Finally, some answers!

Well, after going through the laparoscopy and hysteroscopy on Thursday morning, I'm finally feeling a little bit better. My pups are feeling better as well - they never got sick after leaving the vet so I think it's safe to say that they're going to be fine.

So. About the surgery.

Surgery day and Recovery - I arrived at the hospital around 6:30 AM and they took me straight back to the prep room. I changed into a surprisingly comfortable gown and they put me under a nice little heated blanket. The nurses asked me a bunch of questions and then they hooked me up to an IV. Seth and my parents were allowed to come back to sit with me while I waited. For two hours.

Finally, Dr. M came back, explained exactly what was going to happen, and then it was time to move to the operating room. The nurse gave me some meds through the IV to help me relax. They wheeled me into the operating room, I read a sign that said "Biohazard", and the next thing I remember is waking up in the recovery room. I never even saw the anesthesiologist. So that was nice.

The nurses gave me some medicine for the pain and nausea before I left the hospital (around 1:00 PM), but the nausea was pretty unpleasant for the first few hours. I ended up getting sick on the way home, but luckily I had my supply of saltines and ginger ale. That was really helpful until I was able to take some Zofran when I got home. The nurse also gave me a cold cloth to hold on my face and that also helped me feel better.

After the drugs from the hospital wore off, the pain in my abdomen was pretty intense. Not the worst ever, but bad. Vicodin sucks. I think I'm immune to it. It really didn't do much for the pain so I couldn't get comfortable enough to sleep. I was hoping it would at least make me tired so that I would pass out, but no luck. I didn't sleep at all on Thursday and I only slept for a few hours off an on Thursday night. That really sucked. On Friday, I was able to take some Tylenol 3 instead and even though that's not as strong as Vicodin, it worked much better for me. I was able to get some rest and slept pretty well last night.

Now, the pain in my abdomen isn't unbearable. I have one spot on my left side that hurts a lot, but otherwise it feels like I just did a really intense ab workout. I think I'll probably be feeling back to normal in a few days.

The bloating and constipation are unreal. Colace did absolutely nothing. My friends who have been through this before recommended I try a laxative, but it's still not working. It sucks.

Initial Diagnosis/Results - While I was in recovery, Dr. M went out to talk to Seth (and my parents). This is what he found during the surgery:

• The endometriosis was "extensive and widespread". It was everywhere - covering my ovaries and bladder and also all over my bowl, rectum, and abdominal walls. He was able to remove most of it, but it's too risky to get all of it from the bowel and rectum so that had to stay. Dr. M said he would classify it as Stage II endo rather than Stage III because he didn't find any scar tissue so that's good news.

• There were a few "insignificant" polyps in my uterus. Those were removed and they'll be sent out to be tested, but chances are good that they're nothing to worry about.

• Several cysts were removed from my ovaries (maybe just the left one, I'm not sure). The cysts were partially blocking my left tube. When they were removed, the little fingers on the tube were able to open up completely. The cysts were not endometriomas. For some reason, Dr. M thinks that they have been there since I was born. I have no idea why he thinks that or why they didn't show up on any of the ultrasounds, but I guess we'll find that out later.

Overall, I'm feeling pretty positive. I am 100% sure that surgery was the right choice for me/us so that feels good. I'm also relieved to know that I'm not crazy and that I wasn't imagining the pain. While it absolutely sucks that I have endo, I am grateful that it is only stage II and that most of it was removed. Now we know why my left tube looked funny on the HSG. It's great to know that the tube isn't obstructed anymore. It's nice to know what was causing the pain on my left side and hopefully now that the cyst is gone, that will go away.

Obviously, our plan is still to try to get pregnant as soon as possible. We want to make the most of this time after surgery when we know that the amount of endo present is minimal. My follow-up appointment isn't until September 6th, so we won't be starting treatment during my next cycle (#16). After that, I think we'll be moving to medicated TI or IUI. For now, I'm just going to try to stay positive. I know that surgery isn't a magical fix for infertility, but it was definitely a necessary step for me and I'm so glad that it's over!