Post Surgery & Recovery

Ladies, thank you for all your prayers!!! The surgery is history and I am so glad... Thanks be to God! We made the right decision with our trip to Omaha and seeking out treatment with PPVI. The recovery has been difficult with all the pain but I know I need to be patient.

The experience at Creighton St. Joseph's hospital was wonderful in every way. It was so different from the emergency laparoscopy I had for the ectopic. The doctors and staff were so so kind and helpful. Need I say more. I was completely at peace before the surgery and didn't feel anxious at all. We reached the hospital around 10 am. After being prepped for the surgery, DH came in to see me and we prayed for a while. One of the surgery nurses came and gave us a rosary which Dr. H had brought from Rome during his annual trip. Just before heading for surgery, the Priest came to our room, anointed me and prayed for us. I knew I was in the right place and in the best hands. Dr. P came and explained everything one last time. They gave me some medicine to relax and I said goodbye to DH and that's all I remember.

The next thing I remember was waking up in the recovery room and I was in pain. So they gave me some pain medication and I drifted back to sleep and woke a few hours later and DH was there in the room. I wanted to use the restroom immediately and one of the nurses helped me. I was surprised that I could walk to the restroom without much difficulty. It was such a relief to empty the bladder and the nurse was happy and said I had already done the most difficult part. I took a few sips of water and I felt nauseous. I went back to sleep and felt much better when I woke up again. I immediately asked DH about the surgery. He said Dr. P gave him the pics from the surgery and told him that I had lot of adhesions and tiny spots of endo. It took about 3 hours to clear up everything. The good news is that everything has been taken care of and I don't have to come back for any major surgery. Thank you Jesus !!! Thank you Mama Mary!!!

I felt ok to leave and woke up to get dressed. Immediately after getting dressed, I felt severely nauseous and they gave me more zofran. We left the hospital around 8pm. After reaching the hotel, I tried drinking soup but could barely take a few spoons. I immediately took my antibiotic and went to sleep. Had to wake up a few times to use the restroom.

The next morning I woke up feeling better but the shoulder pain kicked in and it hurt really bad. I couldn't lie down on the bed. It hurt so much with all the gas. Ibuprofen & icepacks helped. We had the post-lap review with Dr. P where she showed us the Lap video and discussed the findings.

• Lot of adhesions behind the uterus which could have been caused by the first lap for the ectopic. She managed to remove everything.
• Tiny spots of endo which were lasered out. The endo was minimal and couldn't be staged.
• Lot of inflammation both inside and outside the uterus - Known as Chronic Endometritis
• My cervical ectropion has been treated and that will take care of the excess mucus.

 And the good news:

• My ovaries looked completely normal and healthy with no signs of PCOS.  I was worried since Dr. KK felt one of my ovaries appeared poly-cystic on ultrasound.
• My remaining fallopian tube is completely normal with no blockages and the fimbriae look very healthy.
• I had a follicle on my left ovary but we don't have to stay for the ovulation series. It might take some time before I ovulate.

The plan is to abstain for 2 cycles so that I can be treated with antibiotics for all the inflammation. We are waiting for the culture results so that we know which antibiotics to begin. Dr. P believes that as long as I om on Progesterone, it is highly unlikely that I will have another ectopic since my fallopian tube is healthy. That was my worry all the time.As my uterine lining was all inflamed, that could have caused all the early miscarriages. I might need some help with Ovulation based on my Estrogen levels.

She feels that I am in the best hands with Dr. KK and told me that I could go on with her treatments for the immune issues. She doesn't see any reason why we can't go onto have a healthy pregnancy once the inflammation has been taken care of.

I am so so thankful that the surgery has given me some idea as to what is going on inside. Thank you Ladies for all your prayers. I have pain near the incisions but the shoulder pain is the worst. I am hoping that it will subside in a few days. We will be home on Saturday!