Getting Fixed, Part 3 - Surgery

Yesterday, finally, I had the Essure surgery.  

I arrived at the hospital at 11 AM and checked in.  Staff members went over more paperwork with me, asked me questions, had me sign things, affixed my hospital bracelet, all that fun stuff.

Then it was off to Pre-Op to change into oh-so-glamorous hospital patient clothing and give 'em yet another urine sample.  Wooooo.

They let me keep the booties as a souvenir, hahaha.

Then it was time to meet the various nurses and doctors, and to have my IV put in.  Yikes.  I was pretty damn nervous as I sat in the chair waiting for it.  The nurses were exceptionally friendly and talkative.  I told them I was scared, that I never had surgery, or an IV, that I hated needles.  They reassured me that the nurse who would be inserting my IV was the best person in the hospital to be doing it -- she was the most experienced, and does 50 IV insertions a day & has for 25 years.  That made me feel the slightest bit more reassured.

Ouch.

Well, the time came.  The other nurses stayed with me and kept me chatting and distracted.  They let my best friend to stay with me through the entire process as well -- literally the only place she was not allowed was the operating room.  That helped to keep me calm, too.  Anyway, it wasn't a pleasant feeling, but the IV nurse did it and it was done and I didn't like it, but I survived that stage.  I kept breathing and tried to focus on other things.  Meanwhile, other nurses and doctors, including my anesthesiologist, came in and out, asking me various questions for their paperwork.  I was given the option to either be heavily sedated & given local anesthesia, or to be simply given general anesthesia and be knocked out completely.  I decided on the latter, since there was the chance that I would be slightly conscious and aware of what was going on, albeit completely numb to pain, if I opted to just be sedated.  I was kind of weirded out at the thought of being conscious-altered by general anesthesia since I'd never gone through it before, but I also figured that would be easier to deal with in the long run.  I also opted to have them administer anti-nausea medication through my IV just in case.

 The operating surgeon, my amazing OB/GYN, was running a bit behind, so my surgery ran a bit late.  I got a bit restless and it wasn't helping my apprehension, but I did alright.  She stopped in to see me, spoke to me for a few, gave my (non-IV) hand a reassuring squeeze, and told me they'd be taking me in just a couple of minutes.  Did I mention that she is amazing?  If you're in the CT area -- Dr. Carol Watson.  Seriously.  She is AMAZING.

Finally, it was time.  I was led down the hall to the operating room, which was a very short distance away.  They put a cloth cap on my head to contain my hair and keep it out of the way.  They had me hop up on the table and wiggle myself into the right position.  The nurses and doctors were very kind and friendly, kept the conversation light and joked around with me.  They extended bars out to my side for my arms to rest on and fastened me to the table with a velcro strap around my waist.  They lowered the mask over my face and...

Then I was coming back to consciousness in the recovery room.  I don't have even the slightest recollection of starting to fade at all.  It was, as other people have described, like simply moving forward in time.  

I felt very peaceful and relaxed as I slowly came back to the surface of awareness.  I did have cramping, as was expected, but it was not excruciating.  It was similar to the more painful period cramps I experienced as a young adult.  As I became more and more awake, nurses tended to me and asked how I was doing.  They were all very friendly and kind.  They asked if I was in any pain; I told them I was and described it, so they put some pain meds into my IV and let me relax a little more.  They let my best friend come to see me not long after that.  Once I was more awake, they gave me some ginger ale and graham crackers.  They also offered me the choice of having either a Percocet or a Vicodin; I chose the latter, as the nurse told me it was a bit milder.  I didn't feel I really needed anything heavy, as the pain was really not that bad.  And I am a total pussy about pain.

As I relaxed, I was brought my own clothing, was given some post-op instructions, paperwork, etc.  I was also given a wallet card stating that I now have these implants, just in case I set off metal detectors, hahaha.  MY IV was removed (FINALLY) and I was wheeled out to have my friend pick me up out front, pretty much at 4 PM on the dot.  By then I was already fully conscious, perhaps a tiny bit loopy, but that could have been the Vicodin.  I had hardly any pain and was in a kind of ridiculously good mood, & didn't feel woozy or nauseated at all.

LIKE A BOSS.

My friend made a trip to the grocery store for me and picked up some soup & things for me to snack on - the post-op suggestion was for me to have light meals for the next couple days or so, but I seriously had a case of the munchies (again, perhaps the Vicodin was to blame).  I wanted to make sure I had some easy stuff to keep around in my room so I wouldn't have to keep going up and down the stairs, just for the remote chance that I might be dizzy or unsteady on my feet.

Within a few hours of being home, I felt... totally normal.  I took it easy anyway, but I felt absolutely fine.  I took about 800 mg of ibuprofen at 7:30, and had zero pain the rest of the night.  I felt very much awake and alert, was in very good spirits, felt talkative and relaxed.  No weakness, no wooziness, no dizzy spells, no nausea.  Even my IV mark is a barely bruised pinprick at this point.  I had have some spotting/bleeding, but very minor; and it has continued to wane to pretty much nothingness at this point.  No big deal at all.

The hospital called me this morning to check in on me, and I had nothing to report -- I feel completely normal.  It's kind of amazing.  They advised me to call my doctor and schedule a follow-up, and that was it.  

I'll report on that follow-up when it happens.

NEB OUT.