My doctor and I go back and forth about this all the time. She keeps trying to preserve my ability to have "more children" and I keep telling her that I had my tubes tied because I am done with just the one.
Her: "But what if you get married and decide to have another?"
Me: "He will just have to understand that we'd have to adopt. If he doesn't get that, then I don't need him."
Her: "You might change your mind if your health issues get resolved."
Me: "I only have energy for the one, I am good."
Her: "Still we like to preserve that option because women are having children well into their forties now."
Me: (In my mind - "why?") "I promise you. I had my tubes tied to prevent that as an option."
We have had a similar argument over menopause symptoms.
The real concern is over bone loss. If she would get to know me well enough she would know this is the thread to pick. Early menopause comes with a variety of issues. Women in my family have been hitting it around 32 or so and usually have their factories permanently removed well before the traditional age. I mentioned all of this but the Doc is still on a mission to be minimally effective of my system. Which, considering the possibilities, I am grateful for.
This time she looked at my file and asked a few questions we both know either are or should have been written in the notes . . . the PCOS, the "blood clot or possible stroke" . . . she sighed.
I was headed home from my mom's house and felt a familiar pang. Usually when this hits, I wait about 15 minutes, then try to pass gas and all is right again with the world. Not this time. I figured if it wasn't gas then I was probably constipated. I stopped at every town I could and used the facilities thinking, this one will be it . . .
No. And the pain would get a little worse. By the time I got home two hours after I should have, I was in so much pain I was walking funny. I would lie on the couch for a while, then sit on the toilet, couch, toilet - the only change was more pain. So I called my friend. I told her I was in pain and I needed to walk, would she come with me. Basically, if I was going to pass out, I would need someone who could call 911 and knew what meds I was on.
We ended up at WalMart buying laxative and walking laps around the store to see if we could get things moving. Nothing. So I told her it felt like my uterus was so heavy it was trying to flop out on the floor. It was almost as bad as recovering from C-section with slightly less back pain and slightly more nausea.
After lap 4, I knew this was not going to resolve. My biggest concern was that it would be an appendix or a gall bladder or something else that might rupture in the air between Detroit and Burlington, VT. That's all I needed, a small town news story about a large airliner flight that was grounded due to a ruptured appendix. I would never be able to live it down.
We headed to the emergency room. On a Sunday. In Utah.
I described my symptoms to the intake nurse, explained that I hoped it was just really bad gas but couldn't take chances.
Y'all. They gave me a private room.
Pee in a cup. I wish you hadn't peed in a cup, can you still pee a little more? Here's a bed pan. On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate your pain? Here's an IV, did you bring a friend to drive you home? Great! Here's some wonderful painkillers in your IV. Let's draw blood! We need to do an X-ray. (*leaves room - returns 2 hours later) Looks like I forgot to order the X-ray so lets do a CT scan instead.
This stuff is going to make you feel warmness from your head to your toes.
There is some fluid in there, we are going to give you so many antibiotics it's not funny, and then give you some more to take home with you. Make sure you follow up with your Ob/Gyn ASAP. Tell them "this" and they will likely get you in right away.
Let's do a pelvic exam. Let's do an ultrasound. Let's do the other kind of ultrasound. (*technician takes about 30 pictures which seems way more than usual). The technician says she doesn't even know how to describe it because she has never seen anything like it.
Let's take more blood and do another ultrasound in 5 weeks.
More blood tests please! One more blood test! *crickets.
It wasn't the draconian "if I take your ovaries and put you into early menopause, there will be no controlling the symptoms - and that will make you miserable" look she had on her face. It was the way she didn't explain anything that bothered me. When they take blood they should tell you what they are looking for. Instead she just said, "that all came back normal but it doesn't mean anything." She said my white blood cells are elevated, I told her that has been the case every time I go to the doctor for a year or more now. Everyone always plays that off. The appropriate response should be, "really? tell me what else you have been seen for this year." Back pain mostly that I wondered if it might have something to do with my liver since the meds I am on cause liver damage. Since I wear really tall shoes, it was just a precaution really.
If I learned anything from the endocrinologist it is to look up what the blood tests are usually looking for so at the very least get the name of the test before you go to the blood lab. BMP, CMP, CBC and other terms used that can give you some idea of what they think might be wrong even if they aren't saying it out loud.
I have some idea what she is looking for. Cautious watching and waiting is prudent right now. I have a training to go to and hopefully if they have to take my ovary, it won't be until after I get to go to Italy . . . for work. #lifegoals
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