Reply From NewGyno(TM)

In regards to my concerns or interest in the artery embolization etc, and inquiring about the severity of my particular case of adenomyosis:

First off…embolization is out. Conceiving after that is not recommended. Adenomyosis, like every other entity in medicine, has varying degrees of severity. Many women with it have no issues and conceive and go through life never knowing….some can have it much worse… Treatment depends of symptoms. Again, many are not treated, some need bcps, severe cases end up needing surgery…it all depends. The severity is really related to symptoms. I’d say you have a mild case. *Note: Emphasis mine.

PCOS & Adenomyosis

Going to read up as much as I can, and of course ask my ReproEndoGuy (TM) as much as I can. I wonder about what percentage of PCOS "cysters" end up with this.

In the meantime, at least I have a good starting point for info and support. A person following me on Twitter provided this link. It is useful enough for me to ask about artery embolization.

http://www.adenomyosisadviceassociation.org

And on a related note: Not only was my sister diagnosed w/PCOS years before me and never mentioned it (so that I might, yanno, get tested and TREATED for it), she also allegedly has something "endometrial" going on, and again, no mention of it. I get diagnosed, I tell everyone to raise awareness. Keeping shit to yourself when it might help others is nothing more than a tacit fuck you, you're on your own.

Crisis.

Existential.

And no, I won't just accept it. Whatever IT is. The crisis hasn't even been fully realized/actualized yet. Too much to process.

A Dx. Finally.

Got the Dx. from NewGyno(tm): Adenomyosis and a polyp.

Polyp is scheduled to be removed on 3/13.

All I managed to ask today (I'm now an emotional wreck) is, "Is it life threatening?" (Answer: No; however, after I Wiki'd adenomyosis, I now have two follow up questions: 1. Will this affect my fertility? 2. At what point would hysterectomy be necessary? And I guess there's a third follow up question: 3. What percentage of women end up with endometrial or other uterine cancers as a result of this?

Totally Un-related: No Poo

I've decided to attempt to go shampoo free for a while. My scalp is in agony.

Grrrrrr! 3 Months = 5#

WTFF! It's slowing down considerably. :(

Today: Yet Another Ultrasound

So today I spent my lunch hour undergoing yet another ultrasound, as the ultrasound from WTFFGyno(TM) was so colossally fucked up and poorly written NewGyno(tm) could not figure out: 1. If I even had a fibroid at all; and 2. If so, where was the location of it? So we could not even plan a course of action without these very crucial details.

So off I scampered to the imaging center, with a nearly-too-full bladder. They took me in immediately. I remember the technician from another diagnostic I had not that long ago. "Dry" and professional would be how I'd define her. I guess good qualities to have in her line of work.

She got me in and out in under 20 minutes. And when nothing conclusive showed up on the regular ultrasound, she suggested having a trans-vaginal, just to be sure.

Preliminary result: No fibroids were spotted. WTFF? So WTFFGyno(tm) scared the shit out of me, unnecessarily so, by putting the cart before the horse w/the Novasure ablation shit without even discussing if I wanted to have kids or not, when her own report was so fucking vague she didn't know conclusively if I had fibroids or not... yet she already had her mind made up as to what HER course of action for MY uterus was going to be? Just fucking infuriates me to no end.

So here I sit, waiting for NewGyno(tm) to call with the official results.

Never Gave It Much Thought

Never gave my supplements much thought. Here's my magnesium and a vitamin C, both measure roughly an inch, and yet I'm able to get it thru my stoma. Not sure if it's how I swallow them down, or that I take hot coffee with them, but I'm able to get them in there, without blockage or discomfort or without regurgitating them back up.

I'm 13 months out from RnY.

YMMV.

Everyone's journey is different.

Today: Endocrinologist & Sausagefest

That's all. Heading into NYC (yet again, a third time in about a week, for yet another doctor appointment) this time to see my endocrinologist.

Afterwards, I'm hanging with a friend for a bit, and will grab lunch. German wursts are the bests!

Recap: The New Gyno

This morning, I decided to do something a little bit outside my comfort zone. Not sure of the motivation, but it was something I've been reluctant to do on my many trips to NYC, especially the trips into the city which are way uptown: Rather than go the "safe route" or the expected route, or the route I ALWAYS take (i.e. get off at GCT, then take the subway, either the 1 or the 6 depending), I decided to get off at the (East) 125th Street station and then take the subway nearby. The alternative would be for me to get off at GCT, then take the subway back up town about 50 blocks; getting off at 125th meant I had to take roughly 30 blocks downtown.

I know, such a trivial difference, amounting to all of about 20 blocks I saved. It just seemed the most direct route.

The issue, the "outside my comfort zone," regarding 125th is, to me, until today, it's been a great unknown. Plus it's Harlem, which despite the best intentions gentrification has to offer, still hasn't made me feel all that much more safe or confident about getting off at 125th as an option.

But like anything else, hopefully, this will become part of my routine. And silly as it might seem, I did manage to have some sense of accomplishment, that I was able to negotiate which direction to walk/take upon exiting the train station to get to the subway platform. I was thinking surely the subway platform was reachable at the 125th station, but glad I did my homework via Google Maps and realize that wasn't the case. Google maps' street view is an awesome feature, and I was able to landmark two businesses, so I could get my bearings.

Such a nervous nellie, but safety is always on my mind, and I tend not to leave too many things to chance.

So, today's appointment was with my new gynecologist. This is the gynecologist with whom I will be doing my follow up re: the fibroid (tho we're not even sure if it even IS a fibroid).

As I suspected, the ultrasound and pap and other records from the gyno I saw in September never were forwarded to the new doctor, despite me jumping thru their little hoops and filling out the release paperwork in November. This is reason #2 I won't be doing follow up at that office: slip shod admin staff.

So we were "shooting blind" as it were during the consultation. The doctor arranged to have the ultrasound paperwork faxed, so I sat and crocheted while we waited for the paperwork to come in.

This proved to be a colossal waste of time, as the ultrasound report was so SHITTY, so poorly worded and lacking in crucial information (i.e. location of the fibroid), and also made some indication about a growth, but nothing conclusive which we could actually formulate a plan of action around. This is reason #3 why I will not be doing follow up with the previous doctor.

So the recap of reasons why I won't go back to her:

1. Shitty "stirrup side demeanor" coupled up with the callousness of scaring me re: handing me a Novasure pamphlet without even: 1. Knowing with certainty I even have a fibroid etc; and 2. Not even asking me if I want to have kids or not, as the Novasure would take that option away from me, irrevocably;

2. Shitty admin follow up for a simple records release request;

3. Shitty, vague and inconclusive report writing, which a direct result is me having to waste a perfectly good lunch hour at an imaging center to get yet another ultrasound done.

So rather than today being merely a step in the process by which to get this taken care of, we ended up back tracking, and today ended up being the first step of a NEW process.

An Rx was written for a pelvic ultrasound, and while I was in the city I texted my husband, who kindly set up an appt for me for Tuesday during my lunch, otherwise, I'd have to wait until Tuesday itself to call and arrange an appointment, and I didn't want to lose precious time to make the appointment, especially given this is going to be a long holiday weekend.

The doctor seemed affable enough and receptive to what is going on with my life and health, and actually reassured me that whatever this is, if it is a fibroid or a polyp, it will be treatable and most likely benign.

So, hurry up and wait until Tuesday. Hopefully I'll know something conclusive by the end of next week or the following Monday.

Sad thing is, the first gyno in question, the shitty gyno, was recommended to me by a good friend. I feel I cannot even tell my friend about what's-what from today's appointment. I don't want her to feel as if whatever dissatisfaction I feel towards the gyno is in any way reflected on her, as she's the one who recommended the gyno to me in the first place. But I really feel like she should explore her options and find a new gyno, because this one so very obviously has her own ideas and agenda as it pertains to the health of her patients, and I dare say it's to their detriment. Color me, unimpressed (with her).

However disappointed I was with today's outcome, as I was hoping to get a plan of action started today, I feel my gut instinct really was validated today, and I did the right thing for me and my health, to seek out another doctor.

One Year

Had my one year follow up visit with the surgeon.

He and his PA or is she a NP?, both seem pleased with my progress. Lost 21 lbs since the last time I saw them, tho it's been like 3 months, and I really wish it were more.

Nothing new to report. Follow up w/them again in six months, which brings me close to my birthday.

Gravitational Stalemate

No loss.
No gain.

Tho did show a 3 lb loss once I returned from India, the after-effects of pneumonia.

Things are slowing down now.

I'd be happy if I could dump off another 25. Then I can just coast on thru on autopilot.

And maybe explore pilates or something for toning. It's just this damned pain issue...