2 week checkup

Okay, so it was a bit more than two weeks but both of my doctors were on vacation last week. Monday was the earliest I could get in. Oh, and here is a tip for you all, go see your gynecologist in the afternoon! I usually try for an appointment first thing in the morning and it just dawned on me on Monday at 2pm that SO DOES EVERYONE ELSE! Seriously, my appointment was at 2pm, I walked in, checked in and before I could even sit myself down in the waiting room they called my name! I looked around to make sure that I was the only Tiffany in the room and sure enough of the three people, including myself, that was in the waiting area I WAS the only Tiffany. I walked back, she took my vitals, left me to undress from the waist down, I was still situating myself on the table and I heard the knock on my door. I can usually thumb through at least a half of a magazine before that happens! She came in, gave me the low down on my pathology report, did my exam and I was done. I dressed, walked out, made my 6 month appointment, got out to my car, picked up my phone to call Joel and noticed that it was, are you ready for this, no really, are you ready? It was 2:19!!! I almost called the book of world records to report this incredible phenomenon. At that moment I decided that from that day forward it was afternoon appointments for this gal. I will let you know if it is the same at my 6 week follow up appointment, my appointment that day is at 4:15.

So back to my checkup, my appointment went well. All of my pathology reports came back negative for cancer so that was great! They did find very small fibroid tumors, the beginning of endometriosis, little knobby things on my cervix (sorry I can't remember what she called them) and another thing I cant remember the name of but she described it like this. "The stuff that lines your uterus and becomes your period would form solid lumps then embed in the wall of your uterus. Then the days leading up to your period and during your period, as your uterus contracted it would cause the severe pain and cramping. Imagine embedding a rock into your bicep then trying to flex it." That is about the oddest thing I've heard yet. She did a very gentle exam, including a quick look with the speculum. She made sure all of the incisions and repairs were healing, that the stitches were dissolving and that I wasn't haven't anymore pain that was intolerable. I am happy to report that none of what she did caused pain. Actually, there was no discomfort at all. She said that all was looking great and I was well on my way to healing exactly as expected!

I was a bit surprised and maybe I just read the paperwork wrong but I am on the same restrictions for the next 4 weeks. I was hoping for a little bit of a lift on my restrictions but no such luck. I feel great though and I can see how someone could easily jump into doing too much. I caught a cold last week and coughed a lot on Saturday I found that I was pretty achy on Sunday so that was a good reminder for me to take it easy. I mentioned this to my doctor and she came down on me pretty hard about the coughing. She reminded me to do Kegels when I cough to help hold everything in place and to take Robitussin to stop the cough. Robitussin has worked, thankfully because I was instructed to call and get something with Codeine if it didn't.I am completely off of the pain meds, all of them, and adding a prescription back into my routine just didn't appeal to me.

I have gone back to work but my job isn't too strenuous. Simply put, I count cash, make up the deposits and do all the paperwork and data entry associated with that. I also only work for about 3 hours a night. I have been doing light housework like the dishes, laundry (but I don't lift or haul the basket around I make lots of trips), light sweeping, picking up all the stuff that gets strewn about, light cleaning in the bathroom (I won't scrub the tub), etc. I also have gone grocery shopping by myself. I am sure the cart with groceries is beyond my 10 pound limit but I do Kegels when pushing and ask for help out. I also take lots of little trips - yeah for Fred Meyers being so close!

As far as exercise, it's mainly been walking. Lots of walking. I haven't tried much else...just about any exercise you do puts pressure in some way, on your abdomen and I figure I just don't need to take that chance. I bet you could do some light 5 pound weight exercises with your arms though as long as you did Kegels and really concentrated on the proper form. My appetite is back, thank God, and am eating like I normally would. BUT I am not eating as much, both because I just can't and because I am really concentrating on my portions and not putting on weight. I also drink a ton of water and if I am sick of water then herbal tea.

The hardest part of my recovery is not picking up Oliver. It is such a part of my routine that I just find myself reaching for him and not even thinking about it. I've only picked him up once and realized immediately that I shouldn't be. Not because it hurt but because it was pointed out to me. I didn't feel any pain during or after though so that was good.

Like I mentioned above, my next appointment is in about 4 weeks...I will do a post on that one too. I do have other stuff I keep meaning to blog about but just haven't sat down to do it. I usually end up snuggling with one of my boys. It's a tough job but someone has got to do it!