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Post by rhodygirl on Apr 5, 2012 13:56:19 GMT -5
Okay, so I went to my preop today. First and foremost, nothing malignant. YAY!
Okay, now, so once again, I had multiple things going on. New stuff since a year ago at my last surgery. Fun. So, my left ovary and tube was removed. He noted that "there were adhesions surrounding the left ovary involving the distal sigmoid and mesentary" --- what's the mesentary? Have to do with all the arteries on the intestines? I took anatomy last semester and still don't remember.
I am trying to figure out if this could cause my bladder issues specifically:
"Large peritoneal defect in the right uterovesical vicinity" "larger peritoneal defect in the right paravesical area, which was presumed to be from her prior myomectomy"
Is this a layer of peritoneum between the uterus and the bladder? I am having a hard time figuring out what the uterovesical vicinity/paravesical area is?
That's the extent of my questions, but thought I'd share these few endo things only because I LIKED what I saw. No burning...he mentioned scissors, and dissecting!!!
"In the right cul-de-sac, there was a powder burn lesion, concerning for endometriosis. This was grasped and taken out sharply with scissors and sent to pathology for final histologic evaluation. On the left pelvic sidewall, there was a similar larger powder burn appearing lesion. The left sidewall was opened and dissected out. The peritoneum over the lesion was somewhat adherent but was eventually dissected out and sent to pathology for final histologic evaluation".
Good words right? No burning! Weird though, only one of those lesions came back from pathology as endo he said. Strange. I WONDERED on the car ride home, if being on steroids for the 3-4 weeks prior to surgery could have decreased the inflammation or altered the tissue in some way that it could have impacted that? No theory, just a curious question?
On a bright note, my right ovary and fallopian tube "appeared entirely normal". Stay away endo, stay the hell away!
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Post by Karen on Apr 5, 2012 17:28:19 GMT -5
I'm afraid anatomy isn't my strong point, but still wanted to pop in over here and share in your enthusiasm that you doc excised endo! High five for your right ovary appearing normal!
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Post by JC on Apr 5, 2012 18:30:22 GMT -5
Funny, they don't teach us anatomy until we get to medical school! LOL, but I'll try my best to explain what these are. The mesentery is like 2 layers of tissue that surrounds part of your small intestine and basically attaches to the back of your abdominal wall to hold everything in place. In between the two layers of tissue is where you have blood vessels, lymph vessels, and those fun nerves that cause us pain So it sounds like where you had adhesions were around your ovary, the sigmoid, and that double layer of tissue that's supposed to be holding it all in place. The peritoneum is the layer that lines the entire abdominal cavity and it also provides support for internal organs and has blood vessels/lymph vessels etc. The vesico-uterine pouch (Aka Dunn's pouch) is an area where the peritoneum creates a pouch over the uterus and bladder! OUCH! Gunpowder lesions are so interesting! We have pictures of these lesions on the main endo-resolved page. They are so crazy looking! I'm really glad you had a good surgeon that actually excised the endo! That's great news!
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Post by rhodygirl on Apr 5, 2012 20:00:31 GMT -5
I'm afraid anatomy isn't my strong point, but still wanted to pop in over here and share in your enthusiasm that you doc excised endo! High five for your right ovary appearing normal! Thank you!! Yes, I was very excited to see that since I already have a mini crush on this man at this point.
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Post by rhodygirl on Apr 5, 2012 20:05:23 GMT -5
Funny, they don't teach us anatomy until we get to medical school! LOL, but I'll try my best to explain what these are. The mesentery is like 2 layers of tissue that surrounds part of your small intestine and basically attaches to the back of your abdominal wall to hold everything in place. In between the two layers of tissue is where you have blood vessels, lymph vessels, and those fun nerves that cause us pain So it sounds like where you had adhesions were around your ovary, the sigmoid, and that double layer of tissue that's supposed to be holding it all in place. The peritoneum is the layer that lines the entire abdominal cavity and it also provides support for internal organs and has blood vessels/lymph vessels etc. The vesico-uterine pouch (Aka Dunn's pouch) is an area where the peritoneum creates a pouch over the uterus and bladder! OUCH! Gunpowder lesions are so interesting! We have pictures of these lesions on the main endo-resolved page. They are so crazy looking! I'm really glad you had a good surgeon that actually excised the endo! That's great news! Thanks, Dr. Jenaya! I should have put your name in the subject line of this thread. Okay --- so I'm betting this large "defect" is probably some sort of ball of scar tissue or endo adhesions, etc. that was pressing on my bladder. That's going to be my theory then! Hope it doesn't come back. Strangely, though, when I was on the steroids recently most of my problems seemed to go away -- so there must be an inflammation element even with that bladder thing too. Speaking of inflammation --- everything in my pathology report indicated or said "chronic inflammation" and a lot of "calcification. I don't like the word chronic -- and I feel like everything about me is constantly inflamed. What's wrong with me? Short of everything!!!! LOL Thanks for the help. I'm going to look for those gunpowder pics.
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Post by semicolon on Apr 5, 2012 20:23:25 GMT -5
Hmm, some of my samples came back as regular tissue too but that is not to say they weren't adhesions or causing pain. I don't think steroids would alter the tissue but I'm no roid expert!
I had endo on what my surgeon described as the bladder flap but I'm wondering if it really was this pouch. No one likes the word "defect" when talking about your innards, lol, but congrats on righty looking good. I'm glad you got such a detailed op report, and I hope your pain is a lot better after this. Thanks for sharing!
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Post by rhodygirl on Apr 5, 2012 20:31:11 GMT -5
My thought process was that maybe the steroids suppressed something since they suppress your immune system -- though it was an off the wall fleeting thought. LOL
Yes, I would wonder as well if the bladder flap was this pouch. Did you ever have any bladder symptoms? Mine weren't awful, just drops here and there, but in your early 30's - that's just not right!!
You crack me up .... "innards", "righty" -- good stuff!
Even through the surgery pain the day after I could tell the constant pain on my left side was eliminated. This was different than the pain that came with endo. It was a constant aching pain and a pulling sensation when sitting down on the couch or stretching in a certain way. Sometimes it would hurt worse than others and I was starting to have digestive symptoms and notice pain with that. All of it...gone. I just hope my body doesn't start to grow some other funky "defect". Enough already.
I wish this stuff would just back the F off of all us!!
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Post by Karen on Apr 5, 2012 20:38:32 GMT -5
Actually, steroids are anti-inflammatory, which likely explains some of the relief you got on them! But, yes, agreed - all this stuff can back the f off. Well put!
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Post by JC on Apr 6, 2012 5:51:27 GMT -5
You might as well assume that endometriosis = inflammation. When your body senses that things aren't right, it will respond with an inflammatory process. That's a normal body process. What's abnormal is when the inflammation doesn't stop and becomes chronic. Endometriosis is realllllly good and causing inflammation. I imagine that's why the steroids worked well for you because you had some inflammation from the endo. How long were you on the steroids for? Here are the endo pictures: www.endo-resolved.com/picture.html
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Post by JC on Apr 6, 2012 5:52:12 GMT -5
No one likes the word "defect" when talking about your innards, lol, but congrats on righty looking good. I totally pictured this sentence in a pirate voice. LOL
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Post by rhodygirl on Apr 6, 2012 16:40:59 GMT -5
Pirate voice...I can completely see that! Too funny.
Jenaya, I took them I think about 24 days in total with a few day break in between. Decent dose, too. Starting at 60mg and tapering down both times.
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Post by JC on Apr 6, 2012 18:47:23 GMT -5
They probably did help your pain because that's a pretty decent course of steroids. Did they make you all crazy? LOL! I've had to take them for asthma before and I get all crazy and can't sleep. The drug works well but it's really bad for you if you are on it long term. It makes you retain an absurd amount of water and eventually it can deplete your adrenal glands. That's like YEARS of use though so don't worry!
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Post by rhodygirl on Apr 7, 2012 22:17:03 GMT -5
I've never been a fan of steroids and wasn't too happy to be on them. I usually get them at least once a year for bronchitis/asthma issues but really hate them.
Surprisingly, I did not get all crazy. My son gets completely nuts and emotional on them and my friend who has MS takes them all the time and she is a tough one, but they make her cry, too. Not sure why, but I don't think they had any impact on me at all this time.
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Post by Karen on Apr 8, 2012 6:28:30 GMT -5
Yeah, I went a little crazy on cortisol, too. I've read it is a common reaction. A theory as to why is that it can suppress your body's cortisol production, and if the dose you're on is too low to make up for what your body is used to getting, adrenaline kicks in to try to make up the difference. I was shaking, crying, totally anxious, and wanted to crawl out of my skin on a medium dose. It's not a fun feeling! I'm glad you didn't get those side effects!
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Post by JC on Apr 8, 2012 7:17:58 GMT -5
Yeah I'm glad you didn't react like that too! Tapering off of them is even worse. The last time I had to take Prednisone was when I needed a CT scan with contrast. I'm extremely allergic to that contrast so I had to take 3 really high doses of Prednisone the day before the scan and then they pumped me with Benedryl about 30 minutes before the scan. I went from Prednisone rage to Benedryl drowsy and I feel quite weird and agitated. The actual term for the side effects really is Prednisone rage. LOL
So how are you feeling today? How is your recovery going?
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