NagMummy

Well, one of the drawbacks of not working is that we do not get any leave, of any sort. A week after my surgery, I went back to my gynae to check on the wound. All’s well and the plaster is off. I can now see and feel the roughly 8am cut on my lower abdomen. The tests on the fibroids showed they were benign. Phew!

Physically, I feel much better and can move around with more ease. My abdomen area still feels sore though, as the cut muscles and tissues take time to heal. The stomach binder has been helpful in keeping ‘things’ together but wearing it under clothes can be unsightly. A couple of days ago, I tried not wearing it on a short shopping trip and felt that ‘hanging’ feeling. I’ve since found a better alternative – my mum’s girdles! And they worked perfectly without the bulkiness of the stomach binder

As I got better, I was able to help with simple chores around the house. Matt has been doing everything during this period and he’s going crazy! He said he can never be a house-husband. Anyway, because I cannot strain myself for the time being, he’s still the only one carrying M around. To prepare for his absence after he returns to work, we’ve been trying to get M to walk more on her own and also getting her to climb on stools to reach the toilet seat, wash basin etc. She prefers to be carried naturally but hopefully she’ll be cooperative when required.

As Matt returned to work yesterday, we made some adjustments to her routine. We are sending her to school earlier in the morning as daddy needs to come along to carry her in and out of her car seat and to the school doorstep. In the evenings, Ah Gong will be coming along to do that.

According to my gynae, she would usually dish out a 1-month medical leave for patients who undergo a similar surgery. Since I’m not working, there wasn’t even a need to lift a pen. And I’m kinda back at work, barely 2 weeks after my surgery. But lucky for me, M is currently attending full-day childcare and my parents live nearby and are always ready to lend a helping hand

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!

On my first visit to my gynaecologist when I was pregnant with M, I was informed that I had 2 fibroids. Even though the size of the fibroids were rather small then (1.1 cm and 2.1 cm), we were forewarned that fibroids can complicate pregnancies if they continue to grow, taking away essential nutrients from the foetus. However, gynae informed us that nothing can be done to the fibroids during pregnancy so we could only monitor and hope for the best.

And we were very fortunate that my fibroids hardly grew during the next 34 weeks (pregnancies can accelerate their growth). The check-ups after childbirth showed they remained ‘subdued’ in the sense that no medical intervention was required. However, gynae did remind me that I should go for a review if I start experiencing heavy periods.

Before I continue, some background information about fibroids. Uterine fibroids are benign tumours (muscle growth) which rarely turn cancerous. Their size can range from as small as a pea to as big as a melon. Most common symptoms are heavy bleeding, abdominal pressure or discomfort and changes to bladder & bowel movements. The female hormones – oestrogen and progesterone have been related to the growth of fibroids but the real cause is unknown. Treatment options vary with different sizes and locations of the fibroids.

So early this year, I noticed my period was gradually getting heavier and the last time I saw gynae was probably late 2007 (when my period had just returned since I breastfed for 6 months). It took me a while to finally find time to visit gynae, sometime in May.

And then came the not so good news – one of the fibroids (originally 2.1 cm) had now doubled in size to nearly 5 cm. Gynae recommended that I have them removed in a surgery (myomectomy) before my next pregnancy to avoid complications. I was really frightened by the thought of a surgery (I’ve never had one!). But gynae said situation was not critical and a review was planned 6 months later. Meanwhile, she prescribed some medicine for me to deal with the heavy period.

After getting over the initial shock of an impending surgery, I did some online research. It seems surgery to remove the fibroids (myomectomy) is usually recommended for women who still want to have children. For those who have no need for childbearing, a surgery to remove the uterus (hysterectomy) is sometimes recommended since it will remove the possibility of new fibroid growth which is the drawback of a myomectomy. A keyhole surgery (laparoscopic myomectomy) is possible in some cases but I recalled gynae saying she won’t be able to detect any other small fibroids which may not have been picked up by ultra-sound.

I also read about how some people were able to totally dissolve their fibroids by adopting some special diet or lifestyle. But they obviously wanted money for revealing their ‘secrets’, which I’m still not convinced. Anyway, I decided to visit the TCM practitioner that I’ve seen when I was pregnant to see if he could do anything the ‘natural’ way.

He painted a similar gloomy outlook of fibroids, saying that they will cause ‘damage’ to a foetus and that fibroids bigger than 3.5 cm are difficult to dissolve. Hearing this, I really regretted not seeing him earlier! Nonetheless, he prescribed some chinese herbs to be brewed.

After two doses of that yucky horrible-smelling black concoction, I noticed a lighter period the following month. Encouraged, I’ve gone back to see him 2 more times since he prescribes herbs for a month per visit. In the last visit, he mentioned it would be good that I go for an ultra-sound scan to check on the fibroids’ situation. Since it’s pretty near the review date, I’ll be making that trip soon.

Well, all these have just made me rethink if we should have another kid, since the objective of the surgery at this stage would mainly be for that purpose. My current symptoms are still rather mild and I could probably live with them for a while before any serious medical intervention.

Hmm… still pondering on it. Let’s see what comes out of my visit to gynae…

p/s: this video provides a good overview of fibroids (with gory pictures of fibroids)…. so not for the faint-hearted!