am, then next round of obs and panadol was before my surgeon came to chat just before 7.30am. Wound check was fine, my incision in bellybutton still swollen but my other two incisions are not weeping or bleeding.

Results! I still have to chat with him about it all at my followup next week however here is the procedure he ended up doing, plus his conclusions:

Laparoscopy & Division of Adhesions & Removal of Stage 2 Endometreosis http://www.nzendo.org.nz/about-endometriosis, plus a Hysteroscopy. 

The endo was very isolated to my left side and around my ureter so he had to be very careful not to slip as its my only one. Looks like no second cervix was located unless it is very well hidden, no rudimentary horn, no hydrosalpinx as does not believe is a right fallopian tube, it is a strange mass but cant figure out what it is. He was also unable to locate the pelvic mass believed to be a kidney, so back to the drawing board on that. He has now confirmed I have a Streak Ovary up behind my liver. This is supposed to be a non-functioning ovary but for some reason its functioning? Once we have a successful pregnancy he wants to take it out as soon as possible, it has the potential to become cancerous and its location is not ideal. Still its growing follicles and ovulating?! Fascinating, first time his clinic has dealt with one i believe. Pictures to come soon. So looks like im back to a UU diagnosis? Will find out next week. He also thanked me for the very enjoyable (not in any way boring) surgery. 

So! With the removal of adhesions and Endometreosis OB/GYN is confident the clomiphene will work now. We have decided to skip this month as we cannot confirm if this post operative bleeding is my cycle or from the procedures, keeping an eye on it as its leaving me very lethargic and unable to stay on my feet for very long. 

My darling husband has been wonderful, feeding me, keeping me warm and hydrated, helping me to shower and taking my compression stockings on and off. I have had a lot of shoulder and rib pain so its been very hard to breathe, on a mix of ibuprofen and paracetomol to see me through until gas subsides. I think once my bruising and swelling comes out ill know how long ill need off work. At the moment im of no use to them, can hardly sit, stand or stay awake.

Was it all worth it? ABSOLUTELY! My photos and reports will now be written up and used for teaching, i am rid of the adhesions and Endo and have more of a chance the Clomiphene will work.  What doesnt kill you makes you stronger right.

Will post again once ive had my appt and off the meds. Apologies if I have not made any sense, taken me all day to write this.

Surgery next week. Wow that was fast.

Tonight was the night. DH picked me up from work as we were lucky to get a 6:15pm appointment. Private is sooo much nicer! We arrived at Forte Health, the new hospital on the fringes of the CBD. Very fancy, gosh, how lucky are the wealthy! We were early again, seems to be a habit of ours. We met with the OB/GYN, he had been studying up on me before we arrived, the Nurse told me afterwards she got ALOT of results through for him to look through. I waved my giant filofax at her that i was carrying and said "I know". He asked why i was here and then read out my referral letter (ill get a copy of that tomorrow) from my GP. Basically it was a second opinion, cause I can. We talked about why we think the hospital had no desire to look into my abnormalities, he agrees that if its not affecting my fertility, the Assisted Fertility Clinic would not want to know really, how do we know its not affecting my fertility? Its strange masses filled wiith fluid? Surely cant be good to leave them be? We talked about the discovery of the ovary and he is not sure thats actually an ovary as the mass seems quite large. What appear to be ovarys could be any fluid forming. He thinks its possibly a unformed kidney? Either way it needs checking out. Next we talked about pain. Yes, I get pain, all over my abdomen and back, in my shoulders. Never debilitating, but unexplained pain. As this pain is during certain activities and various stages of my cycle, he wants to check it out to rule out its not Endometriosis, that would explain possible problems with bladder and bowels maybe? 

So, all going well with the pre-approval via Medical Insurance company tomorrow, in 6 days time (Monday 18.08) I will be in surgery for a Diagnostic Laparoscopy +/- Laparoscopic Excision of Endometriosis and Hydrosalpinx (fluid filled tube). http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrosalpinx. He will not touch any uterine horn that he finds without my consent, that would be a separate op. He believes there is only a tube visible on the scans. He will however investigate the right mass behind my liver, he would not remove without my consent but will assess its viability for laparoscopically removing eggs from it. Its awkward that I am now spread across 3 specialists, but he agrees we could all benefit from his findings. 

Eeeek, going under the knife and all the risks associated, lots to think about. First time since having my tonsils out. Due on in 2 days time, so close to my op, but wont be on Clomiphene this month, will have to ring hospital and let them know.

Will update this tomorrow once i get the surgery booked, so many hoops, forms and phonecalls, oh, and talk to my workmate about the leave she wants to book on the day he wants to operate! Sighhh.