Trouble TTC
huckleberrybuckley
member
I want to share this story because it would have been really helpful to me to know some of this before my endometriosis and uterine septum removal surgery. I could have avoided a pretty awful experience. Hopefully none of you will need this info, but on the off chance you do, I want to make sure you have it so you can avoid going through what I did.
Endo/Uterine Septum Removal Surgery
huckleberrybuckley
member
in Trouble TTC
First, because my siggy won't show, a little background on me. I'm 34, been TTC since mid 2012, and was diagnosed with stage III endo and a moderately sized uterine septum.
My first laparoscopy, hysteroscopy and removal surgery was in June of 2013. After the procedure, the doctor placed a saline filled balloon in my uterus to keep in for a week, which is standard. It was fine, just a little uncomfortable. I felt like it was big and heavy in there, I swear I could feel it sloshing around, but apparently it was pretty tiny. Funny how the brain can play tricks on you. I got the balloon out and all was fine. The recovery from that surgery was really not bad. I never even took the pain meds they prescribed, I think I took 2 Tylenol the second day and that was enough. Really, not bad. I had a follow up appointment to make sure everything had healed well and to make sure that the septum had not grown back. It had a little. I had 2 more procedures to remove existing bits of the septum.
After the final surgery, which was in August, they again put in a balloon that I was due to get out in a week. When I woke up from surgery, the nurse asked me my level of pain from 1-10. I said 3. It wasn't bad, just a little uncomfortable. I laid there in post-op for a little while and began to get really restless and asked if I could please go home. The nurse gave me some pain meds and released me. On the drive home, the pain started getting much, much worse. By the time we got home (we live about 10 minutes away), I was screaming in pain. I couldn't sit still, literally writhing in pain. I won't go into much detail because I don't want to scare any of you preparing to have one of these procedures. But just keep in mind that there is a resolution at the end of this, and you might be able to avoid having this happen to you.
The pain was in my guts, and I kept feeling like I had to poop, so I was just sitting on the toilet and screaming, crying. While my husband called the surgery center, I took the vicodin prescribed to me for the first surgery. It did nothing. They called in a stronger dosage. My husband flew to Rite Aid to pick it up, I took it, it did nothing. The surgery center said I had no choice, I had to come back in. All of this happened in a short amount of time. I pulled up to the surgery center a little over an hour after I left there.
I was in rare form when I arrived and was yelling at these poor, sweet nurses who earlier that day I had made friends with and chatted and laughed with. The doctor and the anesthesiologist arrived and looked at me totally perplexed, asking me questions about the pain. I couldn't even concentrate on what they were saying. One nurse gave me a large shot of demerol in my butt, while another suited me with an IV to administer 2 vials of some other pain med and a sedative. I begged with anyone who even came near me, please help me. I was desperate, I've never ever felt anything like that in my life. I couldn't take it any more, I got up and grabbed the IV bag, and walked to the bathroom with nurses running after me begging me to wait. I dropped my pants, with the door wide open to about 6 nurses, 3 patients and their loved ones, with a direct view of me sitting on the toilet trying to push while screaming bloody murder. It did nothing.
Finally, they brought me back into the OR and my doctor removed the balloon. The pain was gone instantly. The second that thing was out, I was fine. Not a trace of pain. Apparently the balloon had triggered labor, and the doctor explained what I was experiencing were advanced contractions on a newly operated on uterus. Looking back, maybe that's why I kept having the urge to push. My body was trying to tell me something.
When I say the pain was gone, I mean it was gone. I laid there loopy, almost euphoric with all the drugs I was on at that point, and muttered something to the effect of "I'm sorry for all the things I said." I went home and slept for the rest of the day, and didn't have a bit of pain after that.
I had never heard of this before my surgery. I still can't find much about it. I think it does something extra awful to you when you're in pain but you don't know what's the matter with you, you start to feel like something is MAJORLY wrong and it only intensifies it. I thought I was dying. The pain was so bad, I seriously felt like I could die from it. And not knowing what the cause was, there was no end it sight.
So the moral of the story, if I had to do it all over again, I would have laid there after the surgery for as long as possible to make sure the balloon was ok. If this does happen to you, I am so sorry. But know that it takes them seconds to remove the balloon and the instant they do, you will be better. If you've already left the hospital, don't hesitate or try to deal with it, just go back and tell them the balloon has to come out.
They didn't even need to put the balloon back in. I healed just fine without it. And even if the your uterus does heal back together a little, it's a minor out patient procedure to fix it in most cases. So don't worry about that either. I hope I haven't terrified any of you. This was such a rare case that even my specialist doctor (the best in the area) was perplexed by it at first. Odds are this won't happen to you, and if it does, it's quickly and easily fixable!
Me: 34 // Him: 32
TTC since 2012
Stage III Endo
Uterine Septum
Laparoscopy, Surgical Removal of Endo and Uterine Septum June 2013
Uterine Septum Removal prt 2 Sept 2013
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