Laparoscopy and Hysteroscopy: Check!

I'm home! I'm home! I feel like an enormous weight has been lifted now that the Lap is behind me. I've been stressing about it for weeks and, true to form, my anxiety was much worse than the procedure itself.

My Mom, a former nurse and excellent caretaker, was kind enough to come up for the procedure. She, J and I got to the surgery center around Noon, filled out some paperwork, and played a bit of Travel Scrabble. Around 12:30, the nurse took me back to get me started on an IV. That was the worst part. I knew it wasn't going to be great when she looked at me with that, "Your veins don't look like they're going to cooperate" look I get often from nurses. Phlebotomists rarely have an issue, but nurses often have trouble with my small, deep-set, "rolling" veins. She opted for my hand and warned me, "Big stick..." Ouch. More than the actual pain was just the creepiness of having something in my hand, semi-permanently. What can I say, I'm creeped out easily.

After an hour or so of Samantha Brown and Mythbusters, J, Mom and I parted ways and I headed back to the operating room. I was surprised to see five or six different people in there -- I didn't realize it would take an entire team to perform such a simple procedure! I was quickly surrounded by three people who were hooking me up to things, having me breathe in oxygen, and putting my arms in place. Luckily, they moved at a rapid pace and I didn't have much time to get more nervous. The anesthesiologist told me I would be out in about 15 seconds, but I don't think it took that long.

Next thing I knew, they were lifting me back onto my bed and wheeling me into my recovery room. I woke up with "More Than a Woman" in my head, which is odd. Maybe they were listening to it at the end? Or maybe I'm just a freak. Anyway, I felt really groggy and drugged, but not much pain besides a sore throat from the tube. I'm not a big fan of feeling drugged up, so I was fighting hard to wake up and snap out of it. The nurse gave me some ice chips and crackers, which helped with my throat a bit. I was absolutely thrilled not to be nauseous. My last real surgery was over 20 years ago, but I remember vomiting afterwards and not being too happy about it.

After 30 minutes or so, they let my Mom and J come back and see me. After getting dressed, Dr. G came by to give me the full report:

1. He did find some endometriosis, but told J that it was a fairly mild case and that he was able to treat (remove?) it. I believe it is the kind of thing that can regenerate over time, but hopefully we will hurry up and get pregnant soon so that we don't have to worry about that!

2. He found a small polyp and was able to remove that as well. Didn't seem like a big deal.

3. Apparently my uterus is slightly curved, which I gather can create complications in pregnancy. However, Dr. G said that it was slight enough that I shouldn't have a problem carrying a baby to term.

And that's that! They wheeled me out and let me go home. I had a bit of gas pain under my rib cage and in my collar bone on my right side, but nothing too terrible. I walked around the house a bit when I got home and it actually subsided fairly quickly. My Mom ran to CVS to pick up my Lortab Rx, crackers, and 7-Up while J and I watched the TiVo'd USA vs. Algeria World Cup game (go USA, btw!).

So, now I'm home with some cookies from Paradise and my new Daria DVDs. Mom and J are taking excellent care of me and, so far, I'm feeling great!