Last time I posted I had just come home from hospital after my surgery, it was a sad week that week, so much more pain than my last lap surgery, it was mostly due to the trauma my rips experienced, gas trying to escape still, the constipation I was suffering from the anesthesia, swelling and codeine, so took a bit to get back into swing of work, driving and all things housework... you know me, I dont sit down and have trouble doing what Im told.
Apart from contact dermatitis reaction from the iodine solution used during my surgery and one of my op-sites that has overhealed, I think all-in-all the healing process has gone significantly better than I expected. Im thankful for that.
So ... follow ups, where do we start? I revisited my GYN at the 6 week mark to talk through the surgery, the photos and the whats next. Was a pretty short appointment as I had healed fine, no infections, no worries. We talked about the surgery and what she thought, what she saw. She confirmed that they didn't find the Hydrosalpinx which is really unfortunate, she confirmed that she was unable to confirm the mass but was happy with the ovary removal and happy the other ovary is now in right place. Got to be happy with that right? We talked about the pics she took of the inside of my bladder and confirmed my referral had been put through to see her Urology colleague, same building different centre. It turns out referral letter never received once i called to chase up appointment, we got that sorted and a referral confirmation received with a date, I was able to get into see her before the silly season started.
The Urologist had be do a urine sample and a bladder diary prior to our appointment, she greeted me with a medical student and made sure he was ok to attend, I said absolutely as my case is always a complex one I like the students to put that in their experience folder, will help them think outside the box haha. He was just a young guy, looked more nervous that I did!
Results were in, I had a UTI. Geez what timing! We think I might have developed that post surgery as I definitely was experiencing irritation and a little pain but put that down to having the cystoscopy during surgery. So my tests were delayed (she was planning a follow-up cystoscopy). 10 days antibiotics and off home to rest.
She decided with all that aside she was quite interested still to know what the mass in my lower right pelvis was knowing it did not have a connected ureter, so sent me for a CT with contrast during that time too, she would have one more follow up with me where she wanted me to do a Flow Test (measure your volume when voiding and then ultrasound to see if voided properly)... so I booked in for the CT and that appointment thereafter for the test.
Well, the CT was not helpful at all, and I had an allergic reaction the iodine they put in me! It pretty much just sent us in circles again, I still get a copy of ALL my reports.
Once I was able to re-attend the appointment for my cystoscopy we got to see the inside of my bladder! I took DH with me this time ... just in case it was bad news. I could visibly see the roping my GYN was talking about after surgery, not as bad as I thought. My Urologist confirmed 'only x1 ureter' and showed be only the one opening for my left one. She decided that for my 'complex urogenital anatomy' what she was seeing was 'normal for me' and that she has no concerns at this stage that I have cancer, IC or any major bladder conditions. My bladder does overfill tho so I just need to be very conscious and she suggested to set an alarm every 4 hours as a reminder to go. Re the CT, we both just stared at each other as if to say WTF. At the bottom of the report it said to get an MRI hahaha. She sent me for a Hi-Res MRI, we were determined to have all the answers.
The Pelvic MRI that I went for was lengthy, they obviously had a lot on the list to look at. I was given a Muscle Relaxant injection about 15 mins in, which is good cause normally my bowels cause issues. Then they pulled me out at the 45 min mark to inject contrast after consulting their Radiologist, this told me they either found something and weren't sure what It was perhaps?
The results from the MRI were in quite quickly and I had a good read through before attending my Urology follow-up. Oops should of mentioned I had my right ovary removed few moths before... wow, there was some new information this time, there are a few new things on list now, possible rudimentary horn, fibrous tissue in uterine wall and biggest of all being that MASS that has had us stumped for past many years is actually a tangled mess of varicose veins in my pelvis!! The term Pelvic Congestion Syndrome has been used but yet to have this confirmed, if that is indeed what the case is, the list of symptoms matches most of my current ailments, back pain, irritation of bladder and bowels, edema in the legs, increased risk of DVT, varicose veins in the legs etc... there is quite the list. My Urologist had met with my GYN re these results and also her Radiologist and decided that they would probably not look at treating it ... hmmm not sure I agree but will leave that to the experts to decide.
I contacted my GYN for comment on the results and she wants to see me in February, so will have another update then, in a week for so Im seeing my GP so will be interesting to see what she makes of all of this as she has given up a little, with all these specialists I now see she is reluctant to comment.
So there you have it, closure is what I was looking for - before my 40th birthday - now we will be cutting it fine, this may open a whole other chapter? we will find out soon... fingers crossed for no more surgery!
