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Post by hellsbells on Jan 2, 2010 14:00:02 GMT -5
Not too bad. I'm not too good when I've been drinking. I had a couple on xmas day, my bro smokes and he was here for the day. Had some on a night out with some friends last Wednesday. But I'm NOT daytime, regular smoking. I'm not even using patches most of the time because I generally don't really think about it at all. And if I do it doesn't bother me too much. Nearly bought some herbal ciggies in a health food shop today though, just to see what they're like. Figured there was no point as I don't really want to suck anything other than air into my lungs! So all in all I'm quite happy with my progress. It's now about a month since I was a regular, 15 a day smoker. Quite chuffed with myself!! And I'll really notice a difference when I go to the gym.
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Post by Karen on Jan 2, 2010 14:12:58 GMT -5
Holy crap, that's awesome!
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Post by hellsbells on Jan 2, 2010 14:28:51 GMT -5
Yeah, I'm really positive this time. You've no idea how many times I've tried, I get so miserable when I fail, it's stopped me trying for a while. But I really really wanted to not be smoking when I went under the anaesthetic. So it's all good, thanks for the praise, it goes a long way to keep the motivation going!!
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Post by hellsbells on Jan 4, 2010 13:31:38 GMT -5
First day back at work. My original pain is back and I have a thumping headache. It's a bit disappointing but I shall persevere!! At least now I know what it is I can medicate :-)
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Post by hellsbells on Jan 11, 2010 7:48:40 GMT -5
Well I rang gynae's secretary this morning to ask a couple fo questions and to ask if I could speak to someone about the severe contraction like cramping I've had on and off. She said gynae was busy all day but she'd get back to me asap. Well, within two hours the man himself was on the phone. Everything I described he said was relatively normal, everything still settling down. Said when you get treatment like this it can get a little worse before it gets better. He mentioned that after the lasering my insides are oozing and weeping and scabbing........mmmm nice to know! I guess I have been a bit naive about all this. Anyway, I'm happier now that I've spoken to him. Also made an appt with GP which is Wednesday evening to discuss ongoing pain management, and it's only a few weeks til I'm back to see gastro doc.
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Post by Karen on Jan 11, 2010 18:03:57 GMT -5
Good, glad you at least made contact and chatted with him!
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Post by hellsbells on Jan 22, 2010 16:20:32 GMT -5
So, I thought I'd post a little update here. 4.5 weeks post lap. My outlook has changed completely. Before the diagnosis I was really quite depressed. Whether that was hormonal or because I was in pain and didn't know why, I don't know, but all I can say is I had some very dark moments. I haven't felt anywhere near that since the lap and the diagnosis. Which is bizarre, because I still don't know what the future holds with this disease, and I know I could be facing a life of pain. But it's early days in the treatment (Mirena coil and Provera), and although I've had horrific cramp on and off over the last month, some of my other pain does seem to be settling down. I feel like most days I have more energy, I get more done around the house and I'm putting more effort into my nutrition. I've had some mood swings, but they've been more teary than the horrible irritable, aggressive moods I used to go through. I guess I just feel more balanced, and knowing what I'm dealing wit gives me back some control over my life.
I hope this thread gives some hope/info to newbies and/or women who haven't been diagnosed yet. I've found it useful to document my road to diagnosis.
Good luck ladies xx
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Post by hellsbells on Mar 13, 2010 4:21:18 GMT -5
About 10 weeks post lap. Saw gynae on Thursday. I asked him about the 'stage' he'd categorise me at and he was like 'Oooh that's so American!'. Anyway I pushed him on it and he reckons 2-3. I just wanted an idea of the extent of it, but I know that's not necessarily relevant to pain levels etc. So overall, since I first saw him last September and had the lap in December, we reckon there's been about a 75% improvement in my symptoms and we're bot delighted. Wants me to stay on the Provera for another 3 months then stop, and I have to go back in September.
I firmly believe that the only way to try and ensure this thing doesn't come back/get worse after I stop the Provera is to make sure that in the next 3 months I get my ass in gear and sort out my diet and exercise once and for all. I don't think anybody's ever 'got rid' of this through surgery and drugs - we have to take control of and responsibility for our bodies, what we put in them and how we treat them.
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Post by hellsbells on Apr 22, 2010 12:52:40 GMT -5
Well, today, that damn little thing was taken out. Four months (today) of almost non-stop grumbling, cramping, intense pain. Gynae very kindly fitted me in at short notice and took it out and the SECOND it was out, pain went away, feel less bloated and I'm no longer constantly aware of my uterus.
Also having a pretty positive experience with Provera - my hair's not falling at as much, yay! - so we've decided I'll stay on it a little longer - at least until September.
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Post by hellsbells on Sept 9, 2010 13:01:08 GMT -5
Came off Provera around 3.5 weeks ago and pain has ramped up. After a couple of days I started spotting moderately but didn't bleed and still haven't. Saw a different gynae this morning and he said it looks like I've had this long term. Had the lap in Decemeber 2009, but he said there was endo scar tissue that had been there at least a year, so it could be 5,6+ years since I've had this. Which would tie in with when I stopped taking the pill long term. I think I had some symptoms in my teens though, so I went on pill when was 17 and more or less stayed on it for 13 years. It was interesting to hear actually, I hadn't been given this info before. He suggested there'll be more surgery in my future to try and control this. I'm still so grateful for a diagnosis though. Battling this all when you don't know what it is so damned hard. Excited to work with the endocrinologist to get to the bottom of possible PCOS and treat that.
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Post by JC on Sept 9, 2010 13:26:48 GMT -5
they think you'll need another surgery? But, that's great that you'll be working with an endocrinologist. I hope it helps! I hate endo..
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Post by hellsbells on Sept 9, 2010 13:54:40 GMT -5
Well he's not my usual guy, I think he was doing the 'there is no cure, probably more drugs and surgeries in your future to keep this at bay' thing. I didn't know how bad my endo was, or ow long I might have had it for given that I only got really symptomatic/abdo and pelvic pain around 15 months ago. I think my stop/start history on the pill has kept it at bay and let bits of it healed.
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Post by hellsbells on Dec 10, 2010 11:05:32 GMT -5
So almost a year on since lap, 3 periods since I came off Provera. Possible PCOS, been taking Metformin for around 6 weeks. Yesterday I had an appointment with gynae, but the regular guy is still not back. Saw a junior doc, she wasn't great, we discussed the PCOS and I said I was going to work on that and try shift some weight before thinking of any other hormonal treatment for the endo. I did get a peek at my notes and it turns out I have endo in PoD - didn't know this before yesterday. Girls, when you see your surgeons after any surgery, makes sure you get the total low down on what was found and ask loads of questions. Some docs assume you don't want all the detail.
Then I had an appt with nurse at pain management clinic. She's a lovely woman. She lets me ramble on about anything and everything. She's offered to refer me to the pyschology part of the pain clinic for some counselling. There's quite a wait apparently, so in the meantime she's going to keep seeing me for support, as she's a qualified counsellor. She always makes me feel more positive! I'm seeing another GP next week and will be asking for some more blood tests.
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Post by chicagogal2 on Dec 10, 2010 11:21:46 GMT -5
Hells - sounds like it was a productive apt! It's good that you like talking to her and she makes you feel comfortable - that always helps so much doesn't it?
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Post by hellsbells on Dec 10, 2010 11:38:16 GMT -5
I welled up at one point, it's so good to have a medical professional actually sit and listen and take an interest.
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