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ovary removal via laparotomy- my story
Just sharing my story..
9 days after surgery
I'm 27, no problems with cysts until last month. Went to ER with persistent sharp pelvic pain and swelling. Diagnosed with crooked and out of place IUD. Copper IUD was removed the next day, ultrasound later in the week found a 9 cm septated ovarian cyst. Pain was mysteriously gone the following day (had lasted 5 days). 4 weeks later I had an appointment with a specialist, who told me I'd need to get the cyst removed. With no pain, no health insurance I brushed it off for a little while.
5 weeks later, out of the blue, I had the same kind of sharp pelvic pain and swelling, fortunately got in to surgery the next day. Pain was quite excruciating that night before surgery, and only got worse.. a test of my endurance for sure.
I woke up after surgery in a room with a bunch of other people coming out of the anesthetic state. My crotch hurt pretty bad, due to the catheter, like after sex with inadequate lubrication. That was the most annoying thing out of the whole deal. it would burn when i peed. That pain lessened and was gone in about 2 days. I heard a girl next to me complaining about the same thing too when she awoke.
That night before surgery, I had a bulge between my naval and pubic bone. It hurt too much to stand up straight, pain increased when i tried to pee (to relieve some pressure). After surgery, i found out that my ovary was dead (had probably died last month), and my fallopian tube was twisted like a rope. The cyst had grown to 10 cm, blood could go in but not come out. Doctors had to drain the cyst before they could pull it out of the 4" incision.
I was healthy beforehand.. a lot of whole foods :), fit, the staff at the hospital was SO nice, my parent flew in to be with me. I think that combination made my recovery easier. I also had the whole right ovary and fallopian tube removed, I think that might make for less pain too.
I was out of the hospital the next day. I'd been passing gas later that night after surgery. My vital signs were good. I'd done some walking. Pain was under control. I took a shower on my own. I was ready for a good nights sleep.. kind of hard when the nurses came in every few hours to check me.
I will say it was difficult to walk and talk or even breathe regularly at the same time immediately following surgery and for the next few days. I think my body was learning how to work together again. I also felt like i had a hair or something in my throat for the next few days, but I was too scared to cough.. maybe some irritation from the breathing tube. I sneezed the day after surgery.. ouch!
5 days after surgery I went to a park and walked around. It still took me some time to get in or out of the car/bed/chair and I moved around pretty slowly. The next day I went downtown, had a beer and a nice meal out with the family. I was still holding my wound area when I would sit or stand up. I've done a lot of lounging around since surgery. About day 8 I no longer thought about how to get up, more of an automatic response.
I take 600 mg Ibuprofen every 6 hours or so since released from the hospital, to keep inflammation down. I do have a pouch above the incision line still. The area above is tender to the touch. Pain comes and goes. I'm looking forward to my 2 week post op appointment. I got the Depo shot to keep my remaining ovary from ovulating/keep it healthy. I get high blood pressure from birth control pills with estrogen.
Some things I've learned..
Don't try to be tough, pain is your body's way of telling you there's something wrong.
Don't be cheap, had I seen a specialist when the ER doc told me to, I might have been able to keep my ovary from dying. From the onset of pain, it took about 5 days for my ovary to be strangled. I opted not to see a specialist because I thought it was just the IUD causing my problems and had an appointment with my doctor at the health dept the next day.
I was really scared about surgery.. scoured the internet. I hope this gives hope to some. But, we all heal differently. I was lucky. I'm still not trying to rush back to work or anything :)
9 days after surgery
I'm 27, no problems with cysts until last month. Went to ER with persistent sharp pelvic pain and swelling. Diagnosed with crooked and out of place IUD. Copper IUD was removed the next day, ultrasound later in the week found a 9 cm septated ovarian cyst. Pain was mysteriously gone the following day (had lasted 5 days). 4 weeks later I had an appointment with a specialist, who told me I'd need to get the cyst removed. With no pain, no health insurance I brushed it off for a little while.
5 weeks later, out of the blue, I had the same kind of sharp pelvic pain and swelling, fortunately got in to surgery the next day. Pain was quite excruciating that night before surgery, and only got worse.. a test of my endurance for sure.
I woke up after surgery in a room with a bunch of other people coming out of the anesthetic state. My crotch hurt pretty bad, due to the catheter, like after sex with inadequate lubrication. That was the most annoying thing out of the whole deal. it would burn when i peed. That pain lessened and was gone in about 2 days. I heard a girl next to me complaining about the same thing too when she awoke.
That night before surgery, I had a bulge between my naval and pubic bone. It hurt too much to stand up straight, pain increased when i tried to pee (to relieve some pressure). After surgery, i found out that my ovary was dead (had probably died last month), and my fallopian tube was twisted like a rope. The cyst had grown to 10 cm, blood could go in but not come out. Doctors had to drain the cyst before they could pull it out of the 4" incision.
I was healthy beforehand.. a lot of whole foods :), fit, the staff at the hospital was SO nice, my parent flew in to be with me. I think that combination made my recovery easier. I also had the whole right ovary and fallopian tube removed, I think that might make for less pain too.
I was out of the hospital the next day. I'd been passing gas later that night after surgery. My vital signs were good. I'd done some walking. Pain was under control. I took a shower on my own. I was ready for a good nights sleep.. kind of hard when the nurses came in every few hours to check me.
I will say it was difficult to walk and talk or even breathe regularly at the same time immediately following surgery and for the next few days. I think my body was learning how to work together again. I also felt like i had a hair or something in my throat for the next few days, but I was too scared to cough.. maybe some irritation from the breathing tube. I sneezed the day after surgery.. ouch!
5 days after surgery I went to a park and walked around. It still took me some time to get in or out of the car/bed/chair and I moved around pretty slowly. The next day I went downtown, had a beer and a nice meal out with the family. I was still holding my wound area when I would sit or stand up. I've done a lot of lounging around since surgery. About day 8 I no longer thought about how to get up, more of an automatic response.
I take 600 mg Ibuprofen every 6 hours or so since released from the hospital, to keep inflammation down. I do have a pouch above the incision line still. The area above is tender to the touch. Pain comes and goes. I'm looking forward to my 2 week post op appointment. I got the Depo shot to keep my remaining ovary from ovulating/keep it healthy. I get high blood pressure from birth control pills with estrogen.
Some things I've learned..
Don't try to be tough, pain is your body's way of telling you there's something wrong.
Don't be cheap, had I seen a specialist when the ER doc told me to, I might have been able to keep my ovary from dying. From the onset of pain, it took about 5 days for my ovary to be strangled. I opted not to see a specialist because I thought it was just the IUD causing my problems and had an appointment with my doctor at the health dept the next day.
I was really scared about surgery.. scoured the internet. I hope this gives hope to some. But, we all heal differently. I was lucky. I'm still not trying to rush back to work or anything :)
:) same here... THe sneezing yes ouch hurts sooo much ... Happy everything is going fine... Sorry you lost the ovary...
Thank you for taking the time to share your story. So sorry that you lost the ovary like that. You are a lucky lady and may not realize it. Torsion and cell death like that is potentially fatal. I am glad you got it removed before it got far worse! Your recoveryd seems to be progressing faster than mine (but I am nearly twice your age LOL). Still, continue to take it slow and heal properly. Best wishes from a fellow laparotomy survivor.
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