A Normal Uterus

Last Monday Dylan and I arrived at the hospital in the bleary early hours of the day to start the admitting process prior to my surgery later that morning, I wasn't anxious but I was restless and ready to be home with my daughter.

My fertility doctor would be performing a hysteroscopy to remove my uterine septum with a laparoscopy to get a clear visual on my fallopian tubes (as other tests couldn't confirm if there had been any damage from my ectopic pregnancy in 2010). The laparoscopy would also give him the advantage of a camera watching the top of my uterus while he removed the septum.

During my pre-op assessment the nurse recommended that I warn the anesthesiologist if I have had any reactions to anesthetic, which I have gotten nauseous in the past so I made sure to do that as the team prepped me in the operating room. I thought it was interesting that they numbed the section of my arm to insert the IV, because it honestly hurt just as much as inserting an IV had previously but maybe that had to do with location? I've usually had IVs in my hand and this was below my elbow on the inside of my arm. Anyways it wasn't long after the IV was in that I was covered with warm blankets and nodding off to sleep.

When I woke up in recovery my surgeon had been able to stop by and give me an update between his other surgeries; he told me that the surgery was very successful and that he believed he had been able to give me a normal uterine cavity and furthermore giving me the likelihood of a good outcome when I am able to get pregnant. He also told me that the septum in my uterus was not only very thick, as he had suspected from my SHG procedure but that it also extended from the top of my uterus all the way down to my cervix.  This large septum was dividing my uterus in half and because the septum doesn't have a proper blood supply if an embryo tried to implant on the septum it would likely miscarry. That was on top of the risks of placental abruption and still birth due to the severe restrictions from the septum. I am in absolute disbelief that it was that bad.

I continued to doze as I was monitored in recovery and then moved back into the surgical unit but when I woke up I was incredibly nauseated and very sore, trying to drink water only exacerbated the nausea and I threw up violently. The wonderful nurses gave me some anti-nausea medication through my IV and I tried to doze a bit more before I was eventually on my way home.

Talk to you soon, Anne.

I'm in surgery NOW!!

When this post goes live I will be in surgery, that's the interesting part - the surgery doesn't make me overly anxious. The surgery being so soon is just a bit strange for me to wrap my head around. I have spent 8 years being told that I had a bicornuate uterus that had no fixes, my infertility was unexplained, I had no answers for eight years and in this short time I am preparing for a surgery to fix the septum in my uterus that is actually the cause for my losses. It is just so surreal.

Because there is always the tiniest chance of complications from any surgery of course there is a mild worry, but I think what is really getting to me is that in 2015 my Dad went into a grueling 8 hour surgery at the same hospital, in the same surgical unit. My daughter was not even two and we played, colored, read books and went for walks while waiting with my Mom to hear news of my Dad's surgery. Now we're in 2018; my daughter is four years old, we're hoping for another little one to join our family and the reality of my fertility is completely different than what it was believed to be for so long. Although I have a supportive husband and our beautiful daughter it is really hard going into all of this without my parents - I know they're always with me, I know they're watching over all of us, but it isn't the same and it is hard not to feel a bit isolated in that.

As far as the actual surgery goes, I'm looking forward to being done? hahaha I just can't wait to be home with my Lilly-love, a cozy blanket and a yummy dinner.

Wish me luck xo
Anne