And I mean that as a good thing.
After calls and questions to Sibley, I went back to Shady Grove Fertility, where they determined that I had significant fluid in my ovaries that needed to be aspirated (ie, poked with a needle and let the fluid drain out). I needed someone to drive me to the surgery since it was total intravenous sedation. I had already told Josh he could head out to a big appointment, so he was out of pocket and didn't even know what was going on. My friend Jay was luckily available, drove, and stayed with me through the surgery. Josh arrived in a panic moments after I came to, but it was all good.
Going in, I almost couldn't even make it to the OR, I was so nauseous. Somehow it all came together though and after an hour of being under, they drained 3.2 liters (108 oz!) of fluid from my body, 5 pounds of water weight, gone instantly! Nearly a milk gallon of fluid, gone!!! The Shady Grove team did amazing. I am so grateful.
I woke up from surgery elated, feeling so much better. I ate Saltines, my first real food in days, and they were like the best things I have ever tasted.
No wonder I felt horrible before though, right? I feel a little bit guilty about slave driving my intestines these last few days with all the drugs I gave them. It wasn't their fault. :-( I am going to try to feed them good things and hope they are happy again quickly. What an in-depth, crash course I have given myself in gastroenterology though. If anything does come up, I feel more confident I will know the right thing to do first off. It also makes me more confident that chemo round 2 will be bearable, even if they change nothing.
I have since come down off my post-surgery drug- and saline-induced high and am ready to sleep this off. Can you believe I have survived 3 surgeries, chemo and an ER trip in the last 10 days?! Me either. You do what you have to do in order to survive. You fight. Cue up some Christina Aguilera and dance.
It will probably take a week for the last bit of bloating to go away, and I am supposed to take it easy until then. Nurse Chelsea also reminded me that my blood cell counts are about to start dropping off (days 7-10 post chemo). I also have one week remaining of rest rxd by the interventional radiologist for the port. Things are lining up though.
After next week, I MIGHT actually be able to do a real work out before chemo #2 on July 30! More than anything, more than solid food even, I miss being able to move and push and strive physically. I miss how working out leaves me feeling strong and healthy. I can't wait.
I have no expectations about how I will feel tomorrow. I hope well! But if not, I will still fight on anyway. The image below was my inspiration this morning and all day today for staying positive! Honestly, I hope today ends the chapter on what has been the hardest week of my life. Bring on the next round.
Roar by Katy Perry is my "get-fired-up-and-kick-some-ass" song. You should add it to the playlist
ReplyDeleteWhoa! Why was your body storing liquid in your ovaries? Was it in response to the egg retrieval, or is this just a mystery of the Allison human body?
ReplyDeleteThis is going to be a stupid question but I'm gonna ask it anyway...Are you on a medical leave of absence from work? You can't possibly be going through all of this and still going into work right? I watched the American Ninja Warrior clip of Katy Catanzaro and immediately thought of you. I highly recommend you watch it too. What an inspiration. I was holding my breathe the whole time.
ReplyDeleteStephanie, LOVE!
ReplyDeleteFiona, It was a side effect of the egg retrieval, and I thought it was just how horrible chemo was supposed to be. It's called Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome. The higher the number of eggs retrieved, the more likely it is. Other risk factors include being under 35, check; and relatively thin, kind of check. It's possible that I may still accumulate fluid and have to be poked again. The two links below I thought were good. My nurse Chelsea actually figured out this weird nonsense that was happening to me by Googling. Thank God.
http://infertility.about.com/od/infertilitytreatments/a/ohss_symptoms.htm
http://www.bloggersforhope.com/2012/07/an-insiders-guide-to-ohss-part-one.html?m=1
Dona, wasn't that the coolest? She is a total inspiration.
Oh, yes Dona, I am on leave. I started thinking about short term disability as an option if I didn't get better, but there is no way I could have gone to work. I barely had the strength to walk short distances. I never expected to burn so much leave, but at least I had it to use. My supervisor should win boss of the year, he has been beyond understanding. My coworkers have been great too. I am so grateful.
ReplyDeleteGlad they figured out what was wrong, and if you happen you have any GI questions that Google can't solve, hit me up! :)
ReplyDelete