NagMummy

I had just gone through my much dreaded surgery to remove the 2 fibroids in my uterus. The larger fibroid has continued growing over the past one over year, leaving me with little choice but to have them removed.

My surgery was scheduled early in the morning at 7.45am and I had to admit by 5.45am. Besides having to get up early, I had to take an oral laxative (Fleet) the previous night to clear my bowels which caused me to have the runs till past 1am. l was also not allowed to eat and drink after midnight. Hence, I was groggy when I reached the hospital – Thomson Medical Centre.

As we waited and prepared for the operation, I got more nervous. I was also worried than I won’t be able to take the pain after hearing about how painful it can get. It was such a terrible feeling being pushed into the operating theatre. Once there, it was so cold that I started to shiver. The nurses piled another blanket on me but it did not help.

The anaesthetist came first to prepare me for general anaesthesia. My gynae arrived next, said hello and “have a good sleep and you’ll wake up without your fibroids”. I was given an oxygen mask and told to take deep breadths as the anaesthetist injected a syringe of drug into me, sending stinging pain up my forearm.  A few more breadths and I blacked out.

The surgery took an hour or so, after which they transferred me to the recovery room. I can recall flashes of the anaesthetist shaking me to wake me up. Then a few more flashes of nurses pushing me back to the ward and transferring me onto the bed. All that done by 10am.

I was drowsy the rest of the day, drifting in and out of sleep. My throat felt so dry and was allowed only to take sips of water to prevent me from vomiting. I finally had my first drink – a cup of Milo around 5pm. Dinner – fish porridge was served later but I had no appetite, took just 2 mouths.

My gynae visited and showed me a photo of the larger fibroid. Gory! She said that the fibroid actually felt soft instead of hard, indicating that it may be degenerating due to lack of blood supply. Hmm… Anyway, we know that fibroids can recur again. So we should ideally try for a baby soon as I recover. Gynae said one patient of hers who got pregnant 2 months after her surgery already had new fibroids growing again! But at least they are small and not likely to affect the foetus.

I felt much better the day after the surgery. I was taken off the drip and they also removed the urine bag. I took my first steps after breakfast and some painkillers. Getting off the bed was the most challenging and walking got progressively easier as the day went on. Pretty soon I was able to go to the toilet unassisted.

Because of this surgery, we decided over the weekend that M should extend her half-day programme to full-day programme so I can recover without any worries. She started the day of the surgery and so far so good. Matt brought her to visit me after dinner on both nights. Although we had explained to her that mummy will not be able to carry her for a while, she still tried to get me to carry her, crying and throwing tantrums to get her way.

Overall, we had mixed feelings about the stay at TMC. M was delivered at Mt Alvernia Hospital. I would say that TMC scored better in terms of physical room facilities since they look recently renovated. But service wise, they failed to impress me. They seemed rather disorganised – one nurse came in asking where’s my baby, another came in with an x-ray asking me if I’m the person listed on the envelope, 2 management staff came in asking for our feedback not knowing when and why I was there, one staff came in asking if I’m having lunch just before we left. Shouldn’t they have known these things even before they knocked at the door? Also, the discharge took longer than expected. We were ready around 10am but had to wait for the cashier who showed up around noon. Add the exorbitant parking and we really have doubts if we’ll choose it a second time.

Anyway, I’m finally home and still taking baby steps. Crossing my fingers that the fibroids will be gone for good.

I finally went for my review early this week. I wanted Matt to come along so I had to wait for a day he could make it. Incidentally, it was a day before our holiday and I was initially afraid I might heard some things which will affect my mood but dismissed it because I did not want to delay it any further. And my fear turned out to be unfounded.

Well, in short, there was no miracle. The fibroid (1 of 2) which I mentioned in my earlier post continued to grow. It is now 7cm and can be felt from pressing on my lower abdomen. From the ultrasound, gynae could see that it’s pressing on my bladder even more now and told me to expect ‘pressure symptoms’ like more frequent trips to the toilet.

The other fibroid appears to remain small and not growing. Gynae had difficulty ‘looking’ for it because it was ‘dwarfed’ by the bigger one. She was glad the chinese herbs were helping to control my heavy period but does not expect it to help stem the growth of the fibroid. The only good thing it does is that I do not need to take as much of the medication from gynae.

So the verdict of the review was: a surgery (myomectomy) is recommended to remove the fibroids to relieve my symptoms and prevent complications for future pregnancies but it is of low urgency for the moment. Since M is scheduled to start childcare in December and the festive season is round the corner; the next review is set for March 2010 when we expect to put a date down for the surgery (which gynae described as a ‘mini c-section’).

I just can’t bear spending my favourite festival (Chinese New Year) in pain!