ER Visit

9/17/2022

Thursday night was a rough one for us. It started with pain in my lower abdomen similar to that of menstrual cramps around 10pm. No big deal, I took some Tylenol and laid in bed. As I was waiting for the pain medicine to kick in, the pain was getting worse. Then was more concentrated on the lower right side of my abdomen. “I have a high pain tolerance, I can handle this,” I thought to myself, “Maybe it’s just gas.” I started getting chills and had the heat blanket blasting. Around midnight, the pain was so bad, I that I couldn’t take it anymore, and I was worried that there was something wrong with my appendix. So, I woke Frankie up and we went to the ER. They were also concerned about appendicitis, so they did a CT scan to see what could be causing the pain. The CT scan showed normal appendix, kidneys, and gallbladder. But it also showed that I had some uterine fibroids. I knew that there was a chance of them coming back after the surgery I had in 2016. In 2019, there was a small one in the wall of my uterus on the left side, only 3cm.

The doctor had ordered an ultrasound to get a better look at the fibroids and to get the measurements. It turns out that this one on the left side that used to be 3cm, had now grown to 7.5cm. Yikes!! It has grown so much in just a few years! They also found that there was another one in the wall of my uterus on the right side that was 3.2cm. Amongst other smaller ones throughout the uterine wall. We left the ER and arrived home around 5:30am. Talk about a long night!

What do to with this information? Does this mean another surgery to have them removed? What if they are too deep in the uterine wall? Would it be worth another surgery just to have them come back again? Or would this be the point to consider a hysterectomy?

I’ve prayed about it a lot, and after all that we have been through with my health, I wouldn’t be opposed to having a hysterectomy, but I also have heard that just having a hysterectomy doesn’t correct the hormone issue, and some women even have more issues after having a hysterectomy. But I have also heard that for some women, it is the best decision they have ever made for their health.

I followed up with my doctor on Friday and she thinks there might be a way to avoid surgery. We are going to try to increase my progesterone in hopes that this would be able to shrink the size of the fibroids and hopefully make it so that I wouldn’t need to have surgery. I feel that God has granted me (and Frankie) the peace to be able to handle whatever happens, even if that means having a hysterectomy.

I think back to 2016 when I was first having so much uterine pain and found out I had fibroids. At that time, I had 2 fibroids that were about 5cm each. Then to 2018 when I was in so much pain, I couldn’t even sit comfortably. Then in 2020 when I had endometriosis. This year, I feel that between my new chiropractor and my new doctor, and of course my own dedication, I have made great strides in my overall health, and hopefully will be able to continue to get better.

It has been a long road, and we have been through a lot. We will continue to pray and see where God takes us in this journey. Thank you for all of your prayers.